[Guide] CoffeeLake CPUs on Skylake and KabyLake mainboards

hmm try reseating cpu and ram. that usually fixed weird q-code errors for me

@Foxsitto - Q-Code 00 means ME FW not updated/flashed to correct version for your system with the mod BIOS, probably FD not written too.
This is normal and you need to either pinmod the board to unlock FD and allow re-write of FD and ME or get a flash programmer like CH341A and if BIOS soldered to board you also need SOIC8 test clip cable.

Youā€™ll get more help and advice on this in the coffee mod BIOS thread for just this kind of thing, would you like me to move your posts there for better help possibly?
This one [GUIDE] Coffee Lake CPUs on Skylake and Kaby Lake motherboards (60)

@davidm71 - ME Re-Flash is usually disabled, since this disables the ME FW. This can be changed either with AMIBCP BIOS edit, or edit setup module via IFR and hex.
Sometimes this method wont help, if flashback does not check to re-write ME (Sometimes does, sometimes does not), and if using MOD BIOS you can flash normally where EZ Flash would check this and reflash ME on first or second flash, sometimes you need to flash twice if option for full/partial update not offered.
Pinmod to unlock FD and then rewrite in a unlocked FD and then write whatever ME you want via FPT directly, or using flash programmer is best way to sort this out quickly.

Sorry, I donā€™t know about the pin mods and which CPUā€™s work with what methods, someone else will have to help you on that one
I think for all you have to re-write FD and ME, so you really need a flash programmer if you want this to be painless, they only cost $2.50 + $3.50 if you have soldered BIOS (You also need SOIC8 test clip with cable then)

Yes please if you can move to another topic. thank.
I explain in detail.After flashing the BIOS modified the system works wonderfully.The system is stable. Even at 5 mhz. Modification of the BIOS passed without errors.I have removable EPROM. Bios reflashed with programmer TL866. Cpu pinmod I did. Iā€™ll post a link to the BIOS files.

I used two programs CoffeeLake MOD tool,CoffeeTime_0.83. But the result is the same. But after turning off the PC and then turning it on I have post code 00.Maybe Iā€™m doing something wrong?


https://drive.google.com/open?id=1famvu8ā€¦4ch8HkRuTv-YMPc

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fQGD-oā€¦-RwU27LZPrPqSxe

@Foxsitto - Great, if you used programmer then ME and FD region written for sure. Youā€™ll have to wait on the pros ( @revlaay @svarmod @_haru @PCGH_Torsten ) to reply about the Q-code and possibly pinmod you need to do, they can check your mod BIOS too thanks for adding

I will move topic now

Lost_N_BIOS Thank you very much. I will wait for the news.

Do you get 00 followed by imediate shutdown or does the system continue to run showing 00?
First one would be ME related, the latter one ā€¦ I only get this when forgetting CPU power. But that shouldnā€™t unplug itself on a mere restart. :slight_smile:
Also: Do soft-restarts work? Stand-by/S3/Suspend to RAM? Is the system unplugged from the grid when off or does it receive stand-by power?

This problem appears after turning off the computer. I dont have this problem when i restart computer. This issue gone only after total disconection from power or reset bios.
When I have this post code00, coolers are spinning all the time.

I modded the BIOS for Asus Maximus IX Extreme. I have been using it with 9900k OC to 5 GHz without HT for over a month. It should work with any 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th gen CPU with less than or equal to 8 threads. Includes microcode: 506E0, 506E1, 506E2, 506E3, 506E8, 906E9, 906EA, 906EB, 906EC.

{F56D9C3C-378B-4313-9F15-A8290C3D7C96}.png.jpg



Hereā€™s the BIOS.

Hereā€™s how to flash it.

1. Do the pinmod on the CPU according to this map provided by CoffeeTime.

2. Backup your current BIOS which contains your motherboardā€™s MAC, UUID, SN with AFU or anything works for you.

3. Use FD44Editor to transfer the MAC, UUID, SN from your backup to the modded BIOS and save.

4. Remove the PCH heatsink. Short the two pads circled in red. Similar to the Maximus IX Apex mod.

20190322_020007.jpg



5. Copy creative.rom to a USB drive. Plug the drive into the USB Flashback port. Press the USB Flashback button. If the pads are shorted successfully, the light on the button should blink for a minute then turn solid.

6. System will restart a few times.

Here how I did the mod.

I tried transplanting from Maximus X boards. Like @svarmod said, it doesnā€™t work. Using the usual Coffee Lake mod on the M9E BIOS doesnā€™t work on 9900k as well. So I need to compromise by disabling hyper-threading. However HT is enabled by default. AMIBCP crashes when saving settings.

