(UEFI) Dell XPS 15z L511z modded BIOS - and HOWTO

[TimeWalker]

Ok, long story short ... I was able to find the root of the sleep issue for OS X.
The module that is plagued is PlatformSmm.efi - CB73C3D9-2F01-4342-AE67-04DDE5264092
Backporting it from A04 into A07 brings back proper sleep/wake functionality for OS X

The module seems to be completely rewritten from ground up... now it's just a matter of comparing PlatformSmm.efi from my A04 to any BIOS of 15z and to A06 of L502x ... A12 of L702x as well.. and then comparing the same module across Vostro A07, L502x A07 and L702x A14 .. hope this finicky problem can be explained logically ..

P.S. Ran into a random BSOD while having v2137.0 VBIOS onboard and I must say BSOD sure looks cleaner at 1366x768 I expect Windows installation setup to look higher-res as well.

[kasar]

ok, srry for the delay, had a busy day today plus I was modding some l702x bioses.

@timewalker

Im doing right now the l502x report from a06 to a07 based one the list you said before, but since you said you found the issue at the PlatformSmm.efi module, should I continue with the report?

[TimeWalker]

err... I guess not, sorry for wasting your time, pal.
Just upload the module I've pin-pointed .. one from A06 and same one from A07.. let us compare what has changed for both of our machines and maybe this way we can identify the block that was changed commonly.

[kasar]

ok, nevermind, here is the report ^^

Code:

[[L502X changes from A06 to A07]]

PlatformSetupAdvancedDxe.efi CFEF94C4-4167-466A-8893-8779459DFA86_1_1073.ROM -> changes (offset 35C71 04 -> 03; offset 35C8D 03 -> 00; offset 35C9A 03 -> 00)
SystemFormBrowser2Dxe.efi BF646364-2ECE-4D9F-84C7-C33F28689363_1_1027.ROM -> Lot of changes size changed from 159.424 bytes to 159.264 bytes
Freeform 1547B4F3-3E8A-4FEF-81C8-328ED647AB1A_1_413.ROM -> (string changed: "07/20/11" -> "10/20/11")
SystemSmmUsbLegacySmm.efi EF33C296-F64C-4146-AD04-347899702C84_1_1138.ROM -> Lot of changes, size changed from 126.304 bytes to 126.656 bytes
SystemBootManagerDxe.efi 73DAB30F-3F9C-4160-B064-439CE16C3EDE_1_1090.ROM -> Lot of changes, size changed from 113.504 bytes to 114.458 bytes
INTEL SNB VBIOS 29206FC2-9EAB-4612-ACA1-1E3D098FB1B3_1_951.ROM -> version downgraded from 2117 to 2104
MpCpu.efi 62D171CB-78CD-4480-8678-C6A2A797A8DE_1_602.ROM -> identical
SystemVariableDxe.efi 793CBEA0-DA56-47F2-8264-24310CB75196_1_74.ROM -> identical
Freeform 221521AE-0A35-44CD-B580-5AEDBB770B1D_1_431.ROM -> lot of changes
SystemBootMenuDxe.efi 86488440-41BB-42C7-93AC-450FBF7766BF_1_1095.ROM -> identical
DellDa.efi 8A3669E3-ABCB-4899-8492-82E22E91C793_1_1063.ROM -> identical
SystemXhciDxe.efi 949822BC-26D3-4BC6-954B-F2C581342DE1_1_273.ROM -> changes (offset 32C FF -> 3C; offset 32D FF -> 41; offset 32E 00 -> 8B; offset 32F 00 -> 81; offset 330 80 -> FF; offset 331 06 -> FF; offset 336 08 -> 00; offset 338 00 -> 80; offset 339 00 -> 06; offset 33E 00 -> 08; offset 3F90 9C -> A4;)
PlatformDxe.efi 2D6F37BF-9AFC-4AA5-A026-32B2FCF30FB9_1_881.ROM +++ (offset 168Eh 0x34 -> 0x37; offset 1695h 0x33 -> 0x39; offset 169Bh 0x35 -> 0x30)
SystemDiagnosticSummaryScreenDxe.efi C82919D6-33FD-43ED-800C-635A3369D0F3_1_146.ROM -> (unicode strings changed: "07/20/2011" -> "10/20/2011" and A06 -> A07)
DellDiag.efi 811FBFF3-BD1A-4D65-8A76-B41F58F91F9E_1_1133.ROM -> identical
PlatformSetup.efi A4F2909C-5E2A-438A-91BA-272B0923049A_1_907.ROM -> Lot of changes, size changed from 20.000 bytes to 19.872 bytes
SystemUsbBusDxe.efi 240612B7-A063-11D4-9A3A-0090273FC14D_1_947.ROM -> changes (offset 384 FF -> 3C; offset 385 FF -> 41; offset 386 00 -> 8B; offset 387 00 -> 81; offset 388 00 -> FF; offset 389 00 -> FF; offset 393 01 -> 00; offset 394 01 -> 00; offset 39B 00 -> 01; offset 39C 00 -> 01; offset 2A3F 88 -> 90;)
PlatformSmm.efi CB73C3D9-2F01-4342-AE67-04DDE5264092_1_912.ROM -> Lot of changes, size changed from 17.760 bytes to 17.632 bytes
SystemAhciBusSmm.efi B31FF060-8363-11DF-8395-0800200C9A66_1_235.ROM -> identical
SystemRtcRt.efi 378D7B65-8DA9-4773-B6E4-A47826A833E1_1_1002.ROM -> identical
DellMfgBoardDxe.efi F2012072-7493-451B-9B02-106FC694D764_1_1022.ROM -> identical
SystemFlashCommunicationSmm.efi B9CABA9B-E5C5-41DC-86E2-E7CEF87B81CB_1_103.ROM -> identical
SystemSecureFlashSleepTrapSmm.efi FCE47C4E-5ECC-4A41-B90E-0BAB09968D02_1_942.ROM -> lot of changes, filesize still the same
DellReadyToBoot.efi C0330B04-CBB8-4CCF-B45B-C7DBD943782B_1_976.ROM -> Lot of changes, size changed from 5.152 bytes to 5.120 bytes
DellIdReadyToBoot.efi 12BBC12D-BADE-4FDE-BB22-01A3C6F693E0_1_1036.ROM -> (string changed: "A06" -> "A07")
PlatformS3SaveDxe.efi 51D4BACC-E70A-4136-9426-546973ED938C_1_892.ROM -> identical
InitialProgramLoadDxe.efi 3E4A9DAB-5601-448F-A590-58C13EB0E992_1_1068.ROM -> identical
SystemFlashCommunicationDxe.efi 546AD295-0C64-4CE6-A06F-FB9CD04B41CD_1_98.ROM -> identical

