@Semil24 You can also try Beta BIOS F2d for the Gigabyte Z170 Gaming K3 (Rev 1.0 & 1.1), it can be downloaded from this thread → Skylake Non-k OC BIOS Archive
Thanks chinobino, f2d has better RAM ratios?
I am still battling with this. I managed to set an oc on f2c after a lot of hassle.
I installed f2d and it is not letting me increase the bclk. I followed exactly the procedure You wrote… I just don’t get it…
I am not 100% sure that F2d will allow base clock oc but other beta BIOS released by Gigabyte on that date (15th Jan 2016) do support Skylake baseclock oc (such as F5c for the Gigabyte Z170-HD3-DDR3).
You may need to go back to F2c if you can’t get it to work.
I checked the FW version and it stayed the same, so I assumed it still should do bclk OC. I will try F2C again to confirm.
Same happening on F2C too. Is it possible that something form Windows is blocking? Gigabyte App center was installed at one moment, but is uninstalled now.
@Semil24 If you can boot into BIOS with increased baseclock then it should stay overclocked when Windows loads.
Windows 10 does load a newer CPU microcode that may interfere with the overclock.
If you want to stop Windows from loading the microcode you will need to take ownership of the file ‘mcupdate_genuineintel.dll’ and then rename it to something like ‘mcupdate_genuineintel.bak’.
Instructions;
In order to change the file name you will need to take ownership of the file and grant yourself full control permission of the file.
1. Navigate to the file using Windows File Explorer i.e. C:\Windows\System32\mcupdate_genuineintel.dll
2. Right click on the file and select "Properties"
3. Go to the “security” tab
4. Click the “Advanced” button
5. Near the top of the resulting window there should be an “Owner:” line and “TrustedInstaller” is likely going to be the currently listed owner.
6. Next to that click "Change"
7. In the resulting window there is a field “Enter the object name to select (examples):”; type your username in this window and click on the “Check Names” button. This should change the contents of the field to something with an underline. The format should be COMPUTERNAME\USERNAME.
8. Hit OK
9. Now back on the window titled “Advanced Security Settings for mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll” click the “Add” button near the bottom left of the window.
10. Near the top of the resulting window click "Select a principal"
11. Same window as step 6, same thing needing to be done as well
12. Click OK to return to the "Premission Entry for mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll"
13. Place a checkmark in the box labeled “Full Control” and then hit the “OK” button on the window.
14. On the “Advanced Security Settings for mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll” window click the “OK” button
15. On “mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll” click "OK"
16. Now you should be able to rename it. If you have UAC enabled it will give you two UAC prompts when you try, but you just need to click through them.
If it gives you an error after the two windows that you need permission from yourself or from TrustedInstaller then go back through the steps as you may have missed one.
1. Navigate to the file using Windows File Explorer i.e. C:\Windows\System32\mcupdate_genuineintel.dll
2. Right click on the file and select "Properties"
3. Go to the “security” tab
4. Click the “Advanced” button
5. Near the top of the resulting window there should be an “Owner:” line and “TrustedInstaller” is likely going to be the currently listed owner.
6. Next to that click "Change"
7. In the resulting window there is a field “Enter the object name to select (examples):”; type your username in this window and click on the “Check Names” button. This should change the contents of the field to something with an underline. The format should be COMPUTERNAME\USERNAME.
8. Hit OK
9. Now back on the window titled “Advanced Security Settings for mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll” click the “Add” button near the bottom left of the window.
10. Near the top of the resulting window click "Select a principal"
11. Same window as step 6, same thing needing to be done as well
12. Click OK to return to the "Premission Entry for mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll"
13. Place a checkmark in the box labeled “Full Control” and then hit the “OK” button on the window.
14. On the “Advanced Security Settings for mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll” window click the “OK” button
15. On “mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll” click "OK"
16. Now you should be able to rename it. If you have UAC enabled it will give you two UAC prompts when you try, but you just need to click through them.
