HP Envy M6 1178SA BIOS Recovery via USB / Assistance Required

Discussion in 'BIOS Mods' started by stickman89, Jun 3, 2013.

  1. stickman89

    stickman89 MDL Novice

    Jun 1, 2013
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    #1 stickman89, Jun 3, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2013
  2. stickman89

    stickman89 MDL Novice

    Jun 1, 2013
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    #2 stickman89, Jun 3, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2013
    (OP)
    Ok so I'm glad I made this backup of my bios before it went bye bye: h ttp://mediafire.com/download/31nyec87r9a9ir2

    I can open the above in Phoenix Tools, but it output's BIOS0.BIOS and BIOS9.BIOS. Checking through 'Dump' folder now, need to confirm which file to open in hex to check required bios name for recovery to init. Does Universal BIOS Backup 2.0 remove RSA Signatures? Also would that mean I can't use that BIOS to restore from i.e. has to be official? I was under the impression if you had formatted the original HDD partition and it's EFI partition that you couldn't restore without RSA.
     
  3. stickman89

    stickman89 MDL Novice

    Jun 1, 2013
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    #3 stickman89, Jun 3, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2013
    (OP)
    Recovery filenames are:

    EFI\HP\BIOS\Current\018A4.BIN
    HP_TOOLS\HEWLETT-PACKARD\BIOS\Current\018A4.bin

    Got the recovery name, still no dice because I believe I need RSA and *.DEC decrypted from Official BIOS, problem is... Phoenix Tools can't load original bios.

    Is there anyone who is able to help?

    Failing that I send it in for repair since I am covered still by warranty. I didn't flash a modified bios to cause this issue, however I did modify a settings via EFI shell to toggle a setup_var namely integrated GPU. Pulling CMOS didn't resolve my black screen/semi brick issue though :(

    Since I'm not using the HP Provided OS and it's EFI Partitioning I'm not sure what other options I have available for restore.
     
  4. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

    Feb 27, 2011
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    try find and mount to find deleted HP_Tools partition
     
  5. stickman89

    stickman89 MDL Novice

    Jun 1, 2013
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    Hi LatinMCG,

    Not sure if that'll work, the HDD was formatted for installation of Windows 7 in Legacy Mode not long after I purchased it (Rather then standard UEFI Windows 8 that it arrived with). I did however use the HP Provided tools to create a recovery disk but obviously that only handles restoring HDD/Partitioning on a working machine, no good for me when I can't see anything on screen and I can't kick start the restore on a machine that isn't of the same.

    So my HP Official BIOS's are Encrypted, why oh why HP would you cripple the machines for People who do not wish to run the god awful os 'Windows 8'.

    Best Regards,

    Jason
     
  6. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

    Feb 27, 2011
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  7. stickman89

    stickman89 MDL Novice

    Jun 1, 2013
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    #7 stickman89, Jun 3, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2013
    (OP)
    You sir are an actual life saver, however listing my Envy M6 1178sa on Hp/uk support & drivers this bios isn't in 'Previous versions available'. Can only see F.25, F.24 & F.12. Would this still be compatible because their are a few different Envy M6 models?

    Would I still need to obtain the *.BIN.DEC file from your provided link?

    Many thanks...
     
  8. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

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    #8 LatinMcG, Jun 4, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2013
    u can use mine or yours.. its same file .. the .bin.dec needs to be named .bin

    yes its compatible with similar board.. same id.. different slic 2.1 for 7.
    then update to latest and slic 2.2 is not lost if im correct.

    (they are not going to list an older bios with slic 2.1 for 7 on a windows 8 only model)
     
  9. stickman89

    stickman89 MDL Novice

    Jun 1, 2013
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    #9 stickman89, Jun 4, 2013
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2013
    (OP)
    It didn't work unfortunately, caps lock key flashed to indicate in recovery mode but just sits idle in recovery continuously flashing.

    Feel free to flick through my guide I wrote to see if there's anything I've missed.

    Attempt2.zip contained the two files you had provided. The initial Attempt1.zip was self extracted from your given update and opened via Phoenix Tools to obtain RSA and DEC file against opened bios. Neither Attempts worked however.

    Guide was intended for PC World since it's in for repair, but instead I ended up going down there to try it before it gets sent off tomorrow.

    h ttp://mediafire.com/download/x90vkvwol7nf8xg/1178SA-RESTORE-VIA-USBSTICK.zip
     
  10. LatinMcG

    LatinMcG Bios Borker

    Feb 27, 2011
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    it should work as its same board id.

    make sure its not ram or take out HDD.

    some HP boards loose video due to chip coming unsoldered.. reflow if needed.. how many LED capslock blinks ? 1 .. 2 or 4 ?
    1= cpu or the socket on cpu is partially loose
    2 = bios
    4= chipset loose from board.

    i have recovered a similar model with a diferent id but same scenario.. they had win8 and no .dec.bin or .sig .. found older bios for win7 model and it worked for them. they had to update after.
     
  11. stickman89

    stickman89 MDL Novice

    Jun 1, 2013
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    Caps light would cycle it's flashing every 5 seconds only if booted via "Win+B", indicating in recovery mode. If booted normally there is no flashing of Caps lock key at all, motherboard powers on, wifi light comes on but nothing on screen and no system beeps. HDD was removed upon attempting recovery, also RAM was tested individually using the same procedure.
     
  12. motorrabi

    motorrabi MDL Novice

    Mar 17, 2008
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    Hi stickman89,

    did you solve this?