NVRAM resetting
Posted: Tue Nov 02, 2010 1:38 pm
Hi, I have several problems and questions:
Long story short, I was experimenting and screwed-up my NVRAM settings. That means my board is currently unbootable, only thing that works is BIOS Restore (remove jumper and insert CD with .BIO file in root) and that doesn't help (as it probably doesn't delete NVRAM vars which caused my problem). I might be able to "workaround" this problem, but for future hacking of this sort, I'd like to have convenient way to restore NVRAM contents. As I am more from the software side, so I'd like if someone can give me short intro to practical accessing NVRAM "externally".
I remember that some of you guys here mentioned (unfortunately I can't find the thread again) that on some boards it is possible to remove NVRAM chip from board, and access (read/write/dump/restore) it from separate device (called "programmer"?). So, my questions are:
1. Is NVRAM on same chip as BIOS (eg. NVRAM writes are "flashing BIOS"), or is it separate chip? How to locate it on board?
2. How do I find if NVRAM chip can be removed from my board?
3. In case it can't, I'll probably purchase some board which gives me this option for futher experimentation (most likely Tiano-based board from Intel). How can I determine whether some specific board supports this, before purchasing it?
4. More info on the device ("programmer"?) to access NVRAM externally, please?
5. Or maybe is there any other way to reset NVRAM settings to something that works? (Yes, it will make installed UEFI-based operating systems unbootable, I don't have problem with that)
Any kind of help would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.
Long story short, I was experimenting and screwed-up my NVRAM settings. That means my board is currently unbootable, only thing that works is BIOS Restore (remove jumper and insert CD with .BIO file in root) and that doesn't help (as it probably doesn't delete NVRAM vars which caused my problem). I might be able to "workaround" this problem, but for future hacking of this sort, I'd like to have convenient way to restore NVRAM contents. As I am more from the software side, so I'd like if someone can give me short intro to practical accessing NVRAM "externally".
I remember that some of you guys here mentioned (unfortunately I can't find the thread again) that on some boards it is possible to remove NVRAM chip from board, and access (read/write/dump/restore) it from separate device (called "programmer"?). So, my questions are:
1. Is NVRAM on same chip as BIOS (eg. NVRAM writes are "flashing BIOS"), or is it separate chip? How to locate it on board?
2. How do I find if NVRAM chip can be removed from my board?
3. In case it can't, I'll probably purchase some board which gives me this option for futher experimentation (most likely Tiano-based board from Intel). How can I determine whether some specific board supports this, before purchasing it?
4. More info on the device ("programmer"?) to access NVRAM externally, please?
5. Or maybe is there any other way to reset NVRAM settings to something that works? (Yes, it will make installed UEFI-based operating systems unbootable, I don't have problem with that)
Any kind of help would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.