[890FX Dlx3] HOI-HOI-HOI! Mmmmery christmas from the "mad scientist"!

I know I haven't been around much for a while now, real life, christmas, and such real world things have prevented me from being here. However, I come with a gift! Due to lack of movement on Asrocks part to refine the 890FX Deluxe3 BIOS I figured I would fix up everything I can. I've been sitting on this for some time (since BIOS 1.7 in fact) but figured I would be "nice" and give Asrock a chance. Well, their time is up so here it is, my modded 890FX Deluxe3 BIOS. This BIOS has been made with absolutely no affilliation with Asrock, however I have personally fully tested it on my Deluxe3 and its working perfectly.

Changelog:

Based on official 1.9
- Added 6 CPU microcode patches
- Replaced P6 table
- AHCI table updated to 3.0.9
- Add LLC option

These changes (in my testing) have improved max stable FSB, HTT and CPU frequency over the vanilla BIOS. I haven't tested memory but as I have not touched the memory table theres no reason to think memory clocking has improved.

DL Link

Here is a slightly updated 1.9 mBIOS:

Changelog:

- Updated 4 CPU microcode patches
- Add support for new CPUs;

Athlon II X2 225
Athlon II X2 270
Athlon II X3 420e
Athlon II X3 450
Athlon II X3 455
Athlon II X4 615e
Athlon II X4 645
Athlon II X4 650
Phenom II X2 560
Phenom II X4 970
Phenom II X6 1045T
Phenom IIX6 1075T

Do bare in mind I can't test these CPUs because I don't have them. The changes have been made which equate to these CPUs being supported on paper. People who go out and get these CPUs combined with the Deluxe3 will just have to let others know how it all pans out.

DL Link

nice work

which bios version did you mod.

@Ket

Ket, why did you change your Asrock 890gx Extreme 3 for Asrock 890FX Deluxe3. I was hoping to see some Ket powered bios for 890gx. Asrock stock bioses are totally useless. Is it hard to mod bios like you? Can you try to fix 890gx like you did for 890fx?

Full respect for what you did for P5Q community!

update...

I will try to mod Asrock 890gx Extreme 3 by my own. Can you give me some advide how to do that? I have some questions:
- For replacing P6 table and adding "CPU PATCH" i should use MMTOOL, right? I'm using MMTOOL v3.22 BKMOD version, is it good?
- What motherboard bios was the source for new P6 table and CPU PATCHes
- Did you fix checksum for this bios somehow?
- LLC option was available since 890FXD1.82. Did you based on this version of bios or a bios from here with updated AHCI-Rom to v 3.0.9?

The BIOS version I modded is 1.9. I just updated 1.9 with the changes I made to earlier BIOS versions.

@ arroyo; 890GX was just one board I was considering getting, I ended up getting the 890FX instead. From what I last saw, Asrock have made the 890GX BIOS about as good as its going to get.

Can I just extract 'P6 Micro Code' ROM (module 11) from your bios and inject/replace it to 890GX bios using MMTOOL. Will it work? I'm asking because in 890GX bios there are only four CPU PATCHes, and you have them 10. What was the source-donor bios for them?

Also I cannot found memory table on any asrock bioses for AM3 motherboards. For P5Q memory table was in module 15. Am I right?

Yeah you can just extract the P6 table and inject it into a 890GX BIOS. The P6 table in my modded BIOS is actually from a Deluxe 4 and the 6 additional CPU patches are from a Crosshair IV Formula BIOS. Memory module data does have a ID of 15, but like you with the Asrock BIOSes I'm stumped at what module might be being used instead. If I had to use a educated guess I would say its probably the module with ID 40 and 60, or maybe module FA, but I can't be certain.

ED - Forgot to clarify, ID15 is what memory compatibilty modules are for intel based AMI boards, not AMD. Hence my guess at module 40 & 60 or maybe FA being the one for AMD. I'm pretty certain its not the modules with ID E1 as that just caused a non booting board. If only modders could get access to the compilers and decompilers for BIOS code, modding would be much simpler.

Hurray! I've done it. I've created a monster BIOS.

Behold the FrankenBIOS

My FrankenBIOS 2.50 for Asrock 890GX link

Instructions how to make your own monster BIOS:
1. Take newest bios from Asrock 890GX Extreme 3 (890gxextreme3_250_309)
2. Take newest ASUS Crosshair IV Formula bios (1102)
3. Open Crosshair bios in MMTOOL_3.22_1B_21Fix-BKMOD and extract "P6 Micro Code" to file
4. Open Asrock bios in MMTOOL_3.22_1B_21Fix-BKMOD and replace a whole Asrock "P6 Micro Code" part with Crosshair stuff
5. Save and flash your 890GX Extreme 3 with this FrankenBIOS :cool:

Don't believe? It's working. Really!

http://img.techpowerup.org/101222/890biosmod498.jpg

See first post for a newer version of the 1.9m BIOS.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by arroyo

Hurray! I've done it. I've created a monster BIOS.

Behold the FrankenBIOS

Instructions how to make your own monster BIOS:
1. Take newest bios from Asrock 890GX Extreme 3 (890gxextreme3_250_309)
2. Take newest ASUS Crosshair IV Formula bios (1102)
3. Open Crosshair bios in MMTOOL_3.22_1B_21Fix-BKMOD and extract "P6 Micro Code" to file
4. Open Asrock bios in MMTOOL_3.22_1B_21Fix-BKMOD and replace a whole Asrock "P6 Micro Code" part with Crosshair stuff
5. Save and flash your 890GX Extreme 3 with this FrankenBIOS :cool:

Don't believe? It's working. Really!

http://img.techpowerup.org/101222/890biosmod498.jpg

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My BIOS has more patches in :p: Just DL and extract the P6 table from the newer mBIOS I just uploaded for the ultimate experience of compatibility and OCing potential. Where did you get that version of MMTOOL from? I can't find any newer than 3.22.

