Native NVRAM Available?

[WonkeyDonkey]

I certainly wish they would document those efi drivers better. Since a couple of versions ago, Clover now installs a whole stack of them by default. We can make some assumptions given the file names, but I havent seen any useful documentation about them.

 

[beelzebozo]

Good news if you update a BIOS on one of your ASUS motherboards and find that you have in fact lost Native NVRAM or maybe the ability to write to it, you can downgrade. I had to do some googling to find out what to rename the BIOS file, to allow it to downgrade.

Upgraded BIOS : 3007 I was currently running.
BIOS I've downgraded to : 1801 I wanted to revert to.

Downloaded BIOS name is Z170-DELUXE-ASUS-1801.CAP
If you update a BIOS file it will run the file as it is named, no need to rename it.
To downgrade I needed to give the BIOS file a generic name for it work but only using the BIOS Flashback procedure, not through the UEFI BIOS Flash Utility in the BIOS screen.

Renamed Z170-DELUXE-ASUS-1801.CAP to Z170D.CAP
Put the renamed file on a FAT32 formatted USB - Asus recommends using a USB 2.0 flash drive.
Inserted the USB into the green outlined USB port on the rear panel (the BIOS Flashback Port).
The problem I had the first time I tried to flash/downgrade the green LED would blink 3 times and stay on - if this happens to you nothing is going on with your BIOS flashback. The green LED will stay for as long as you leave it. At this point power down your motherboard until all the lights go out. Then boot normally.
Here is an important step that is not mentioned in the manual before you attempt the downgrade -> Reset the CMOS.
After resetting the CMOS the motherboard will then automatically enter the BIOS set-up.
At this point just power down the motherboard. Once powered down hold the BIOS Flashback button for 3 seconds, it'll start blinking - now it says in the manual the LED will stay on until it is complete. It blinks from here on out and blinks quicker during the write process.
After a couple minutes the LED stops blinking and you are good to go.
Boot into the BIOS and configure as you would.
Success - you now have native NVRAM!!

BTW, do you get a Overclock Error hit F1 to fix message when restarting your ASUS?

 

[tonymacx86]

I certainly wish they would document those efi drivers better. Since a couple of versions ago, Clover now installs a whole stack of them by default. We can make some assumptions given the file names, but I havent seen any useful documentation about them.

+1 For a test I've eliminated all of the new ones and there is no change. I'm sure there is a reason they included by default but I can't find any documentation.

 

[BreBo]

A lot of the new drivers are for FileVault 2 support.

http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/317290-filevault-2/

 

[Feartech]

Yep MM. I noticed the plist after updating Clover. Comparison from Chimera/Clover. I keep my working Chimera/Extra folders for the older systems. Force of habit :
View attachment 230581

i noticed nvram.plist being created after installing newer version of clover, was wondering why

 

[wildwillow]

BTW, do you get a Overclock Error hit F1 to fix message when restarting your ASUS?

The only time I've seen this message from the motherboard was when testing wake from sleep on HD530 where it would lock the system, the only way out would be to hard reset and then the message would appear on the next boot. Are you getting it regularly?

 

[beelzebozo]

The only time I've seen this message from the motherboard was when testing wake from sleep on HD530 where it would lock the system, the only way out would be to hard reset and then the message would appear on the next boot. Are you getting it regularly?

Yeah, whenever I restart. No biggie, just wanted to know if you saw the same thing.

 

[wildwillow]

Yeah, whenever I restart. No biggie, just wanted to know if you saw the same thing.

Is it a shut down issue causing it on the next boot or a POST issue. What hardware have you got on your system other than the ThunderboltEX II? Looking at your build description nothing stands out. Do have an OC set up on your Rig? The only thing I've done is raised my Memory frequency to 2666MHz as that what it is.

 

[tonymacx86]

Just did some testing with this



https://www.******.com/r/hackintosh/comments/3bjxhl/dual_boot_issue_noob_question/csn8nfd

Turns out my Z87X-UD7-TH motherboard supports native nvram, and the new Z170X-UD5-TH does not. Can anyone else run this test and post back?

OK digging up this post.

We're planning on putting a new 3rd choice in MultiBeast under Bootloaders > UEFI Boot Mode + Emulated NVRAM which will install EmuVariableUefi-64.efi and Clover RC Scripts in addition to Clover for boards with Non-Native NVRAM.

If we could I'd like to document the best we can which boards support Native NVRAM and which boards need Emulated NVRAM.

Motherboards Supporting Native NVRAM: Supports NVRAM without installing RC scripts or EmuVariableUefi-64.efi
Gigabyte 5,6,7,8,9 Series
ASRock 8 Series
MSI 9 Series
ASUS 8 Series
ASUS 100 Series (early BIOSes)
Intel 6 Series

Motherboards Requiring Emulated NVRAM: Requires Emulated NVRAM by installing EmuVariableUefi-64.efi + RC Scripts
Gigabyte 100 Series
ASUS 100 Series (later BIOSes)

 

[beelzebozo]

Confirmed to fix NVRAM for me.
https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...7-6700k-16gb-intel-hd530.183302/#post-1182673