Remastered: How to use a BIOS flasher w/ Test clip to flash BIOS and EEPROM chips in Linux/Windows

Рет қаралды 90,012

Күн бұрын

(Remastered audio; special thanks to youtuber Mass Killer; Original video with comments @ • How to use a BIOS flas... )
This video walks through assembly of a CH341a SPI BIOS 25xx/24xx series USB programmer with a SOIC8 SOP8 Test clip for solderless reading and writing to flashable IC chips.
This technique is useful when you have a device with a BIOS that you need to modify, but the device itself does not allow flashing while powered on... i.e. an AMD Ryzen board that doesn't boot, corrupt video card bios (counterfeit crashing Nvidia video cards) or a motherboard BIOS with write protection that you'd like to modify (whitelist removal on Lenovo laptops) or a dead TV motherboard that has a messed up bios.
We cover correctly setting up everything, reading flash contents with flashrom on Linux and CH341 programmer software on Windows.
Use at your own risk, if you accidentally erased the contents of your device's flash... you'll need to find a copy of that data from the internet or another working device to get it going again.

Пікірлер: 145

@Astfgl 3 жыл бұрын

Note that if flashrom is giving you an error "Couldn't open device 1a86:5512. Error: Programmer initialization failed." make sure that a jumper is placed on the pins next to the big plastic block. You can clearly see it in the video at 1:30. This changes the programmer device from UART mode to SPI mode and allows flashrom to use it. My device came without the jumper installed and I spent several hours trying to figure out why it wouldn't work, until I came across a patch for the source code of flashrom that hinted there might be a jumper necessary to switch modes.

@martyhorten3743 2 жыл бұрын

Good information, I hope those who use CH341a will follow your discovery. Oh, I wish the chip makers would mention these in their tech manuals. Another such example is when I replaced a Compaq mobo which then had a BIOS error "Serial number not found" after a BIOS update. I had to patch BIOS with a 3rd party flash to install (tattoo as they call it) the serial number into the BIOS to bypass the irritating error screen and boot w/o issue.

@marksands9196 2 жыл бұрын

Nice and clear explanation, not top slow or rushed. Thanks for taking the time to do this 👏👏

@albertodhc1 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome video man, you explained it so well even I can do it. Just orderes my CH341A chip and clamp. Thank you very much, hope to see more videos like this one. Cheers!

@RockYourBrand 2 жыл бұрын

You helped me to bring a very expensive ultrawide monitor back to life with this brilliant tutorial. THANK YOU!!!

@martyhorten3743 2 жыл бұрын

Nice to know that monitors can be flashed, I have a TV monitor that has a power light, but not turning on - Maybe a BIOS fix?! Thanks!

@lululock 2 жыл бұрын

@@martyhorten3743 Probably a PSU issue. Lots of flat-screen TVs have this issue at some point of their life. It's often because of a dead capacitor which prevents the TV to turn on.

@SomnoNaut Жыл бұрын

@@lululock Yup have changed out caps for pennies on TV boards. Even hot wired one on an old rear projection whose vertical hold was kabloey.

@nickguyon3297 11 ай бұрын

What were the symptoms? I have a LG 38UC99-W that shows it’s getting power (bottom button LED lights up) but it won’t charge any devices and it shows no display or backlight

@decolorez1 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for this. You explained everything perfectly. I wish all tutorials were this good.

@Droidika101 Жыл бұрын

Excellent video. Appreciate your taking the time to and effort to share this.

@desertbloom99gmail64 3 жыл бұрын

thank you for your informative video, its about time ,be able to catch up with this as i need it to fix my laptop bios stuck with forgotten password thanks a lot

@mrmc55 Ай бұрын

Clean and clear information so far

@NewbFixer 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks buddy, need to fix my daughters laptop, this will for sure save me time when the programmer arrives. Thank you.

@edo2520 3 жыл бұрын

Great video! Thanks for the clear explanation!

@Wiedowerz 4 жыл бұрын

Great video! I will be doing this in a few weeks when my CH341A arrives and this will be very helpful.

