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ErParucca · 03-09-2026, 05:15 PM

Thanks, I was indeed able to find the area thanks to your direction. Problem being that the hex pattern you provided only seems to exist when a license is installed: there's no trace of it in the BIOS' content that doesn't have a license so I know what to paste following up your example but not where to paste it

For those coming here for similar reasons: EVSA is often considered es a typo by search engines because it's a rare acronym compared to others (for example EVGA); if you want to search more about it, better to search for "EFI Variable Storage Area"....

ErParucca · 03-09-2026, 03:30 PM

Laziness makes us smart

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ErParucca · 03-09-2026, 03:05 PM

damn, the single BIOS chip on these machines is a 512Mb/64MB one and it's a WSOP: it requires 10+ minutes of applying pressure to read it and I fear how long it will take to write

is there any faster alternative to CH341A? Or at least something than can do read->verify->verify->re-read if not ok->next block rather than reading all only to realize later that there was an error?

ErParucca · 03-08-2026, 06:20 AM

apologies, I must have missed that post/message during my search; thanks for the reference, now I know what to search for/write

...

ErParucca · 03-08-2026, 06:09 AM

I do but I didn't get at which offset of the content I have to make the edit: you wrote "45 56 53 41": what does that refer to? Thx!...

ErParucca · 03-07-2026, 06:06 PM

apologies. Let me rephrase that: I had a HW failure on a motherboard. I bought a new one but it's NOK (no windows key) as the others were 10x more expensive. I'd would like to move the windows license from the old MB to the new one. Not for me (I know MAS and plenty other tools to activate windows) but just in case I will sell my laptop in the future, to offer a seamless experience to the possible future buyer.

Thanks!...

ErParucca · 03-07-2026, 12:52 PM

I bought a replacement motherboard but only a NOK was available. Could you please be more specific about which portion of the BIOS has to be copied between the systems?

Thanks!...

ErParucca · 02-25-2026, 03:26 AM

I mentioned earlier that I already made multiple verification tests all with consistent positive results.

I know we are on badcaps but unfortunately I am not very skilled/have the right tools to safely replace the EPROM/test voltages without risking of incurring on (further?) damages:...

ErParucca · 02-24-2026, 06:42 PM

I've done it multiple times, trying multiple versions (various releases of TBT.bin and copying the content from another working X280). The flash operation goes well: after getting a new clip, verification is always fine even after disconnecting and restarting so the problem is not the same of rbvndonh who experienced verification errors.

I still can't find an answer to my specific question: at what time does the thunderbolt controller and the charger IC read the firmware? Given the Winbond chip behaves as expected to flash, how to diagnose the rest? I have a few faulty motherboard...

ErParucca · 02-24-2026, 01:57 PM

do you have any opinion on the software versions mentioned in this reddit post ? For what I know that shouldn't be relevant at least for the 20v negotiation as at this point the OS hasn't even started loading but I don't know if the drivers/software may somehow "initialize" the hardware. And that's why I am trying to understand what the process is between PD/thunderbolt/TB firmware: mon2 I think that we can skip the (still helpful) part about the schematics and TB controller being detected by the OS as the PD/20v negotiation should be indipendent from that, right?

PS: there...

ErParucca · 02-24-2026, 03:07 AM

same outcome

ErParucca · 02-23-2026, 05:30 AM

m1ch43lzm speaking of:

Do you know which steps are supposed to fix the 20v negotiation? Would:

Open laptop
Remove battery
Disconnect CMOS battery
Push reset button
Flash the Winbond with padded tbt.bin
Reconnect battery
Power On and wait for the CMOS/Config error
Power off
Connect charger

be enough for the 20v negotiation to take place? Because that's what I've done after multiple verification of the EEPROM's content and that doesn't work so I wonder if the process is OK or if something else (for ex. TB software in windows) has to be done.

Tha...

ErParucca · 02-22-2026, 04:47 AM

forgot to be more specific: sometime the verification fails. I have no way of telling if it's because contact is lost (clip moving, etc.) or if the chip is failing. Rephrasing my question: if the chip is broken, does that imply that not a single complete write-and-then-verify cycle should succeed and by corollary that if it succeeds then it's useless to replace the chip? Thx

ErParucca · 02-22-2026, 01:11 AM

thx, the EEPROM works fine (erase, read, write, verify) with the CH341a, I just wanted to know if with that I can assume it works fine also when called by the mobo.

ErParucca · 02-21-2026, 03:52 PM

I had various verification failures but I don't know if that was because the clip moved or the chip failed. What I can say is that despite a few of these failures, I have been able to successfully write and verify the EEPROM. I already ordered a bunch of replacement ones so despite the effort of desoldering/resoldering, it costs nothing to try, hoping I won't phisically break anything in the process

Any way to verify if the current EEPROM is working or not?
mon2 thanks for the caps tip but should they be missing or defective, I would have no way to replace them

...

ErParucca · 02-21-2026, 08:09 AM

yes but the controller is not visible so fwupdmgr doesn't list thunderbolt in the device list

I am confident I am doing something wrong because depending on the process I follow/FW used I can see the NV version in thunderbolt software (or not see it) so something changes. But to no extend as per the 5v negotiation/TB controller been visible to OS.

ErParucca · 02-21-2026, 07:22 AM

https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/co...p_instruction/

if you like to play sharing links

I've been through many different set of instructions but no one provide analytical troubleshooting guidance, just a bunch of things to try with no specific criteria. Some say to use specific versions, some, latest.

ErParucca · 02-21-2026, 07:03 AM

thanks but it seems to me the link you sent is for the thunderbolt firnware+update utility. The one you circled in red is the version of the thunderbolt software (something different)....

ErParucca · 02-21-2026, 06:45 AM

thanks but that's exactly the one I used.

ErParucca · 02-21-2026, 04:01 AM

leading to this:

I was also able to get the NV info to populate the bottom part of the panel but still impossible to update and USB-C stuck at 5v...

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