Device came back from ASUS and I can't get it to re-enroll in GAFE

[Steve Pierce]

ASUS M004U Chromebox was sent to ASUS because of a bad USB port. Report came back bad VGA. It will boot into guest and regular login up but not enroll in Enterprise

When I boot in recovery mode I get the following

X86 PANTHER TEST 6287

CTRL-D doesn't work. Hit CTRL-I and I get an extended display of the startup and up and down arrows change the language.

Wipe doesn't fix and and neither does a recovery USB.

I am stumped and ASUS is blaming me saying I put into Developer mode. <sigh>

I am posting here because I am wondering if someone can point me in the right direction to get it out of test mode as I suspect the ASUS tech left it in that mode.

and yes I have thought about sending it back to ASUS but with Christmas shutdown the thing won't come back until mid-January.

<see attached files>

[Mike Frysinger]

did you open the case and disable write protect on the firmware ?

did you put it into dev mode at all ?  entering recovery mode is not the same as entering dev mode.

-mike

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[Steve Pierce]

Hi Mike

I did not open the box, I am guessing the ASUS tech did. I am looking at a video online right now to learn how to open the box. I wonder if the tech left a jumper in but I am not sure what should be there or not. I just opened the case, don't see anything obvious. Should I pull the m-board?

I haven't been able to get it into Dev mode as CTRL-D doesn't work when I get the OS screen.

 - Steve

[Steve Pierce]

THE HWID doesn't seem right. It is showing X86 PANTHER TEST 628700039

On Saturday, December 20, 2014 1:46:45 AM UTC-5, Mike Frysinger wrote:

[Mike Frysinger]

if you didn't disable the flash write protect, then you couldn't have messed up the HWID value -- even if you had put it into dev mode.  it does sound like the repair was done incorrectly and your device wasn't properly reflashed before it was sent back to you.  ASUS should fix this for you.

-mike

[Steve Pierce]

I was hoping to fix it myself rather than blow another three weeks waiting for ASUS to do it. ASUS to their credit said they would take it back for another attempt.

If I can figure out how how to reset the device and version back to stable, that would be great. If not, she is out of here after Christmas.

 - Steve

[Mike Frysinger]

you can't fix the problem w/out opening the case, disabling the write protect, and then manually updating the VPD in the firmware.  i don't think we have any tools to mung these fields for you.

if you had a backup of the flash before it was shipped out, then you could do it easily :/.

-mike

[Steve Pierce]

I have the case already opened and I have the write protect screw removed.

Is it possible for mere mortals to update the VPD. I follow instructions well. <g>

I don't have a copy of the flash prior to ASUS goofing it up. However I do have other Chromeboxes here that are the same model. Can I copy the flash from a working Chromebox and if yes, how do I do that?

Thanks for all your help.

[Richard Barnette]

On 12/20/14, 11:32 AM, Steve Pierce wrote:
> I have the case already opened and I have the write protect screw removed.
>
> Is it possible for mere mortals to update the VPD. I follow instructions
> well. <g>
>
> I don't have a copy of the flash prior to ASUS goofing it up. However I
> do have other Chromeboxes here that are the same model. Can I copy the
> flash from a working Chromebox and if yes, how do I do that?
>

OK, the note you made about the HWID is the relevant one:
"X86 PANTHER TEST 6287" isn't a value that should be seen on
a consumer device, and as vapier@ noted, it would normally be
ASUS' responsibility to fix it.

The fix does require removing the write-protect and updating
content in the firmware. There are tools for manipulating the
VPD, but that's (hopefully) not the tool you want. There's a
separate command for changing the HWID. Probably, you don't
want to have to change the VPD: it includes important values
like the MAC address and machine serial number. If that data
is wrong, you can't easily find correct values to fix it with.

Finding a correct HWID value for your device isn't necessarily
trivial either. Mostly, if you copy a value from a working
device, your device should work. However, the HWID is _meant_
to be a function of the manufacturing BOM, and that can be
different even for two devices of the same model. So, you
could mess up ASUS' ability to repair your device if you apply
the wrong HWID.

