LENOVO (IBM) Bioses, especially Thinkpad.

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Default Lenovo T60/p CD mod (DOS) - Update

Hello Yen,
Maybe you know the Lenovo bios CD does not allow the update because the current version is already at 2.25. Can the CD image be modified to allow 2.25 to install anyway. Your mod does the same thing. I would have to change the original but that's ok.

Thanks,
Maru_7711

 

Hi Yen,

first of all, thanks for helping me!

I try to get second HDD and install Win XP 32 bit on it after the weekend or install Win7 32 first and after that a clean install with Win7 64bit.
But first of all I have to backup all my data.
May be this is a better way than updating from Vista to Win7 but I've to reconfigure my system.

I think I try to get a second HDD.

hermonn.

 

Default Lenovo T60/p CD mod (DOS) - Update 2

Hello Yen,
I am pretty sure if I use a Lenovo CD with a previous version of the bios the CD will tell me the same thing that an update is not necessary. I would have to downgrade using Vista OS (which I am trying to get away from doing).

My guessing is there a possibility to remove the files that cause the CD to check the version of the bios ? If so, I can remove them from the original and yours. I am up to that challange !

Thanks,
Maru_7711

 

I would also appreciate T400 3.08. I have a spare 60gb hdd laying here, on which i will install a 32bit OS to flash. USB / DOS boot wouldnt work, would it?

Edit:

One question, right now i am running a modded 3.01 SLIC2.1 Bios (see first page). Updating to the official 3.08 will ERASE this slic2.1 mod, right? Or is the slic2.1 permanently in my system now?

Edit2:

Answered my own question by flashing the original. No, the SLIC 2.1 does not stay. Figured that much anyways

 

I'm wondering why the new bios has no SLIC 2.1. The changelog says something like "Now compatible to Windows 7"

Maybe they release a new Bios after Oct 22nd. Hmm...

 

Reading on the chinese forums i found out that the Thinkpads have their slic table stored in a separate chip/part of the bios that does not get updated. I also found a "Marker.rar". I think it is possible to update the SLIC with that...but i do not dare to try! Rather wait for a Bios that integrates the SLIC!

The "added win7" support just means that they "support" Windows 7 officially starting this bios. Means if something is wrong with your computer and you use a bios prior to this, they will not help you etc. That's what i got told on the phone recently, anyways. Also, some other bios functions might have been adjusted for Win7, or at least tested.

 

That confuses me!

If the SLIC is stored in another chip, or part in the flash chip why is the slic updated to 2.0 (you already had 2.1) with the new bios.

This sounds like notbooks deliverd with W7 which have a SLIC 2.1 inside would be downgraded and are not working with W7 anymore.

Or does the BIOS/Tool/whatever recognize the modified SLIC table?

But I feel it's going offtopic to much.

greetings and a good night (here it is 10 past 10 pm)

hermonn

 

What you read on the Chinese forums is true - the official ThinkPad Marker program has leaked. The program is a revised phlash16.exe, it will flash a special area in the BIOS, i.e., the marker. The marker area is protected from regular BIOS update.

If you find the right SLP2MARK.bin for your computer, that tool can flash the marker area so that you have a SLIC 2.1 table without modding the BIOS. Better yet, future BIOS update will not touch the marker area so you always have the SLIC 2.1 table.

 

You posted this tool and deleted it, why?

 

I have found the "Marker.rar" on the chinese forums. However, two concerns:

What do you mean with "SLP2MARK.bin"? I have a T400 - the Marker.rar contains a .bin file including a "TP-7U" SLIC - 7U is the T400 bios. Is that the correct file?

On another note, i have a good 3 years of warranty on this machine - will my warranty be void if i add a SLIC 2.1 permanently? Are there means to remove it in case i need to send the machine in?

 

SLP2MARK.bin is the marker file. You can find the right one for your computer in the third post of this thread. Note it is 182 bytes in length.

I don't know the answer to your second question. The marker tool simply flashes the bin file. If you flash a 2.1 bin file, you have SLIC 2.1. I guess you can flash back to SLIC 2.0 as long as you find the right file. One way to do it is to use Slic Dump Toolkit to save a backup copy of the current bin file (it will be 374 bytes in length, the last 182 bytes is the marker bin file).

 

The issue is, right now there is NO SLIC at all on my machine. It came with a DOS license, no Windows Vista/XP Preinstalled, therefore, no SLIC table. In other words, worst case i'd have to find a way to completely erase the SLIC. Oh well, i am sure it is possible somehow.

Edit:

Ok i could not resist. I flashed it. And yes, it does work. Whether it is in my bios permanently now, i will see when a new (newer than 3.08) bios comes out. Right now i am running 3.08 with SLIC2.1. Good enough. I do not know whether i am allowed to post this tool here. If so, i will gladly provide it to other Thinkpad users, as basically all that is required is the ability to create a DOS bootable USB drive.

 

A SLIC table is composed of the table and the marker. It seems that the BIOS image always includes the table itself. But in a BIOS flash, the marker area is protected, i.e., not flashed. When you say your machine does not have SLIC, the truth is that you do not have a marker. When you use the marker tool to flash in a marker, your SLIC table becomes complete and it shows up.

To go back to the original status, you can use the tool to flash a "blank" bin file.

The SLIC 2.1 becomes "original" after this tool. On my machine, I have flashed different version of BIOS several times, but the SLIC 2.1 table survives all the time.

I am not sure whether you should post the tool - if all people want is SLIC 2.1 table for Windows 7 activation, then this tool is the safest and easiest way to go, and it completely eliminates the need for BIOS mod. Of course, if they need other stuff like removing restrictions on wifi adapters, they still need a modded BIOS.

 

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