how to not brick my newest toy fujitsu system

[kokodin]

hello, i'm new here
 kind of shows right?

to the point then
while digging around my work, i found one fujitsu siemens computer that was going to the scrapyard, motherboard was toasted, all the rest of the system was ok so i bought the cheapest motherboard on local ebay that would fit those components and case. later i discovered i should have pay 3 times as much for the board revision that would support what i want to do with it, but now i am stuck. not that it isn't possible to buy the newer revision board, because they are not even that expensive, but because my pride does not alow me to just let it go.

so i was wondering how not to brick it while still having some fun moding it?

board in question is fujitsu siemens d2724-a with the latest bios updated via oficial patch from rev 02 to newest 08
board i want to make out of it is d2904-a or rather i want to put in bios from that board in my board

reason for doing it, one support c2 core stepping, the other support c3 stepping and have some more microcodes, they didn't change the board design that much, chipsets are the same, bios flash chip is the same, cpu socket is the same and so on

i have found this thread on the google search https://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads...ors.58787/
it describes exactly what and how to do it, only i can't seems to find the right tools for doing so
decompressing tool makes mostly empty garbage flash files, and flashrom program is somehow hard to download, i was only able to get outdated version. and with that version i am almost able to read my bios from the chip only it is totaly different inside than the one i generated from the same bios file downloaded from fujitsu, not even different revision board

i remember days when flashing bioses was easy, bios files were uncompressed, if you bricked your board you only needed similar bios chip to boot up from floppy or board you could program anything and you were set

so for starters i wold like to ask for help in understanding the procedure described in link i put above, or what i did wrong. Later i would like to ask for sources  where i can download dos version of flashbios program, preferable in current revision, because buildbot on their site seems to be down, at least for me.

[Lost_N_BIOS]

If you are dumping your BIOS, it's never going to match a downloaded BIOS File. Do you have hardware flash programmer, if yes which one?

Flashrom, here is latest version I have, I think it's current - http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil...6029859895

Please link me to the 08 BIOS you are using, and I will attempt the mod - Edit, sorry, reading that again I see this is not even a mod, this is just a BIOS flash with programmer of the 5635 BIOS to 5625 board. Link me to the 5635 BIOS you want to use, I will get you the bin to use with your programmer.

How not to brick your board? Make a complete backup of the entire BIOS first, make sure it's verified in your programmer (read BIOS, verify only) then make sure it's valid by opening in hex and all other BIOS tools you know that open this BIOS, make sure it opens and looks the same as the stock (ie same layout, settings, if errors present in stock same should be in edited one etc). Then keep that file safe, that is how you not brick the board That way if it bricks, you can undue in 2 minutes

If you have CH341A flash programmer, you can also use this software instead of flashrom - several versions, you may need to try a few before you find one that works best for your BIOS chip and setup - https://www.sendspace.com/file/gtcmvd

[kokodin]

Thanks i will try to backup the flash from that board and link it in.

As for bioses from fujitsu i attached the oryginal updaters from fujitsu site for both models.

For flashrom i think i had found dos version from 2011. You linked windows version? That means running vista on 1 gb of ram for now ... i don't think it even boot without reinstalling though. This is why i used freedos bootable usb flashdrive and dos flashrom before.

Well i have a harddrive from one of those computers but i am not sure if anything is on it or if this drive isn't also bricked, because i took one from a pile just to have a hdd sled.

Right now i don't have a programmer, i might ger usb dongle from ebay on thusday it would be here. i can also get few blank bios chips just in case they are 1$ a piece in local shop and they still have that model. And this would still be cheaper option than buying 2904 board online :]

And yes i am atempting to run bios from fujitsu e5635 on e5625 board in e5615 case painted pink

i want to slap 8gb of ram, ssd and gt720 or 1030 into that with some phenom II x4 cpu around 3-3,2 ghz (i am bound with tpd to 95 w though)

it is a toy project, nothing serious but it remionds me of how i fixed a bunch of computers before i started working in my current worklpace and it kind of bring back memories of screwdriver moded cpu's :] and flashing bioses for bricked boards on my tuv4x as a programmer (mostly awards in dip packages)

And sorry for my poor english, if you can't understand something i wrore, it is probably my fault
english is not my first language, and i never reallt studied it . (also dislexia)

edit----------------------------------------------

after checking program you provided it doesn't seems to be the same thing. it is an usb programming one and i was using internal board programming powers to pull my bios from the chip
oh well i think i will be going for ebay after all (and play with hot air)

[Lost_N_BIOS]

You're writing directly to the chip with a programmer, so DOS/Windows does not matter. This is not something you do on the board in question itself, unless you have it powered off and SOIC test clip cable connected to it. But the DOS or windows use of Flashrom is done from another system while you write to the other boards BIOS. Otherwise you remove BIOS and put into programmer, it's that or SOIC test clip cable, that is only way to use flashrom or CH341A

There is no hard drive brick, only dead or not dead, wipe out the hard drive (format) if you don't need it's contents, then you can use for whatever you want.

