#EDIT BIN FILE MAC#
#EDIT BIN FILE WINDOWS#

I think using a hex editor is the right approach, but you want to dump the BIOS you already have, make a backup, and copy the 2013 boot block from 0xFF0000 - 0xFFFFFF of an update’s BIOS bin to the same region of your dumped BIOS. Reading the HP forum it seems like SalSimp put the new boot block into a dumped BIOS and desoldered the original chip to flash with a programmer, while Scoobis used a BusPirate with the 3.3v Vcc pin lifted to directly write to 0xFF0000 - 0xFFFFFF. I’m still not 100% sure which methods allow just 0xFF0000 to 0xFFFFFF to be flashed, but in the end it’s the same result as flashing the entirety of a modified dumped BIOS. Also I guess what I last attempted by loading the whole BIN file into that program was the wrong approach? Is it possible to flash only certain parts of the IC’s memory, or does the whole IC need to be rewritten to, to make changes to it? How would I solely flash just the boot block? (haven’t looked into this subject since about 1y ago). Don’t think I have the courage to potentially brick it yet by writing anything to the flash chip. When I get my Z620 I’ll see if I can get as far as dumping the bios.

Not sure what happens if a checksum fails, perhaps no boot at all. I don’t think it’s impossible but HP seems to have started using checksumming of sections of the BIOS by the time these workstations came out. Somewhat related is modding of the BIOS, for example to add M2 NVMe boot support. For guaranteed success of powering the flash chip it probably takes either a good 3.3v external supply, desoldering the 3.3v pin, or desoldering the whole chip. So there probably isn’t a way to get the motherboard to power the SPI chip without booting up.

For desktops it appears the only power supplied with the PSU off would be 5v standby (per ATX standard which HP/Dell often ignore). Regarding the 3.3v drain of the motherboard, on ThinkPads it appears this can be avoided by disconnecting the 3.3v from the Pi (don’t want competing 3.3v!) and plugging the AC power adapter in.

#EDIT BIN FILE MAC#

If flashing the entire BIOS file, one would need to hex-edit the MAC addresses and whatever else back in. Possibly even the CMOS battery too, just to be cautious.įlashing just the boot block is imporant because it seems there may be system-specific information stored on the BIOS flash like MAC addresses. The specific SPI flash chip you have matters and its worth looking at the datasheet of the chip and how SPI wiring works.ĭisconnect everything from the motherboard before doing option 2) or 3). Allows one to avoid the flashing stage and might be easier for the more hardware inclined.īefore doing any of these, read up on how flashing BIOS chips works in general. Desolder the BIOS SPI flash and solder in a new one from ebay.You will need to supply 3.3v to the flash chip, from what I’m reading the RPi3 and other devices can’t keep up with the passive drain of the powered off motherboard and so external 3.3v power might be needed.Ģb) Desolder the BIOS SPI flash and then clip onto it - easier to get a good clip and avoids the 3.3v drain of the motherboard Similar to what people do to flash libreboot onto laptops like Thinkpad T60 / X60. Use flashrom to flash the 2013 boot block after updating the normal way to a suitable E5 v2-supporting BIOS version. Use a SOIC16 clip and a programmer like CH341a, BusPirate, or a Raspberry Pi. You get one shot to do this right, as a failed flash will probably result in a soft-bricked motherboard! You would then need to do 2) or 3) to recover.

#EDIT BIN FILE WINDOWS#

A couple of people there successfully flashed their BIOSes.ĭisable the 0xFF0000 to 0xFFFFFF boot block write protection using the jumper on the motherboard and flash in Linux or Windows using a tool like flashrom or FPT. I can’t link it, but look up “HP z820-e5-2600-v2-ivy-bridge-upgrade” and read through it, especially pages 5 to 10. Same goes for the Z620’s second CPU riser.

HP haven’t absolutely confirmed this but I couldn’t find any actual differences between the boards discussed, only how exactly similar they are. The only difference between Zx20 version 1 (sandy bridge Xeons only) and Zx20 version 2 (sandy or ivy bridge Xeons) seems to be the boot block version: 2011 or 2013. For HP Z420, Z620, and Z820, it’s entirely possible, people have done it. I’ve been looking at this a lot recently.

Edit bin file