Lets enable overclocking on all 6 and 7 series laptops

[svl7]

So I wonder if I use MeSet.EXE on my P150HM before trying to flash the ME firmware, would it let me flash?

Will test this eventually when I get some time.

Interesting... let us know how it goes.

I'll try some stuff on my ultrabook when I get the chance, but most interesting features aren't supported by the chipset it uses... so not that interesting.

I don't understand, this update is for lienware clevo motherboard based or for all mainboard series 6 / 7? i want to overclock my hp dv7-7004sl

For all Intel boards which use the ME firmware. The title is a bit misleading, not all 6 and 7 series chipsets support all overclocking features, there are limitations depending on your hardware.

This also works for 5 series chipsets with ME firmware, but I don't think that the interest in that is very big.

[moral hazard]

EDIT: Ignore this post.

pllmod.zip

[BAKED]

I've been looking into this for a while, right now I've reached a dead end because I can't open my original ME FW in FITC to see the oem uuid to be able to flash an unlocked one.

It has an .424 file extension but I can't even open it when changing extensions to .bin .rom or whatever.

I've been able to make a backup of my current ec fw in dos but this file is also encrypted of some sort.

When I change it to .bin and open it from FITC then it reports "unrecognized bin format".

If I can edit the file in some way I would in theory be able to access the mbex.

[svl7]

You won't be able to flash it anyway. What kind of system do you have? (Chipeset series?)

[BAKED]

It's 6 series hm67 chipset, but yeah I might as well give up on this.. What I hoped to accomplish was to change my current fw and enable the extension bios and then flash with the enef in DOS.

[nidcuim]

Interesting. I'll see about reading the papers soon. I am curious, got a 5 series (m15x) mind you guys. Bricking the mobo would suck although I'm under warranty. For the part - im curious about the clock/stepping/voltage settings controlled from the intel me firmware and chip. Oh yah and occasionally I like to mess around so hopefully my add ends early that I ocd on Intel me for a day or two

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[moral hazard]

Interesting... let us know how it goes.

I've had a chance to test MeSet.EXE today, with good results.

Ok so here is what I have just done:

I first put fpt.exe onto a bootable usb drive, and I tried to run the command "fpt -d dump".

I got the standard error message "The host CPU does not have read access to the target flash area. To enable read access for this operation you must modify the descriptor settings to give host access to this region.".

Then I ran MeSet.EXE, the notebook turned off and then back on and started beeping (it was still usable).

So I tried the same command "fpt -d dump". This time it worked. I will attach the dump to this post.DUMP.zip

Now I just have to read back through the thread and see what I can do, it's really good to know that I don't need a hardware mod or a key combo, all I need is MEset.exe.

______________________________________________________________________

Update time.

I have modded my bios image following the guide in the OP, it's attached hereflashnow.zip.

Then I restarted my notebook, ran meset.exe in dos, restarted again, ran the following command in dos "fpt -me -f flashnow.bin".

I took a photo of the result.

But I have no change in intel XTU, no bclk overclock, nothing new at all.

[svl7]

Too bad, meset doesn't seem to work on my UX21a, when I run it, nothing happens, no reboot, and I still can't access the whole firmware image, or write the descriptor...

[BAKED]

Same here, nothing happens.

[dclixun]

intel drivers pour chipsets here is the latest ME tool ,can you help ?

[Khenglish]

Nice moral hazard, I am looking into this method now. Even if we can't get it working for BCLK, it could be used to clear MSR 0x610 bit 63 to unlock power control.

Update:

I looked at the file that moral hazard posted and it looks like it was properly edited. I tried running meset.exe on my system and it didn't do anything.

[svl7]

Even if we can't get it working for BCLK, it could be used to clear MSR 0x610 bit 63 to unlock power control.

I think this is rather set somewhere in a bios module than in the ME firmware... but I might be mistaken. If it's in a bios module then it's just a matter of identifying it, the mod shouldn't be a big problem.

[Khenglish]

I think this is rather set somewhere in a bios module than in the ME firmware... but I might be mistaken. If it's in a bios module then it's just a matter of identifying it, the mod shouldn't be a big problem.

Yeah it would be in the BIOS not the ME, but if you could dump and flash both, then it's still doable. It looks like MESET.EXE only works with clevo systems though.

[johnksss]

Just out of curiosity....How many versions of XTU have you tried?

[moral hazard]

I myself have tried all available on the intel download page.

Only version 2.1 can change anything (ram, few other settings, nothing useful like bclk).