From what I've read on several forums, you don't need all patches to add support for new processors. The newest patches already contain information about older processors. I see that you have left oryginal patches with CPURev.ID 0414,041B and 1020. All the rest is from Crosshair. Not necessary i think to left the old ones.

Got MMTool from HERE

I will check if OCing abilities has improved. From what I see now... nothing has really changed in this field. My max OC (on 1.4V CPU) and max HTT remains the same.

My FrankenBIOS 2.50 link

You don't need all patches no, but leaving them in maximises compatibility, and you can never have enough of that ;) I dunno how much you know about BIOS modding, but maybe together we can find a way of identifying and replacing the existing memory tables in the Asrock BIOSes because for lack of a better word - their crap.

My experience with bios modding...AWARD only
I've managed to fix Foxconn MARS bios to work on Foxconn P35A-S without any issues with voltages. You could flash P35A-S with Mars bios, but all voltage readings were faulty. You have set 1,3V on NB and mobo gave 1,7V. Stuff like that. With digital multimeter and Modbin6 I've fixed all voltage settings in bios file. That was 98% working Mars bios for P35A-S ("Terraforming Mars Project") The problem is that my flat was robbed and I've lost my old computer equipment.

I don't know about AMI bios modding but I learn fast. I will look at your work. :)

Ok I've got some news about bios modding for AMD:

Updating CPU Microcode for AMD is useless. Microcodes only have information about clock and name of new processors. Nothing else. If you want to perform a BIOS mod for AMD, you must transplant bios module called AGESA.
What is AGESA? Link

The main problem is that AGESA contains information about CPU Module, Memory Module and HT Module. It's distributed by AMD and should be the same for all motherboard vendors. Probably you can change the same AGESA module across for all AM3 motherboards. Replacing AGESA is simple but you must be 100% sure that mobo vendor has already implemented in his part proper communication protocol to new Agesa version.

Agesa looks like is the part of 1B Single Link Arch BIOS.

First of all it's not that easy like it was on Intel boards, because all memory settings, voltage settings are in this Agesa stuff. Information how to set them are in vendor part. New CPU ID in P6 without proper Agesa is useless.

Still digging for more information. Usefull links:
http://www.rebelshavenforum.com/sis-...2;t=000115;p=1
http://www.rebelshavenforum.com/sis-...2;t=000100;p=5

Guys from www.bios-mods.com learning how to transplant beating heart of AGESA from Crosshair IV to M4A79XTD:
http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Threa...-AGESA-3-7-0-0
http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Threa...port-X6?page=2

All that is mostly accurate, but for me putting in the microcode patches has helped with maximum stable FSB and HTT clocks. It could be as simple as Asrock didn't put in a necessary CPU patch to properly identify some Phenom 2s on the Deluxe3, but like I say, for me the CPU microcode patches have helped. As for that 1B SLAB module... you are looking at some real down and dirty work with that. Adjusting things in the main BIOS is very tricky and one wrong move can fubar everything. Stuff like this is why we need compilers and decompilers to take stuff apart properly and get a much better idea.

You have right Ket, but I cannot stop until I do what I've planed. It doesn't look that hard, because there are some ready compilers/decompilers for 1B.

Things to do in 2011:
- decompile properly "1B Single Link Arch BIOS" (using ami_1b_splitter.exe - link)
- check what AGESA version Asrock puts in their BIOSes (3.7.0.0 or later)
- get latest AGESA version from Crosshair IV
- transplant latest AGESA to Asrock 890GX
- become a HERO-BIOSTransplant-MotherFather

--- update ---

I've decompiled Asrock 1B SLAB module. AGESA is only two portions of 1B SLAB module (AGESA_CSEG - 13KB and AGESA_DSEG -3 KB). It is easy to replace them with never version from other vendor. AGESA_DSEG is almost empty - nothing intrested. AGESA_CSEG looks like this:

http://img.techpowerup.org/101223/agesa.jpg

I've checked what is in the P6 patches. I will look closer on them with IDA when I'll go home, but I'm afraid that the new 'P6 Micro Code' is useless without proper AGESA version. They look different than in Intel. They are seriously smaller than the Intel ones.

I can't say what, but something deffinately changed with the tweaks I made. Max stable FSB and HT clocks don't just change. I'm kinda stumbling around with AMD AMI BIOSes atm, not much info at all. Just a matter of lots of googling I guess tho :D

Ket, I flashed to your mod bios 1.9
I was hoping your mod would fix the cpu volt problem i am having on my 1090. For some reason my cpu volts are not stable with 1.90 if i set volts at 1.36 they will climb to about 1.46 or higher with a load (prime95) Makes it very hard to overclock with that much change. I would like to try a mod 1.80 and see if anything changes. I known you are busy with the holidays and such, and it would be fun to try. It would be nice if Asrock would support this better than they do, it could be the best amd board out there.

Have you set LLC to "Normal" in the BIOS? If its left on "Auto" or "Light" it does some crazy things with vcore.

For any lurkers considering helping me and arroyo on the modded BIOS front, after some research it transpires that while you don't have to update the P6 table with CPU microcode patches as arrayo suggested, it is recommended that you do so. The reason for this is so the AGESA module knows what paramaters to set for the CPU. No, before anybody thinks it, removing CPU microcode patches won't magically give your CPU unlocked multipliers.

Arroyo; you will probably have problems with ami splitter, nomatter what I do the app keeps spitting this error at me; "unable to phrase header correctly. not enough memory to create 1b data structure!" IDA Pro (free version) won't disassemble the 1b module either because the processor module z80 isn't included with the free version. The saying up sh|t creek without a paddle comes to mind.

@Ket
I've got no problem at all with splitting Agesa from 1B. Try to use latest version of splitter (AMI BIOS 1B Module Extraction and Insertion Utility):
http://sites.google.com/site/pinczakko/download
First you must extract 1B using MMTOOL to uncompressed format.

