@milenovic - error 7 I see when BIOS previously flashed with AFU and sometimes cause this issue, or bad BIOS Mod. Please upload ONLY your FPT dumped BIOS region, and then your edit of that BIOS region, in a single zip/rar etc
I will check and let you know if I see any issue. Did you do NVME edit with MMTool or UEFITool (if this, what exact version)?
@jetman6 - So, on Z420 what all mods have you done and flashed in? I see this model has HP Sure Start, which has proven to be a MAJOR pain on many systems, but seems it did not auto recover stock BIOS when you did the NVME mod here, so I wonder if entire DXE volume is not covered by SureStart?
I just added the NVME drivers to the bios with UEFITool. And flashed it with the bios chip programmer. Previously moded the bios to fix the V2 cpu support and faster memory. I had to rewrite the bios and flash it with the bios chip programmer. Chip programmer was my easy way out.
I also did a Z620 the same way. 
@jetman6 - Thanks, good to know this model Sure Start isn’t as terrible as some other HP models I’ve ran into this on. ON some models, even with programmer, anything you touch gets automatically re-written post programing on first startup.
Maybe it’s not enabled as deeply on those models, or the main DXE volume at least is not protected so surestart does not get invoked.
Hi all,
Firstly, sorry for not being in the know here! I’m pretty comfortable flashing custom software (done a few GPUs bios’s, Android ROMs etc) but not sure where to start here.
I’ve ordered these boards for my new ESXi Cluster and I’m not entirely sure if they support v2 CPU’s or not - I’m assuming not.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Lot-of-2-HP-…872.m2749.l2649
Serial, board model, revision number etc https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/JGkAAOSwcIpeZnHm/s-l1600.jpg
I’ve seen mention on here a few times about updating the board to support v2 CPU’s which I definitely want to do. I’m not fussed about NVMe support but if its the same amount of work, happy to add it.
Thanks guys,
Sorry again!
First you will need to extract the bios info from each board with a chip reader. Then you will need to rewrite the bios info with a hex edit software. I forget where you need to start this edit, But it is available on the HP forums. I googled V2 cpu support for HP Z420 or Z620 to find the thread that explained it in detail.
Adding nvme is supper simple and the info is on this site.
Once above is complete write the file back to the chip. Don’t mix the files, For best results! Do one board at a time. 
Hey Jetman6,
Thanks heaps for the info! I actually found this guide: https://github.com/SuperThunder/HP_Z420_…sIWJeUGFQ9yq-gU
Posting here so anyone else can make use if it
Hello
Could I please send a bios package with NVME ready support to HP Z420. Unfortunately, I do not have the skills to reprogram the BIOS myself.
@sylwograffiti - Do below, and send me file created at #1, and tell me what error you get at #2, then delete file created at #1 (or rename to .old, we wont use anymore, and will make new file at #1 later)
Additionally, please run this command and show me image of output >> FPTw.exe -i
If you have already modified the BIOS in ANY way, you will need to re-flash it back to factory defaults using factory method (NOT FPT)!!!
Additionally, please remove all BIOS passwords, disable secure boot, and disable TPM or Encryption if you have enabled. Do this before moving on to below
If you do not have Intel ME drivers installed, install them now from your system driver download page, then start over here after reboot.
Check your BIOS’ main page and see if ME FW version is shown. If not then > DOWNLOAD HWINFO64 HERE <
Once HWINFO is open, look at the large window on the left side, expand motherboard, and find the ME area.
Inside that section is the ME Firmware version. Take note of the version. (ie. write it down or get a screenshot)
Once you have that, go to the thread linked below, and in the section “C.2” find and download the matching ME System Tools Package for your system.
(ie if ME FW version = 10.x get V10 package, if 9.0-9.1 get V9.1 package, if 9.5 or above get V9.5 package etc)
> DOWNLOAD " ME System Tools " packages HERE <
Once downloaded, inside you will find Flash Programming Tool folder, and then inside that a Windows or Win/Win32 folder (NOT x64).
Highlight that Win/Win32 folder, then hold shift and press right click. Choose “open command window here” (Not power shell! >> * See Registry file below *).
If you get an error, reply to this post with a screenshot of it, OR write down the EXACT command entered and the EXACT error given.
((If “open command window here” does not appear, look for the “Simple Registry Edit” below…))
Step #1
Now you should be at the command prompt.