@scottyd035ntknow 2 жыл бұрын

Tomahawk B450 bricked when I did "instant flash". Ordered the programmer and clip and this video is very informative thank you. Here's hoping it'll save my board.

@c3.14.muhammadrizkihadiput6 2 жыл бұрын

can u update the situation ?

@Insky_ Жыл бұрын

how did it go?

@SystemsAnalyst Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much. This is very helpful!

@stephanc9466 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you - saving me hours of research

@kellyq21 2 жыл бұрын

THANK YOU for your service to the tech world. Just think how many hours and dollars you have saved people due to your generosity. I love how it didn't work the first time, just like the real world lol. And you remembered to mention possible trip-ups. Outstanding! EDIT: some of the commenters on Amazon mentioned (complained) that they had to physically hold the clamp in place for it to stay. Just an fyi.

@deftdawg 2 жыл бұрын

For sure clamping can be tricky, especially if there's a bunch of other components around it

@NeimLest 3 жыл бұрын

thank you so much for your work bro,

@hopeforescape884 4 жыл бұрын

hi i need help knowing what bios chip my notebook has its very difficult to read and some of the text is worn off isint there a program or data base i can search for my bios chip name and manufacture ?

@tcirit 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot for this informative video!

@d0nKsTaH 3 жыл бұрын

Hey would this work on an ASUS M2-VM motherboard bios? The Bios is soldered to the board... I'm assuming it would need smaller clips to connect to some of the legs... My BIOS was being upgraded and the entire board got bricked. Truth is, I've moved on to other PCs and even have two other ASUS replacement boards. But lately, I've thought of trying to fix this old one and use it for something like linux or tinker around with steamOS or something. Be fun to actually be able to fix it

@basmeyoshi9651 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you I have question Acer 5745Dg has 2 bios chip kbc spi and pch spi wich one to flash for bios?

@lalopena36 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the video! I'm getting a "FW Version Error" message. I am going to try and flash the bios chip with the programmer. UPDATE I was able to flash the bios but had to hold the clip on the chip because it wasn't making contact. Took me a while to figure that out.

@martyhorten3743 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I'm sketchy about the clothespin clip, as you see he took a few reclippings to get a read.

@valerienewton6581 2 жыл бұрын

Do you know if there are similar deices ot use to read from a USB flash memory chip?

@kakakarim 2 жыл бұрын

I have a k5000 graphics card that I want to flash to have Mac boot on it, I bought the 512k chipset since the original is 256k and the file size is slightly bigger. How can I write onto that chip? Also looking at it, it doesnt have a dot in the upper right corner.

@linuxgirl_ Жыл бұрын

Can you recommend a good quality programmer and test clip? I know you are using a CH341A, but the ones I am looking at have some reviews complaining of poor quality and excess voltage. I'm wondering if there's a good manufacturer out there.

@joshuamarkusmarkwood 3 жыл бұрын

I can't use the clamp, the spring is extremly thigh, everytime I put it on the chip it just gets out and it feels and sounds like its breaking the chip.

@Martin-ot7xj 10 ай бұрын

Hi there, what is the difference between 24x and 25x on CH341A programmer? thnx

@Chubbable 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks man! Now Im all set up and ready to flash

@hugovalencia943 3 жыл бұрын

does this device work for 16 pin bios chips? assuming you have the correct test clip anyways

@LorisPeretto 3 жыл бұрын

Hi! Great video, I am using the windows version of the program, it's more simple. But after a couple of success, now it's like the clamp doesn't work anymore, when I place it on the bios it always slip me out, it cannot stay firmy on the chip. DO you know why? The plastic is gone? This clamp probably sucks, I don't know if I can find on internet a better clamp. Is it possibile?

@SimasMc 3 жыл бұрын

my programmer doesn't work. It seems that the programmer is faulty. not a single bios chip connects to it. it doesn't read the chip the power light just dims which means that there is a short somewhere. and it doesn't matter which way i put the test clip on it still just thinks that its shorted.

