FIC MiniEPC GE3 (2x BIOS Files) -- Unlock Request

[Superdos]

Note: I was asked to make this thread by Steven (Sml6397) so to have a place to release the BIOS images for this request. 

Below is a re-word of what was sent to him initially, so to provide as much information as I can to anyone else looking for this.
----------------------------

I have two FIC MiniEPC GE3 computers in my posession, meant to be some sort of home theater or media PC back in about 2008. They have laptop parts (Santa Rosa, GM965, Core 2 Duo Merom and Penryn support), and I have two versions of the BIOS that need to be unlocked.


I have:
SROSA001.86C.0047.D.0811261729 (GE3-0811261729.ROM) Flashed version, no ACPI settings, and
SROSA001.86C.0047.D.0805082026 (GE3-0805082026.ROM) Older version, has ACPI settings

The BIOSes as it stands are missing a LOT of other settings I usually see pertaining to audio, 1394, WLAN/WAN etc. and the BIOS is quite big to only have the very few settings there that are actually visible. the AHCI setting being visible on the older BIOS but not on the newer one reflects this, and makes me wonder what else is hidden.

The ZIP file which contains both BIOS files can be found HERE via MEGA.
FIC's website is very broken (plus their FTP site is all old stuff!) and has a BIOS file up for the GE2 on the GE3 page (which was formerly for the GE2), which has different hardware... I actually had to do some digging on the internet to find the older BIOS, and I backed up the later one from the second computer. I used this and flashed it to the other one to re-upgrade it and it worked 100%, so it shouldn't be corrupted.

Thanks!

[Sml6397]

Hello Superdos,

Your BIOS mod is at the bottom of this post. This mod was based on the GE3-0811261729 BIOS.

The Main and Advanced Menus were completely reconstructed from scratch and are now far more appealing and useful than before. Furthermore, there are two new parent menus: 'INTEL' and 'MCH Workarounds:'.

Top-level screenshots of the 4 modified/added parent menus:

               

Generic Warnings/Disclaimers:

Please remember to take proper precautions when flashing your BIOS. Even if the BIOS image is safe, the flashing process can still fail. Make sure that [if applicable] your notebook is fully charged (100%), that the power adapter is properly connected, and that the chance of a power outage occurring is as minimal as possible. Do not interrupt the flashing process. If possible, it is a good idea to have a working CRISIS recovery disk handy when flashing your BIOS. Use the flashing instructions for your particular computer brand. DO NOT DO ANYTHING UNNECESSARY!!!

I take absolutely NO responsibility for ANY damages that may occur to you, your computer, your personal belongings, your neighbor's cat, or any other personnel or equipment as a direct or indirect result/consequence of your, or any one else's, use or misuse of any of the files that are in this archive at the present or at any time in the past or the future. You assume full responsibility for any damages or inconveniences that may occur by choosing to flash, or otherwise use or misuse, this image or any of the other files within this archive.

Have fun!

Please remember to post the results of the BIOS flash! Pictures would allow me to verify that none of the unlocked settings are being hidden by special functions.


HASH VERIFICATION (DigitalVolcano's HashTool v1.1):
MDA5: c3af79c65a010fe872b39a8f244ee4d5
SHA-1: 8d884ed9f1fd2e8e5dc90bd56a1aae0ceeb451fa

[Superdos]

Okay, so the results are in-- it WORKS!... almost completely.
the MCH Workarounds: menu is not accessible.
Everything else seems to work.

Pictures as requested-- made an imgur album because of size and amount of pictures. http://imgur.com/a/EYH2a

Hello Superdos,

Your BIOS mod is at the bottom of this post. This mod was based on the GE3-0811261729 BIOS.

The Main and Advanced Menus were completely reconstructed from scratch and are now far more appealing and useful than before. Furthermore, there are two new parent menus: 'INTEL' and 'MCH Workarounds:'.

Top-level screenshots of the 4 modified/added parent menus:



Generic Warnings/Disclaimers:

Please remember to take proper precautions when flashing your BIOS. Even if the BIOS image is safe, the flashing process can still fail. Make sure that [if applicable] your notebook is fully charged (100%), that the power adapter is properly connected, and that the chance of a power outage occurring is as minimal as possible. Do not interrupt the flashing process. If possible, it is a good idea to have a working CRISIS recovery disk handy when flashing your BIOS. Use the flashing instructions for your particular computer brand. DO NOT DO ANYTHING UNNECESSARY!!!

