Service Forum

[sandyf]

Hello, and firstly many, many thanks to all of those who have provided so much information. It is appreciated.

I am trying to unlock a ThinkPad T42 I have been given, and after spending many, many hours trying to find the best method, I wondered if just simply replacing the AMTEL-chip would give the same result. [The other methods are a little daunting to some of us non-experts!]

There is a seller on Ebay of replacement AMTEL-chips. My soldering skills should allow me to replace the chip, but I wondered if anyone here has followed this route, and, if so, what the result was.

[I realise that the chip-replacement method might not give the same sense of satisfaction as the other method, but for us novices with a limited amount of time it could be easier?]

Here is a link to the Ebay seller:

[link removed]
I hope I'm not breaking any forum-rules by posting that. Before anyone asks, NO I am NOT the chip-seller trying to increase my sales! Just a frustrated T42-owner who thought they were receiving a cool gift of a second-hand laptop, only to find it more or less unusable.

If anyone has experience of this method I would greatly appreciate any feedback. 'Bye.

[victor]

To be sincere, that seller is a proud registered user of our software. We know him, he is a nice guy but ... this is breaking the forum rules.

In fact, there is no need to replace your eeprom (and I don't think you'll get a 24RF08 but a philips replika), since you can simply read and unlock yours. Besides, replacing the chip will create other problems, and a chip programmed for one laptop is not always working for another one, not mentioning the lost of UUID, which in some cases may put the the TCPA subsytem in tamper mode.

Is the worse scenario, take my advice if you want.

Good luck!
_________________
Victor Voinea
ALLservice HQ, Romania.

[sandyf]

Thank you for the reply, Victor. Food for thought...

I had already ordered a replacement ATMEL [not ATMEL, as I called it previously - told you I was a novice!]. If I decide to go ahead with it when it arrives, I'll let you know how it turns out.

I apologise for breaking the forum rules with the link.

The time & advice you give so freely is really appreciated. Thank you.

[Robbyrobot]

[sandyf]

Robbyrobot,

Replacing the EEPROM is a 5-minute job. The "easy" way to read the password explained below is NOT, I'm afraid, easy! At least, not for those people without the incredible knowledge of the many helpful posters on this board.

The easy way:

http://www.allservice.ro/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47

Compared to purchasing some components, constructing a small circuit, hooking it up to another computer, wiring three leads to the ATMEL, downloading 2 programs, etc., simply replacing the IC does not, to me, seem like "incredible trouble." However, after reading Victor's reply, it may not work! Then it will have been the easy way to achieve absolutely nothing! We'll see.

[victor]

If you are skilled enough to unsolder-resolder the SOIC chip, I don't believe you cant solder 2 diodes and two resitors togheter. And soldering to the chip is not really necessary
Replacing an original eeprom will always get you into trouble, mark my words. And if the TCPA chip is on, the trouble is big.

This business with replacing eeproms (or how would they say? "security chip"...) was started long time ago by some obscure websites, at that time an eeprom programmer being the most expensive.
But now, I am surprised to see that there are people buying them, especially for IBM.
_________________
Victor Voinea
ALLservice HQ, Romania.

[sandyf]

Okay, you've convinced me to give your method a try!

I've ordered the components... expect a sincere "thank you" or "help!" in two or three days time!

[alidabiri]

sandyf,
you really don't have to order them. you can walk to your local radio shack store (if there is one) get the two diodes, two resistors, a board (if you like), and a 9 pin female port. that's all. there's no micro-soldering. i followed victor's instructions and had no problem building the interface device.
good luck.

[sandyf]

Alidabiri,

Wasn't a problem ordering online... total cost £3. Hopefully they will arrive tomorrow [Saturday] & I will have the weekend to attempt this.

Here in the UK, Radio Shack was called Tandy... and so far as I know they disappeared a long time ago, certainly there are none close to where I live.

[sandyf]

Help!

Well, I made the simple circuit, and connected it as specified.
However, I am confused as to EXACTLY what to do at this point:

-for SI-PROG interface (as described in 3.a above):
r24rf08.exe <filename>. where filename.ext is the file where eeprom content will be stored.
Example: r24rf08 mytp.bin

I am out of my depth here! I've tried a couple of things but am unable to find any EEPROM dump... I really am a novice, and would appreciate any help. I've tried following the instructions here [http://sodoityourself.com/hacking-ibm-thinkpad-bios-password/] too, but again I am confused as to what EXACTLY I should type/run...

I don't even know how to include a screenshot! When I run the program I see the following:

C:\ALLservice\24RF08\r24rf08.exe

24RF08 eeprom reader v2.0b - Win32 Console Version
Copyright (C) Victor Voinea, ALLservice 2004-2005, www.allservice.ro

This is a free tool.

Usage: r24rf08 <filename> [switches]

filename Specifies a file to store the eeprom content.
switches:
/X Invert SCL. Default is direct.
/D Invert SDA-Out. Default is direct.
/I Invert SDA-In. Default is direct.

Support this project by supplying any eeprom dump.
please report any bug to: support at allservice.ro or allservice at home.ro

Hit <Enter> to exit...

[bob]

Start>Run
and type in

[sandyf]

Many thanks, Bob! That seemed to do it! I'll see what happens next...

[sandyf]

Did it!

Thank you, you wonderful people! I'll be back in a couple of days to lavish praise on you all, but now I have a friend who is visiting, and has been impatiently waiting for me to finish this.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[sandyf]

Well, with your help it really wasn't too difficult. I would really like to express my gratitude for all your advice, and especially to Victor for providing all this information.

This all means that I will no longer need the ATMEL-chip, which should be on its way to me from the United States. I will post it free of charge to anyone here who might find a use for it... Victor has first refusal.

Thank you again.

[victor]

You're most welcome

I have seen some people here who have broken chips, and if that would be truly a 24RF08, maybe you can help someone.

Thank you for your kindness, sandyf!

All the best
_________________
Victor Voinea
ALLservice HQ, Romania.