Pheonix TrustedCore BIOS

[caterbro]

hello,

I recently had the unmitigated joy of replacing a hard drive in a new
HP notebook. it has the Pheonix TrustedCore BIOS.

in order to replace the hard dive, warranty service was needed to
obtain a replacement hdd from HP directly.

the reason for this is that the "TrustedCore" BIOS requires an
encrypted key to authorize any transmission from a hdd through the
notebook.

research on intel's TPM for more information.

what it amounts to is that no software can run on the machine unless
this key in present, because there is a
superspecialextraseceretdecoderring chip between the CPU and the rest
of the MB.

the failing hdd had three partitions- a recovery partition(normal) and
OS partion(normal) and a 1GB unspecified, unrecognized, etc partition,
which, presumably, carries the needed info for the ****ing computer to
function.

cloning the disk did not work. the partition table came through intact,
to the byte, but the system simply will not boot or recognise NY hdd
until we obtained the regulation, presumably pre-imaged, hdd from HP.

the implication is that any HP PC with the quoteunquote "TrustedCore"
BIOS is basically worthless after the warranty runs out.

that is all. this post is for informational purposes only.

carl

 

[Paul]

hello,

I recently had the unmitigated joy of replacing a hard drive in a new
HP notebook. it has the Pheonix TrustedCore BIOS.

in order to replace the hard dive, warranty service was needed to
obtain a replacement hdd from HP directly.

the reason for this is that the "TrustedCore" BIOS requires an
encrypted key to authorize any transmission from a hdd through the
notebook.

research on intel's TPM for more information.

what it amounts to is that no software can run on the machine unless
this key in present, because there is a
superspecialextraseceretdecoderring chip between the CPU and the rest
of the MB.

the failing hdd had three partitions- a recovery partition(normal) and
OS partion(normal) and a 1GB unspecified, unrecognized, etc partition,
which, presumably, carries the needed info for the ****ing computer to
function.

cloning the disk did not work. the partition table came through intact,
to the byte, but the system simply will not boot or recognise NY hdd
until we obtained the regulation, presumably pre-imaged, hdd from HP.

the implication is that any HP PC with the quoteunquote "TrustedCore"
BIOS is basically worthless after the warranty runs out.

that is all. this post is for informational purposes only.

carl

Does the user have the option of disabling the TPM function via the BIOS ?
The presumption was, that TPM could be disabled, if for example, the user
did not want "extra secure banking" or did not want to buy or use some
DRM infected content. You should be able to use your product with TPM
disabled. I'd be curious to hear whether Phoenix feels the user should
have control of their own machine or not.

Some desktop motherboards now offer a header for a TPM module, and if the
TPM pissed you off, you could unplug the module. Likely not the same with
the laptop. But have a look in the BIOS, and see if the option exists to
turn it off. Maybe you lose all access to the drive ?!? Should be a fun
experiment.

Paul

 

[caterbro]

Does the user have the option of disabling the TPM function via the BIOS ?
nope.

The presumption was, that TPM could be disabled,

according to phoenix, this platform is designed so that no soft image
can work on this machine without the special key. that is the sole
purpose of using this BIOS.

if for example, the user
did not want "extra secure banking" or did not want to buy or use some
DRM infected content. You should be able to use your product with TPM
disabled. I'd be curious to hear whether Phoenix feels the user should
have control of their own machine or not.

at this point, in this implementation, the answer is no.

Some desktop motherboards now offer a header for a TPM module, and if the
TPM pissed you off, you could unplug the module. Likely not the same with
the laptop. But have a look in the BIOS, and see if the option exists to
turn it off. Maybe you lose all access to the drive ?!? Should be a fun
experiment.

it was charming, let me tell you.

carl

 

[BigJim]

hello,

I recently had the unmitigated joy of replacing a hard drive in a new
HP notebook. it has the Pheonix TrustedCore BIOS.

so you replaced the dive

in order to replace the hard dive, warranty service was needed to
obtain a replacement hdd from HP directly.

why didn't hp give you instructions on how to do it properly?
if the drive came from hp why wasn't the code put on it?
I would hold hp responsible for the damage.

 

[Paul]

according to phoenix, this platform is designed so that no soft image
can work on this machine without the special key. that is the sole
purpose of using this BIOS.


at this point, in this implementation, the answer is no.


it was charming, let me tell you.

carl

They show removable modules here, but perhaps this is for older models. And
with your luck, the Phoenix BIOS would probably fail to POST if it was removed

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=PSD_DD030611_CW01

Paul

 

[caterbro]

They show removable modules here, but perhaps this is for older models. And
with your luck, the Phoenix BIOS would probably fail to POST if it was removed

yup that's TPM-- this is the same gen'l idea, but a differnt
implementation. didn't notice any removeable cards, did n't notice any
of the HP Protect soft- that's usually a sever or thib cleint thing,
not usually found on their SOHO.consumer products, IIRC.

what this apparently does, and ALL it does, is prevent someone from
installing an hdd that didn't come prepped from HP.

Pavilion notebook, can't recall the model.

real PITA, hellaciously irritating, espcially on a consumer-grade PC..