[kasar]

hi all

I sucesfully unlocked BCLK on my xps 15 (L502X)

had to phisically remove the bios chip, attach it to a hardware programer, and unlock the bytes at the descriptor to unlock the descriptor and ME regions read and write.

however, I was just able to unlock BCLK overclocking setting

am using XTU 3.1.201.5 (other versions refuse to start or install )

did any of u unlocked any other importants settings than BCLK?

cuz I feel like this OC is kinda small :/

here is my modded me image, the one I flashed to unlock my BCLK

l502x_me_overclock_by_capitankasar.rar

you can open it with FITC if u want to give it a look if I missed any important setting

[svl7]

Hi Kasar, nice to see you here! Did you try to use an ME firmware of an Alienware system? I imagine this might allow you to do some more things... not sure, but worth a try imo.

[kasar]

well, the alienware firmware posted at the first topic did not open with FITC for some reason.

also they only way to get a non corrupt ME image flash, was to get the ME part of my whole chip image with FITC, when you open something in FITC, it created a subfolder with all parts splited like descriptor, bios, and other stuff.

then I picked it and hex edited it to remove emty bytes from the header so it match like other images, then I edited the image with FITC and repeated the same hex process before flash it with fptw64 and it worked.

I noticed also for some reason I can mod only once the image with FITC, if I mod it more than once the image is corrupt and I have to start again from a fresh unmodded image.

offtopic: how I can set a custom avatar?

on the forum control panel I can see only two options, no avatar or selecting one from the predefined ones.

also , do posts require admin validation? I noticed it didnt posted directly when posted my first post

[svl7]

I never really played with FITC, don't have a system to test ME stuff, except for my Ultrabook... which is limited anyways, and all I need is actually there. Do you have a 6 or 7 series chipset? You can also find an ME firmware if you download a bios from Dell, at least the AW bios includes it, even though it doesn't get flashed. Else I can provide you some ME dumps if it helps.

After 5 posts all the restrictions are gone and you can access all that stuff. (Posts in the OT section don't count)

[Khenglish]

hi all

I sucesfully unlocked BCLK on my xps 15 (L502X)

had to phisically remove the bios chip, attach it to a hardware programer, and unlock the bytes at the descriptor to unlock the descriptor and ME regions read and write.

however, I was just able to unlock BCLK overclocking setting

am using XTU 3.1.201.5 (other versions refuse to start or install )

did any of u unlocked any other importants settings than BCLK?

cuz I feel like this OC is kinda small :/

here is my modded me image, the one I flashed to unlock my BCLK

l502x_me_overclock_by_capitankasar.rar

you can open it with FITC if u want to give it a look if I missed any important setting

Holy crap it worked! I wonder why it didn't for moral hazard?

I don't think it was necessary to remove the padding at the start of the file. I'm pretty sure moral hazard did not, and his ME FW still worked, but just didn't allow BCLK adjustments.

Around 5% is usually around the max people can get to for a sandy bridge BCLK overclock, but it may be possible to push higher by loosening your memory timings. I am not aware of any program that can change memory timings for Sandy Bridge laptops (CPU-tweaker refuses to run on laptops), so the only way might be to flash the memory SPD. If you can clock higher with only 1 stick of memory, then you'll know that your overclock is limited by memory. Your CPU is multiplier locked, so a higher BCLK is all you can shoot for, unless you want to try searching for the laser cuts on your CPU package (I am only aware of 1 successful laser cut removal mod ever. Was for the mobility 9800).

This mod may have unlocked msr 0x610 to allow increasing the power limit. Throttlestop can let check this and play with it if so. Your CPU is only anywhere near its power limit with both cores and the IGP running full blast, so this might not help you at all.

[kasar]

ok, thanks for the info

while I open my dumps with FITC, it says it is a 6 series laptop.

it is a HM67 mobile sandy bridge chipset.

as for ME firmware, there isnt at the Dell drivers download, most of drivers are outdated too from dells site and I have to go directly to NVIDIA , INTEL , REALTEK and other sites to get the proper drivers, I dont like that.

I think dell laptops have a nice hardware, however, the drivers, repaste job, and crappy limited BIOS have a lot to improve.

for example, I had to mod my BIOS to feel confortable by having some options to tweak

L502X modded bioses download (GPU voltages and more!)

yeah, those dumps will probably help, thanks for the help

I also have more questions.

do topic notification emails is also a limited feature before 5 posts? I am quite sure I added instant notification setting at my control panel and didnt recived a single one from this site, I have to F5 this topic to know if there are answers.

also

what is the difference between BTM (Buffer Through Mode) and FCIM (Full Clock Integrated Mode) in terms of Overclocking?

I noticed a lot of reference to those options at FITC and its documentation.

oh, also I noticed the version of FITC and intel development tools posted here is 7

I have both 7 and 8 versions.

for example, version 7 of FITC let me open my firmware when 8 doesnt.

and version 8 of fptw64 detect my flash chip while version 7 doesnt.