edit: lol

ok, I attached the file to this post ^^

I noticed the filesize is different, A06 is 17.760 bytes and A07 is 17.632 bytes

[TimeWalker]

Thanks @kasar, i will take a look .. hope this is at least comparable at some degree..

Can you confirm just one more thing? Can you boot your HDD and USB devices with a recovery capsule from A06 and A07 ?
For me it only works with capsule of A04 .. and A07 and later canot boot anything other than CD/DVD or PXE
I'm actually thinking about remaking the crisis DVD to include all Windows 8 drivers, BIOS.cap with customized A04 and a WinFlash and A13 custom BIOS ... because current DVD has version A07 as a capsule and recovers A11 which is not really friendly with Windows 8 ..
This whole thing is so lame ...

[kasar]

ok, I will try, anyway since most of us use the all in one cd method I created. I think there is no need of booting from other drives since it is just a temporal bios wich allow to run the flasher to flash a working bios.

anyway this can be usefull if you want to create a all in one usb stick or usb disk, or just boot directly your win7 OS without BSODs and flash from there?

oh, a little question.

do replace small modules with bigger modules with phoenixtool should give issues?

remember the A06 PlatformSmm.efi module is bigger than A07's one

[TimeWalker]

If I had an option to boot USB with BIOS A13 it would have saved me tons of time (I guess I can try backporting BootManager from A04 as well)... because I wouldn't need to flash the BIOS all the time after every module replacement for 30 modules I had tried, I could just load OS X from a USB HDD (to avoid missing AHCI drivers) and troubleshoot with just a recovery capsule in memory. Also when you have A04 you can load up your real Windows installation ... and I would actually prefer it over the crippled Bart-PE no doubts.

