How can I generate a new UUID for A21m?

Message

teddy · #1 Post by **teddy** » Wed Nov 21, 2007 4:19 am

Hello all,

I somehow managed to part-brick my beloved Thinkpad. It stops with "0189 Invalid RFID configuration information area". I found out that most likely the UUID is the problem as it reads only "ffff-fff...".

So I got a Thinkpad Hardware Maintenance Diskette (1.74) that promises to set the UUID. But all it does is tell me "found UUID, writing Checksum ... done". Don't know if it writes any checksum, but the problem persists (no valid UUID & System doesn't boot normally).

I'm at a loss.

Any suggestions?

Greetings!
teddy

Gorby2 · #2 Post by **Gorby2** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 5:49 pm

Have you ever figured it out? I have exact the same problem with my a21p. The manual says it needs maintenance disk v. 1.62 but I found all except this one. I tried with other versions and it says it generates the UUID but it fails to write it for some reason. Very frustrating... any help?

Thanks

teddy · #3 Post by **teddy** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 3:10 am

Hi.

Gorby2 wrote:Have you ever figured it out? I have exact the same problem with my a21p. The manual says it needs maintenance disk v. 1.62 but I found all except this one. I tried with other versions and it says it generates the UUID but it fails to write it for some reason. Very frustrating... any help?

There seems to be no solution except getting a new mainboard. The maintenance disk does not solve this problem, the new UUID is not written, just like you said. Seems to work only with new mainboards or something.

I've given up - I leave the notebook in standby, so the annoying RFID error message doesn't pop up too often. If anyone finds a solution, I'd be still interested though.

Regards!
teddy

Gorby2 · #4 Post by **Gorby2** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:52 pm

Thanks for the follow-up. I guess no reason for me to hunt for the exact maintenance disk version that is recommended by the manual. I thought the issue is because I am using a slightly different version; but I guess not. It's a bummer. Like you said - it still works but really annoying to get this message and hit ESC to bypass it. Other then that, it works just fine so I can live with that.

Replacing a motherboard is not worth it in my laptop since it is pretty old and new motherboard will probably cost 100 - 200 bucks if I can even find one.

teddy · #5 Post by **teddy** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:34 pm

Hi.

Gorby2 wrote:Replacing a motherboard is not worth it in my laptop since it is pretty old and new motherboard will probably cost 100 - 200 bucks if I can even find one.

You could try to find a new board or an otherwise defunct Thinkpad on eBay. When I watched auctions last time, there was a mainboard for 40€ or something like that. I didn't really want to face taking my Thinkpad apart, though, so I stopped pursuing that line.

Greetings!
teddy

SMA · #6 Post by **SMA** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:57 am

If a valid UUID already exists, then the HMD will not overwrite it.
So, to make the HMD replace an existing UUID with a new one, it will have to be done in two steps.
First you will have to delete the existing UUID. Then a new UUID can be generated.

Perhaps not a user friendly program interface, but the HMD's are not supposed to be publically available.

teddy · #7 Post by **teddy** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:56 am

SMA wrote:If a valid UUID already exists, then the HMD will not overwrite it.
So, to make the HMD replace an existing UUID with a new one, it will have to be done in two steps.
First you will have to delete the existing UUID. Then a new UUID can be generated.

Well spoken, but: How do I delete the existing UUID? My HMD seems to be missing that option, or maybe I am too stupid.

SMA wrote:Perhaps not a user friendly program interface, but the HMD's are not supposed to be publically available.

I've programmed worse interfaces in my time.

Regards!
teddy

SMA · #8 Post by **SMA** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:41 pm

Sorry, but going into running an illegally downloaded program, and then publically describe how it works is way beyond my
capability. You will have to figure that out yourselves - if you insist on taking that route.

I was just echoing what I had found in one off the manuals.

Also note that I cannot tell you whether or not changing the UUID will solve the problem - I have not tried it.

My personal guess is that changing the UUID will not solved the problem - but again - I have not tried it.

Phazer · #9 Post by **Phazer** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:19 pm

I think your original assumption was correct in that the HMD could delete the UUID, and then it would generate a new one. You could NOT generate one to your liking or one that you made up. Here in lies the problem, (maybe), it sees someting wrong with your mobo so it can't proceed with an erase and rewrite. Just a shot-in-the-dark thought. When I did the new "type" rewrite on mine, I remember seeing the UUID displayed but investigated no further and I really don't want to try it to find out either.

teddy · #10 Post by **teddy** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 8:06 am

hi.

SMA wrote:Sorry, but going into running an illegally downloaded program, and then publically describe how it works is way beyond my
capability. You will have to figure that out yourselves - if you insist on taking that route.

Who says anything about "illegal"? There are legal copies of the HMD out there, you know. Some people might even know some other people who might have one, if you catch my drift.

SMA wrote:I was just echoing what I had found in one off the manuals.

Which one? The service manual for the A21m just tells me how to generate a new UUID after mainboard replacement.

Phazer wrote:You could NOT generate one to your liking or one that you made up. Here in lies the problem, (maybe), it sees someting wrong with your mobo so it can't proceed with an erase and rewrite.

I wouldn't dream of generating a new UUID to my liking. What would be the use?

According to the output of the various stages where the UUID obiously is read, something like this happens:

BIOS: UUID is there, it reads "ffffff..." - phew, that can't be right, better not believe anything in the EEPROM and do something annoying to the user.

HMD: UUID is there, whatever it is, let's just calculate a new checksum, for whatever it's worth, write it to the EEPROM and light the barbequeue.

If there is a way to delete the UUID, so that the HMD can be persuaded to create a new one, I'd be delighted to know how. I didn't find anything in any manual, and believe me, I've tried...

Greetings!
teddy

Phazer · #11 Post by **Phazer** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 8:46 am

BIOS: UUID is there, it reads "ffffff..." - phew, that can't be right, better not believe anything in the EEPROM and do something annoying to the user.

HMD: UUID is there, whatever it is, let's just calculate a new checksum, for whatever it's worth, write it to the EEPROM and light the barbequeue.

ROFL!!!! I think I just soiled myself. I spit coffee all over the monitor.

SMA · #12 Post by **SMA** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 10:38 am

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=12263

teddy · #13 Post by **teddy** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 4:06 pm

Hi.

SMA wrote:http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=12263

Thanks for the link, but as far as I can see, it only explains how to set system information (SNR etc)., how hard it is to follow instructions ("press ESC when logo shows...") and how to download a legal version of IBM/Lenovo's HMD.

I did just that, hoping that the newest (?) version of HMD might be the solution, but no joy. Erasing / resetting system information doesn't help, either - I already tried that. UUID stays fixed at fffff... and HMD just asks whether I'd like my steaks well done.

Greetings!
teddy

cbraswel · #14 Post by **cbraswel** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 1:26 pm

This worked for me on a R40 with the 0189 issue.

When the message pops up, hit escape to continue.

If you want a fix, do this:

1. Download the IBM Hardware Maintenance Disk and create a floppy. The filename for version 1.75 is i7tm23us.exe. I found it at ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mo ... tm23us.exe

2. If you do not have a floppy drive on your laptop, then use nero to create a bootable CD from the files and boot sector of the floppy disk.

3. Boot your laptop from the CD, then choose the Assign UUID option.

This should do the trick for you.

How can I generate a new UUID for A21m?

How can I generate a new UUID for A21m?

Re: How can I generate a new UUID for A21m?

Who is online