What controls Turbo Core in Xeons?

[Andi64]

Do V3_1.efi instead:
https://www.sendspace.com/file/qt0bjs?_ga=1.50924521.1965991247.1489257825

V3_1.efi says it's already loaded.

 

[custom90gt]

V3_1.efi says it's already loaded.

Did you restart and then try to load it again? If you already have it installed to load automatically you could overwrite the V3.efi on your drive.

 

[Andi64]

Yep. I restarted and tried to load V3_1.EFI, and it said it was already present.

I didn't set anything to load automatically, this is the second boot after loading the modded UEFI BIOS.

First boot: load V3.EFI = wrong CPU
Second boot: load V3_1.EFI = already present

 

[custom90gt]

Yep. I restarted and tried to load V3_1.EFI, and it said it was already present.

I didn't set anything to load automatically, this is the second boot after loading the modded UEFI BIOS.

First boot: load V3.EFI = wrong CPU
Second boot: load V3_1.EFI = already present

Sadly I haven't got a clue, I just know on page 14 it talks about using V3_1.efi with ES/QS cpus. Maybe try turning off the power to the power supply for a min to clear out the ram and try again?

 

[cekim]

Yep. I restarted and tried to load V3_1.EFI, and it said it was already present.

I didn't set anything to load automatically, this is the second boot after loading the modded UEFI BIOS.

First boot: load V3.EFI = wrong CPU
Second boot: load V3_1.EFI = already present

Have you tried bcfg driver rm 0 ?
Maybe you added it without remembering? That command would remove it, then add V3_1.EFI with bcfg driver add 0 FS5:\EFI\V3_1.EFI "v3 Turbo"

Sadly I haven't got a clue, I just know on page 14 it talks about using V3_1.efi with ES/QS cpus. Maybe try turning off the power to the power supply for a min to clear out the ram and try again?

Some/All? Of the ES chips have a different CPUID, so the Family/Model/Stepping would be wrong. I presume V3_1.EFI is trying to catch both 0306f2 and 0306f1 (from memory, I think that's right?)

 

[111alan]

@C-Power/Tw0tch those 3.6 and 3.3 look the same as my Taichi 1.50 BIOS

I have linked the file 'V3.EFI' (V3.zip 633bytes) which can be copied to a FAT32 USB flash drive. Set CPU BIOS values back to default for now with 100MHz BCLK.
https://www.sendspace.com/file/ck1mlr

For this example I'm using a FAT32 formatted Sandisk USB flash drive with root folder 'EFI', sub folder 'Boot' containing shell.efi renamed as BOOTx64.EFI.

Spoiler: BIOS boot selection

Using the BIOS boot manager (F11 during BIOS boot on Asrock) we select the flash drive with 'UEFI:' prefix.

Spoiler: Running the Shell

Here we press 'ESC' after shell is loaded to stop the 'startup.nsh' from running. 'startup.nsh' is similar to the old DOS '.BAT' file, just a way of automating things on shell startup.

Our USB flash has been mounted as 'FS0:' as shown in the mapping table. Being the only USB device makes it an easy giveaway. So now we can test 'V3.EFI' which was copied earlier to the USB flash drive root by typing 'load fs0:\V3.EFI'. Hint, the TAB key can be used for auto-completion so sometimes we can save on a lot of typing. One should see 'V3 - All Turbo Set' if successful, something else if not. In this instance I've finished of with the 'exit' command which takes us back to the BIOS boot manager so we can select the 'Windows OS'. Alternatively we could have directly run Windows from the shell. For this system the Windows system partition is FS1: so being GPT typing "FS1:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BOOTMGFW.EFI" would do the trick.

Spoiler: Add to BIOS drivers

If we are happy with the driver and want to keep it we can get it to automatically load by placing it on the EFI system drive.In this instance I have copied V3.EFI from the USB flash drive 'FS0:' to the EFI system boot folder on 'FS1:' 'cp fs0:\V3.EFI fs1:\EFI\Boot'. Now using the shell boot configuration command we can add it to be executed before any OS with shell command 'bcfg driver add 0 fs1:\EFI\V3.EFI "V3 Full Turbo"'. After that type 'reset' to restart the PC as the EFI driver has not executed as yet.