I take absolutely NO responsibility for ANY damages that may occur to you, your computer, your personal belongings, your neighbor's cat, or any other personnel or equipment as a direct or indirect result/consequence of your, or any one else's, use or misuse of any of the files that are in this archive at the present or at any time in the past or the future. You assume full responsibility for any damages or inconveniences that may occur by choosing to flash, or otherwise use or misuse, this image or any of the other files within this archive.

Have fun!

Please remember to post the results of the BIOS flash! Pictures would allow me to verify that none of the unlocked settings are being hidden by special functions.


HASH VERIFICATION (DigitalVolcano's HashTool v1.1):
MDA5: c3af79c65a010fe872b39a8f244ee4d5
SHA-1: 8d884ed9f1fd2e8e5dc90bd56a1aae0ceeb451fa

[Sml6397]

Okay, so the results are in-- it WORKS!... almost completely.
the MCH Workarounds: menu is not accessible.
Everything else seems to work.

Pictures as requested-- made an imgur album because of size and amount of pictures. http://imgur.com/a/EYH2a

Hello Superdos,

Your BIOS mod is at the bottom of this post. This mod was based on the GE3-0811261729 BIOS.

The Main and Advanced Menus were completely reconstructed from scratch and are now far more appealing and useful than before. Furthermore, there are two new parent menus: 'INTEL' and 'MCH Workarounds:'.

Top-level screenshots of the 4 modified/added parent menus:



Generic Warnings/Disclaimers:

Please remember to take proper precautions when flashing your BIOS. Even if the BIOS image is safe, the flashing process can still fail. Make sure that [if applicable] your notebook is fully charged (100%), that the power adapter is properly connected, and that the chance of a power outage occurring is as minimal as possible. Do not interrupt the flashing process. If possible, it is a good idea to have a working CRISIS recovery disk handy when flashing your BIOS. Use the flashing instructions for your particular computer brand. DO NOT DO ANYTHING UNNECESSARY!!!

I take absolutely NO responsibility for ANY damages that may occur to you, your computer, your personal belongings, your neighbor's cat, or any other personnel or equipment as a direct or indirect result/consequence of your, or any one else's, use or misuse of any of the files that are in this archive at the present or at any time in the past or the future. You assume full responsibility for any damages or inconveniences that may occur by choosing to flash, or otherwise use or misuse, this image or any of the other files within this archive.

Have fun!

Please remember to post the results of the BIOS flash! Pictures would allow me to verify that none of the unlocked settings are being hidden by special functions.


HASH VERIFICATION (DigitalVolcano's HashTool v1.1):
MDA5: c3af79c65a010fe872b39a8f244ee4d5
SHA-1: 8d884ed9f1fd2e8e5dc90bd56a1aae0ceeb451fa

I am glad that it worked!

That is standard behaviour for the MCH menu. I am currently investigating why this occurs and how to fix it.

I will take a look at the pictures right now.

[Superdos]

I am glad that it worked!

That is standard behaviour for the MCH menu. I am currently investigating why this occurs and how to fix it.

I will take a look at the pictures right now.

Something else wonky... I set the custom thermal thresholds for in the thermal management menu for the fan to turn on and off... and for some reason the thing still only ramps up the fan at around 55C and turns it off at 47C although I have it set to go to low fan at 31C high fan at 39C (for testing).

[Sml6397]

I am glad that it worked!

That is standard behaviour for the MCH menu. I am currently investigating why this occurs and how to fix it.

I will take a look at the pictures right now.

Something else wonky... I set the custom thermal thresholds for in the thermal management menu for the fan to turn on and off... and for some reason the thing still only ramps up the fan at around 55C and turns it off at 47C although I have it set to go to low fan at 31C high fan at 39C (for testing).

Interesting... I am going to have to check out how those settings work with my new Phoenix BIOS test board.

You may just need to power off the PC after changing and saving the settings. Some settings, such as VT-x (virtualization technology), require this.

[Superdos]

Interesting... I am going to have to check out how those settings work with my new Phoenix BIOS test board.

You may just need to power off the PC after changing and saving the settings. Some settings, such as VT-x (virtualization technology), require this.

doesn't seem to be the case, I don't think. I'm wanting to guess it's something having to do with the CPU's own thermal management. I"m about to flash the second GE3 to see if it behaves the same (one has a Merom chip, the current one, and the other one is Penryn.) I'll take a picture of the Penryn menu as well, coming up.

EDIT: The Penryn menu is the exact same as the Merom menu.

[sodapopdima]

any way to get an slic2.1 of this request?