The size shouldn't matter, Phoenix Tool corrects the checksum anyway..

I tried comparing my Vostro and your XPS 15 changes to PlatformSmm.efi (also this module is not documented anywhere.. I was only able to find a somewhat shady explanation of a Chinese website .. this module is related to locating and loading DSDT and FACP-> dynamic SSDTs apparently).
These are the blocks that were added for both of our machines:
Vostro: http://puu.sh/1nZgd || http://puu.sh/1nZiR || http://puu.sh/1nZmb
XPS 15: http://puu.sh/1nZgD || http://puu.sh/1nZjf || http://puu.sh/1nZmE

but .. pretty much 40% of same blocks/tables were removed from the module .. so comparing this is a pretty pointless task. One wouldn't be able to tell what is causing the wake issue anyway .. changes are too drastic. It's definitely easier to backport it into the newer BIOS versions .. I don't see any real issues so far.
Also my laptop has been running cooler for some reason .. it used to hang somewhere around 55C, now it's just 49 to 51..

[nebster]

Hey, just thought I'd mention I've now built in a patcher into my EFI tool. It should automatically recalculate all checksums, etc.

Can someone try a simple patch for something and tell me if it works?

Patch files are in the format:

Code:

{
Name = "Any patch name you want"
File = "FileToModify.efi"
Search = [0x00, 0x01, 0x02]
Replace = [0xFF, 0xFE, 0xFD]
}

> p_atchgen.debug.exe PATCHFILE
> main.debug.exe IN.WPH OUT.WPH PATCHFILE.bin

Voila!

There are some requirements, like the Search array length has to be equal to the Replace array length but I forgot to insert checks for this!
Sorry about the underscore in p_atchgen.debug.exe, problem is that windows wants administrator privileges without it!

Download is at:
https://github.com/SerialVelocity/EFIModifier/downloads

[TimeWalker]

WARNING: Exception caught (harmless): Enforcement failed (Line: 570)
WARNING: Unknown type 2: 00504624-8A59-4EEB-BD0F6B36E96128E0
WARNING: Exception caught (harmless): Enforcement failed (Line: 570)
OS X Power Management - Patching PowerManagement2.efi...
OS X Power Management - Done
Unlock Advanced Tiano Setup - Patching PlatformSetupAdvancedDxe.efi...
Unlock Advanced Tiano Setup - Done
Remove Tiano 'Reserved' String - Patching PlatformSetupAdvancedDxe.efi...
Remove Tiano 'Reserved' String - Done

Code:

{
Name = "OS X Power Management"
File = "PowerManagement2.efi"
Search = [0x75, 0x08, 0x0F, 0xBA, 0xE8, 0x0F, 0x89, 0x44, 0x24, 0x30]
Replace = [0xEB, 0x08, 0x0F, 0xBA, 0xE8, 0xF, 0x89, 0x44, 0x24, 0x30]
}

{
Name = "Unlock Advanced Tiano Setup"
File = "PlatformSetupAdvancedDxe.efi"
Search = [0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x45,0x0A]
Replace = [0x01,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x45,0x0A]
}

{
Name = "Remove Tiano 'Reserved' String"
File = "PlatformSetupAdvancedDxe.efi"
Search = [0x00,0x14,0x42,0x00,0x65,0x00,0x6C,0x00,0x6F,0x00,0x77,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x69,0x00,
0x73,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x72,0x00,0x65,0x00,0x73,0x00,0x65,0x00,0x72,0x00,0x76,0x00,
0x65,0x00,0x64,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x66,0x00,0x6F,0x00,0x72,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x52,0x00,
0x44,0x00,0x2C,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x6E,0x00,0x6F,0x00,0x74,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x44,0x00,
0x45,0x00,0x4C,0x00,0x4C,0x00,0x4F,0x00,0x49,0x00,0x4C,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x72,0x00,
0x65,0x00,0x71,0x00,0x75,0x00,0x65,0x00,0x73,0x00,0x74,0x00,0x2E,0x00,0x00,0x00]
Replace = [0x00,0x14,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,
0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,
0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,
0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,
0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,
0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x20,0x00,0x00,0x00]
}

And it doesn't correct the RAW checksum .. decompression therefore fails.

[nebster]

RAW checksum? I didn't realise there was one for RAW files/sections. Where abouts is it?