Spoiler: Remove BIOS driver

To remove V3.EFI from the BIOS driver list, list the drivers to get its sequence number then remove with the bcfg remove command 'rm'. In this case 'bcfg driver rm 0'. The other driver CrScreenshotDxe.efi shown is an awesome utility from a guy who sometimes goes by the name of CodeRush. It was used to take these shell screen shots and can also be used for BIOS setup screen shots.

Don't forget to have Windows or the vmware utility update the microcode, version 0x38 works well for me.

@GTZ maybe some OC setting doesn't play well or seeing a bug with older microcode?

Thanks a lot for the driver. Is it possible to pack it up to a .ffs module and add it directly into the bios file through MMTools? So it can be used for non-EFI boot OSs.

Found this:
https://github.com/pbatard/efifs/wiki/Adding-a-driver-to-a-UEFI-firmware

 

[Andi64]

Have you tried bcfg driver rm 0 ?
Maybe you added it without remembering? That command would remove it, then add V3_1.EFI with bcfg driver add 0 FS5:\EFI\V3_1.EFI "v3 Turbo"


Some/All? Of the ES chips have a different CPUID, so the Family/Model/Stepping would be wrong. I presume V3_1.EFI is trying to catch both 0306f2 and 0306f1 (from memory, I think that's right?)

No dice. There is nothing loaded at boot. I didn't set anything with bcfg. Nevertheless, I tried to unload with 'bcfg driver rm0' and failed as expected.

According to CPU World it's a M0 stepping... maybe it needs another driver...

 

[cekim]

No dice. There is nothing loaded at boot. I didn't set anything with bcfg. Nevertheless, I tried to unload with 'bcfg driver rm0' and failed as expected.



According to CPU World it's a M0 stepping... maybe it needs another driver...

The discussion on this page that I saw included 02 (retail/oem) and 01 (ES), so yeah 00 may require further edits to the .EFI as well as a different strip of the bios as your bios - though I wonder if your bios would even have micro-code for a 00 stepping? Do you see a uCode value in the BIOS summary?

BTW: there is a space there:
bcfg driver rm 0
not rm0
That might just be a typo in your post, but if not, that would prevent that command from working.

Thanks a lot for the driver. Is it possible to pack it up to a .ffs module and add it directly into the bios file through MMTools? So it can be used for non-EFI boot OSs.

Found this:
https://github.com/pbatard/efifs/wiki/Adding-a-driver-to-a-UEFI-firmware

bcfg driver add 0 fsN:\EFI\V3.EFI (where N is the correct device in your map) modifies your NVRAM to load that automatically. So, while it is not written into the bios image itself, so long as the fsN disk and that file are there, it will be loaded every time.

 

[cekim]

you wanna say, u use windows 7? its hard to change microcode in windows 10?

No need to go back to 7, just warning that windows 10 did not want to allow me to rename mcupdate_GenuineIntel.dll without a few steps. So, if you tried and it prevented you, then the vmware step won't work.

In win10, I had to click on properties, change ownership to my username, then change the file persmissions to include write. Only then could I rename that file.

Again though, that you are getting uCode 0x25 from win10 rather than 0x36 is odd. It hints of something else missing here.

Specifically that your bios is the source of that 0x25 uCode or that your processor CPUID is not 0x0306f2 and as such you need to follow the instructions for using an ES part (cpuid 0x0306f1).

 

[cekim]

i follow the intructions of OC XEON E5 2686 V3 INSTRUCTIONS and there for haswell said to skip microcode with ubu, to insert microcode in windows, with vmware microcode
i following the instructions step by step

What is your CPUID? Stepping? You should see something in your BIOS, CPUz or HWINFO that shows you this (0x030f2 or 0x030f1 or something else?)