 

[caterbro]

so you replaced the dive

i see yur confusion- with this BIOS, you cannot use a standard, fresh
2.5" hdd- it MUST be prepped by HP to match this BIOS and machine. so
repair by anyone other than HP becomes tenfold more troublesome-see
below

why didn't hp give you instructions on how to do it properly?

there is no way to install a hdd on this system unless it is pre-imaged
by HP.

if the drive came from hp why wasn't the code put on it?

the first few didn't- they came from hitachi and seagate via our
wholesaler. eventually, the owner had to call HP, walk through their
bullshit tech support checklist and get a replacement drive shipped
out, which we installed. it was a bog-standard 2.5" 120GB seagate SATA
that had been pre-imaged by HP with the mystery partition..

oddly enough, they shipped it out already mounted in a sled and with a
replacement cover plate. figure that one out.

I would hold hp responsible for the damage.

they are responsible; however, it added a totally uneccessary 5 busness
days to the repair time, and 6 mos from now, when the warranty runs
out, the consumer is totally at HP's mercy for further support. that
does not bode well.

carl

 

[BigJim]

can you get an extended warranty, I use dell and I always get an extra year
or two.

 

[John]

What if you make an image of the new drive you received from HP and then
applied that image to another virgin HDD. Would that work?

 

[caterbro]

What if you make an image of the new drive you received from HP and then
applied that image to another virgin HDD. Would that work?

probably not. we imaged the failing drive succesfully, but it didn't
work after transefering the image to our stock drives. that's not
surprising, there are methods of ensuring data doesn't make it through
an imaging process.

we did not do anything with the new drive but stick it in and boot; too
much deadline pressure.

next time i see this, and i will see it agai i'll dig a little deeper.
its a king flatbread, to be sure.

carl

 

[caterbro]

can you get an extended warranty, I use dell and I always get an extra year
or two.

sure, the owner could probably buy an extended warranty, and we always
reccomend it, but that doesn't change the fact that, unlike
99.9999999999 percent of the laptops that came before it, one cannot
replace the hard drive unless obtaining a pre-imaged drive from HP.

it is a closed computer- as proprietary as the friggin keyboard, and
for no good reason.


carl

 

[nobody]

sure, the owner could probably buy an extended warranty, and we always
reccomend it, but that doesn't change the fact that, unlike
99.9999999999 percent of the laptops that came before it, one cannot
replace the hard drive unless obtaining a pre-imaged drive from HP.

it is a closed computer- as proprietary as the friggin keyboard, and
for no good reason.


carl

Never buy anything from HP. The good old HP is LONG gone.

 

[Zack Aube]

(e-mail address removed) explained :

sure, the owner could probably buy an extended warranty, and we always
reccomend it, but that doesn't change the fact that, unlike
99.9999999999 percent of the laptops that came before it, one cannot
replace the hard drive unless obtaining a pre-imaged drive from HP.

it is a closed computer- as proprietary as the friggin keyboard, and
for no good reason.


carl

Same thing is happening with desktops. Ask HP *WHY* it is impossible
to load Linux on the newer line of Pavilions.....

--
______
Zack

Every operating system out there is about equal. We all suck.
( Brian Valentine of Microsoft )

 

[Rod Speed]

(e-mail address removed) wrote

(e-mail address removed) wrote

Never buy anything from HP. The good old HP is LONG gone.

My recently bought Compaq laptop is fine.

Doesnt even have a maintenance partition on the hard drive.

 

[JAD]

hello,

I recently had the unmitigated joy of replacing a hard drive in a new
HP notebook. it has the Pheonix TrustedCore BIOS.

in order to replace the hard dive, warranty service was needed to
obtain a replacement hdd from HP directly.

the reason for this is that the "TrustedCore" BIOS requires an
encrypted key to authorize any transmission from a hdd through the
notebook.

research on intel's TPM for more information.

what it amounts to is that no software can run on the machine unless
this key in present, because there is a
superspecialextraseceretdecoderring chip between the CPU and the rest
of the MB.

Look up TCPA...... http://www.againsttcpa.com/what-is-tcpa.html

Although the 'powers that be' have changed thier tactics, the agenda is the same.

 

[Andy Axnot]

(e-mail address removed) explained :

Same thing is happening with desktops. Ask HP *WHY* it is impossible to
load Linux on the newer line of Pavilions.....

Is that true? If so, it is really distressing. HP used to be known for
fairly decent support for Linux, at least with printers and such.

Andy

 

[Zack Aube]

Andy Axnot presented the following explanation :

Is that true? If so, it is really distressing. HP used to be known for
fairly decent support for Linux, at least with printers and such.

Andy

HP Pavilion a1110n. I've tried many different distros. Even tried
KNOPPIX live cd distro. Still no joy. Finally gave up and installed
to an old IBM instead.

--
______
Zack

Every operating system out there is about equal. We all suck.
( Brian Valentine of Microsoft )

 

[not david]

Is that true? If so, it is really distressing. HP used to be known for
fairly decent support for Linux, at least with printers and such.

Andy

LOL. Perhaps you missed the news a few months ago about HP spying
on people (reporters ? board members ? ) to root out a "security"
leak ? I think the CEO ate it on that one. HP is out of control.

 

[grizz]

Andy Axnot presented the following explanation :

HP Pavilion a1110n. I've tried many different distros. Even tried
KNOPPIX live cd distro. Still no joy. Finally gave up and installed to
an old IBM instead.

--
______
Zack

Every operating system out there is about equal. We all suck.
( Brian Valentine of Microsoft )

I have ubuntu installed on a HP m7640n with no problems
grizz