[REQUEST] Samsung RV510-A02TR Unblock Phoenix BIOS

[ages2001]

It's OK my friend! I hope we will solve problem.

[Sml6397]

Hello ages2001 and Max,

I've been in a sort of BIOS modding limbo for a while (happens from time to time). Now seems to be a good time to jump back in!

There are two ways that Phoenix BIOS images can be modded: (1) disassembler and hex editor or (2) just a hex editor. Believe it or not, just a hex editor is actually simpler if you know what you are looking at.

If a menu is added to the Major Offset Jump Table (the array of hex bytes that defines which menus show up and where they begin in the extracted TEMPLAT module) and the menu still doesn't show up, then it's likely that there is a function or functions later in the TEMPLAT module hiding it that need to be nop'd.

I'll discuss this more in depth as I go through the full modding process over the next couple days. Get ready!

[Sml6397]

---------- Phoenix Modification Guide Part 1: Getting Started ----------

This guide is for modification of Phoenix BIOS. This is different from Phoenix UEFI, which is usually present in newer notebooks (especially post 2010).

Consider this guide a sort of "rough draft" of the final guide, which will be posted in its own thread in this forum at a later time.

First off, there are lots of tools out there, so I will name off a few and give brief descriptions of each.

1.) The famous Phoenix BIOS Editor (PBE). This is a tool that was released by Phoenix long ago likely for the purpose of allowing notebook manufacturers to "preview" the BIOS Setup Utility as they tailor the default factory image to their specifications.

And that is exactly what any Phoenix BIOS modifier should use this tool for - just previewing. PBE should never be used for BIOS modifications as it is known to CORRUPT BIOS images.

This program is (1) not required for Phoenix BIOS editing (2) doesn't work on a small proportion of the newer images and (3) does not account for hiding functions. That said, it is still extremely helpful when it does work and I would recommend using it to read (not write) images.

Link: Uh... it's out there

2.) AndyP's Phoenix Tool. The BIOS image is actually a packed collection of different files that we call "modules". These modules store different data or perform different functions. Our edits will be to these modules. PhoenixTool is able to unpack these modules for us, allow us to make our modifications with another tool of our choice, and then pack all of the files back together into a functional, flashable BIOS image. The tool takes care of checksum recalculations and [some of] module resizing during compression - more on this later.

Link: https://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads...ses.13194/ <- You may need to create a free account, but here you will find the legit, up-to-date version of this program. I did not post the direct link out of respect for the author.

3.) HxD Hex Editor. This is my personal choice of hex editor. You may prefer others and they will work just as well provided that they have search functionality for hex code and plain text.

Link: https://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/

^^These are the utilities I will be referencing during this demo. The others below may be used in a complementary capacity to enhance your understanding of what is going on within the hex code we will be dealing with.

4.) IDA Pro (warning: extremely expensive) / Ghidra (warning: although open source, developed by the USA NSA). These are disassemblers that will allow you to disassemble the hex code and see what functions are really taking place behind the scenes. Essentially, you will be able to directly view and analyze the exact commands that the CPU executes and the exact variables that get stored in CPU registers/RAM during BIOS routines. This is a whole other topic though, and I will not be covering it in this guide at this time.


More to come! Stay tuned!

[Sml6397]

Ready for more?

---------- Phoenix Modification Guide Part 2: Modules of the Phoenix BIOS ----------

As stated in Part 1, a Phoenix BIOS is comprised of a number (often 100-200) of fairly standardized modules that each perform specific functions or store certain data.

Today we will look at some of the more interesting modules. But before that, here are some definitions for consistency...

--- Definitions ---

BIOS Setup Utility: This is what you enter by pressing F2, F10, Delete, etc. when you start your computer. It has all of the BIOS menus/settings that we are going to be modifying/adding.

Parent Menu: The primary menus that you see near the top of the screen when you enter the BIOS Setup Utility. Examples are System Information, Main, Advanced, Intel, Security, Boot, etc.

Sub-Menu: Menus within Parent Menus or other sub-menus.

Setting: Something you can set like "AHCI".

Option: For the AHCI setting, the options might be "Enabled" and "Disabled".

Item: A sub-menu, setting, or option.

--- Modules ---

STRINGS: As you may have guessed from the name, the STRINGS module contains all of the strings (text) that you will encounter with your given BIOS. These text items show up in the BIOS Setup Utility as settings, options, menu names, function key legends, and item descriptions. They also comprise any BIOS messages or instructions you may see when booting up. Near the beginning of this file is a large jump table with references to the TEMPLAT module. When you want to unlock a particular setting or menu, you go from that setting's text (ie: "Intel Virtualization Technology") to that setting's location in the jump table, and it will tell you where that setting is located in the TEMPLAT module. You will reference this file frequently while working in the TEMPLAT module.

TEMPLAT: This is the module where most (usually all) of your modifications will take place. It stores several jump tables that define the appearance and placement of settings within menus and sub-menus within parent menus (or other sub-menus). By modifying the jump tables, you can modify which items show up in the BIOS Setup Utility.

There are three important sections of this file. (1) Jump Tables, (2) hex code associated with each individual item (menus and settings), and (3) functions that control the behavior of each item (including hiding certain unlocked menus).

ROMEXEC: There are many of these files, usually with "01", "02", "03", etc. appended onto the end. These contain executable code for the BIOS, as well as some NVRAM data. By changing the NVRAM data, you can change default options for settings (ie: what the options would be set to if you were to restore the BIOS to default values by removing the CMOS battery or choosing the setting reset function in the BIOS Setup Utility).


I may add more to this section in the future, but these are the relevant modules for our purposes right now. Don't go away, as we will continue our journey tomorrow (err..... on Friday hopefully!)

[ages2001]

Thanks for replying Sml6397! Maxinator500 unlocked the BIOS successully after some attempts!
Also thank you Maxinator500!
Here is unlocked Samsung RV510 unlocked BIOS link: https://www.mediafire.com/file/d0imjr94i...0.zip/file