Reverse Engineering Tool Enables SGI O2 PROM Firmware Modification for CPU Upgrades
By
mattst88
The bagel they save for the regulars. Don't skim, savour.
Summary
A developer has created a decompiler tool called ip32prom-decompiler that can reverse engineer the PROM firmware for the Silicon Graphics O2 workstation. This breakthrough enables modification of the previously unmodifiable firmware, potentially allowing CPU upgrades to 900 MHz RM7900 processors that have been blocked since the early 2000s. The decompiler produces human-readable assembly code with labels, comments, and function descriptions while maintaining bit-identical output when reassembled.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledSince the early 2000s, the potential for upgrading the CPU in the Silicon Graphics O2 with a 900 MHz RM7900 has been blocked by the inability to modify the PROM firmware.
To that end, I built ip32prom-decompiler, a program that decompiles the PROM into sources that can be reassembled into a bit-identical image.
The decompiler goes to great lengths to produce assembly that is understandable and modifiable by replacing known constants, recognizing and replacing memory addresses with labels, inserting comments and function descriptions, marking function bounds, and many other niceties.
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