@pacotrujillp5576 3 жыл бұрын

Hi can you tell me how the 8 wires go on the test clip

@lottalava 3 жыл бұрын

thanks so valuable knowledge!

@MUHAMMADYAWARIFRAHEEM 2 жыл бұрын

Flashrom have problem if u have 4mb chip and 236kb file its can't write but in window its write and work i test it...in flashrom if u do its give u error file size didn't match to chip size i don't know why and the developers didn't fix it ..fow window asprogrammer write and work fine

@marcuscoolin Жыл бұрын

i need to know how to download flashrom on windows. their site is no help to me and asprogrammer constantly shows new chips

@jonnyheey 3 жыл бұрын

Hey my dell 7567 got bricked cause of dells stupid dell support automatically downloading and installing the bios on its own. My previous bios was 1.11.0 is it safe to install one of the older bios or will old bios cause issues?

@corel965 2 жыл бұрын

I use AS Programmer and Neo Programmer on msi laptop flashing bios but no luck black screen always :/

@rogerweihrauch9195 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing this on Win/Linux. Do you think I will be able to re-flash a Asus B450F Gaming MB Bios Chip with this? (I bricked it ;) Thanks for Reply, Roger

@amkoshesh6205 2 жыл бұрын

For other modem models From what site Download the firmware file

@JakeStehliChaser 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the tutorial. My thunderbolt controller got corrupted on my laptop and the only way of flashing it is externally. I got the parts. Wish me luck.

@JakeStehliChaser 3 жыл бұрын

The flash worked! Now to see if it fixed my issue.

@dwikyachmad4466 4 ай бұрын

dude i kinda feel ashamed for still falling for this stuff but i fell for the fake gpu, and this video helped me! thanks a lot

@shabbee 2 жыл бұрын

In the file for the 341a programmer, there's a bunch of documents. Read the section on modding for 3.3v use as some devices won't program. If you get any verification errors, check all the options under the write drop menu item. Until I did that I kept getting errors.

@marksands9196 2 жыл бұрын

There is a jumper to select 3.3v or 5v on the board

@Seroplex10mg 2 жыл бұрын

nice ! it's working with last gen graphic card ? like rx 6800? she is not detected anymore by atiflash :(

@itlondon2053 Жыл бұрын

Awesome really good one

@luigiprovencher8888 Жыл бұрын

What happens if there's no logo or other identifying information on the IC chip except for numbers?

@Drottninggatan2017 10 ай бұрын

First you can try the autodetect function in the program. The CH341A will only deliver 3.3V to the chip. If you need 1.8V you need an adapter. 5V will require a modification of the CH341A. Other than that all SPI chips should be compatible. It is an interface, and they all use the same pins.

@uniswapnft 3 жыл бұрын

Thank u for teaching

@MOJOcreeper 2 жыл бұрын

I cant seem to find the programmer file anywhere, do you know where I could download it for windows?

@johngreco7987 Жыл бұрын

I NEED THIS REALLY BAD

@briggsmedia 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome! thanks

@martyhorten3743 2 жыл бұрын

8:13 Linux already loads the CH341a w/o installing a driver? Nice! "flashrom" is the CH341a driver? If I run MXLinux (or Linux Lite) will the repositories be Ubuntu or any Linux? Thanks!

@deftdawg 2 жыл бұрын

Any standard ubuntu kernel will have it as a module... If you run a stripped down custom kernel, then it may not.

@redeye619 2 жыл бұрын

Where did you get the software that you use on windows, I've not been having luck with the various ones I've tried so far,

@marcuscoolin Жыл бұрын

please tell me if you find one

@redeye619 Жыл бұрын

@@marcuscoolin yeah, still no luck ae

@aaaronmiller100 4 ай бұрын

where's the info on how to fix the built in 3.3v fail that all of the older versions of this reader have? get te new model ch341a v1.6 ; how can any review about thiis be complete without that info?

@darker3406 3 жыл бұрын

would this be able to unbrick my Red Devil RX 580 8GB?

@i_mohan 4 жыл бұрын

hlo bro ,how much will b charged for BIOS flashing?