 

[cekim]

maybe, when i modiffied the bios, to put my microcode directly, i find him
but i do with 0 skip, like the autor said, to the haswell proccessors

So, once you've flashed the bios that you ran through ubu, what uCode do you see in the bios screen (check processor info in bios configuration before booting or EFI shell)?

You should see it at "0" with the new bios and 38 with the old one from your CPUID above.

 

[Dingmel]

Hi there fellas. Great work on the exploit.

I'm currently stuck at the V3.EFI installation. The prompt I'm getting is

"V3 - microcode present.
Image 'FS3:\V3.efi' is loaded at B9C6C000 - Success"

Can I proceed to copy to the system's efi?

I'm on aN Asus RVE

 

[Dingmel]

use UBU for asus, and "biosflashback" for flashing

Mr Hat,

Mind sharing how you got your rve bios 3501 past UBU? I can't seem to apply the changes. (i'd be eternally grateful if i could get a copy of your modded bios. spent a whole day trying to figure out how)

 

[cekim]

in bios screen its the same code, 306F2-38, at cpu configuration
in windows is same, in hwinfo
meens that i do something wrong
windows shoul be installed in uefi mode, with stick, or efi?

Though I am not sure which bios/board you are working with, I would expect this to mean that your BIOS still has uCode present. It has not been stripped. On the 3 systems I've tried (different board), once the uCode had been successfully removed, the uCode version reported in the BIOS was "0".

I have win10 installed in UEFI mode, it did not seem to matter in any way shape or form.

 

[planeswalker]

@Cata40
if really looks like you've said. both bios uCode remove and windows microcode update are failed...
and you need to remove the incorrect V3.efi from the efi boot driver first before you load the v3_1.efi I believe.
double check what you've done, when u remove haswell microcode update with UBU, remember to set the boardwell microcode to the newest one and save the bios to force the bios image update, or it'll refuse to flash the moded .cap to bios.
if your English is not good, ask someone good in reading English helps u doing it, you must be missed something important steps.
aka, the post on page3 said "if you pleased with the efi driver(the driver mod is successful and worked), reboot and copy it to system boot efi balabala" but seems u load and copy it directly in your first try, which lead all your follow operations in a mass....

 

[fromax]

Hello, guys! Here is simplified method to modify Bios on motherboards where
UBU doesn't work, such as MSI and Gigabyte. This method have already proved
itself on several motherboards so I think it will work on most other
boards. The main idea belongs to Dufus and have been creatively reworked by me). I hope he does not mind.
The whole point of method is just to change the name of microcode 306F2 to 506F2 in bios
instead of cutting it. You can do it like this:
-Download HxD hexeditor and open you bios in it.
-press Ctrl-F , choose hex-values
-find all strings 03 F2 06 03 00 , and change to 03 F2 06 05 00,
-again Ctrl-F, find all strings 00 F2 06 03 00, and change to 00 F2 06 01 00
-save new bios, done
-check new bios in UBU, we have to see 506F2 instead of 306F2 in microcode section

 

[NitaiGaura]

Far out amazing thread. Fromax, quick question: Any issues with longevity with the Xeons by overclocking? I know that I should know, but I've only been into computers in the last month, so I dont.

 

[fromax]

Far out amazing thread. Fromax, quick question: Any issues with longevity with the Xeons by overclocking? I know that I should know, but I've only been into computers in the last month, so I dont.

so far no problem whatsoever

 

[cekim]

Hello, guys! Here is simplified method to modify Bios on motherboards where
UBU doesn't work, such as MSI and Gigabyte. This method have already proved
itself on several motherboards so I think it will work on most other
boards. The main idea belongs to Dufus and have been creatively reworked by me). I hope he does not mind.
The whole point of method is just to change the name of microcode 306F2 to 506F2 in bios
instead of cutting it. You can do it like this:
-Download HxD hexeditor and open you bios in it.
-press Ctrl-F , choose hex-values
-find all strings 03 F2 06 03 00 , and change to 03 F2 06 05 00,
-again Ctrl-F, find all strings 00 F2 06 03 00, and change to 00 F2 06 01 00
-save new bios, done
-check new bios in UBU, we have to see 506F2 instead of 306F2 in microcode section

FYI, this may or may not work with a given bios flash mechanism. My ASrock X99M E4 rejected the image using this method. Dufus mentioned that the bios flash utility of his board rejected it, but the DOS based flasher was ok if I am recalling his comment correctly.

