Re: Modern hw-killing virus feasible

["Juan M. Courcoul" <courcoul () campus qro itesm mx>]

"Mike A. Harris" wrote:
> On Tue, 6 Mar 2001, Ma Gores wrote:
>
> > Quoting from someone, somewhere, else...
> >
> > "cih erased the software stored on the chip... it should be obvious from
> > that that it is software damage, not hardware damage...
> >
> > > But its damage is just as bad"
> >
> >
> > Semantics, maybe.
>
> A dead motherboard that has had it's BIOS wiped out by a virus,
> is a dead motherboard.  The cost of repairing this problem is
> significant enough to most people that it would basically mean
> purchasing a new motherboard.  In other words, the "problem"
> caused, has a pricetag associated with it.  While no physical
> damage is done, and the BIOS could certainly be replaced, the
> cost factors basically equivilate that the hardware is destroyed
> for all practical purposes for 99% of the general case.
>
> Joe average does not have the knowhow, nor the EPROM burner in
> his desk drawer to fix the problem.  Hell, the computer store
> probably couldn't help him much either.
>
> *I* know how to fix such problems, but if I had my BIOS flashed,
> for all intents and purposes, I would be buying a new board too
> most likely because I don't have ready steady access to a EPROM
> flasher, not to mention the time and effort involved in trying to
> track down a copy of a rom - and thus time == money, yada yada.

Nope, a new board is basically your only option. Unless EEPROM technology
changed significantly since I last checked, you cannot flash the chip "on the
board", cause the rest of the electronics will act up and introduce an error
factor. So, pop the chip out, flash it and pop it back in, right ? Before
flasheable BIOS, this was an option, for the EPROM was socket-mounted to allow
upgrades; then some beancounter somewhere had the "brilliant idea" of saving on
sockets by making the thing self-reprogrammable and soldering the EEPROM on the
board. Ok, so let's unsolder the thing and we'll just solder a new one back in.
 Well, unless you have access to a well-equipped board reworking facility (a
bit harder to come by than an EEPROM burner...), I wish you the best of luck
trying to remove an SMM (surface mount) device without frying the multilayer
board. Ain't progress wonderful ?

JMC