Thanks Vega for your replay.
Generally all my attempts were solely focused on getting patchable bios before i would flash anything.
I wanted to start with bios image i could use to restore machine when i would brick it.
Extracting from installer ‘flashable’ bios did not worked. Then I tried to read physically chip using CH341A programmer. Previously did successfully modded by ThinkPad T440p and random huanzahi x99 board without problems.
But while connecting to this particular chip chip id does not show up. It says #FFFFF, did multiple checks. And I connect pin 1 correctly (so aligned red wire with the dot.)
The part worries me the most that when I connect the clip the led on board also light up. Is this a normal behaviour?
Do i need to unsolder this chip? If yes then it is no go for me as i would likely brick it…
Or my programmer is just not working, does this chip has some kind of security preventing me from reading it ?
There’s a recent post this week with a user referring to same CH341A behaviour, of course its NOT OK to lit both Leds, the issue was a defective programmer.
And yes due to circuit build SPI CMOS/PHC some ICs must be desoldered from main pcb.
@WallCoffe, I think there are several potential issues. If you have an oscilloscope, you can take a look at the individual signals. First, check pin 6 (SCLK). A clock signal should be present there during the read process. If so, you can take a look at pin 5 (MOSI). The programmer uses this pin to send instructions (which the flash IC responds to by outputting data on another pin). If one of these signals is missing, it is due to your programmer.
when I connect the clip the led on board also light up. Is this a normal behaviour?
The glowing of an LED occurs most likely because you supplied the flash IC with a voltage via your clip (VCC on pin 4 and GND on 8). Because this all happens in-system (which means without disconnecting the flash IC from the mainboard), the rail to which the IC is connected (presumably +3V) is also powered. I think this is not a cause for concern.
Do i need to unsolder this chip?
Normally you don’t need to desolder the IC. However, it is possible that the IC’s signal lines are pulled to a certain level by resistors or have a higher capacitance due to connections on the mainboard. This may cause your programmer to fail driving the signals correctly (you could see this in the waveforms using an oscilloscope). In this case, a lower clock frequency (on SCLK) or the use of a different programmer could help.
does this chip has some kind of security preventing me from reading it ?
This is most likely not the case.
The advice from MeatWar seems plausible to me, it could be a defective programmer (CH341A are not famous for being high quality/reliable hardware).
When using a CH341A, you should be careful with the voltage levels. There are some CH341A which use too high levels (5V instead of 3.3V), which can lead to damage to the mainboard and/or flash IC. You can find a more detailed explanation here.
About to run the Coffeetime 0.99 mod tool on the latest bios release for the Asus Apex X (running on the Apex IX). The previous version was made by @dsanke who I have not been able to contact. So will try to update it myself. Anyhow not sure if running Coffeetime on the Apex X latest 2701 bios release will accomplish the same thing as what he was able to accomplish. I already have his 2603 Apex X mod running. Furthermore not sure if I should turn on the ‘PCIe Patch’ feature? Or any other fixes? Advice please.
Also my plan is to make the mod and just ‘fptw64 -f -bios biosregion.bin’ instead of the whole bios file as I already have 11.7 ME and FD regions already unlocked.
I am not sure if anyone still checks this topic but I am having some trouble using CoffeeLake Mod on an MSI z170a PC MATE and 9600k(p0)
I think I was successful in modding the bios using the allinone util and flashing the bios to the motherboard. I can see the 11.7 ME version and in the bios system tabs etc, but when I swap in the 9600k I get power on no post with the debug light stuck on DRAM.
I initially did not isolate the two left pins and see the the pins are probably burnt out of the motherboard. I have done one other CoffeeLake mod on another MSI board without isolating the pins and it worked just fine, so I wasn’t too concerned about letting them burn out, but now I am concerned it might have toasted the cpu as well.
Has anyone tried a similar mobo/cpu combo and confirm it can work, or did I miss a step?
Also, where is this CoffeeTime tool, I can’t seem to find a link to it anywhere.
Yes the original KabyLake still works so the motherboard seems fine. I can also see 906EC in the bios system screens along side the ME 11.7.1229 or whatever so the bios flash seems to be fine and not the issue.
I think my next step is to pick up a 8/9th gen mobo to check if I killed the cpu.
Uh, burned pins out of the motherboard is never a good sign. I isolated the pins and a 9700k worked on my msi b250m mortar, just using CoffeeTime tool and flashing it via the ch341 programmer. I used the same 0.99 version linked above and applied the modifications. the i7 is locked at 4,3ghz for some reason though.
