Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

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  • SysGhost
    Member
    • Mar 2021
    • 12
    • Sweden

    #1

    Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

    There's this laptop that needs a new EC chip (IT8227E-256). I can buy these on Ali Express. But those would come unflashed/empty. Before I venture into this replacement, I need to dump the firmware of the original EC, and flash that onto a new EC.
    But I can't find any information at all on those.

    Do anyone out there have any pinout/schematics on these chips, and what one needs to dump and flash those?

    Maybe there's a JTAG or something similar I might have missed.

    The computer in question is a Lenovo E14 Gen2 (Quite new on the market)
    Pictures on the motherboard are attached. (See motherboard_back.jpg, middle left, for the chip in question. It's the QFP128 package with the big "Lenovo" print.)
    Attached Files
    Last edited by SysGhost; 05-21-2021, 08:35 PM.
  • m.maher
    Member
    • Jan 2018
    • 21
    • egypt

    #2
    Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

    can this help?
    Attached Files

    Comment

    • mon2
      Badcaps Legend
      • Dec 2019
      • 13903
      • Canada

      #3
      Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

      Not to be Debbie Downer but if this EC is not working, what are the chances the firmware can be extracted over JTAG ? I suppose it is still worth a try.

      No experience with this area yet but thought @SMDFlea or another tech noted that the EC firmware is often inside the host BIOS. If true, would the bios not reflash this firmware onto the virgin IC ? Or can the EC firmware be extracted out of the BIOS dump ?

      Update - see attached portion of the pinout - thanks @m.maher!!

      From what I can gather, this EC is a SPI BUS MASTER. Respectively, the firmware is stored on an EXTERNAL SPI FLASH device. The CS pin is driven by this EC.

      Based on the direction of the arrows on the SPI pins, this EC device is the MASTER and there must be an external SPI flash that offers the firmware.

      Can you confirm this detail ? If this assumption is correct then you can solder in a 'blank' IC which then should fetch the firmware from the external SPI flash device which is still onboard.
      Attached Files
      Last edited by mon2; 09-20-2021, 03:51 PM.

      Comment

      • tahc81
        Member
        • Nov 2019
        • 42
        • Slovakia

        #4
        Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

        Hi all, any update here? Many laptop BIOSes include EC image, but question is how the EC should know, where it is located? Always same base address? Decoding UEFI layout?

        Comment

        • Antonynl
          Senior Member
          • Apr 2021
          • 74
          • Nederland

          #5
          Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

          From what I now understand the kbc fetches the bios image of the kbc from the Winbond chip via spi. I do have a NM-B911 with the same IT8227 kbc that shows no clock.

          Comment

          • jamesp
            Senior Member
            • Mar 2017
            • 55
            • philippines

            #6
            Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

            @Antonynl
            we have same scenario but for me, in a different mainboard and EC. my EC is a microchip MEC1310-NU and no spi clock measured upon insertion of VDC from power adapter....its was confirmed by checking with my cheap DSO rigol ds1054z, and no MOSI and MISO decoding happens

            Comment

            • vgecas
              New Member
              • Jul 2016
              • 1
              • Lithuania

              #7
              Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

              Hi,
              Many of these new IO chips have integrated flash memory, that can be accessed via keyboard connector.

              Comment

              • lpraderi
                Member
                • Dec 2017
                • 30
                • Uruguay

                #8
                Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

                @SysGhost

                View this trying to fix a NM-D151 with no POST/Display.

                ITE IT8227E on NM-D151 autoprogram itself if internal flash is empty from ECROM image embed on BIOS.

                Checked myself dumping, erasing and program an empty image (all 0xFF) with KBC programmer and dumping again after reboot.

                Contents are exact the same as EC image on lenovo bios dump at offset 0x2C8000 lenght 0x20000 (128k).

                Checked also on Bios downloaded from Lenovo website (Bios.cap extracted from e8cn39ww.exe) and the EC rom image is present at different offset but same lenght/content.

                I know maybe is late for you but may help someone else.

