After extensive research with much trial and error, I have made my own BIOS with updated EFI drivers, OROMs, Intel Management Engine and the addition of the Rebar and NvmeExpress modules.
The original BIOS v1903 was downloaded from the Asus website and I used FD44editor to update it with my specific board info and a combination of UEFITool 0.28 and MMTool v4 to insert patched and updated modules as required whilst keeping the UEFI padding structure the same.
The BIOS functions as intended, with resizable BAR and Nvme support, but has an issue that the baseclock setting in tbe BIOS no longer functions. At default 100 mhz, the system reports between 96-98 mhz via CPU-Z and Hwinfo. If I change the value to anything above 100, it shows the change on the POST screen correctly (adjusting CPU and RAM speeds) but windows reports the same 96-98mhz.
When I flash back to the original BIOS it seems this behavoir stays the same unless I use the FTK batch tool to flash the file with Intel’s ME flasher.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I remember something like that…usually was due to unhide ALL settings with AMIBCP.
So it could be because I’ve had to unhide some of the AMIBCP settings?
I’m pretty sure I tried without editing a BIOS with AMIBCP at all, but still had the same results. I’ll have to test it.
After testing again, it seems that AMIBCP doesn’t seem to be the culprit. There’s no difference between a BIOS file I’ve made with edits from AMIBCP and one without any use of it.
Does anyone else have any other suggestions of why baseclock isn’t adjustable? Could it be another BIOS setting?
Then you’ll have to debug the whole set of modifications you’ve done, NVMe, REBAR, UBU modules etc… do it by increase steps, specially attention on UBU modifications/updates.
I’m testing step by step but I’ve come to the realisation that this baseclock issue now happens even with the original BIOS installed. It definitely didn’t used to be a problem, but I’m not sure when that was.
I have tried using AFUDOS and the Asus USB Flashback but both just end up with the baseclock not working.
Is there anything else I can do to factory reset the BIOS?
Do an FPT -greset for ME FW re-initialization, after restarted shut it down, AC plug off, CMOS battery off, wait about 15m, you’ll get the post message about system had been reset to default upon powering on again.
Unfortunately FTP -greset didn’t seem to work. It did the reset fine but didn’t resolve the issue.
I’ve found that to get back to a fixed stock rom I have to use Afudos on a USB boot drive with FreeDOS. I then install the original BIOS, followed by a modded BIOS with the /gan command. This doesn’t fix the issue but I can then disable the BIOS write blocks in the hidden CPU->Security menu which allows me to boot back into FreeDOS and use Intel ME FTP to write the original BIOS with the “-rewrite” command.
I’ve found that the USB BIOS Flashback doesn’t seem to flash all blocks of the BIOS and sometimes doesn’t even clear the CMOS!
The Sage continues… I’d love to just know what is actually causing the issues and where that data lives in the BIOS!
No indeed, the USB BFB usually only flashes the Bios region, ME only when needed of an update, but i don’t agree when you’re saying that the factory settings were not restored or that a CMOS reset cant revert back to factory settings, when using the latest official 1903
To unlock the spi regions access on that board i used AMIBCP to unhide them, then it will allow the full use of the tool.
I still have my old M5F exactly like that and done in the same way.
Also you can force a bios downgrade and then a forward flash again to the 1903.
A bent pin(s) on the socket also can lead to miscommunication on memory controller.
Sorry, the CMOS Clear button on the back of the motherboard can definitely clear the CMOS fine. It was just when using USB BFB that I found that it looked like (and took long enough) that it presumably used the modified BIOS. Following this it had not reset the CMOS, perhaps because it just sees the same 1903 BIOS version?
I’ll try AMIBCP but it seems to cause some issues for me when I’m trying to boot into FreeDOS and I enable the CSM module in the BIOS. It sometimes seems to show the POST screen as a black/white old-fashioned screen and then entering BIOS only shows black, with anything else soft-locking showing a black screen with a very fast flashing curser at the top left.
Indeed.
I remember that in my tryouts there were certain settings that caused “Black screen” post, when doing it with AMIBCP or when changing the Default setting of a string/variable.
I always used bios_region dump, mod and FPT flash.
But for FPT use, you only need set to USER the Bios Locks items on Security.
Cant remember if ME Reflash is also need…
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