I'm trying to get a spare BIOS chip and flash it to regular Asrock 890GX bi in case I will mess up my board. I think MSI will be a good donor for AGESA. The are updating they bioses every month with new AGESA Microcode. Crosshair IV Agesa part on the other side is not looking like the Asrock or MSI one. It's modified somehow.

I hope you Ket or people from bios-mods will find Agesa replace way. AMD AMI Bios structure is like a woman mind ... no way to understand my a man.

Thats what I've been doing, that utility just won't break the 1B module down. I'll try re-extracting and see what happens, but it probably won't make a difference.

ED- Re-extraction of 1B worked, looks like MMTOOL might be a bit fickle when it comes to extracting 1B.

Flashed back to your Mod 1.90 / set LLC to normal and all is good. Thanks alot for that tip. I did try a couple of those settimg, i guess i missed normal. Right now i am running prime95 at 4.1 at the same volts as before any lower an i will throw an error. I need a new waterblock to get my temps down way to high 58 to 64 after a while running prime. With a good block i should be able to run 4.2

Theres another BIOS I'm working on, based on 1.9 still. It'll be highly experimental but if you have a spare BIOS chip for your board I'll email you a copy of the new mBIOS when its done.

No spare Bios chip, but if you get it stable I will give it a try. My mem is Gskill eco stuff. Cas 2 / 8 meg . not the best for overclocking but very stable.

I'll see what I can do. Since being able to pull apart the 1B module I'm 99% sure I've figured out what parts of it hold the memory support. Only problem is the memory tables I'd like to use are from a Asus BIOS, and they have really twatted about with the 1B module combining stuff so I'll need to find out if I can just use the combined memory support module or if I need to either A: modify the AGESA module, or B: find a way to uncombine the memory support tables. In the meantime I do have other memory tables I'll be using temporarily for people to experiment with.

You are going to have to hold your breath for a bit guys. I've run into problems when trying to replace components within the 1b module using ami_1b_combiner. Specifically; whenever I attempt to simply list the components within the 1b module to get the offset data (essential) the combiner spits the below error at me. Until this issue is sorted, there won't be any fun mBIOSes with stuff like much better memory and CPU support.

@Ket

I just don't know what you are doing wrong. First you must extract 1B part in uncompressed form using MMTool:
http://img.techpowerup.org/101231/unc.jpg

And then just extract the part you want (splitter=extract, combiner=inject):
http://img.techpowerup.org/101231/windows7b.jpg

Use version of MMTool I've posted and splitter from my previous post. I've tested on Windows 7 and Windows XP. The error, that you have is from using compressed form 1B ROM part (As is in the ROM file). Or maybe you tried to decompress Agesa from whole Asrock ROM using splitter?

I'll start over from scratch again, but that error just shouldn't be popping up as I did extract the 1B module in uncompressed format.

Ok, for whatever reason it just appears for me its a complete no go. Heres the steps I've repeated several times;

- Extracted 1B module from Deluxe3 BIOS in uncompressed format with MMTOOL 3.22 mod
- Running CMD as admin typed ami_1b_combiner --list 1B
*up pops the errors*

I've even taken the source code for these utilities and compiled them myself - same result. So if you get a moment arroyo theres a few things I'd like you to do for me with ami combiner :)

Try to use MMTOOL v3.22 BKMOD from HERE.

Can you send me your BIOS (or upload it somewhere). Maybe the problem is the bios itself. I'll try to extract it and check what's wrong.
I will help you ... no problem. Just not today. Since this is new years eve ... I'm benchmarking myself. 1.3 promile of alcohol in my blood and still standing.

Happy New Year

EDIT - Don't worry arroyo I got it working now. The issue (very very weirdly) was because when running CMD I was doing it start>run>cmd instead of pasting CMD directly to C:\ and running it from there.

FYI arroyo simply replacing the agesa code does not seem to work. I've experimented with different ways but nothing works. My board just gets stuck on POST code 07, which is undocumented. Probably going to have to open up agesa components from the msi and asrock bios, look for CPU only stuff and paste it into the asrock agesa. Even that probably won't work still :/

After much research and trying different things, replacing the AGESA and still having a BIOS that works is proving to be very difficult. Your turn now arroyo, maybe you will think of something I'm currently not thinking of. ONce you have something to try let me know and I'll test it.

A further post for you arroyo.

I've dug around in the 1B module some more and can confirm the AGESA code asrock are currently using (for the Deluxe 3 anyway) is 3.7.0. AGESA code being used in the MSI GD70 is 3.7.1. There are a lot more similarities with the Asus CIVF 1B code than there are with the MSI, so you will have more luck pulling the code from there. There are some notes however;

Asus build their 1B module very differently. You will find the AGESA code in the component DIM_CSEG. In the asrock BIOS, you will find the AGESA code in component RUN_CSEG. Lastly, the CPU.AGESA code used in the asrock Deluxe 3 is 3.13.67, in the Asus 3.13.71.

Hello Ket,

There are some things that I found about AGESA:
- AGESA version goes always with compatable MEMINIT version
http://www.bios-mods.com/forum/Thread-MEMINIT-BIN
- bios-mods have Agesa resource base
http://bios-mods.com/resources/Optio...s/AMD%20Agesa/
- guys from bios-mods have proper working Agesa replacing procedure (they are using AGESA from ASUS Crosshair)
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=286970&page=9 post 203

I'm still waiting for spare BIOS chip for my mobo to experiment with home-made bioses.
That is a shame for Asrock, that they old motherboards like ALiveNF6G-DVI have newer Agesa than 890FX or 890GX ones!

Interesting stuff. I'll dig around some more. I have a bit more time before I move to 1155/2500k combo. I also have some technical papers to write, so time permitting.

Thought maybe your internet blew up, Ket! :O

... Or I'm blocked on MSN, which is equally likely! lol

I nabbed the latest 1.9m, might give it a whirl later on. Anything different between it and 1.9pct you sent back around October?

lol no my interwebz isn't dead. The reason your having trouble getting me on MSN is because my 11 year old (or more) hotmail account just stopped working. Contacting M$ about the issue was of course absolutely useless and I'm yet to make a new hotmail account. As for the mBIOS, its just something I fiddled around with a bit. Works perfectly fine, and for me gave some small, but significant improvements such as going from a board that would not POST past 295MHz or so, to being able to boot up to 318MHz.

