prototype A485 with 0.29 UEFi firmware... thoughts?

[Jackbee]

This was received through an anonymous donor, who had worked at Lenovo's prototyping divisions in the past. I'd never thought I'd see a model like this, but apparently it exists! I'm posting it here instead of in the Ryzen subforums, because I figured it would get better attention...

https://i.redd.it/44xnxandhk571.png

It's more of a review model than an engineering sample. The hardware layout appears to be nearly finished, there is a genuine serial code that corresponds to an official model type, fans don't always run at full speed, and the bezel reads "A485" instead of "XXXX." However, BIOS upgrading is still impossible; trying to enter the firmware capsule update utility kicks me out after two seconds of a black screen.

Just like any preproduction BIOS, this one has bugs. For instance, sleep mode does not work. The power LED blinks like it should, but trying to turn the laptop back on results in a hard reset, regardless of the operating system. Your only option is to hibernate.

I've already done a WinFlash dump, and am attempting to see if I can do a raw flash dump. However, my Raspberry Pi has turned inconclusive, with bad dumps full of undecipherable garbage every single time, and the SOIC clip's contacts appear to have sunken in the process. I'm not willing to go full idiot and break things more, so perhaps I should get someone else to do it... and in the process, flash a newer A485 BIOS.

Anyone in the Raleigh, NC area?

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