Also, Asus flashback seems to be picky about re-flashing the same BIOS version, so you may need to flash an older bios, then flash the edited one to overcome this as you move through this process.

 

[cekim]

I have Asrock x99 OC Formula Motherboard

So, I expect you should see "0306f2 0" in your BIOS CPU summary (f2/del at boot into BIOS configuration) rather than "0306f2 38", if your bios strip and flash has gone correctly. That's what my Taichi and X99ME4 both show.

Do you see that?

 

[cekim]

yes, i see
i follow the procedure of Dufus step by step, i but something is wrong, i dont now, now im confused

Ok, if you see "0306f2 0" in the BIOS, then on to the next step.

Boot into the EFI shell (black screen, white and yellow letters).

Once in EFI shell can you use bcfg to load V3.EFI or V3_1.EFI and tell us what it says when you do?

 

[cekim]

i say im confused with all process.
if i do it again, i do like say drufus . maybe its a problem with capsule header, to asrock board
i know, i read, after a number of ubu, that remove include capsule, Quit right?

If you see "0306f2 0" in the BIOS (boot up, press f2/del, go into the bios and read the CPUID info), then you are done with ubu and headers... You've successfully removed the microcode from the BIOS image IF you see that 0.

 

[cekim]

tomorrow i try again
One more question:
the new bios created, i must flash-it in bios, or just boot with him, in usb stick?

The BIOS (ROM image) that you create via UBU, must be flashed to take effect. EFI shell can load drivers and boot the operating system, but the bios itself must be flashed prior to that.

 

[lucien_br]

I have the same with c3/c6 state. No chance with enabled.
After I load the v3x2.efi with success , my BIOS boot again and the efi isn't loaded.

With me, C3 state on degrades performance with or without overclock mod. Turn on Turbo and c-tates but disable C3.

 

[inventoroz]

Hello, guys! Here is simplified method to modify Bios on motherboards where
UBU doesn't work, such as MSI and Gigabyte. This method have already proved
itself on several motherboards so I think it will work on most other
boards. The main idea belongs to Dufus and have been creatively reworked by me). I hope he does not mind.
The whole point of method is just to change the name of microcode 306F2 to 506F2 in bios
instead of cutting it. You can do it like this:
-Download HxD hexeditor and open you bios in it.
-press Ctrl-F , choose hex-values
-find all strings 03 F2 06 03 00 , and change to 03 F2 06 05 00,
-again Ctrl-F, find all strings 00 F2 06 03 00, and change to 00 F2 06 01 00
-save new bios, done
-check new bios in UBU, we have to see 506F2 instead of 306F2 in microcode section

Hi @fromax , and many thanks to @Dufus and many others who contributed.
I have a Xeon e5 2683 v3 - 2GHz -2,3GHz ES model F stepping 1.
MSI x99a raider bios p50
I did as you say, i changed the strings, and when i load to check with UBU, I see that the 306f2 is deleted from bios, and i flash it using the msi utility and / or ami flash utility afuwin64, after flash bios sees the cpu as 306f1, and then when i boot my computer, i check the current bios and it does show that the 306f2 is removed, but i think it is trying to use an even earlier version as a failsafe?
Anyway, when i load the v3.efi, it says wrong cpu. clearly, i am not able to remove the bios microcode ... am i right?
any suggestions from people who succedd doing is welcome, i was about to go buy an AMD ryzen for this, since my cpu only scores 1000 at single now, which is quite sad ... i know it has a potentialll...

as a side note, i can change the turbo ratio to 30 on bios (i was able to do that before) and cpuz still shows 26 max. which it never reaches that anyway.


thanks for the help