[dishsoap]

That's very surprising that the image from the firmware update alone is sufficient to boot the machine. On the overwhelming majority of laptops, the update capsules don't contain the NVRAM sections (so no set or default values for any settings) and typically this is enough to prevent the firmware from booting the machine.

It's also interesting/impressive how much work the author went through to reinvent the wheel with his own custom microcontroller setup for reading and flashing the EEPROM when there are so many cheap off the shelf solutions available (that can read and program hundreds of times faster than it sounds like his did).

[BoredPositron]

The desoldering did it for me but good for him if it works in the end. It could be done by way less technical people with the proper (cheap) tools though. The article is a bit of a double edged sword because of it.

[heartag]

I agree. The situation was me trying to use materials on-hand, but it makes the writeup less useful.