Last time I knew one of these ami bios tools would supposedly corrupt the bios on save.
I assume that's not true anymore is it ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ket

As for the mBIOS, its just something I fiddled around with a bit. Works perfectly fine, and for me gave some small, but significant improvements such as going from a board that would not POST past 295MHz or so, to being able to boot up to 318MHz.

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Think it'd help/break/fix the AM3 Deneb DDR3-1800MHz wall? I think I told you a few months back, but that Nanya ECC I got a year ago for cheap (as back up) and is only 1066MHz, you had said "Server RAM is crazy good quality stuff". SO I thought being that I was bored, we'll see what she'll do lol Pulled the OCZ, plugged in the 2x1GB, and went to work! It's 1.65V stuff and pretty darn lax timings (but it's ECC and meant for stability so...), but I set it at 1.73V and "Auto" timings, amazingly managed to get that 1066 up to 1780! I tried 1800, but it wouldn't post. It was posting fine alllllll the way up to when I jumped to 1800 (from 1750 or so) and then NOTHIN :( Remembered 1800 was an issue so I just tried 1780 quick to see what'd happen and it POSTed, then also passed DOS MemTest w/o an error. So I didn't bother with attempting anything more than 1780 or adjusting timings (they were like 10-11-11 something), just chalked it up as "I hit that wall". Anywho think that might help? :D Oh BTW, it shouldn't have any problem with that Zosma 840T should it? I'll be finding out at the end of the month if I can get my hands on one :D

Oh and you've got PM! :up:

Excellent thread guys...Ket & arroyo, thank you for all the interesting info...

I have something in mind to discuss here (Gigabyte AMD mb), but for the moment , spare time for this is very limited to gather all the detailed info....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Formula350

Think it'd help/break/fix the AM3 Deneb DDR3-1800MHz wall? I think I told you a few months back, but that Nanya ECC I got a year ago for cheap (as back up) and is only 1066MHz, you had said "Server RAM is crazy good quality stuff". SO I thought being that I was bored, we'll see what she'll do lol Pulled the OCZ, plugged in the 2x1GB, and went to work! It's 1.65V stuff and pretty darn lax timings (but it's ECC and meant for stability so...), but I set it at 1.73V and "Auto" timings, amazingly managed to get that 1066 up to 1780! I tried 1800, but it wouldn't post. It was posting fine alllllll the way up to when I jumped to 1800 (from 1750 or so) and then NOTHIN :( Remembered 1800 was an issue so I just tried 1780 quick to see what'd happen and it POSTed, then also passed DOS MemTest w/o an error. So I didn't bother with attempting anything more than 1780 or adjusting timings (they were like 10-11-11 something), just chalked it up as "I hit that wall". Anywho think that might help? :D Oh BTW, it shouldn't have any problem with that Zosma 840T should it? I'll be finding out at the end of the month if I can get my hands on one :D

Oh and you've got PM! :up:

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It probably won't help with that. The limitation is going to be the IMC. Did you try setting the command rate to 2N? You might be able to sqeak 1800MHz at something like 9-9-9 or 10-10-10 then. Overall the vanilla 1.9 BIOS Asrock released is very good, they did most stuff I recommended, they just didn't refine the little things, hence the 1.9 mBIOS.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NEOAethyr

Last time I knew one of these ami bios tools would supposedly corrupt the bios on save.
I assume that's not true anymore is it ?

---

I haven't experienced any problems with MMTOOL 3.22 or AMIBCP 3.37 when modding BIOSes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix_w

Excellent thread guys...Ket & arroyo, thank you for all the interesting info...

I have something in mind to discuss here (Gigabyte AMD mb), but for the moment , spare time for this is very limited to gather all the detailed info....

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When you get a chance, tell us whats up and if theres any insight we can give we will :) digging through deeply in machine code certainly isn't my strong suit, but I can usually recognise what I'm looking for.

If you have time, check this out....Raid Rom has already been updated after my communication with GB Tech....when i have time, i'll check again for modifying the values of CPU-NB Voltage

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by felix_w

Excellent thread guys...Ket & arroyo, thank you for all the interesting info...

I have something in mind to discuss here (Gigabyte AMD mb), but for the moment , spare time for this is very limited to gather all the detailed info....

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I've tried with MODBIN and the Award BIOS for my 890GP-UDH3, but 2 things I found seemed to happening:
-MODBIN didn't seem to know how to handle the recompression and would corrupt the menu when re-loaded in MODBIN. (would load w/o error though, and menu layout was OK, just the text went all garble)
-There is a form of CRC/HEX check or something after flashing and upon reboot it says it's failed, then flashes the main chip from the backup BIOS :( I think it is related to the first thing because when it gets saved it shows modification of some files in the BIOS (HT.DLL), so seems as if maybe they are getting corrupted or something.

I contacted Gigabyte about it, but they obviously were of NO help -_- There was a lot of cool :banana::banana::banana::banana: I wanted to unhide (unlock), but since I don't know how to read HEX, I couldn't compare anything to try and fix it.

I also attempted to mod the BIOS, save it (it did save fine a few times), then rip the menu module out and insert it into the original with CBRom. That didn't work either. I couldn't get the module order back to how it was supposed to be, second in line, and instead was last :(

Formula350, u can also check the link i attached to my previous link....my objective was quite similar to yours as far as i can see now...maybe we can exchange our information...

for the wallblock try to get memory tables from m4a89gtd pro and c4f. those boards can do 2k ram with deneb.

