[Request] Dell Inspiron 17r SE 7720 Unlocked Bios

[naquaada]

Hello, could somebody upload photos from the modded BIOS screens? Please note which ROM it is to avoid confusions.

[flashmaniak]

Hello!
After long hours spent cracking the BIOS of the Dell Inspiron 17R SE 7720 laptop, I finally managed to do it! I enabled hardware RAID and access to ROM - Intel Rapid Storage Technology, which can be used to manage RAID volumes. I have updated Intel® RAID for SATA to the latest enhanced version. I made selected options in the BIOS menu save (in other modified BIOS the options were visible but not saved).



The following modifications have been made to the ROM:

find the HEX string:

Code:

9D BA 58 21 4F C1 78 40 96 48 FA EC A0 34 CA 67

and replace with:

Code:

77 8B 1D 82 6D 24 96 4E 8E 10 34 67 D5 6A B1 BA

Modified:
32442D09-1D11-4E27-8AAB-90FE6ACB0489
SystemFormBrowserCoreDxe.efi

Modified:
586F85F4-0F0C-4684-B53D-C47163FDC264
DellSetupAdvancedDxe.efi


Default uncovered menu:
CFEF94C4-4167-466A-8893-8779459DFA86 found as "C494EFCF67416A4688938779459DFA86"
LenovoPlatformHiiAdvancedDxe-PlatformHiiAdvancedDxe.efi

Replacing the contents of the file 586F85F4-0F0C-4684-B53D-C47163FDC264_2155.ROM (DellSetupAdvancedDxe.efi) with the contents of the file CFEF94C4-4167-466A-8893-8779459DFA86_1877.ROM (LenovoPlatformHiiAdvancedDxe-PlatformHiiAdvancedDxe.efi)


Replacing the contents of the file ED2DE537-7823-4CB1-B687-85BA9BBEF0B4_1579 (Intel® RAID for SATA - v11.6.0.1702) with the new ROM (Intel® RAID for SATA - v13.1.0.2126 -> Intel-RST_RAID- ROM_v13.1.0.2126_TRIM-mod-acc-CPL0) from https://winraid.level1techs.com/t/ahci-r...ules/17526.


find the HEX string:

Code:

40 84 D8 70 45 0A 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 2F 02

and replace with:

Code:

40 84 D8 70 45 0A 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 30 02

Modified:
166CD554-8AAE-4617-8FDD-A2E3A5AFD89E
SystemLegacySetupSecurityDxe.efi


find the HEX string:

Code:

0A 82 45 8A 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 45 0A

and replace with:

Code:

0A 82 45 8A 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 45 0A

Modified:
166CD554-8AAE-4617-8FDD-A2E3A5AFD89E
SystemLegacySetupSecurityDxe.efi

Modified:
76016A54-9959-495D-BB3E-BA35E25A51CB
SystemSetupMainDxe.efi



I made modifications to the ROM using the following tools:
- Phoenix/Dell/EFI SLIC Mod v2.73
- UEFITool NE alpha 68 (Nov 4 2023)
- Universal IFR Extractor v0.5
- HxD Hex Editor v2.5.0.0

I uploaded the modified ROM using Intel Flash Programming Tool (Windows64) 8.1.60.1561 (command: fptw64.exe -f backup_A17_mod_bios.rom -bios). Download here: Intel FPTW64 8.1.60.1561.7z

The BIOS I modified can be downloaded here: backup_A17_mod_bios.rom.7z

If the laptop's BIOS crashed or did not want to start, i.e. I would turn into a proverbial "brick", there is an option to flash the ROM from a pendrive in an emergency. This method only works with the original Dell BIOS placed in the pod. The pendrive partition must be in FAT32 format. We upload the original BIOS capsule downloaded from the Dell manufacturer's website or from this link to the main directory: BIOS.cap.7z (upload the unpacked file). Then turn off the laptop and unplug the power cable (the battery can remain in the laptop). We hold the "End" key and at the same time plug the power cable into the power socket, then release this key. The laptop will start with the cooling fan at the highest speed, and the image below will appear on the screen.

BIOS - emergency ROM flashing from a pendrive



BIOS - Advanced options unlocked









BIOS - Intel Rapid Storage Technology - Option ROM







Test of a RAID volume created from two SSD drives



Dell Inspiron 17R SE 7720 laptop has only 2 ports in SATA 6Gb/s mode and the remaining 2 ports (DVD bay and mSATA slot) are in SATA 3Gb/s mode. This is due to a limitation of the Mobile Intel® HM77 Express chipset. Hence, RAID consisting of 4 SSD drives makes no sense :-(