You have to have a hardware flash programmer to do this. Your English is fine, no worries!

Yes, Flashrom is used with programmers, it's not a software to read/write BIOS to chip while using board like you are thinking. The one you have is same I assume, they all are for this purpose, to be used with hardware flash programmers. Upload your copy and I will check.

Just order CH341A on ebay $2.50 and SOIC8 test clip cable $2.65 on ebay, and wait 3-5 weeks for delivery, then you can write any BIOS you want to the board without soldering or hot air. If you need links to those let me know. Or maybe you can find flash programmer in local shop where they sell BIOS chips, look for CH341A or kit like EZP2010 or EZP2013, or other cheap kit that programs 25xxx BIOS that comes with SOIC8 Test clip cable.

Wait on ordering or buying any of that, and show me an image of the motherboard, so I can be sure to tell you what kind of test clip cable you need, or if maybe you don't need any cable (BIOS socketed not soldered)

BUT, maybe you are correct, and flashrom you have can write to chip on board via DOS! If you are still unsure about using it, upload the backup you got with it that concerned you and I will check it and see if it seems proper vs these stock ones.
Here is the modified 2904 rom per the guide you linked
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil...8313023508

[kokodin]

Thanks for the flash, and for what i can see it is similar to what i was able to make myself, so either i was doing everything right and got spooked, or we both wrong :]

I dumped my current bios using that dos flashrom i had and as i said before it look different, much more understandable for me as far as reading plain text in hex editor is concerned (much more hardcoded strings with meaning like fujitsu siemens, fsc pc window, eespimo e5625 and so on, this might just be digital signature , but it is a lot of stuff that look different, a lot of stuff is similar though)
i simply expected this dump to look like the bios rom created by that decompressor if i use the same bios revision , my understanding of the current bios technology might be limited though


As for programmer , i was going to get one anyway so i will just in case

nad here is a funny  output from flashrom i hav , not all, there was more funny taxt on screen  about  not sue them if it brick my system and stuff "because i forced them to"

flashrom v0.9.4-r1452 on FreeDOS 7 (i786), built with libpci 3.1.5, GCC 4.3.2, little endian
flashrom is free software, get the source code at http://www.flashrom.org

Calibrating delay loop... OS timer resolution is 60000 usecs, 1345M loops per second, 10 myus = 0 us, 100 myus = 0 us, 1000 myus = 0 us, 10000 myus = 50000 us, 240000 myus = 220000 us, OK.
Initializing internal programmer
No coreboot table found.
DMI string system-manufacturer: ""
DMI string system-product-name: ""
DMI string system-version: ""
DMI string baseboard-manufacturer: ""
DMI string baseboard-product-name: ""
DMI string baseboard-version: ""
DMI string chassis-type: ""
DMI chassis-type is not specific enough.
Found chipset "NVIDIA MCP78S" with PCI ID 10de:075c.
This chipset is marked as untested. If you are using an up-to-date version
of flashrom please email a report to flashrom@flashrom.org including a
verbose (-V) log. Thank you!
Enabling flash write... This chipset is not really supported yet. Guesswork...
ISA/LPC bridge reg 0x8a contents: 0x40, bit 6 is 1, bit 5 is 0
Flash bus type is SPI
SPI on this chipset is WIP. Please report any success or failure by mailing us the verbose output to flashrom@flashrom.org, thanks!
Found SMBus device 10de:0752 at 00:01:1
MCP SPI BAR is at 0xfef80000
SPI control is 0xc052, req=0, gnt=0
Please send the output of "flashrom -V" to flashrom@flashrom.org with
your board name: flashrom -V as the subject to help us finish support for your
chipset. Thanks.
OK.
This chipset supports the following protocols: SPI.
Probing for Atmel AT26DF081A, 1024 kB: probe_spi_rdid_generic: id1 0x1f, id2 0x4501
Chip status register is 10
Found Atmel flash chip "AT26DF081A" (1024 kB, SPI) at physical address 0xfff00000.
Ignoring security lockdown (if present)
Ignoring status register byte 2
Chip status register is 10
Chip status register: Sector Protection Register Lock (SRPL) is not set
Chip status register: Bit 6 is not set
Chip status register: Erase/Program Error (EPE) is not set
Chip status register: WP# pin (WPP) is not asserted
Chip status register: Software Protection Status (SWP): no sectors are protected
Chip status register: Write Enable Latch (WEL) is not set
Chip status register: Write In Progress (WIP/BUSY) is not set
===
This flash part has status UNTESTED for operations: PROBE READ ERASE WRITE
The test status of this chip may have been updated in the latest development
version of flashrom. If you are running the latest development version,
please email a report to flashrom@flashrom.org if any of the above operations
work correctly for you with this flash part. Please include the flashrom
output with the additional -V option for all operations you tested (-V, -Vr,
-Vw, -VE), and mention which mainboard or programmer you tested.
Please mention your board in the subject line. Thanks for your help!
Ignoring security lockdown (if present)
Reading flash... done.