^^ Only if the IMC is good enough. Theres probably also some PCB differences to help get those speeds as well such as better layout for the traces and additional phases for the DIMM slots.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix_w

If you have time, check this out....Raid Rom has already been updated after my communication with GB Tech....when i have time, i'll check again for modifying the values of CPU-NB Voltage

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Thats award BIOS, the BIOSes on these Asrock boards are AMI, which is why we are having so much trouble replacing AGESA.CPU and the AGESA code itself because AMI build it into their main BIOS module instead of making the modules independent like Award do.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix_w

Formula350, u can also check the link i attached to my previous link....my objective was quite similar to yours as far as i can see now...maybe we can exchange our information...

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Well I don't have the 890GX board in use right now (was actually /trying/ to sell it), since I got this 890FX heh

All the info I have can be found in this single thread :) Started out with modding it before I had the board even, but then I updated it once I managed to find it.
http://techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116661

I've been through Rebel's Haven a number of times though, just not much recently is all. Couldn't find anything of help. The forums don't have new registration opened, so I emailed Polygon (I think that's his name), asking if he knew anything or could do a CRC check. He just said no and only Gigabyte could. So I left it at that >_>

I was successful in modding Award/Award-Phoenix BIOSes with MODBIN up to S939 though :\ If I manage to get this CPU I'm hoping to, I'll have enough spare parts to build the 890GX again, so I might try with MODBIN 2.04.03 that I came across recently (it's on RH actually I think).

Some newer award bios'es with ageis have staticly linked code.
Like my dfi board, which has at least 4 (can't remember off hand how many) static jumps or calls, or just mem ref's.
Whatever they are.
If you move a rom module just a byte, it'll offset these static addresses and ruin the whole bios.

I can mod my dfi, and I got a 2nd chip just for it.
But since I lost my x4 I don't really care about it so much anymore.
That and the implementation was dfi's fault, not all newer award bios'es are this hard to mod.

Plus award bios is about dead anyways.
So someday I gotta redo my compiler for ami bios'es.
But I won't mess around until I get a spare chip for my board.

When I was doing research on it I found some of the ami tools and was able to peek inside my bios.
Found some extra spread spectrum help msg's that I was kind of interested in (mentioned that with certain ones enabled together it would cause corruption).
But otherwise there was nothing that interesting in it to be unlocked.
That's when I read online somewhere that one of the the ami tools would corrupt the bios when saving it.

Award bios'es it isn't hard to add new settings and adding cmos parsing code into the bootblock is easy too, heck even adding debug msg's on the post screen is easy.
Finding a cmos location that isn't used as scratch ram during post is not so easy though lol.

I don't know squat about modding ami bios'es.


But anyways I just wanted to post so I could mention that award bios'es sometimes have static address that you need to patch during compile.

Corrupted bios menu's come from a bad ptr to MLSTRING (en_code) and _item.
Or sometimes just an offset ver of the above files (byte 0 offset ='s byte 1 type of thing).

Ageis is modable but everything must be written out correctly.
If _item or _en_code is messed up, it's ok because you can still post and re-flash.
Much easier then swapping bios chips by hand...


Has anyone seen any old ami src codes around the net?
I've got 2 rev's of award src but no ami src to work with.
Having the original src (even if it's 10 years old) helps a ton with mapping and decompiling post functions into asm src.

Oh and one more small ?.
Anyone know the compression format that ami uses?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NEOAethyr

Corrupted bios menu's come from a bad ptr to MLSTRING (en_code) and _item.
Or sometimes just an offset ver of the above files (byte 0 offset ='s byte 1 type of thing).

Ageis is modable but everything must be written out correctly.
If _item or _en_code is messed up, it's ok because you can still post and re-flash.
Much easier then swapping bios chips by hand...

---

Could that mean that if i swap _en_code from another sister board model there's probably no harm done , since i can re-flash with the unmodded bios ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ket

Thats award BIOS, the BIOSes on these Asrock boards are AMI, which is why we are having so much trouble replacing AGESA.CPU and the AGESA code itself because AMI build it into their main BIOS module instead of making the modules independent like Award do.

---

lol He knows that Ket :D We were just [hijacking], talking about the Gigabyte 890GX, sorry :p:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NEOAethyr

Some newer award bios'es with ageis have staticly linked code.
Like my dfi board, which has at least 4 (can't remember off hand how many) static jumps or calls, or just mem ref's.
Whatever they are.
If you move a rom module just a byte, it'll offset these static addresses and ruin the whole bios.

<snip>
llllllllllllllooots of info
</snip>

Oh and one more small ?.
Anyone know the compression format that ami uses?

---

I found Borg's (Number One, the original) pack a few years back, and then nabbed Number Two's (different guy, just trying to carry on the 'legacy') with some updated stuff. I did peek inside a few AMI BIOSes, this 890FX included, but I've never been able to get AMIBCP to save my "changed" options :shrug: So, I just gave up. I bugged Ket enough back then (not that I still don't on other topics :rofl:) and figured it was basically pointless since I don't know HEX :P

As long as the checksum is ok and nothing else is wrong with the bios it will post.
But you won't have a working bios menu or bootup menu.

If you need to mod the menu's, you might have to learn how to doit by hand, and that does take a while to write the thing out into asm.
I was gonna try to make a decompiler just for this, because it's the most time consuming part about modding an award bios but I never got toit.

