Service Forum

lekalif

Hi folks, first of all awesome site! very helpful! can't believe there are so many people in the same situation... my dad's TP has been locked up by 'techie' trying to get into BIOS (probably didn't even know that supervisor pw would be enabled after invalid attempts)

I built the SI-prog interface;

1st attempt used wrong size wire (tin/aluminum ... not sure) & signal diodes vs. zener's ... didn't work ..."Circuit not found or bus error"

2nd attempt used larger wire (copper) and 5.1v zener's ...different error:
"Eeprom not available"

any thoughts?? I'm considering building 'driven' programmer/reader... looks more complex ... any suggestions? possible explanations before I continue? thanks for any and all help!

lekalif · Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 3:26 pm Post subject: "Eeprom not available"

Also, I have tried the SI-Prog interface on two different machines...
same error "Eeprom not available"

I have also tried the "ITester.exe" that comes with latest download and I see SDA-Out 1 & SDA-In 1 (I'm pretty sure I built my interface correctly this time)

NOTE: I am able to bypass the password prompt if I boot my machine with ATMEL chip shorted; GROUND & PROT touching eachother until it errors and says hit <F1> for setup... I have a feeling this is probably corrupting the Eeprom though...

If so, can I fix it with W24RF08.exe ?? Does anyone have a .bin from a TP 570?

Victor, I would like to buy W24RF08 & .bin if you have?

thanks again for any suggestions...

victor · S.F. Boss Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 2581 Location: Staff

lekalif · Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2006 8:32 pm Post subject: Eeprom not available

Thanks! you're right I was starting to get anxious, I've been trying to fix before the weekend, looks like this will not happen.

I am getting CRC error only once I've reset the Eeprom (Using my 'made-up' technique of shorting GND - PROT) I won't do that again...

Note: Battery & backup have been removed already so each time I unplug, the reset is lost anyway and password prompt returns.

Question; should I be connecting ground from interface directly to GND on Eeprom? so far I've only connected device GND to ground on board (one of the screw holes)
Summary: only SCL & SDA wires are soldered on Eeprom at this point...

Again, thank you so much for your help!

victor · S.F. Boss Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 2581 Location: Staff

Yes, the GND is the same everywhere.

Make sure you connected the wires like in the picture, GND (black) could be hooked up elsewhere:

When running itester, check the SDA and SCL voltage level, that must be around 4-4.5V in high state. SIPROG has the SDA level less than the SCL, due to the SDA-in (CTS) internal impedance.

SDAin and SDA/SCL outputs must have the same value when the clock is on.