[Lost_N_BIOS]

I think if it's same, then you did everything right!  I compared, looks like normal and proper BIOS to me, your backup has more details filled in because it's from onchip source so SMBIOS/DMI details and CMOS/NVRAM populated vs stock that would not have this stuff.

Here's some results from different PHNXDECO outputs, neither backup.rom or A1M from 2904 will open in PhoenixBIOS Editor (Neither version I have) both crash on loading near the end at the same option rom.  None of these tools are fully compatible with this BIOS, so any errors or lack of errors with one vs the other, or errors in general (Stock error is obvious manufacturer error, they put out BIOS like this today still), should be taken as they mean anything.  All this is for informational purposes only, to show you how similar both these BIOS files are and that they are both proper BIOS files.  

[kokodin]

thanks for the help, i risked it and flashed this bios from that dos program since you veryfied that new bios is a bios and not some random mess

as for mod and the extra data in oryginal rom
modding to d2904 worked, motherboard is not ded at least, bios setup look the same and windows works without finding any new hardware
by (saying windows i mean vista sp2 i installed yesterday just because i have coa sticker for that and i found oem cd from work i borrowed few years ago for some reason)
Integrated graphics work, integrated audio works, old cpu works and power saving also works ok, it step down and up in speed and voltage without problems (old x2 5000 athlon that was on the board) similar for ram. bootup is a bit slower but that is due to bios being "experimantal" i think and "quick boot" option only hiding diagnostic window.

For what i caould deduce after first boot bios we created isn't what was oryginaly intended to be in d2904 board for general public. It says on first boot that bios works in development mode or something like that in red font and it booted up really slow background was black, no cpu logo, and diagnostic screen was visable, but after that windows booted without problems, only thing it did was deactivating itself (well i didn't activated windows anyway, but 30 day trial expired)

after first boot i shoot computer down to standby and next boot was almost normal, the only difference from old bios is that now background is blue instead of black, empty, and no detected cpu splashscreen is visable, plain blue screen with pheonix boot bar below, and no red text anymore

it also boot up from unpowered state witho no problem

the only question remining is
will those c3 cpus work now :] and how much power break motherboard is and how much of it is the power suply

[Lost_N_BIOS]

Good the flash over went smoothly! All we did to the stock 2904 BIOS was remove the package header and last checksum bit so it could be bin flashed. Load optimized defaults, then set your SATA/Disk settings how you want, then reboot back to BIOS and make sure your OS disk is first in the hard drive booting priority, and you should be good to go.

If that thread is correct, which I assume so since the BIOS mod directions were correct, then yes I think the other CPU will now boot properly.
I do not understand your last question?

[kokodin]

Good the flash over went smoothly!  All we did to the stock 2904 BIOS was remove the package header and last checksum bit so it could be bin flashed.  Load optimized defaults, then set your SATA/Disk settings how you want, then reboot back to BIOS and make sure your OS disk is first in the hard drive booting priority, and you should be good to go.

If that thread is correct, which I assume so since the BIOS mod directions were correct, then yes I think the other CPU will now boot properly.
I do not understand your last question?

if you ment my 95 vs 125w last question, then i can explain what i ment.
Basically there were 2 version of the d2904 motherboard in fujitsu document i was basing my asumptions on in the first place (and 3 versions of d2724)
it isn't specyfied on the board what board it is, or at least none of those sufixes from fujitsu cpu support document match.
In document wasn't specyfied either what psu was used, delta 250W or delta 300W and i olny have 250W variant (12v rail has 15A continues 17A max (10sec)) 300w ones are masively expensive for some reason, used ones cost 60-70 $ where 250w one cost 5$ or is for free from work :]
so i am assuming 95W is the maximum processor tpd i should get to not put this board in smoke or not to blow the psu, since all boards support 95w limit.
In my work most of blown psu's from that model died on 5V rails though, caps on 12v rails were always fine.

i ordered phenom II x4 b97 (3,2ghz 95w deneb stepping c3) if it won't boot, i can return it withing 14 days with no penalty

[Lost_N_BIOS]

Ahh, you left out those details I think 250W vs 300W is not a big difference, unless you put in a huge power draw graphics card. If you do that, or you still worry, you can put in regular ATX PSU, you just have to get adapter on ebay for the 20/24 pin cable to HP header style, they make them but I forget how to find on ebay. Probably easy, PSU ATX Adapter HP EPS

100F43 microcode is in there, but from 7/23/2009, that CPU didn't come out until 2nd/3rd quarter of 2010.
Maybe you should update that microcode, if you need me to do it let me know. Latest is from 3/11/2010
Here, was bored, now it's updated to latest microcode for that CPU, but you have to reflash again
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil...5540527539