@dgm778 Жыл бұрын

Why the clip not work on another programmer?

@Zimboltor 4 жыл бұрын

ty so much man

@rarapas 11 ай бұрын

Thank you, I just bought the programmer to try writing a correct bios to a fake 1060 6GB gpu I bought off ebay and I was wondering how that would work. Hope I find a bios that makes the card being properly detected afterwards.

@BrianG61UK Жыл бұрын

You're lucky if it works without removing the chip. Often one finds that the other circuitry around the chip make it impossible to provide enough power to the chip and/or enough signal to program it.

@pavouts 3 жыл бұрын

To flash the bios to a laptop do i have to remove the motherboard or i flash it on the laptop with motherboard on by only removing the battery from the motherboard

@deftdawg 3 жыл бұрын

Depends if you can get at the chip when you take the bottom off, if no gotta take it out. Either way disconnect battery and power.

@luigiprovencher8888 Жыл бұрын

You should make a video of you doing this with a raspberry pi if you have one. The CH341A isn't even needed if you have a Pi and the test clip. Just have to find a way to connect the test clip to the Pi's GPIO port/header or get just a clip with some female to female jumper cables/wires to connect from the clip the Pi.

@Tech875O 2 жыл бұрын

Can this device be used to strip away a forgotten password on the bios?

@waleed9083 Жыл бұрын

How to download a bios file for hp elitebook 8470p

@valtuber 3 жыл бұрын

Also helpful vid is in kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Y9KeZrl6v7GvkXk.html , showing what to do if you need 3.3V logic support.

@cdoublejj 2 жыл бұрын

MUCH BETTER!

@JesTheii 3 жыл бұрын

master laptop

@angelffff7391 2 жыл бұрын

those programmers usually run at 5v. that bios chip and most bios chips run at 1.8v you either need the 1.8v adapter or you'll bake the chip... im assuming.

@deftdawg 2 жыл бұрын

Shouldn't assume that vin = vout

@scottshaffer1074 2 жыл бұрын

How do you know the difference between the 24 and 25 version?

@killerks7379 Жыл бұрын

Bro if u knowed tell me

@ISAK.M Жыл бұрын

15:18 "or u can edit it right in memory if ure crazy" hahahaaha XDDD

@Rudyworld 3 жыл бұрын

How do you know if you have a 24 or 25 series?

@AdamA-wg1ko Жыл бұрын

Find it,,, look up the numbers and letters.. if it's Mac. Be a genius 😂

@rolandberendonck3900 2 жыл бұрын

Very cool!! 😎 👍

@valtuber 3 жыл бұрын

Great tutorial, buddy! I've got the same ch341a programmer, I know where to start from, but just wanted to confirm, other hackers have used it successfully. Thanks!

@madhakaa 3 жыл бұрын

Sir is there a difference between the EZP2019 and CH341

@deftdawg 3 жыл бұрын

Sorry, don't know brother... Google seems to say they are different, but I have no experience with EZP2019s

@2Much4TheseBitches 3 жыл бұрын

@@deftdawg Can I flash it with linux if I have Ubuntu on an external SSD drive?

@michaelnovak9412 4 жыл бұрын

What is a 24 or 25 series?

@vancabrera8833 Жыл бұрын

its the bios chip model

@killerks7379 Жыл бұрын

@@vancabrera8833bro how can i know my chip model ?

@guyandhisbike3520 Жыл бұрын

@@killerks7379tl be written on the chip the starting number will have either an alphabet followed by 24 or 25 or in worst case just look for the number 24 or 25 on the ic itself

@brcisna 4 жыл бұрын

Hi deftdawg,,, Have you ever attempted any Chromebook bios's with this outfit? Thanks for informative video

@deftdawg 4 жыл бұрын

Only machine I tried it on was the Lenovo (windows laptop) shown in the video.

@Dan00tz 3 жыл бұрын

can i fix a bricked gtx 1070 with this method?

@neosrt10 3 жыл бұрын

Can u provide links for the windows drivers and software you used.

