@Lost_N_BIOS I wanted to make this request a month ago but out of respect for you and your time I decided to work the problem myself whilst using your guides and instructions for similar situations to mine
I was hoping to make you proud with a success story but Im still new at this but I do not consider asking for help as a failure
I am officially requesting assistance for either a direct mod or instructions/suggestions for 9th gen intel CPU support via BIOS Mod for my Aurora R7 Z370 mobo
I of course would like overclocked CPU ability unlocked via the alienware skin control center (normally reserved for factory purchased "K" cpus (it links to intels XTU and disables non K chips as well as XTU itself making non factory "K"ver non overclockable) and 3,200hrz RAM XMP support
and whatever else is behind hidden door number 3 but Ill settle for I7-9700K 9th gen support(IM not greedy)
I have spare brand new chip factory programmed with newest bios, 3 different programmers verified functional at 3.3-6V with old and latest greatest software
A full with individual region dump(s) (more on the full spi dump at the end)
An awareness to the MMtool defect of intel microcode insertion generates larger file (unknown if patched MMtool solves this phenom or if UEFI tool update CPUID technique works with Dell AMI bios)
An awareness of the bootguard fiasco and possible solution via Nvram mod(although I have no idea on how to implement it)
Basically my Z370 mobo should support 9th gen CPU via simple OEM bios update as the Dell XPS8930, aurora R8, vostro gaming, and others all have the EXACT same mobo AND support 9th gen CPUs
other than the Aurora R8 no other systems were sold as 9th gen supported yet they got an out of the blue bios update for said support along with 3200 RAM support
and that fact is whats got me hot under the collar meanwhile the aforementioned systems and Z130/Z230 mobos are cruising on thru with 9th gen support
so I guess I have a few questions
1. Is there anything else dell bios is looking for other than CPUID to allow booting of 9th gen CPU?
2. Would reinstalling OS in BIOS mode thus opening csm or legacy option rom help the situation? Some blanket "cover this situation" rom perhaps something older we can sneak a cpuid code in with?
2. Does intel ME need to be disabled,upgraded, or downgraded and if so what version? 11.7, 11.6, 11? Current version ME 11.8.86.3877 (can be updraded one or 2 more levels up and current FPT tool is higher level than current ME ver (win-raid guide called for CSME System Tools v11 r40 and nearest corresponding firmware repot nor CSME v11 r40 tools contain exact current ME ver but my understanding its fine as long as FPT ver is higher than current(I dont know if thats true but I recall finding CSME V11 r50 somewhere else and havent sorted thru files to find it again)
3. if Nvram mod is only recourse then what is the specific procedure for dell R7 bios cpuid injection and/or minimal mod needed for 9th gen support and boot only?
So I have several ME cleaning tools and currently have write access to bios region only with measured/verified boot enabled and am uninterested in new installing new PCH
using the EFI Shell - AMISetupWriter method Ive determined bios lock var is 0x911 and me fpf fusing patch NOT applicable(which Im hoping means biosguard is not fused)
I tried 2 different tools designed to load the microcode at boot then the os and the other tool updates microcode thru a virtual hardware driver
one of them indicated success (although only for the current cpu) with other not booting
Im attempting to build a tool using BITS and using one of the aforementioned tools script I believe I can force the I7-9700K cpuid update but unsure if that will be soon enough in the boot sequence or if the bios is looking for more than just the cpuid code for 9th gen support
I will attempt a final try with prior tool after I modify the batch cfg file but Im not dropping the 9700K into the mobo on that alone
Ive discovered some microcode update techniques for linux kernal supposed very early in the kernal loading stage and since this Rig is our VR and gaming machine I will settle for a steam machine only if need be(f**k windows anyway)
also there are some cool tools for bios inside linux but they must be assembled of course
using some direction from lost_N_bios help with someones xps-8930 and aurora R9(both morons stopped communication so I dont know the results) I am going to repeat what he asked of them but Im hoping a solution has already been validated so I will try grub_setup var and dump nvram only region as I now understand with biosguard enabled there is not much you can do
I do have a manual jumper that makes ME go to "sleep" so if that can be of use with a NON fused bootguard(I still dont know what fusing patch not applicable means)then I might be in luck
If I locate a full R8 dump, can I rebuild the complete 16mb bios image swapping out the R8 bios region only dump with the fit TOOL seeing how the R8 is natively 9th gen supported?
This last part is a lot of work (which I dont mind) to complete when I wont know what to do with the data and no support pending
If someone could at least reply back that this is impossible or they are too busy to help me then I can at least save myself the time and begrudgingly shelf this upgrade project or break out the hacksaw
and install this refurb $44 asus B360M mobo with dual m.2 and 9th gen support I got as redundancy but won be happy about sorting out the power on and LED wiring issues tp make it work
thank you for your time and not to disrespect or insult but I can afford a $100 donation(I wish I could afford more) for this valuable and worth much more assistance yet to be provided
@chromecut sorry to tell ya man. We all miss Lost_N_Bios. Lasted time he was active on forum was January, hasn’t been back since. Left abruptly. 