[Request] ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition G513 (AMD)

[Sml6397]

Hello bios-mods, I just wanted to tell you that I have found a program that is acutally able to read the G15 Advantage Edition BIOS file.
It is called UefiTool and can be found here: https://m.majorgeeks.com/mg/getmirror/uefitool,1.html

The fun part is in 8C8CE578-8A3D-4F1C-9935-896185C32DD3 there are DXE drivers and SMM modules listed.
I hope this information provides you some usefull help

Hello mr.nice,

Thanks for pointing this out (you could say it was very nice)! This is actually one of the primary applications we UEFI modders use to open UEFI images, browse their contents, extract contents we wish to modify, and repack them after modifications. It also takes care of checksums and compression/resizing for us to ensure that the modified image meets the specifications of UEFI.

I'm going to post a BIOS flash update in the next post. To be continued....

[Sml6397]

-------------BIOS MOD/FLASH UPDATE------------

H34T0 and I are still working on getting one of these G51X notebooks flashed. We have made some research progress figuring out the type of chip that these notebooks use. It is non-standard in that the pins are flat against the sides of the BIOS chip instead of legs that kick out from it. This and the fact that the chip is non-standard size as well (6mm x 5mm) makes it so that we cannot use the standard clip that comes with the CH341A programmer or other same-type clips like the Pomona 5250.

We have found an SPI adaptor that meets the CH341A specifications and fits onto the chip. It is one that you will have to hold on top of the chip. They seem to cost $20-$30 USD, unfortunately. But once we get our hands on this, we will be able to test both the connectivity and the voltage modulation requirements. The voltage modulation that this chip requires to draw enough power to perform read/write operations will be fulfilled using a pull-up resister.

Further updates will be posted as we discover more. Once we (hopefully) get a successful BIOS flash, full and detailed instructions will be posted and I will offer BIOS mods for everyone on this thread and future requesters.

[HighlanderC]

Thanks for the update. I wonder if this will be the same for other machines like the 2022 GU603ZW.
Thanks

[S2ciOnur]

How is it going? I'm waiting eagerly for some updates.

[Sml6397]

How is it going? I'm waiting eagerly for some updates.

H34T0 and I aren't going to be able to get ahold of the necessary hardware until probably some time in March, and that even is dependent on the situation in Eastern Europe right now. In terms of hardware, I mean something like this that will fit onto the non-standard WSON8 6mm x 5mm BIOS chip that these notebooks use: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/40001080...rrency=USD (There are cheaper versions elsewhere, but I don't remember where)

In the mean time, we are looking for ways to get around HMAC authentication on the BIOS chip if it is implemented. Pages 7-17 of the attached document describe how HMAC authentication would work IF it is implemented. To be honest, I have no experience bypassing such a mechanism as described. We are hoping it is not implemented but doing research in case it is when we are ready to begin flashing.

[kalima]

Hello @SML6397,

I discovered this topic. With new driver RSR, i hope to have access to advanced option for enable only dGPU on this laptop and disable igpu. Also disable AMD CPU Boost & other stuff.

You can provide to us , a quick update ?

Thank you and have a nice day.

[Sml6397]

Hello everyone,

Apologies for the long wait, but I have great news!

@H34TO and I have discovered how to hardware flash the G513 series notebooks!!!

Really, it was H34TO who discovered who to do so. I provided moral support . I believe they would better be able to explain the process that I but essentially it involves using a 1.8v converter board, a properly placed resister of the right impedance on the CH341A flasher, and a hand-held SPI chip adapter (to deal with the unusual chip size/shape).

We have tested a basic Chipset Menu mod and it worked! We are in the process of testing various other mods with goals to unlock the CBS/PBS/AOD menus and more. The CBS/PBS/AOD menus willll take some time as I study up more on assembly. These three menus are not linked into the AMITSE module with the rest of the menus so it is a matter of getting the BIOS Setup Utility to read in those extra external modules via some link somewhere in the code. I just need to find where to put that link.

@H34TO, you want to take it away with the how-to on hardware flashing?

[H34TO]

Yea.. sure, first I want to apologize for the delay and my bad english.

So before we start, if you REALLY want to hardware flash your bios then say good bye to your warranty until you flash back an authentic(OEM provided) bios and another thing, I'm not responsible for any software/hardware damages caused!

Thing we need to hardware flash the chip are: The SPI flash's(bios chip) datasheet(in most cases you can indentify this by looking up the characters ontop of the chip), SPI programmer(in our case the flasher built around the CH341A chip), SPI 3.3v(5v) to 1.8v adapter, and clips that are designed for the flash's package(if you can't identify the package by eye, take some mesurements and compare it those in the datasheet) and another Computer(So we can use the flasher somehow).

IN MY(OUR) CASE:

Flash: W74M12JWPIQ
↳ Datasheet:
↳ Operating voltage: min-max: 1.7v-1.9v, norm: ~1.8v
↳ Package: WSON8 6mm x 5mm (6x5-mm)
↳ Picture: 

Flasher: CH341A Pro (... black something):
↳ Main IC @ Op Voltage: CH341A @ 3.3v
↳ Program used to dump and flash the bios: https://dwdvb.com/neoprogrammer-new-update-v2-2-0-10/
↳ Picture: 

1.8v adapter (or LLS - Logic Level Shifter):
↳ Main IC @Op Voltage: ALVC164245 @ 1.8v
↳ Picture: 

Clip(s):
↳ Compatible packages: QFN8 DFN8 WSON8 (6x5-mm)
↳ Link where I bought it: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10050042...1802Nxqtwc
↳ Picture: 

After you have all those things we can start, first we'll take a look at the bios's datasheet and figure out it's protections against hardware flashes. In my case the write protection was implemented using using the Chip Select pin(will warry on different chips), to bypass this we'll need to put a resistor between VCC and /CS, I used a 10k Ohm resistor but if it doesn't work you can go lower to 5k Ohms in my opinion the most convenient place to put the res it on the bottom of the 1.8v adapter, that's what I did.

But there was another protection called HMAC (Hash-Based Message Authentication Code) which we worried about, beacuse if it was implemented we would need to bypass it, but thankfully it was not implemented.

And from here on it's just generic hardware bios flashing, just plug everything together (IN THE CORRECT ORIENTATION!) and can start flashing... (Please before flashing make atleast 2 identical dumps!)

For some additional info here is our discord server: https://discord.gg/M9MvMH58yV