Therefore I used CoffeeTime to process the official BIOS first. I then replaced the vBIOS manually because the vBIOS processed by CoffeeTime didnā€™t work. Maybe I didnā€™t used advanced mode. Removed GUID 63F23E9D-5FDA-415E-9C2A-64C4E2A6ECE8 to prevent ME force update. Added microcodes with MMTool. Extracted the Setup module in UEFITool. Decoded it with Universal IFR Extractor7. Searched Hyper-Threading in Section_PE32_image_Setup_body IFR.txt. I founded

1
2
3
Ā 
0x55A12 				Setting: Hyper-Threading, Variable: 0x512 {05 91 29 01 2A 01 17 02 01 00 12 05 10 10 00 01 00}
0x55A23 Option: Disabled, Value: 0x0 {09 07 05 00 00 00 00}
0x55A2A Option: Enabled, Value: 0x1 (default) {09 07 04 00 10 00 01}
Ā 


The "10" in string "09 07 04 00 10 00 01" indicates the value "01" is the default. However changing "09 07 05 00 00 00 00 09 07 04 00 10 00 01" to "09 07 05 00 10 00 00 09 07 04 00 00 00 01" didn't work. I realized the default setup variables are stored somewhere else.

At the time I didn't know where variable 0x512 is stored. But the default values from 0x512 to 0x519 are 01 00 00 00 FF 01 01 FF. Searching hex string 01 00 00 00 FF 01 01 FF in UEFITool returned 3 matches which correspond to 3 nvram modules.

{D342CAA6-8497-4E91-BB74-8BFDD89394A2}.png.jpg



The exact values show up in the exact offset within the modules. So they must be it. The rest is just replacing 01 00 00 00 FF 01 01 FF by 00 00 00 00 FF 01 01 FF in HxD thrice. Now HT is disabled by default.

@Foxsitto : Try to set all clocks to a very low setting manually and voltages acceptable high for a start. Your symptoms might be due to bad auto settings (most likely RAM).

I might be missing something but what is the point to struggle that much to run a CPU without hyper threading? Still 8 cores functioning though?
I get the fun part of playing around with hardware but It seems to me quite crazy journey from this thread for somebody that just wants to save money VS buying a cheap second hand z370 z390 ^^
Anyway BRAVO for the dedication and hard work

Depending on the board it is possible to run 8 core/16 threads (I did this on Asrock B150M Pro4S -not recommended-, Maximus VIII Ranger and Z170 Sabertooth) and many people do own high quality Z170 boards which are not that cheap/easy to replace with something new. Especially if one has some specific add-ons installed, e.g. I got water coolers and an SATA-E attached USB 3.1 front panel. Replacing all this would easily cost 400 bucks new and getting such parts second hand in good condition is as much struggle as modding the old system. Also these efforts started before there was any second hand market for Z370 at all. Nowadays the prices have dropped and for most people it is more a hobby and less a financial descision. Mind how many people are playing around with Core i3, which are slower than a 6700K or 7700K.

I got the 9900k before I started the mod. I could have run it on Maximus IX Apex with all 16 threads. But M9A doesnā€™t come with a monoblock. M9E does. And they were selling these days as low as $60. A monoblock of any sort alone is worth at least $100. The 8 phase VRM is also on par with those on the Z370 boards.

Anyway even with 8 threads at 200 Watts power consumption 9900k without delidding already reaches 100 degree in my custom loop when OC to 5 GHz. I didnā€™t even try to OC it on M9A with my 240mm AIO.

If modded successfully for 16 threads, M9E beats the shit out of most Z370/Z390 boards, considering the price. The real benefit of Z370/Z390 to me is just they overclock memory better. On M9E I could only reach 4000 MHz four sticks.

Hopefully someone can improve the HT fix and enable 16 threads on Asus Z270 ROG boards.

Hi guys. I found out that this problem is with ram memory. If the frequency does not higher above 2900mhz then everything is ok.Although the previous BIOS with a processor Skylake i7 6700, the memory was running to 3100 MHz without problems.Iā€™m confused why this happens ā€¦ Maybe has solutions to this problem?
Ram model Kingston HyperX Predator 16GB Kit (4x4GB) 2800MHz.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1n7NRj5ā€¦Ryu2u5XdAmxBa1Z

UEFI modding always gives you kind of a beta product. 2900 is already well above spec and four modules add load. Probably you can gain more by optimising all subtimings and straps by hand, but your board simply does not know what works best for coffee lake, because it only got a kaby lake library with some mods,

Iā€™m happy with the result.For now, I will use this clock frequency 2933mhz Perhaps something can be changed in the BIOS mod file? I take all possible advice.




Was wondering why and how its necessary to short the two pads to do a Flashback? Thought you didnā€™t need to short anything to do Flashback. Does that unlock regions?

Thanks

Itā€™s necessary to unlock ME, or bypass the verification.




Thats what I thought though I am pretty certain on my Workstation board Flashback always reverted my ME.

You need to remove GUID 63F23E9D-5FDA-415E-9C2A-64C4E2A6ECE8 to prevent ME force update.