[REQUEST] Acer Aspire E5-553(G) BIOS Unlock

[CrazyLarry]

I am about ready to put money down on an Aspire E5-553G-1986 notebook.

I understand these come with the Insyde bios that now requires it to be opened up and the cmos has to be directly worked with. (via clips and a programmer)

Is there a "HOW TO" or guide that I can follow along and see how this works?

I plan to swap out the HDD for a SSD and upgrade the memory to 32GB. The A12-9700P and R7-M440 graphics are what makes this attractive. I just need to enable the AMD-V in this hidden/locked advanced settings for using it with VirtualBox.


Thanks in advance.

-CrazyLarry

[mclarke2355]

Hi,
you might be able to enable AMD-V using a software-method (needs to be adapted): http://www.geektech.co.nz/how-to-unlock-...enovo-y700

First, you will need the tool: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4NHIBM...RtQXM/view
Extract the archive and go to the folder with the extracted files.
Then, you need to open an administrative command prompt in that folder (google it if you don't know how).
Execute the command from step 1 of the linked guide in that command prompt.
After that, you'll have the file "vars.txt" in that folder.
You need to upload this file, so that I can make the change.

For reference, here's the EFI-table with available settings for this notebook: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4NHIB...WI4LW14bE0
And here's the setting that needs to be changed:
0x1C40B             Setting: SVM support, Variable: 0xEE {05 91 54 02 55 02 54 00 34 12 EE 00 00 10 00 01 00}
0x1C41C                 Option: Disabled, Value: 0x0 (default) {09 07 27 00 10 00 00}
0x1C423                 Option: Enabled, Value: 0x1 {09 07 28 00 00 00 01}

[CrazyLarry]

Yeah, I looked into that as well, but the problem I will be facing is that AMD systems from ACER have a protected CMOS. (or so I have found from research)

But, I'll let you know when I place my order for the notebook

[mclarke2355]

This method can work even when variables cannot be changed with an EFI-shell.
This tool is directly from Insyde, and it uses a different method to change variables.

[kking1276]

Hi,
the flashing of the modded BIOS might not work because the recovery checks the signature of the BIOS file.

However, you might be able to enable AMD-V using this method (needs to be adapted): http://www.geektech.co.nz/how-to-unlock-...enovo-y700

First, you will need the tool: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4NHIBM...RtQXM/view
Extract the archive and go to the folder with the extracted files.
Then, you need to open an administrative command prompt in that folder (google it if you don't know how).
Execute the command from step 1 of the linked guide in that command prompt.
After that, you'll have the file "vars.txt" in that folder.
You need to upload this file, so that I can make the change.

For reference, here's the EFI-table with available settings for this notebook: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4NHIB...WI4LW14bE0
And here's the setting that needs to be changed:
0x1C40B             Setting: SVM support, Variable: 0xEE {05 91 54 02 55 02 54 00 34 12 EE 00 00 10 00 01 00}
0x1C41C                 Option: Disabled, Value: 0x0 (default) {09 07 27 00 10 00 00}
0x1C423                 Option: Enabled, Value: 0x1 {09 07 28 00 00 00 01}

Here's mine for a E5-553: vars.txt
So one of the bytes gets updated, then apply to running system?
Is it possible to enable the advanced tab in the bios this way too?
Thanks,
Kevin

[mclarke2355]

Here's mine for a E5-553: vars.txt
So one of the bytes gets updated, then apply to running system?
Is it possible to enable the advanced tab in the bios this way too?
Thanks,
Kevin

Ok, here's the file with AMD-V enabled and SMM Code Lock disabled: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4NHIBM...JoSU0/view

You need to put the vars_mod.txt file in the folder with the H2OUVE.exe file and execute the following command in an administrative command prompt in that folder: H2OUVE.exe -sv vars_mod.txt
H2OUVE will update the NVRAM area of the BIOS and after a reboot the new settings should be active.

Unfortunately there's no setting in the BIOS that allows unlocking of the advanced tab.
However, with disabled SMM Code Lock it might be possible to flash a modded BIOS using flashrom on Linux (there's no suitable Windows flasher for AMD Insyde systems), but I don't have enough knowledge regarding this matter.

[kking1276]

Here's mine for a E5-553: vars.txt
So one of the bytes gets updated, then apply to running system?
Is it possible to enable the advanced tab in the bios this way too?
Thanks,
Kevin

Ok, here's the file with AMD-V enabled and SMM Code Lock disabled: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4NHIBM...JoSU0/view

You need to put the vars_mod.txt file in the folder with the H2OUVE.exe file and execute the following command in an administrative command prompt in that folder: H2OUVE.exe -sv vars_mod.txt
H2OUVE will update the NVRAM area of the BIOS and after a reboot the new settings should be active.

Unfortunately there's no setting in the BIOS that allows unlocking of the advanced tab.
However, with disabled SMM Code Lock it might be possible to flash a modded BIOS using flashrom on Linux (there's no suitable Windows flasher for AMD Insyde systems), but I don't have enough knowledge regarding this matter.

Thanks. I was trying to figure out the mapping from the acer reference file to the vars.txt...not seeing it yet.
Is everything there under the setup block in the vars file?

Applied, confirmed amd-v is now enabled! Fantastic, now I've got the laptop I thought acer sold me....thanks mclarke2355 and Dudu2002

[mclarke2355]

Thanks. I was trying to figure out the mapping from the acer reference file to the vars.txt...not seeing it yet.
Is everything there under the setup block in the vars file?

Applied, confirmed amd-v is now enabled! Fantastic, now I've got the laptop I thought acer sold me....thanks mclarke2355 and Dudu2002

I'm glad that it worked properly!

Yes, all the current settings are saved in the setup block of the vars file. It's the only block that we need to change.
The variable tells you at which position the setting is saved (e.g. SVM Support has the variable 0xEE, so its setting is located at position EE (Hexadecimal) in the setup block).
So, if you want to change something else, you just need to look up its variable in the EFI-table and then change the according value in the setup block of the vars file to the desired one.

[twipsyzz]

Help me please ,I just want to turn on amd-v 

my laptop is Acer E5 553G

bios is insydeH20v 1.16

My bios version  
  BIOS_Acer_1.16_A_A.zip (Size: 5.26 MB / Downloads: 31)

My vars 
  vars.txt (Size: 113.96 KB / Downloads: 40)

[Beah!]

Hi!

I have bought the Acer Aspire E5-553 because I tought it was a good option, but, surprice, I can not run virtual box because it is no enabled Hardware Virtualization in the BIOS, Any help?

InsydeH20 Bios
BIOS VERSION: V1.16
ZABA_116
Oficial Site: https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/su...t/6749?b=1
Bios Download: https://global-download.acer.com/GDFiles...SC=EMEA_11

I just could uncompress the file and get ZABA_116 utility, but no idea how to mod it...

Thanks to everyone