In principle, I can rustle up the procedure for changing the HWID,
and also for changing the VPD, if necessary. In practice, I don't
know all the steps, and (more importantly) I'm not sure that that
will solve your problem.

You reported two symptoms that give me pause:
* You can't get into dev mode. This shouldn't happen, and
indicates its own problem. Moreover, the procedure for
changing your device will require getting into dev mode, so
this problem is likely a stopper for you.
* You can't enterprise enroll the device. That suggests TPM
related problems. In that case, the bogus HWID is probably
a symptom, not a root cause. Fixing the TPM is even harder
than fixing the VPD or HWID; I'm not sure you can do it
yourself reliably.

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[Steve Pierce]

I agree, not worth the hassle. I will make ASUS fix it. Thanks for everyone's help.

Cheers!

 - Steve

[Bowgo]

Hi Steve,

The HWID should be re-generated base on RMA SOP.

Could you send me your local ASUS contact so we could make sure it's not a widespread problem.

Thanks,

[Mike]

(old thread)

Steve, did you end up shipping this device back to Asus a second time?

I had the same problem (got back test version) with an M004U that I got back from Asus warranty replacement in November 2014 (bad headphone jack). I didn't worry about it until recently when I got a warning that Chrome was out of date, and then I noticed that the firmware won't update, and it's stuck on a late-30s version of Chrome OS. It's my daughter's machine and she uses it daily, and I'd rather not go another week or two without it.

Bowgo, if it helps, my RMA was USX24B6011 and I sent it to the Milpitas, California Asus service center.

[Steve Pierce]

In my case the problem was there was a missing hard drive. Someone stole the hard drive out of the unit and put it back in the case and I ended up buying it with no hard drive. The vendor quickly replaced the hard drive and everything worked.

My frustration was with ASUS for not saying anything. Twice the unit went back to ASUS for repair and neither time did they mention the hard drive was missing.

That said, the mother board was ALSO defective and so it was replaced teh rfist time, so really I ahd two problems.

Here is what I suspect happen. Someone bought the unit and then swapped out the motherboard and took the hard drive and then returned the device. Then the vendor put it back on the shelf and sold it to me.

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Steve Pierce

(734) 274-4602
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HDL is the power behind Wireless Ypsi

[miket]

vapier@ or bowgotsai@: note end-of-rope plea for help below.

Steve: glad you got it fixed. I'm still in one of Asus's circles of hell. I've sent it in multiple times now, and each time when it comes back it still has the wrong HWID (X86 PANTHER TEST 6287). The last time I sent it in I can tell they didn't actually do anything because it still knew my home guest wireless password, meaning they didn't even reset it. It's frustrating because each round trip takes another ~$10 in shipping, another hour on online chat, and another half hour to box it up, write yet more explicit repair instructions, and take it to UPS to ship.

vapier@ or bowgotsai@: if you know a way for me to get back the HWID, I am more than willing at this point to take apart the device, remove the write-protect, and flash whatever needs to be flashed. I've lost faith that Asus has the capability to understand what's wrong with the device or care to read the explicit problem description I've given them repeatedly. The serial # is E3NTCX010277, and the RMAs are USX24B6011, N150757622, USX2578390, and USX2579875. And FWIW I'm a Google employee (miket) so I'm happy to take it in to work if looking at it would help.

If I end up shipping it back again, it might actually be a good idea to zero out the rom with the flashrom. That way it'll be impossible for a lazy tech to boot it up, see the Chrome logo on the screen, decide it must be working, and box it up again without doing anything, like what happened last time.

[Steve Pierce]

Write a letter to the Asus CEO. Tell him all you have done, ask for a prepaid shipping label and ask them to not ship it back until it is actually fixed. Keep the letter short no mote than one page and include RMA and serial numbers.