Award encode goes something like this:

Code:

---

;Item #: Starts with 0, not 1.
;Group #: 0xFF = 1, 0x00 = 2, 0x01 = 3, 0x02 = 4, 0x03 = 5, 0x04 = 6, 0x05 = 7, 0x06 = 8 (guessing, close enough)

db "_EN_CODE.BIN", 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00

Menu_Group_List:
dw (((Menu_Group_List_End - Menu_Group_List) / 2) - 1)
dw Menu_Group_0
dw Menu_Group_1
dw Menu_Group_2
dw Menu_Group_3
dw Menu_Group_4
dw Menu_Group_5
dw Menu_Group_6
dw Menu_Group_7
dw Menu_Group_8
dw Menu_Group_9
if Cleanup = 1
        dw Menu_Group_10
end if
Menu_Group_List_End:

........

if Cleanup = 1
        Menu_Group_10_Item_0:        ;0x0A00
        db "[tCLK]: ", 0x00

        Menu_Group_10_Item_1:
        db "1X    ", 0x00
        db "1.125X", 0x00
        db "1.25X ", 0x00
        db "1.375X", 0x00
        db "1.5X  ", 0x00
        db "1.625X", 0x00
        db "1.75X ", 0x00
        db "1.875X", 0x00
        db "2X    ", 0x00
        db "2.5X  ", 0x00
        db "3X    ", 0x00
        db "3.5X  ", 0x00
        db "4X    ", 0x00

        Menu_Group_10_Item_2:
        db "BUI/SIP Strap: ", 0x00

        Menu_Group_10_Item_3:
        db "Auto            ", 0x00                ;0x00
        db "100              ", 0x00                ;0x01
        db "113              ", 0x00                ;0x02
        db "125              ", 0x00                ;0x03
        db "138              ", 0x00                ;0x04
        db "150              ", 0x00                ;0x05
        db "163              ", 0x00                ;0x06
        db "175              ", 0x00                ;0x07
        db "188              ", 0x00                ;0x08
        db "200              ", 0x00                ;0x09
        db "213              ", 0x00                ;0x0A
        db "225              ", 0x00                ;0x0B
        db "238              ", 0x00                ;0x0C
        db "250              ", 0x00                ;0x0D
        db "256              ", 0x00                ;0x0E
        db "263              ", 0x00                ;0x0F
        db "269              ", 0x00                ;0x10
        db "275              ", 0x00                ;0x11
        db "Hellfire 3EG-REV2", 0x00                ;0x12
        db "tictac XT        ", 0x00                ;0x13
        db "Test Strap      ", 0x00                ;0x14

        Menu_Group_10_Item_4:
        db "Debug ROM: ", 0x00

        Menu_Group_10_Item_5:
        db "Disabled        ", 0x00
        db "Skip DMI Pooling", 0x00
        db "Debug          ", 0x00

        Menu_Group_10:
        dw (((Menu_Group_10_End - Menu_Group_10) / 2) - 1)
        dw Menu_Group_10_Item_0
        dw Menu_Group_10_Item_1
        dw Menu_Group_10_Item_2
        dw Menu_Group_10_Item_3
        dw Menu_Group_10_Item_4
        dw Menu_Group_10_Item_5
        Menu_Group_10_End:
end if

---

This is not the greatest example.
It's all about the offsets of each setting and there values.
And the length's of these tables and so on.
The very begining of the file lists each group offset.

If the bios gets this wrong then everything gets offset and everything appears corrupted in the bios menu and boot menu (sometimes f8 or hammering on the esc key during post).

If the menu and item file was made correctly, then it's possible a value in the uncompressed section of the bios is incorrect, or maybe it's just in the wrong location (modbin will compile it and it'll be wrong type of thing).

Here's an example of _item.bin

Code:

---


;;; Begining Of 2nd Segment

;0x09        should be the last group
;0x0A        offset or group (group if I defined it, this might be a prob...)
;0x00        group2, used as the dmi pool text

;0x0D        direct offset
;0x0E        direct offset
;0x0F        Direct offset
;0x10        direct offset
;0x11        direct offset
;0x12        direct offset
;0x13        direct offset

;db Item_2, Menu_Group_4        ;ItemName

Item_Null        equ        0x0000

Menu_Group_0        equ        0x00
Menu_Group_1        equ        0x01
Menu_Group_2        equ        0x02
Menu_Group_3        equ        0x03
Menu_Group_4        equ        0x04
Menu_Group_5        equ        0x05
Menu_Group_6        equ        0x06
Menu_Group_7        equ        0x07
Menu_Group_8        equ        0x08
Menu_Group_9        equ        0x09
Menu_Group_10        equ        0x0A
Menu_Group_11        equ        0x0B
Menu_Group_12        equ        0x0C
Menu_Group_13        equ        0x0D
Menu_Group_14        equ        0x0E
Menu_Group_15        equ        0x0F
Menu_Group_16        equ        0x10
Menu_Group_17        equ        0x11
Menu_Group_18        equ        0x12
Menu_Group_19        equ        0x13
Menu_Group_20        equ        0x14
Menu_Group_21        equ        0x15
Menu_Group_22        equ        0x16
Menu_Group_23        equ        0x17
Menu_Group_24        equ        0x18
Menu_Group_25        equ        0x19
Menu_Group_26        equ        0x1A
Menu_Group_27        equ        0x1B
Menu_Group_28        equ        0x1C
Menu_Group_29        equ        0x1D
Menu_Group_30        equ        0x1E
Menu_Group_31        equ        0x1F

