(UEFI) Dell XPS 15z L511z modded BIOS - and HOWTO

[jkbuha]

I think the bios escruture should be almost identical on both computers

as for the menus, you can use some screenshots I made some time ago

those are from the original a06 bios, but I dont think the new a09 bios will have newer menus/options

Same as mine: Main (Advanced) Security Boot Exit

With Ahmed's back the Advanced menu has mysteriously disappeared

[kasar]

great, this means we are on the right way to get those uefi bios getting its max potential unlocked.
I supose next step is to get more menus instead removing them hehe
but my vote still to get first the recovery mode working for obius reasons while getting flashing several modded bioses tests ^_^

[AHMED HOSSAM]

Its not easy as you think i guess my new job here is removing menus from bioses
the menus has different structure that you can`t say this is a menu except you try removing it to make sure !! i try to find common things between menus first .
the next mod will be uploaded today for removing other one or two menus to make sure these are menus as well ............ the problem i found is that menus aren`t called from one routines but its called from at least 2 routines and i have to knew which one of them leads to the right way .
there will be alot of mods to try but the final result will be good

[kasar]

hehe
okay , all clear

count with me to be your beta tester/bios tester

[AHMED HOSSAM]

@Kasar , your bios can`t be extracted using andys tool v1.93 it gives me error .

@jkbuha , try both files and let me knew the result
its not for removing menus but i found suspicious routines and want to get over them .

http://www.mediafire.com/?z1tlsxst9h4cdcd
&
http://www.mediafire.com/?o96we12o0g93o74

all mods are safe and in the worst case the setup utility will crash but you will still able to boot to windows and i guess you all knew this

[kasar]

that is weird

it worked fine for me, I also tested it again and opened it without issue

got PhoenixTool 1.93 (I think you are talking about this one when you talk about andy's tool)

opened bios1.wph

andys tool create a DUMP folder with 4 files

with andys tool, you open the bigest file from the 4 ones

F33E367F-41D2-4201-9CB7-AFA63DCCEEC9_0_5.ROM (arround 4 MB)

it create another dump folder and it extract all the bios modules.

thats how I extracted the modules, I also managed to mod some files and put everything back togheter, but with this bios, its like a double repack

to make this clear I will put the procedure in 5 steps

1 open bios1.wph with Andy's tool 1.93 , a folder DUMP is created with 4 files
2 open F33E367F-41D2-4201-9CB7-AFA63DCCEEC9_0_5.ROM with Andy's tool 1.93, a folder DUMP is created with all the modules
3 mod stuff like vbios, menus ...
4 repack F33E367F-41D2-4201-9CB7-AFA63DCCEEC9_0_5.ROM with the modified modules, and then remane its name without the _SLIC part to get working the next step
5 repack bios1.wph with the modified F33E367F-41D2-4201-9CB7-AFA63DCCEEC9_0_5.ROM

what step did you got the error?

note: there is also a 1 MB file named C8AB0F4E-26FE-40F1-9579-EA8D30D503A4_0_6.ROM but I was unable to open it with andys tool since it gave me error, not sure what it is.

[jkbuha]

@Kasar , your bios can`t be extracted using andys tool v1.93 it gives me error .

@jkbuha , try both files and let me knew the result
its not for removing menus but i found suspicious routines and want to get over them .

http://www.mediafire.com/?z1tlsxst9h4cdcd
&
http://www.mediafire.com/?o96we12o0g93o74

all mods are safe and in the worst case the setup utility will crash but you will still able to boot to windows and i guess you all knew this

Hey Ahmed

Sorry for delay - been travelling on business last 24 hours. I'm looking at the files now, and will keep you posted.

In terms of sending over files, just send me the modded CFEF94C4...ROM file - I'll be reviewing the changes and repacking it into my existing BIOS anyway just to double check

Will get back to you shortly

Cheers
jkbuha

[jkbuha]

@jkbuha , try both files and let me knew the result
its not for removing menus but i found suspicious routines and want to get over them .

http://www.mediafire.com/?z1tlsxst9h4cdcd
&
http://www.mediafire.com/?o96we12o0g93o74

all mods are safe and in the worst case the setup utility will crash but you will still able to boot to windows and i guess you all knew this

Hello I'm back - with BIOS flashes ok

Right:

MOD 1 - Advanced Menu disappeared
MOD 2 - Advanced Menu back in place

Is this what you were expecting?

Cheers
jkbuha

[AHMED HOSSAM]

Sure this is not i`m expecting , i was expecting any hidden menus or options appears once i have noped some jumps in menus routines .

Ok, for you all i will upload only the modified setup module then you integrate it in the bios and test it ........... this will be much easier for me as i spend some time bulding the modified bioses

@Kasar , i still can`t open your bios , may be the error from my notebook not the tool ! by the way, do a hex search inside the dump folder for the string platform setup advanced Dxe.efi ( its unicode not ascii ) and this is the setup module ...... then compare it to the original one ( which i have modified several times ) and if its exactly the same , then you can safely use it ( use the module not the whole bios for sure ) just integrate it into your bios.

another modified bios will be uploaded in one or 2 hours .

[kasar]

ok, dont worry, I can send you the dump folder

http://www.mediafire.com/?bdat3kfm8q3ufwd

all the original modules are there ready to be hexedited, dont worry about rebuild it, just send me the module/s you modified and I will assembly it again

at the risk of sounds like a complete naab, what software do you use to do a hex search on all the modules of the folder?

I currently use the HxD hex editor and have to do a search file per file (open file, CTRL+F, search, and if nothing found close and try next file.)

edit: using now xsearch tool, wich seems to be usefull