You are going to BACKUP the factory un-modified firmware, so type the following command:
Command: " FPTw.exe -bios -d biosreg.bin "
>> Attach the saved "biosreg.bin ", placed into a compressed ZIP/RAR file, to your next post!!! <<
Step #2
Right after you do that, try to write back the BIOS Region dump and see if you get any error(s).
Command: " FPTw.exe -bios -f biosreg.bin "
^^ This step is important! Don’t forget! ^^
If you get an error, reply to this post with a screenshot of it, OR write down the EXACT command entered and the EXACT error given.
Here is a SIMPLE REGISTRY EDIT that adds “Open command window here as Administrator” to the right click menu, instead of Power Shell
Double-click downloaded file to install. Reboot after install may be required
> CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD CMD PROMPT REGISTRY ENTRY <
If the windows method above does NOT work for you…
Then you may have to copy all contents from the Flash Programming Tool \ DOS folder to the root of a Bootable USB disk and do the dump from DOS
( DOS command: " FPT.exe -bios -d biosreg.bin " )
Additionally, please remove all BIOS passwords, disable secure boot, and disable TPM or Encryption if you have enabled. Do this before moving on to below
If you do not have Intel ME drivers installed, install them now from your system driver download page, then start over here after reboot.
Check your BIOS’ main page and see if ME FW version is shown. If not then > DOWNLOAD HWINFO64 HERE <
Once HWINFO is open, look at the large window on the left side, expand motherboard, and find the ME area.
Inside that section is the ME Firmware version. Take note of the version. (ie. write it down or get a screenshot)
Once you have that, go to the thread linked below, and in the section “C.2” find and download the matching ME System Tools Package for your system.
(ie if ME FW version = 10.x get V10 package, if 9.0-9.1 get V9.1 package, if 9.5 or above get V9.5 package etc)
> DOWNLOAD " ME System Tools " packages HERE <
Once downloaded, inside you will find Flash Programming Tool folder, and then inside that a Windows or Win/Win32 folder (NOT x64).
Highlight that Win/Win32 folder, then hold shift and press right click. Choose “open command window here” (Not power shell! >> * See Registry file below *).
If you get an error, reply to this post with a screenshot of it, OR write down the EXACT command entered and the EXACT error given.
((If “open command window here” does not appear, look for the “Simple Registry Edit” below…))
Step #1
Now you should be at the command prompt.
You are going to BACKUP the factory un-modified firmware, so type the following command:
Command: " FPTw.exe -bios -d biosreg.bin "
>> Attach the saved "biosreg.bin ", placed into a compressed ZIP/RAR file, to your next post!!! <<
Step #2
Right after you do that, try to write back the BIOS Region dump and see if you get any error(s).
Command: " FPTw.exe -bios -f biosreg.bin "
^^ This step is important! Don’t forget! ^^
If you get an error, reply to this post with a screenshot of it, OR write down the EXACT command entered and the EXACT error given.
Here is a SIMPLE REGISTRY EDIT that adds “Open command window here as Administrator” to the right click menu, instead of Power Shell
Double-click downloaded file to install. Reboot after install may be required
> CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD CMD PROMPT REGISTRY ENTRY <
If the windows method above does NOT work for you…
Then you may have to copy all contents from the Flash Programming Tool \ DOS folder to the root of a Bootable USB disk and do the dump from DOS
( DOS command: " FPT.exe -bios -d biosreg.bin " )
Hello,
i have the same problem, FPT says always "Error 28".
Dumping the bios-region is possible OOB, dumping complete flash-image only possible, when the "FD-Override"-jumper is in non-factory-position.
In UEFI-tool i can see in descriptor-region this:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2
3
4
5
6
7
BIOS access table:
Read Write
Desc Yes No
BIOS Yes Yes
ME No No
GbE Yes Yes
PDR Yes Yes
Tried also to find a bios-lock in setup w/IFR, but found none. So in my opinion, only SPI is possible to reprogram the image.
Hello,
reply to myself…
I updated the ROM with spi-programmer (latest cpu-microcodes, NVMe) and removed write-protection in descriptor-region:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Region access settings:
BIOS: FFh FFh ME: FFh FFh
GbE: FFh FFh
BIOS access table:
Read Write
Desc Yes Yes
BIOS Yes Yes
ME Yes Yes
GbE Yes Yes
PDR Yes Yes
Anyway, it is still write-protected and FPT reports "error 28".
Im interested in the HP z420 for the bios mods too. It seems like HP is using some propietary bios and I cannot edit it with AMIBCP.
Thank you