Item_0                equ        0x00
Item_1                equ        0x01
Item_2                equ        0x02
Item_3                equ        0x03
Item_4                equ        0x04
Item_5                equ        0x05
Item_6                equ        0x06
Item_7                equ        0x07
Item_8                equ        0x08
Item_9                equ        0x09
Item_10                equ        0x0A
Item_11                equ        0x0B
Item_12                equ        0x0C
Item_13                equ        0x0D
Item_14                equ        0x0E
Item_15                equ        0x0F
Item_16                equ        0x10
Item_17                equ        0x11
Item_18                equ        0x12
Item_19                equ        0x13
Item_20                equ        0x14
Item_21                equ        0x15
Item_22                equ        0x16
Item_23                equ        0x17
Item_24                equ        0x18
Item_25                equ        0x19
Item_26                equ        0x1A
Item_27                equ        0x1B
Item_28                equ        0x1C
Item_29                equ        0x1D
Item_30                equ        0x1E
Item_31                equ        0x1F
Item_32                equ        0x20
Item_33                equ        0x21
Item_34                equ        0x22
Item_35                equ        0x23
Item_36                equ        0x24
Item_37                equ        0x25
Item_38                equ        0x26
Item_39                equ        0x27
Item_40                equ        0x28
Item_41                equ        0x29
Item_42                equ        0x2A
Item_43                equ        0x2B
Item_44                equ        0x2C
Item_45                equ        0x2D
Item_46                equ        0x2E
Item_47                equ        0x2F
Item_48                equ        0x30
Item_49                equ        0x31
Item_50                equ        0x32
Item_51                equ        0x33
Item_52                equ        0x34
Item_53                equ        0x35
Item_54                equ        0x36
Item_55                equ        0x37
Item_56                equ        0x38
Item_57                equ        0x39
Item_58                equ        0x3A
Item_59                equ        0x3B
Item_60                equ        0x3C
Item_61                equ        0x3D
Item_62                equ        0x3E
Item_63                equ        0x3F
Item_64                equ        0x40
Item_65                equ        0x41
Item_66                equ        0x42
Item_67                equ        0x43
Item_68                equ        0x44
Item_69                equ        0x45
Item_70                equ        0x46
Item_71                equ        0x47
Item_72                equ        0x48
Item_73                equ        0x49
Item_74                equ        0x4A
Item_75                equ        0x4B
Item_76                equ        0x4C
Item_77                equ        0x4D
Item_78                equ        0x4E
Item_79                equ        0x4F
Item_80                equ        0x50
Item_81                equ        0x51
Item_82                equ        0x52
Item_83                equ        0x53
Item_84                equ        0x54
Item_85                equ        0x55
Item_86                equ        0x56
Item_87                equ        0x57
Item_88                equ        0x58
Item_89                equ        0x59
Item_90                equ        0x5A
Item_91                equ        0x5B
Item_92                equ        0x5C
Item_93                equ        0x5D
Item_94                equ        0x5E
Item_95                equ        0x5F
Item_96                equ        0x60
Item_97                equ        0x61
Item_98                equ        0x62
Item_99                equ        0x63
Item_100        equ        0x64
Item_101        equ        0x65
Item_102        equ        0x66
Item_103        equ        0x67
Item_104        equ        0x68
Item_105        equ        0x69
Item_106        equ        0x6A
Item_107        equ        0x6B
Item_108        equ        0x6C
Item_109        equ        0x6D
Item_110        equ        0x6E
Item_111        equ        0x6F
Item_112        equ        0x70
Item_113        equ        0x71
Item_114        equ        0x72
Item_115        equ        0x73
Item_116        equ        0x74
Item_117        equ        0x75
Item_118        equ        0x76
Item_119        equ        0x77
Item_120        equ        0x78
Item_121        equ        0x79
Item_122        equ        0x7A
Item_123        equ        0x7B
Item_124        equ        0x7C
Item_125        equ        0x7D
Item_126        equ        0x7E
Item_127        equ        0x7F

org 0x0000

include "Makefile"

........

db "$ml$"
dw 0x0000        ;Kernel_Do_NO
dw 0x0000        ;Kernal_Show_NO
db "$SpeCR"        ;Kernal Sepcial Code or something

......

dw 0x0000                                ;ItemStat        ;"Advanced BIOS Features"
db Item_0, Menu_Group_1                        ;ItemName
dw 0xF800                                ;CtReg
dw 0x0001                                ;CtRegMask
db 0xFD                                        ;CmosLoc
dw 0x0001                                ;CmosMask
dw Item_Null                                ;ItemValName
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMin
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMax
db 0x48                                        ;Item_Xaxis
db 0x18                                        ;Item_Yaxis
dw 0x0000                                ;RomDefault
dw 0x0000                                ;SetupDef
db Item_20, Menu_Group_1                ;HelpOffset

dw 0x0000                                ;ItemStat        ;"Advanced Chipset Features"
db Item_1, Menu_Group_1                        ;ItemName
dw 0xF800                                ;CtReg
dw 0x0002                                ;CtRegMask
db 0xFD                                        ;CmosLoc
dw 0x0001                                ;CmosMask
dw Item_Null                                ;ItemValName
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMin
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMax
db 0x48                                        ;Item_Xaxis
db 0x20                                        ;Item_Yaxis
dw 0x0000                                ;RomDefault
dw 0x0000                                ;SetupDef
db Item_21, Menu_Group_1                ;HelpOffset

dw 0x0000                                ;ItemStat        ;"Power Management Setup "
db Item_3, Menu_Group_1                        ;ItemName
dw 0xF800                                ;CtReg
dw 0x0004                                ;CtRegMask
db 0xFD                                        ;CmosLoc
dw 0x0001                                ;CmosMask
dw Item_Null                                ;ItemValName
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMin
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMax
db 0x88                                        ;Item_Xaxis
db 0x28                                        ;Item_Yaxis
dw 0x0000                                ;RomDefault
dw 0x0000                                ;SetupDef
db Item_22, Menu_Group_1                ;HelpOffset

dw 0x0000                                ;ItemStat        ;"PnP/PCI Configurations"
db Item_2, Menu_Group_1                        ;ItemName
dw 0xF800                                ;CtReg
dw 0x0008                                ;CtRegMask
db 0xFD                                        ;CmosLoc
dw 0x0001                                ;CmosMask
dw Item_Null                                ;ItemValName
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMin
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMax
db 0x88                                        ;Item_Xaxis
db 0x30                                        ;Item_Yaxis
dw 0x0000                                ;RomDefault
dw 0x0000                                ;SetupDef
db Item_23, Menu_Group_1                ;HelpOffset

dw 0x0000                                ;ItemStat        ;"Integrated Peripherals"
db Item_4, Menu_Group_1                        ;ItemName
dw 0xF800                                ;CtReg
dw 0x0010                                ;CtRegMask
db 0xFD                                        ;CmosLoc
dw 0x0001                                ;CmosMask
dw Item_Null                                ;ItemValName
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMin
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMax
db 0x48                                        ;Item_Xaxis
db 0x38                                        ;Item_Yaxis
dw 0x0000                                ;RomDefault
dw 0x0000                                ;SetupDef
db Item_24, Menu_Group_1                ;HelpOffset

