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[SUCCESS] Gigabyte Designare Z390 (Thunderbolt 3) + i7-9700K + AMD RX 580

Hi @CaseySJ and others,

Been following this thread again since a week or two since a 6-month break and a broken hackintish. Reinstalled my stuff 2 weeks ago, all seems perfectly fine again, and I'm following the TB developments with great interest, even though my TB (audio-interfaces) requirements are working fine as is.

Anyway, just spotted some chatter about updating clover. Just wondering what would be the appropriate way to do so, since I've struggled with that in the past. If I remember correctly, clover installer allows various checkboxes such as rf scripts etc. Is there some clover upgrade guide available that you know of? Can we simply install clover upgrades over functional hacks, or should certain boxes be checked whilst doing so?

Anyway. Really thankful for all your efforts and those of others around here. Keep up the great work, it's much appreciated!
Always make a full bootable backup first!

And then just have a look at Step 1, bullet #4 of Catalina Mini-Guide. Do not click on "Install RC scripts...".
 
@CaseySJ So I have tried to backup the firmware (TB3 on Z390 Designare) now via flashrom. When trying with Raspberry Pi I had the LEDs red instantly, when using the USB programmer a bit of wiggling was necessary. BUT: In both cases I get:
"No EEPROM/flash device found.
Note: flashrom can never write if the flash chip isn't found automatically."


Any idea what to do?
Alas, it's not easy because we're doing "in-circuit" reading/flashing. The power pin (Vcc) ends up "back powering" the motherboard and drawing a huge amount of current, which the Raspberry Pi or the CH341a is incapable of delivering.

So some suggestions are:
  • Disconnect 24-pin power cable, but keep 8-pin CPU power cable attached (ATX_12V_4X2).
  • Disconnect PCIe power cables from GPU.
  • Physically remove GPU.
  • Unplug all 3-pin and 4-pin fan cables from motherboard.
  • Disconnect all internal and external USB devices (for internal USB, just unplug them from F_USB header).
  • Remove DRAM modules, but you can keep CPU and CPU Cooler attached.
  • Remove WiFi / BT card.
This will minimize the power draw. Now try again. Remember to wiggle the clip until you see a faint, but steady red glow on the motherboard LEDs. Color must be red, not orange or yellow.

Please try the best you can. If it still gives trouble, let us know. I believe @manfriday ended up "wiggling" the 3V3 pin connector on the Raspberry Pi instead of wiggling the SOIC8 clip on the Winbond chip.
 
@CaseySJ So I have tried to backup the firmware (TB3 on Z390 Designare) now via flashrom. When trying with Raspberry Pi I had the LEDs red instantly, when using the USB programmer a bit of wiggling was necessary. BUT: In both cases I get:
"No EEPROM/flash device found.
Note: flashrom can never write if the flash chip isn't found automatically."


Any idea what to do?
Got it. It’s really hard to get the right kind of "red" :-D At least one backup worked now. I have to keep wiggling a bit until it is stable.
 
Awesome info, thank you!

I'll adjust that today when I get the nvm26 firmware from @Loloflatsix :)

Speaking of, Lolo, if it works fine today as is then yay! It should. But, we've got two more files coming:

1) The firmware I "patched" that is updated according to this comment

2) A fresh patched firmware from our dear friend @Elias64Fr that is patched. We just need your backup for NVM26. I believe Elias64fr is already working on NVM18 and I love the idea of a slimmer more intentional file.
Ok: I'll do it late this afternoon:
The TBEX3 has been on my desk since this morning and it is waiting for me to flash it, I did the voltage test with the CH341A, but I'm actually busy on a 3D model project.;)
 
Here you go...
Okay, please follow this procedure carefully:
  • Find a spare 4GB or larger USB flash disk.
  • Insert into the Hackintosh.
  • Run Disk Utility
    • Select View --> Show all Devices
    • Select the parent-level name of this USB flash disk on the left side of Disk Utility
    • Click Erase
    • You should see 3 options:
      • Name: <enter a name such as "Boot Test">
      • Format: select MacOS Extended Journaled
      • Scheme: select GUID Partition Map
    • Click Erase again
  • Now the USB flash disk will contain two partitions:
    • Standard MacOS HFS+ partition
    • Hidden EFI partition
  • Mount the EFI partition of the USB flash disk
    • Unzip and copy the attached EFI folder to that partition.
    • Edit config.plist in CLOVER folder and copy your serial numbers back into SMBIOS.
    • Save the file.
Now reboot the Hackintosh:
  • Press F12 during BIOS Splash Screen to bring up the BIOS Boot Menu
  • Select this new USB flash disk
  • At the Clover Boot Menu, just boot normally into MacOS (Boot macOS from Mojave).
Does it work?
 

Attachments

  • EFI.zip
    3.3 MB · Views: 116
Hello everybody,

I was wondering about the whole process and how to get started (I have a GC-Titan Ridge card installed on a Z390M Gaming Mobo) for getting the Thunderbolt Bus activated. I have seen that PCIe GC-Titan Ridge could come, if I understood correctly) with various firmware versions (NVM23, NVM43 etc) so would the process be ideally like that:
  1. recover the current firmware (like done for the Z390M designare https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...olt-3-i7-9700k-amd-rx-580.267551/post-2062432)
  2. Modify the current firmware
  3. flash the modified firmware with the described rasperry Pi procedure
  4. test firmware and SSDT following the procedure (https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...olt-3-i7-9700k-amd-rx-580.267551/post-2086862)
Or maybe start directly on step 3 with existing patched firmwares NVM23 or NVM43?

