HP z840 no TPM BIOS options

[wmn01]

Hi,

I take a picture of the chip on the motherboard, it is located near the bios reset button:

Data sheet for it can be found here:

OPTIGA™ TPM SLB 9660 TPM 1.2 Data Sheet (infineon.com)

Thank you.

[DGroves]

there is no known way to enable TPM on a workstation that had it disabled by HP

 the Infineon SLB 9660 chip (TPM 1.2) becomes a SLB 9665 if updated to TPM 2.0

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c05806110/

[wmn01]

Hi,

do you think that it is related to the Feature Byte string?

Thank you.

[DGroves]

possibly, however once this string is set it cannot be changed without special HP tools that are not available

or it may be in the bios section that is not updated which holded the crysis recovery info, again this cannot be changed without a eeprom burner and bios chip removal/reinstall

[SDH]

Regarding your question... yes, it probably is related to the coding in the FeatureByte.  That is more commonly used simply for setting the licensing features of the motherboard, and it can only be done once to my knowledge.  Once done you are stuck with that.  No going back and reprogramming with another FeatureByte     (EDIT... DGroves may have inside info on HP staff being able to do that, but surely not by the ones I have met in the field).

In burning the FeatureByte you have taken a "virgin" motherboard and "branded" it.  Most motherboards you buy off eBay are already branded from the factory.  I've bought two virgin unopened-box Z620 v2 motherboards off eBay in a very lucky buy... and then had to learn how to brand them.  It is not for the faint of heart.  You can copy the FeatureByte from the bottom of a branded workstation that has the features you want and then brand those onto a virgin motherboard and you get those features.

"No DPK" (Digital Product Key) means it does not come licensed for a particular MS OS... you can load your own purchased MS OS with its own license included.  Those cannot be cloned after install and automatically work on a target new workstation.  In contrast, if the motherboard is branded to work with W7Pro64 you can clone a build from one and it will work on another if the target is also branded to work with that OS license.   And, you can use the HP W7Pro64 install media.  Same concept with HP W10Pro64 licensing and media.

For the third option shown on your barcode label that means the earlier ones were licensed to use the TPM1.2 chip on the motherboard, but that high numbered third entry at the bottom means it is licensed to use the TPM2.0 features and would have the 2.0 firmware update vs the earlier ZX40 1.2 version firmware.

My guess is that when the factory does the branding for the Czech Republic motherboards they use a custom FeatureByte code that turns off the TPM chip, be it 1.2 or 2.0 firmware.  Once branded I have never heard that a reflash of the FeatureByte code is possible.

You might wish to buy a non-Czech Republic motherboard and do the transplant project..... I have personally upgraded a good number of Z620 v1 workstations to v2 motherboards that way.  Takes about 45 minutes....   But, you generally don't know what branding has been done to the motherboard until you get it....    That has not been a big deal lately with the use of W10Pro64 and the advent of MS having W10 central licensing servers that the OS just checks in to in order to confirm that the motherboard is already W10 licensed.  From that point on a clone of your W10 build should work in another same-type workstation assuming components are identical or close.  I have seen good Z840 motherboards on eBay here for as low as about 125.00 USD.  I have no idea where you live, so shipping could be a big issue for you.

[DGroves]

what "SDH" says makes sense, i've only seen 3 non USA laptop motherboards 2 russian and i forget the 3rd

and those did not have TPM chips, only a blank spot where the chip should have been

[SDH]

Now that we know what the TPM chip looks like on one HP motherboard (near the CMOS reset button) and that the TPM 1.2 chip on the ZX40 workstations can be flashed to the 2.0 level without a hardware change would it not be nice if the same 1.2 TPM chip was on the ZX20 workstations?

https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/security-smart-card-solutions/optiga-embedded-security-solut...

https://www.infineon.com/cms/en/product/security-smart-card-solutions/optiga-embedded-security-solut...

Now I just need to go get a flashlight and a magnifying glass and hunt...  I doubt it will be that easy.

[wmn01]

Hi,

I used a Toshiba TPM firmware update tools on my z820.

https://drivers.windows7download.com/win7-toshiba-tecra-ps57bc-01w006-infineon-tpm-firmware-4-43-257...

It did not work, of course, but it gives me the Infineon TPM chip model number that is running on the z820:

SLB 9635 TT 1.2

https://www.digikey.at/htmldatasheets/production/71176/0/0/1/slb9635-tt-1-2-product-brief.html

Complete Datasheet:

https://www.datasheetarchive.com/pdf/download.php?id=7f74e24f4f02927c2aee69af07bd897faeff82&type=P&t...

Maybe it is pin for pin compatible. with the SLB 9660TT1.2.

Looking at both data sheet, it is not pin for pin compatible 😞

I do a visual check on the motherboard (z820) and I did not find any chip that looks like an Infineon one, maybe it is hidden under one of the black heatsinks on the motherboard.

I found it, on the other side of the motherboard (I have a defective motherboard in stock 🙂 ), again near the CMOS reset. button.

Thank you.

[wmn01]

SDH

...

You might wish to buy a non-C.R. motherboard and do the transplant project..... I have personally upgraded a good number of Z620 v1 workstations to v2 motherboards that way. Takes about 45 minutes.... But, you generally don't know what branding has been done to the motherboard until you get it....

...

What exactly is transplant project?

Can it be done using another z840 (US)?

Thank you.

[wmn01]

Hi,

this HP pdf manual:

Instructions on CREATING the MPM-Unlocking SMC.BIN USB Drive

https://manualzz.com/doc/44691860/instructions-on-creating-the-mpm-unlocking-smc.bin-usb

This document describes how to create a USB drive for the SMC.BIN file used to unlock the MPM
(Manufacturers Programming Mode) to allow for DMI programming after system board replacement
for HP Windows-based mobile systems, tablets, desktops and workstations.

...

Each SMC.BIN file is unique to the system it is generated for and can only be used on that system.

...

Using the SMC.BIN to Unlock the System
After the custom SMC file has obtained, use it to unlock the system:
...

This will change the UUID and unlock the board for you to program it correctly.

So it seems to be possible to unlock the Manufacturers Programming Mode).

Running Wndmifit64.exe

I got the following:

Then:

Thank you.