                Comment

                • HOSCARLY007
                  New Member
                  • Dec 2020
                  • 6
                  • ECUADOR

                  #9
                  Greetings to all.
                  I need some tip, I cannot extract the bin from the KBC IT8227e-256, make all connections with the RT809H and it seems that it has some trick to enable SPI.
                  I get a message to check the connections, the voltage and that the limit is 10cm.
                  Does anyone have any idea how I can extract the bin?​

                  Comment

                  • mcplslg123
                    Badcaps Legend
                    • Jun 2015
                    • 7262
                    • india

                    #10
                    RT8209H often fails to read ITE chips. better programmer is SVOD or Vertyanov.

                    Comment

                    • SirangKap
                      Member
                      • Feb 2020
                      • 27
                      • Philippines

                      #11
                      Originally posted by mcplslg123
                      RT8209H often fails to read ITE chips. better programmer is SVOD or Vertyanov.
                      luckily i read this message before purchasing a PEB-1 expansion board for my RT809F programmer. thanks

                      Comment

                      • jasko_jacker
                        Badcaps Legend
                        • Oct 2014
                        • 1137
                        • italy

                        #12
                        Some of these chips are self-programming, while others need to be programmed. However, the self-programming chips may only do so if they are empty. If they are not empty, they might not self-program. Nevertheless, even an older version like Vertyanov 2.x should be sufficient to manage this type of chip. You can find more information on the dedicated Vertyanov programmer forum.
                        https://*******/viewtopic.php?f=170&t=15912&start=3510
                        Last edited by jasko_jacker; 07-03-2024, 09:13 AM.

                        Comment

                        • narsil
                          Enas
                          • Dec 2017
                          • 83
                          • france

                          #13
                          Originally posted by SirangKap

                          luckily i read this message before purchasing a PEB-1 expansion board for my RT809F programmer. thanks
                          It was managed by RT809H
                          PIN 87 CLK
                          PIN 88 DATA0
                          GND
                          VCC (Connect the charger)

                          Comment

                          • Jse Enrique
                            Member
                            • Feb 2021
                            • 38
                            • cuba

                            #14
                            thanks for this apointing

                            Comment

                            • SirangKap
                              Member
                              • Feb 2020
                              • 27
                              • Philippines

                              #15
                              Originally posted by narsil

                              It was managed by RT809H
                              PIN 87 CLK
                              PIN 88 DATA0
                              GND
                              VCC (Connect the charger)
                              Woww that's a good news. How about RT809F programmer,will it able to read that EC chip as well?

                              Comment

                              • DeXXter
                                Senior Member
                                • Aug 2023
                                • 91
                                • Chile

                                #16
                                Originally posted by lpraderi
                                Re: Need some advice on IT8227E-256 Embedded Controller (EC))

                                @SysGhost

                                View this trying to fix a NM-D151 with no POST/Display.

                                ITE IT8227E on NM-D151 autoprogram itself if internal flash is empty from ECROM image embed on BIOS.

                                Checked myself dumping, erasing and program an empty image (all 0xFF) with KBC programmer and dumping again after reboot.

                                Contents are exact the same as EC image on lenovo bios dump at offset 0x2C8000 lenght 0x20000 (128k).

                                Checked also on Bios downloaded from Lenovo website (Bios.cap extracted from e8cn39ww.exe) and the EC rom image is present at different offset but same lenght/content.

                                I know maybe is late for you but may help someone else.
                                Nice, I got a lenovo legion 5 with a blown up EC it8227e-256 and I will get a blank one, I hope it will program itself (I don't have a programmer).

                                Comment

                                • noipi
                                  Senior Member
                                  • Aug 2017
                                  • 69
                                  • Singapore

                                  #17
                                  Originally posted by SirangKap

                                  Woww that's a good news. How about RT809F programmer,will it able to read that EC chip as well?
                                  some can read and write, but the new chipset ICs might not. usually we use SVOD programmer

                                  Comment

                                  • Viktor-x
                                    New Member
                                    • Oct 2023
                                    • 6
                                    • Украина

                                    #18
                                    Originally posted by narsil

                                    It was managed by RT809H
                                    PIN 87 CLK
                                    PIN 88 DATA0
                                    GND
                                    VCC (Connect the charger)
                                    Hello, tell me how you managed to read the chip, there are instructions?

                                    Comment

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