dw 0x0000                                ;ItemStat        ;"PC Health Status"
db Item_5, Menu_Group_1                        ;ItemName
dw 0xF801                                ;CtReg
dw 0x0080                                ;CtRegMask
db 0xFD                                        ;CmosLoc
dw 0x0001                                ;CmosMask
dw Item_Null                                ;ItemValName
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMin
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMax
db 0x88                                        ;Item_Xaxis
db 0x68                                        ;Item_Yaxis
dw 0x0000                                ;RomDefault
dw 0x0000                                ;SetupDef
db Item_28, Menu_Group_1                ;HelpOffset

dw 0x0000                                ;ItemStat        ;"Genie BIOS Setting  "
db Item_6, Menu_Group_1                        ;ItemName
dw 0xF802                                ;CtReg
dw 0x0001                                ;CtRegMask
db 0xFD                                        ;CmosLoc
dw 0x0001                                ;CmosMask
dw Item_Null                                ;ItemValName
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMin
dw 0x0000                                ;ItemMax
db 0x88                                        ;Item_Xaxis
db 0x08                                        ;Item_Yaxis
dw 0x0000                                ;RomDefault
dw 0x0000                                ;SetupDef
db Item_29, Menu_Group_1                ;HelpOffset


if Board_ID = "6A61BD49"
.....

---

That actually was the older ver of it before item existed.
But it was the most worked on ver I've done.
I've done real item.bin files, each setting thingy is the same layout.

The odd ptr's and stuff on top I don't even understand myself anymore since it's been so long.

Award bios is like, a dead art I guess you could say :|.

Edit:
Oh I remember, those were to tell each _item entry where the location of the setting or value was in the _en_code file...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ket

^^ Only if the IMC is good enough. Theres probably also some PCB differences to help get those speeds as well such as better layout for the traces and additional phases for the DIMM slots.

---

maybe not. c3f has good memory overclocking abilities, you could gain lower timings on it compared to other mobos and better MHz overclocking overall but it still have that wierd wallblock. i think they could find the software problem there.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Formula350

Well I don't have the 890GX board in use right now (was actually /trying/ to sell it), since I got this 890FX heh

All the info I have can be found in this single thread :) Started out with modding it before I had the board even, but then I updated it once I managed to find it.
http://techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116661

I've been through Rebel's Haven a number of times though, just not much recently is all. Couldn't find anything of help. The forums don't have new registration opened, so I emailed Polygon (I think that's his name), asking if he knew anything or could do a CRC check. He just said no and only Gigabyte could. So I left it at that >_>

I was successful in modding Award/Award-Phoenix BIOSes with MODBIN up to S939 though :\ If I manage to get this CPU I'm hoping to, I'll have enough spare parts to build the 890GX again, so I might try with MODBIN 2.04.03 that I came across recently (it's on RH actually I think).

---

I think polygon is trying to keep bios modding "exclusive". Years ago when RH was accepting new members I asked a question and polygon said it was impossible. I thought that was BS, and after a few days and teaching myself I accomplished what I was asking.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by prznar1

maybe not. c3f has good memory overclocking abilities, you could gain lower timings on it compared to other mobos and better MHz overclocking overall but it still have that wierd wallblock. i think they could find the software problem there.

---

A good memory table helps with IC compatibility and clocking certainly, I'm just saying its not totally reliant on the memory table. Such things as trace positioning on the PCB and amount of phases available to the DIMM slots can make quite a difference.

but gtd pro got not more phases then c3f. traces sure, cos im not able to tell what is the diff in gtd vs c3f. im only suggesting that you should try to use those from gtd pro on deluxe :)

Thats the plan ;) The problem with it is all that info is crammed together in the 1B module, making it difficult.

As a step towards checking the clock-wall, I busted out the Nanya sticks again (2x1GB 1066 C7 ECC) haha I decided to see what they'd handle for timings and started out trying them at what I was running my OCZ at (They're the old 1.9v Micro D9JLN 1600 C7s, but I was getting the same performance out of 1333 so I'm just running C6 @ 1.75v with tighter sub-timings). Well after a few restarts later, 1333 and all I had to do was change 6-6-6 to 7-7-7 :) Strangely they wouldn't work in the first 2 slots, but they did in the back 2 (channel B). THEN I figured the hell with it, and I crammed the 2 OCZ into the front dimms, with the Nanya still in haha Looks like C3 stepping did in fact allow for 4x1333 :P As a bonus, these ECC sticks came with on-die thermal sensors! Makes me want to get 4x2GB of Nanya ECC lol They run cooler than my OCZ, damn near as fast, and have temp readings. Suck on THAT Reaper HPC :\

Anyways, NEO, if that was intended for me then I'm sorry you wasted your time and I'd give you your 5minutes back if I could heh That was all greek to me :( I'm the lab rat, not the scientist haha I only know my way around the maze from running it a few times and smelling the cheeze to guide me (which is akin to having a user friendly GUI to mod with [MODBIN]).

Ket (or anyone I guess), you have AMIBCP 3.46? I nabbed it earlier today and can send it. I mean, it's easy to find but I had to join a forum to download it, so I could save the time of having to do that.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JTQHEAPQ
AMIBCP_V3.37.exe
MMTOOL_3.22_1B_21Fix-BKMOD.EXE

And this is AMIBCP 3.46:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6ZMYFC6L

Enjoy!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by arroyo

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JTQHEAPQ
AMIBCP_V3.37.exe
MMTOOL_3.22_1B_21Fix-BKMOD.EXE

And this is AMIBCP 3.46:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6ZMYFC6L

Enjoy!

---

hah :P

"The file you are trying to access is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."

That was for the 3.37 and MMTool :) You could just add them as attachments to the post... (I was only interested in that ver of MMTool, but I'm sure I can find it)

EDIT: Yea works here now too.

Works for me.