Sorry for resurrecting the thread but I’m encoutering some difficulties with my NP300V5A. What I want to do is updating the BIOS (current version is 05FI, one of the oldest if not the eldest, I think) to latest 10FI with updated microcode for current CPU (i7-2670QM). I also want to add latest microcode for i7-3840QM.
First thing I did was to download Samsung update utility which identified the latest BIOS available and let me download it. Then I followed the first method described by lfb6, so I run the executable and picked up the ROM from AppData/Temp. After this I downladed the two microcode files I needed. Unfortunately, when I run the command with winflash (version 1.5.66) I get a PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA BSOD, winFlash64.sys being the crashing module. I am running the latest Windows 10 version (10.0.19042.789): could it be a compatibility issue of the OS with Winflash driver? Because other apps I used to run before are having similar problems with 20H2. I must stress the fact that the BSOD occurs even if I run the regular .exe and follow all the standard procedure to flash the unmodded BIOS.
At this point I’ve switched to the second method via Phoenix Tool and it seems that I correctly injected the updated microcodes, as shown by MC Extractor (in the link to the screenshot left side is original BIOS, right side modded one):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a7gSh5w…iew?usp=sharing
I made sure that the sizes of the two ROMs were identical by overwritingthe empty FFFFFF sections of the original. However, when I try to flash the final rom with Winflash, I receive the following error message at the third stage of the process (I moved a bit the smaller window in order to make everything readable:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ySp072f…iew?usp=sharing
What could I try next? Is there something I’m missing? I followed the two procedures, but I’m far from being competent in the matter, so it is of course possible that I’m doing something wrong. Thanks in advance!
@Salve1412
Your laptop is based on HM65 chipset without support Ivy Bridge.
Adding microcode doesn’t add support for new CPU.
[quote="DeathBringer, post:22, topic:32428"] @Salve1412
Your laptop is based on HM65 chipset without support Ivy Bridge.
Adding microcode doesn't add support for new CPU. [/quote]
Isn't that CMD picture an example of a working Ivy-Bridge CPU on an HM65 chipset board?
EDIt: my bad, it's a HM75 based laptop! Didn't even check it before posting, sorry.
So I guess the only thing I could do would be to update the 2670QM microcode, but still there are these annoying issues with Winflash...
Samsung built these laptop series with SNB and later on with IVB chipsets, boards are interchangeable. I bought a used E5C board (BA92-11488) and tried first with a SNB CPU (i5-2450M) and switched thereafter to i5-3380M and i7-3820QW (45 instead of 35W), so I wasn’t able to check the IVB µcode update in the beginning.
So you might buy a used mainboard on ebay, but there are differences regarding LVDS connector and som boards are HM70 (no core-i support), one has to be careful. In the end it’s cheaper to buy a used laptop which is some generations younger…
Otherwise were those Phoenix SNB bioses not very tricky to handle. Probably possible to dump your bios with fpt (ME tools 7 package) to have a backup, change mcode and flash the bios region back. Don’t use a stock bios for that, you’d lose your board specific data. And get a backup of the complete bios first.
fpt(w(64)) -d spi.bin should dump the complete bios
In case of an error (locked flash descriptor) would
fpt(w(64)) -bios -d biosreg.bin dump the bios- region
If you want to use a programmer- had to disconnect one wire from the clamp, 2 pins were connected on the board, CH341 didn’t like that
[GUIDE] The Beginners Guide to Using a CH341A SPI Programmer/Flasher (With Pictures!) (3)
Good luck!
Yeah, I was thinking to upgrade the CPU (I found a very cheap 3840QM) only if it wouldn’t have entailed purchasing or modding other components. After all it is not a real necessity, I can just stick to the current processor.
Regardind the microcode update of the 2670QM, do you think that those Blue screens when running Winflash could be due to incompatibility with Windows 20H2?
EDIT Oh, I just saw the second part of your post, thanks for the tips!
BTW 2670QM is 45W, too, that’s 10W plus!
Not using oem tools increases danger for bricking. Do a backup og the bios before you begin! Showing µcode correct in MCE doesn’t mean anything, you could put the µcode overwrting vital parts of the bios, mce would display it the same way. Check structure with UEFItoolNE.