@deftdawg 3 жыл бұрын

Here you go: neon.kde.org/download

@neosrt10 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks bro I used Asprogrammer to unprotect the laptop vbios chip and clear then write and verify it worked got it to flash up and running. I downloaded Asprogrammer from the github site . Be well bro.

@whocares3132 12 күн бұрын

can you give me buy link of this?

@aliissa8347 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the sharing. I have 2 questions 1. My bios chip is Mx25L12873, can I replace it by another mx25 bios chip or w25Q? 2. I tried to flash my bios chip using the ch341a and the test clip but after that my laptop don't power on and the charging led is blinking white and orange. Could you please help? Many thanks to all

@tbskitt Жыл бұрын

Did u fix bro

@aliissa8347 Жыл бұрын

@@tbskitt Yes I did

@tbskitt Жыл бұрын

@@aliissa8347 how

@potatogaming8322 4 жыл бұрын

how to determine if its 24 or 25 series?

@ras666 4 жыл бұрын

Look at the number written on the chip package?

@spinny2593 Жыл бұрын

@@ras666 Some people get a little slow with age and forget to put on their reading glasses.

@55555edward 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you >>>>

@splat2glitcher 3 жыл бұрын

the clip won’t stay :/

@leploeo7145 2 жыл бұрын

thanks bro

@forsfullcommunications1561 2 жыл бұрын

Greetings, interesting resolve being clueless such a fix existed. Considering I've been spending endless hours attempting to normalize my corrupt BIOS that invaded my gravity standing sideways. I have a dysfunctional Lenovo YOGA 730-15IKB Laptop, question; Are the flasher Test clip Devices universal for all computers or device specific for specific model computers? Thank you very much for posting this vital educational post for all of us, remain well...

@aurichio7783 2 жыл бұрын

the controller is universal, depending on where you buy ot from it will be ready to flash BIOS for motherboard/GPU just double check on your chip what kind of voltage it needs so you don’t fry your chip. It usually comes setup for 3.3/5V but some chips are 1.8V and you’ll need an adapter for them, look up everything before doing the procedure so you don’t have any problems!

@jhaymarkpineda8081 3 жыл бұрын

can i still flash the bios just using the test clip?

@deftdawg 3 жыл бұрын

If chip fits and you can read the contents, you should be able to write to it as well.

@Sebastian-wm5es 2 жыл бұрын

In linux was a tool you could see and extract the partitions of such an image, do you know what I mean?

@deftdawg 2 жыл бұрын

binwalk

@Sebastian-wm5es 2 жыл бұрын

@@deftdawg Thats it, thanks man!

@inachu 3 жыл бұрын

in the 90's we just used UV light. lol I still prefer the old method..... but too bad the old method no longer works.

@codyhernandez3230 2 жыл бұрын

Reminded me of the NES game lol

@S4_QUATTROPOWER 2 жыл бұрын

wtf how did you clip it so fast man ive been here an hour and im pulling my hair off shits pissing me off it wont clip!

@y2kenh 2 жыл бұрын

woohoo! like # 1000

@SimasMc 3 жыл бұрын

im on my 3d bios chip flasher. and none of these read any of my bios chips. would not recomend it.

@gwulostboy9752 2 жыл бұрын

so where can i download a bios bin? you forgot to put the link

@deftdawg 2 жыл бұрын

Didn't think anyone would want a bios bin from a card that's more than 15 years old... do you need it? lol

@gwulostboy9752 2 жыл бұрын

@@deftdawg yes plesae

@otkrivenje0 3 жыл бұрын

Hey mate, How does this work if the file is .rom type? For Amd RX cards.

@johnloydotadoy5152 4 жыл бұрын

Is this supported with mxi25l6473e? Please help me 😭

@pontiacsunfire2754 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the informative video. Couldn't connect with the clamp, impossible. Mine is defective, the teeth on one side are about 1mm longer than the other. Found another video, check out these connectors, they seem to be quite the find and I will be planning to look into them! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qJ2aaq6Fzde4iIE.html

@rarapas 11 ай бұрын

Thank you for this!