Let's take a look at this photo:

We have labeled ROM_1 and ROM_2, which are actually two non-conventional ROM chips. In the Seagate enterprise-level hard drives we have collected, such as 16TB, 18TB, and 20TB hard drives, we found that this design doesn't only use one chip as ROM chip, but simultaneously uses two chips to form the ROM chip solution.

Through practical testing, we found that the software's Bootcode mode cannot access ROM data, which poses a significant challenge to our research:

a. ROM cannot be directly accessed through software, indicating the need to physically obtain ROM data;

b. Non-conventional ROM chips cannot be replaced and read from other PCB boards because the chips are not compatible;

c. The probe board solution is currently ruled out, and the only option is to desolder the chip to obtain the ROM;

d. Chip type and packaging process are relevant, i.e., non-conventional chips are prone to lack tool support, thus requiring additional development of reading and writing tools;

e. The dual-chip solution indicates that the ROM contains two segments of data, which need to be parsed and reassembled, posing an even greater challenge to reading and writing the ROM;

f. All the preceding work is aimed at one goal: firmware unlocking. The feasibility of achieving this breakthrough awaits future verification.

We can summarize the above steps to derive the research and development process for the dual-chip ROM solution:

1. Address the physical reading and writing issues of non-conventional ROM chips;

2. Resolve the parsing and reassembling of the two segments of ROM data;

3. Investigate the possibility of firmware unlocking.

It is evident that the research and development task is extremely challenging, which is why there are currently no tools available to support these types of enterprise-level hard drives.

The following video will showcase our interim achievements, indicating that the first phase has been completed:  

YouTube:

 Bilibili: