Winflash "flash bios is not an upgrade" issue; Lenovo W520

[apacha]

Hello.  I recently acquired a Lenovo W520 and wish to remove the Wifi whitelist via modded BIOS.   After searching a few hours online I managed to find a modded BIOS for W520, version 1.46 (8BET66WW).   

The issue I'm having is the existing Lenovo BIOS is already 1.46 and the Phoenix Winflash utility will not update BIOS if the version is the same (or lesser). Error message:  "Flash BIOS is not an upgrade (same or older version number)"

I have read and already tried the following tricks in attempt to bypass the issue; all have failed:
1) Modify Winflash.ini, add Advanced=1 to unhide options allowing same or older BIOS version.  This did not work.  Have tried with Winflash versions 1.4.75.0-0.3, 1.5.63 and 1.5.66
2) Run via admin level command-line switches /sd /sv /nodate /force and combinations of such.  
3) Ran Winflash with modified environment.dll file from a thread found on this forum.  This just results in Windows rebooting when attempting to flash BIOS.

I have not tried to flash via DOS, mainly because I cannot verify if any DOS capable Phoenix flasher supports UEFI BIOS firmwares, which is what I need. It appears only the Phoenix WinFlash programs support UEFI, but I may be wrong here.

Anyone have any ideas how to get the the BIOS to flash from Stock 1.46 to Modified 1.46?  

Thanks!

[apacha]

Ok, tried a DOS method:
1) Created a WinSE98 DOS boot via Rufus on a small FAT formatted USB drive
2) Downloaded last available version of DOS Phlash16 program, 1.7.0.21
3) Moved the file $01C9200.FL1 to USB
4) Booted to USB and ran command Phlash16 /mode=2 $01C9200.FL1

Phlash16 started OK, ran for about 30 seconds reading the BIOS file and aborted with error
"Platform Signature Not found in the Interface"

Sources online seem to point towards adding /force to run command, but some folks have commented on it bricking their system.  I'm going to look into this further before moving forward.  Perhaps Phlash16 is looking for a ROM or WPH file instead of FL1?  I may proceed with renaming file, but will pause for now reading more and hopefully having a reply or two here on how best to continue.  Thanks.

[Maxinator500]

phlash16 doesn't support EFI bios, it has a successor named pflash for EFIs.

IMO, the best approach would be to replace WinFlash executable with patched one, with disabled bios version check and battery presence check.

[apacha]

phlash16 doesn't support EFI bios, it has a successor named pflash for EFIs.

IMO, the best approach would be to replace WinFlash executable with patched one, with disabled bios version check and battery presence check.

Thanks.  A patched flasher is exactly what this calls for, but I've searched around previously and didn't see much reference except someone creating one for Asus mainboards only.  If anyone has a source compatible for Lenovo, I would be appreciative.

[Maxinator500]

I've searched around previously and didn't see much reference

I can try patching, but firstly try with /sa switch.

/vbl Show warning for Microsoft Bitlocker
/sm Skip all WinFlash messages
/swm Skip all WinFlash warning messages
/sd Skip BIOS date check.
/sn Skip BIOS part number check.
/sp Skip BIOS product code check.
/sv Skip BIOS version check.
/svs Skip BIOS same version check.
/sa Skip all BIOS checks.

[apacha]

/sa was actually among the first attempts I tried.

My original attempt was via command-line and included these switches:
/mode=2 /sa /vcpu /console /cs /vbl

I have also tried undocumented switches others have suggested such as /nodate, /force, /forceit and /f

One interesting observation was when starting the GUI with switch /force it will ask for the BIOS file and when continuing with the FL1 file, not warn of same or lesser version and begin the flash process, but crash with a page fault in Winflash64.sys and reboot system.

[Maxinator500]

Can you give me a link to the archive with modded bios you found? WinFlash was included, right? I'll patch it.

[apacha]

Can you give me a link to the archive with modded bios you found? WinFlash was included, right? I'll patch it.

Reddit post referencing BIOS mod:
https://old.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/commen...i_upgrade/

Mediafire link where mod was downloaded from:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/kulsq173q...l.rar/file

Yes, Winflash utility is included in this Mod package.

Thanks!

[Maxinator500]

I see an extra file in the archive. FLASH.bat. Have you tried running the file? It should execute WINUPTP.exe in silent mode, which triggers the update via WinFlash.
Maybe that it the key to success?

[apacha]

I see an extra file in the archive. FLASH.bat. Have you tried running the file? It should execute WINUPTP.exe in silent mode, which triggers the update via WinFlash.
Maybe that it the key to success?

Yes, I tried Flash.bat two different ways via admin level command line and through Windows file explorer.  Both result in page fault error in Winflash64.sys and causes system reboot.  

If I change compatibility mode on WINUPTP.EXE, it will run without crash, but result in message, "BIOS image file is same as BIOS ROM. An update is not necessary at this time."