I hope this help someone

I can also try upload or search the link to the version 8 if someone needs it, this could be the fix for people having issues modding the 7 series laptops.

[kasar]

@Khenglish

hey

well, it was really a pain to get basic OC at this bios ^^

if you need more info about the process, just let me to know.

about memory settings, I unlocked my bios, it let me to raise or lower the frecuency, for exmple, I have my ram working at stock frecuency 1333 mhz now, with the BCLK OC It is OCED to 1405 mhz

what do you mean about laser cut? do you mean is posible to remove the CPU multiplier lock by somewhere? I am interested on this, can you tell me more?

[svl7]

as for ME firmware, there isnt at the Dell drivers download

The ME fw is part of the bios update, at least in case of the AW series, grab a bios of a machine with the same chipset series and you can extract the ME from the image.

Dell doesn't provide separate ME updates, at least for not as far as I know.

do topic notification emails is also a limited feature before 5 posts? I am quite sure I added instant notification setting at my control panel and didnt recived a single one from this site, I have to F5 this topic to know if there are answers.

I don't know, if you have the options it should work. If it really doesn't, even when you have five posts, let me know.

oh, also I noticed the version of FITC and intel development tools posted here is 7

I have both 7 and 8 versions.

for example, version 7 of FITC let me open my firmware when 8 doesnt.

and version 8 of fptw64 detect my flash chip while version 7 doesnt.

FITC version 8 only works for the 7 series chipset, fptw is backwards compatible, the older version probably doesn't work for your system because it misses the data for the eeprom on your board (fparts file).

[Khenglish]

@Khenglish

hey

well, it was really a pain to get basic OC at this bios ^^

if you need more info about the process, just let me to know.

about memory settings, I unlocked my bios, it let me to raise or lower the frecuency, for exmple, I have my ram working at stock frecuency 1333 mhz now, with the BCLK OC It is OCED to 1405 mhz

what do you mean about laser cut? do you mean is posible to remove the CPU multiplier lock by somewhere? I am interested on this, can you tell me more?

I'm guessing that the process was the following after soldering the BIOS module back in?

1. Dump whole BIOS chip.

2. Have FTIC separate the image into the main regions (BIOS, ME FW, descriptor, GbE if present)

3. Make overclocking edits.

4. Remove padding in hex editor.

5. Either flash ME FW region only, or build a full 8MB image with the BIOS and descriptor, then flash with fptw64.

6. Install proper XTU version.

BTM (Buffer Through Mode) means that the clock generator built into the chipset is not used, and is set up to just let clocks pass through from an external PLL. FCIM (Full Clock Integrated Mode) means that the chipset's PLL is being used to generate clocks. Don't change this option

You have FTIC 8? Could you link it? The only reason the older version is posted is because that's the only one I'm aware of that was leaked.

Intel cuts/blows fuses to set CPU multiplier maximums. Many people wrongly think that this is done on the processor die itself, but it's really on the packaging. I am only aware of a single laser cut being found and reverted ever, which was almost a decade ago on a mobility 9800 (based on a full x800 core) to unlock 4 or even all 8 of the disabled pixel pipelines. Your only hope is to compare your CPU package to another higher clocked SB CPU package and hope you can find differences. You then need to sand off the outer layer on the packaging and reconnect the blown fuse(s) with a conductive pen. Even if you pull off that miracle, a big problem is increasing the multiplier even if it can be higher. This is no big deal for Ivy Bridge, but Sandy Bridge requires a CPU reinitialization for a multiplier increase to take effect. A reinitialization causes the BIOS startup code to be run again, so the BIOS must have a way built in to recognize that it was called due to a reinit and not a cold boot, so it doesn't overwrite the increased CPU multiplier (MSRs 0x199 and 0x1AD). To alter MSR 0x1AD you may need to clear a lock bit in MSR 0xCE. Figured I'd let you know since removing and flashing your BIOS chip makes me think you're into more extreme mods, but raising the multiplier on an i3 would be insanely difficult. No one knows where the fuses are that set the multipliers, and you would need extensive BIOS mods to then set an increased multiplier.

[Tech Inferno Fan]

oh, also I noticed the version of FITC and intel development tools posted here is 7

I have both 7 and 8 versions.

for example, version 7 of FITC let me open my firmware when 8 doesnt.

and version 8 of fptw64 detect my flash chip while version 7 doesnt.

I hope this help someone

I can also try upload or search the link to the version 8 if someone needs it, this could be the fix for people having issues modding the 7 series laptops.

I would appreciate if you could upload the version 8 for Series-7 chipset systems to say mediafire.com and link for me to look at. Thank you.