Many thanks and stay virus free !
Hello @mmaira,

I suspect these questions will come up frequently, so here goes:
  • Always make a backup of your existing firmware first.
  • This is important because:
    • We have not uploaded the original firmware files in the Repository. If the new file fails, you will need to flash back the original firmware.
    • It can be difficult to read/write to the flash ROM chips. So reading the chip first gives you some practice and makes you familiar with the process before any "damage" can be done.
  • When you have saved a copy of the original firmware, you can inspect it with Hex Fiend to see which version you have. The version number is usually at offset 0x400A (16394).
  • Then use the most appropriate modified file from the Repository to flash your chip.
  • Finally, use the appropriate Thunderbolt DROM Micro-Guide.
 
OK, after some tests comparing with thunderbolt on my MacBook Pro 15.1 using this device (iStyle MULTIMEDIA HUB 2019):
View attachment 455751

I can say:
1. All ports work on GC-Alpine Ridge: 2 thunderbolt (USB-C), HDMI, 2 mini displayport, except USB-2.
2. All ports work on iStyle MULTIMEDIA HUB (HDMI, micro and normal SD, USB-3, gigabit ethernet) except USB-2 and USB-C port (both USB-2 and 3).
Question: How can I enable USB-2 HUB on GC-Alpine Ridge and why USB-C port on iStyle doesn't work?
Stefan,

For devices connected directly to GC-Alpine Ridge:
  • Does this mean that USB 2.0 devices do not work?
  • But Thunderbolt devices work successfully on both Thunderbolt ports?
  • And USB 3.0 devices also work on both ports?
For devices connected to iStyle Multimedia Hub:
  • Again, USB 2.0 devices do not work?
  • But USB 3.0 devices work? Only with USB Type A ports?
  • But nothing works on USB-C ports on this hub?
    • According to the diagram you posted, this is a Power Delivery Charging Port.
    • If you connect the iStyle Hub to a real Mac, can you connect USB 2 or USB devices to the USB-C port?
Captură de ecran din 2020-03-20 la 14.47.35.png
 
Ok: I'll do it late this afternoon:
The TBEX3 has been on my desk since this morning and it is waiting for me to flash it, I did the voltage test with the CH341A, but I'm actually busy on a 3D model project.;)

Sweet! Sounds fun.

I wanted to share a few tips for anyone having trouble with the flasher connections. Specifically after a little wear and tear on the clip side.

Tip 1
Place the card and flasher on your desk. You'll need it in reaching distance from the keyboard.

Tip 2
With the flasher connected to the USB port and disconnected from the Winbond chip on your card, go ahead and open terminal and type in your command. Hit enter and enter your password. It will obviously fail, but at this point you've gained two things:

*You can press up to view the command again
*The green light on the USB portion of the flasher will now flash when it has a good connection
Tip 3
Over time the clip will wear down and won't stay on. Thats ok because using the tips above means you can watch for a good connection and carefully hold the clamp in place. If you slip mid way through just use the erase function and start over. If erase is failing then simple add -f at the end of your command. Sometimes I've had to just keep trying it until it did it's thing.
 
Last edited:
Stefan,

For devices connected directly to GC-Alpine Ridge:
  • Does this mean that USB 2.0 devices do not work?
  • But Thunderbolt devices work successfully on both Thunderbolt ports?
  • And USB 3.0 devices also work on both ports?
For devices connected to iStyle Multimedia Hub:
  • Again, USB 2.0 devices do not work?
  • But USB 3.0 devices work? Only with USB Type A ports?
  • But nothing works on USB-C ports on this hub?
    • According to the diagram you posted, this is a Power Delivery Charging Port.
    • If you connect the iStyle Hub to a real Mac, can you connect USB 2 or USB devices to the USB-C port?
View attachment 455762

For devices connected directly to GC-Alpine Ridge:
  • Does this mean that USB 2.0 devices do not work? True
  • But Thunderbolt devices work successfully on both Thunderbolt ports? True
  • And USB 3.0 devices also work on both ports? True
For devices connected to iStyle Multimedia Hub:
  • Again, USB 2.0 devices do not work? True
  • But USB 3.0 devices work? Only with USB Type A ports? True True
  • But nothing works on USB-C ports on this hub? True
    • According to the diagram you posted, this is a Power Delivery Charging Port. True and USB-C port
    • If you connect the iStyle Hub to a real Mac, can you connect USB 2 or USB devices? True all types all ports
 
Ok: I'll do it late this afternoon:
The TBEX3 has been on my desk since this morning and it is waiting for me to flash it, I did the voltage test with the CH341A, but I'm actually busy on a 3D model project.;)
@Loloflatsix @NorthAmTransAm,

As soon as NVM26 for Asus Thunderbolt EX3 is ready, I'll add it to the Repository. I have this card as well, so I can also run some tests.
 
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