Problem flashing thinkpad BIOS

Don't ask how to hack password. (BIOS Passwords)
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richk
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Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:52 pm

I have a machine and I am not quite sure what it is. My best guess is that it's an X61t prototype in an X60t case. I am pretty sure that nobody before me ever opened it up. If I boot into the BIOS, it shows BIOS and embedded controller version 0.04 (much earlier than anything released) and the BIOS module name starts 4RET (not a real designation for anything) instead of 4SET, like a real X61t. Originally, the model and serial number on the BIOS screen were blank, causing lots of problems, but I rewrote the eeprom where they are stored with an image from another machine, which fixed some problems. I still have been unable to get a BIOS update to run. (I realize that if there is some different hardware on the MB I can turn it into a brick, but it doesn’t work very well as it is.) The IBM BIOS update process won’t let me overlay the 4RET BIOS with a 4SET one, so I was trying PHLASH16, without success. The error I get is "part id not found in table of supported parts". Does anyone have any suggestions? I need to update the BIOS and embedded controller. I have 2 compressed images from IBM, a .FL1(BIOS) and .FL2(EC) file. If I turn it into a brick, at least I won’t waste any more time on the MB.

Thank you for any suggestions
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