If it gives you an error after the two windows that you need permission from yourself or from TrustedInstaller then go back through the steps as you may have missed one.
Also note that running sytem file check will also reinstate the file i.e sfc /scannow
Thank You so much for the support! Was downloading app center for it to update pci drivers… since then I am having these issues so I guess it pushed the microcode update.
Since win 10 updates were no problems before while on base clock oc. Would You think a Win reinstall would get me back there?
Cpuz says: - Rev. 0xCC ► Intel SA-00233 Patched ◄
Does this mean that win patched the microcode?
Ok so got it under control. F2D did not work out no matter what I did. But with the above trick to make the Win microcode update go away, F2C now works.
Hope i don’t need to bother You anymore.
Hey @chinobino , yet another boring question…
Do You happen to know how difficult is the coffelake bios mod for an asrock z170 extreme6? I do have this board but it has a burnt chipset… I am considering getting it repaired as it has 12phase VRM so it should be able to take i7 or even i9
@Semil24 Modifying is easy using CoffeeTime but there may be a security check that stops you from flashing a modified BIOS using ASRock’s ‘Instant Flash’ - the only way to find out is to try to flash it.
If there is you can remove Instant Flash Protection by opening the modified BIOS in UBU and then exiting, UBU will ask if you want to remove Instant Flash Protection.
Hi All, I’m new to the scene.
I currently running Gigabyte Z170 gaming K3 with i7 6700K CPU & 16GB RAM. Planning to try Coffee Lake mod with 9700K . The questions I have are the following:
1) Will this motherboard be enough to support 9700K?
2) Regarding the pinmod: Am I correct in saying there is no need to short 2 upper pins for Gigabyte boards as shown in the diagram (Green colour)?
3) I’m planning to use CoffeeTime to modify my BIOS to support mentioned CPU. Are there any specific changes I have to do in CoffeeTime when it comes to patching…I also plan to use a CH341A Programmer to flash my BIOS (I understood that standard BIOS Flash utility won’t work) .
Btw I’m currently running latest BIOS F23f
Thanks in advance.
Hi, I am trying to mod z170 hd3p ddr4 for coffe lake (i3 B0) with coffelake, the process looks smooth, but after I have the modded file I keep getting ‘invalid file’ when trying to qflash it through built in Gigabyte qflash. Maybe someone can advise of the next steps or send me modded bios which will go through built in Gigabyte flashing software.
@majk3l Hi and welcome to Win-Raid forums.
The reason you can’t flash the modified file is because a single bit in the BIOS has been set telling Q-flash to check if the file has been modified.
You can change this bit using a hex editor.
There is a post here that describes how to disable the check.
Alternatively you can use the modified version of EFIflash in this thread to flash it from a bootable USB stick.
The BIOS updates are all showing the hosting website as being EOL and no longer available. would the Downloads be able to be hosted somewhere else and be reposted?
@FzRdd2f Hi and welcome to Win-Raid forums.
Thank you for pointing out the dead links, I have uploaded the files for the Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3 to a new host:
If these are not the files you need, you will need to tell me which one(s) you want.
Is there any chance to help me with this mobo ?
I have Z170-HD3-DDR and Intel i5 6500 non-k.
I managed to downgrade bios to F5a but it seems that previous owner upgraded IMEI.
Is there any chance to downgrade to make it great again ? I mean to allow me BLCK overclocking ?
@tomekmak You should be able to downgrade BIOS (including ME region) using Intel’s Flash Programming Tool (FPT):
I have written a guide on how to use FPT to downgrade the BIOS here.
Just remember that this motherboard has the Gigabyte DualBIOS feature which means that the backup BIOS chip likely has the more recent Kaby Lake BIOS (F20 or F21) with the updated ME firmware, so if your system fails to boot due to BIOS corruption for any reason - the backup may load without any warning and the system may not POST without clearing CMOS.
It is possible to flash the backup BIOS chip using EFIflash. I have posted a guide and download links for EFIFlash here.
Good luck!
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