After a couple days of trial and error, i finally got my i7-9700 running on my Asus Z170-P D3. At first i used revlaay’s tool to modify the bios but after the computer refused to boot, i opted to use CoffeeTime 0.99 instead (for the wrong reasons). For the CPU mod, i insulated the 2 pads that were the minimum requirement for Asus boards. I didn’t need to bridge the 2 other pads (see below).
The flashing part was problematic. At first i tried to flash the modified BIOS with AMI Firmware Utility (AFU) but that method never worked. The computer just turned on for a split second and then shut down. I then learned that AFU won’t work because it cannot flash certain protected BIOS regions. At least on Asus. There is a workaround however: Guide: Running CoffeeLake/Refresh CPUs on Sky\KabyLake motherboards. - Guides and Tutorials - Linus Tech Tips (Section 5.3)
I thought doing that is too much work so i used a CH341A programmer instead. I then flashed the bios successfully and booted to windows without issues. I had to tweak some bios settings though to ensure the CPU runs stable. I also had to do an undervolt because the computer would shut down after the CPU started pulling over ~210W in prime95, i suppose the 4-phase VRM can’t handle that much power.
So far, everything is working as expected. My DDR3 memory doesn’t seem to cause any issues and my i7-9700 is performing way above expectations in benchmarks.
While i was troubleshooting the boot issue, i discovered how to permanently enable SKTOCC on the motherboard. Near the Nuvoton IC, there is an unpopulated space for an EMI filter that has one terminal connected to GND and the other to SKTOCC. You can bridge the gap with solder.
Well, I remember reading somewhere in these CoffeeLake threads that r0 stepping chips and Intel Confidential cpu skus like QQBY etc didn’t require any pin mods at all. The first CoffeeLake Mod I did was an MSI z170 gaming m5 and I dropped in a 9700T (r0) and it worked no problem. I initially thought my 9600k was also an r0 stepping and again I am using an MSI z170 board so I figured it would just work again, but after it didn’t post I realized my 9600k is a p0 and redid the bios flash and realized those pins were discoloured/burnt.
My motherboard still works with the 7500T I have in it and the 9600k still works in an H310 board I picked up so neither are cooked/damaged beyond repair or anything.
I suspect that maybe the microcode for r0 is still flashed in the bios and when I am trying to flash it with the p0 microcode it isn’t overwriting it.
I am going to try reverting the motherboard to an older bios then make a new p0 bios with the CoffeeTime Tool and try flashing it again. Is there a specific version of the bios I should use as the base to mod from? I have just been using the latest bios off the MSI support site.
I found this in my modded bios by revlaay’s tool. So I replaced the microcodes with the EA versions and made sure to load the 906EC and also the KabyLake microcodes first since it seems to load into the 3 slot first then falls back to slot 1 after 3 is filled.
I also applied the pcie and 16t support patches/fix not sure if that helped.
I then reverted my modded bios by flashing a clean older bios version (AF0) from msi site. Then flashed again with the CoffeeTime patched mod bios (AG0) and then when I swapped in the 9600k it wasn’t stuck on DRAM light but cycling back and forth between DRAM and CPU (different is good). I then powered off and removed one DIMM so I only had one in and it posted right up. Then I set XMP and saved bios and put the 2nd DIMM back and it fired right up. AWESOME. I was worried I had actually cooked something but it looks like it was just something with the old bios mod tool or maybe when I first flashed with the R0 version the microcodes got stuck and didn’t get overwritten when I was flashing again with the P0 modded bios
I am not sure what those minor versions of microcodes mean (ea, be, 98, 96) but I assume EA is the one to use if it defaults to that?
@guitarmanmike Glad to see you got it working. The different versions of microcode are different file sizes and revisions. Some BIOS don’t have enough room to swap for larger microcodes. Also some microcode revisions have performance penalties due to Spectre mitigation, the EA microcode was recommended as it had minimal performance impact.
There is something I want to ask you since you got it working on your z170 MSI board. On mine b250m mortar I had to disable Intel C-states in order for the cpu to go into Windows 10. Otherwise it would throw instant blue screens, did you have to do it also?
I tried enabling and disabling every C-state and none of them works, I don’t know why, perhaps maybe someone knows?
I suspect that means the auto voltages are incorrect for the c states. The c states work fine for my 9700T and I have them all enabled. Maybe try boosting your vcore voltage or take it off auto?
Hi, I’m new to this forum. I don’t work with NAS servers. I need to use either a (Xeon 1270v5) or a (Core 7700) on a Z390 motherboard. My plan is to download the factory BIOS and use CoffeeTime v0.99 to modify the microcodes and patches. I then manually disable the ME engine using:
or
I’ve modified the BIOS’s with CoffeeTime v0.99 and unlocked hidden BIOS’s features with amibcp.
I have ch341a programmers
You think it will turn out well, what do I have to keep in mind?
