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

[CaseySJ]

@CaseySJ Is using a Pi with a clip the best way to flash onboard Z390 Designare Thunderbolt 3 firmware, or is it possible to use a software tool to modify firmware of the Titan Ridge?

Technically there is a software-only method for flashing the Thunderbolt firmware, and it works through macOS itself. But the method is extremely time-critical. It gives us a 20-second window of opportunity immediately after boot, during which the firmware can be flashed. But because the Winbond W25Q80DV is a page-programmed chip, and a page is 4K bytes, even though we modify only about 6 bytes in a single page we nevertheless need to reprogram the whole page. Sometimes this can finish within 20 seconds, but most of the time it cannot. If the 20-second window expires before the full page has been programmed, it will leave the firmware in a corrupted state. It will then be necessary to use an external flasher such as the Raspberry Pi. So the software method is like playing Russian roulette. And that is why Elias and I decided not to publish any information about the software procedure.

Using the Raspberry Pi is the best way to flash the on-board Titan Ridge firmware chip. The Pi can be used for other tasks, so it's not a wasted one-time purchase.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Thank you very much for spotting this @UtterDisbelief. I was not aware of that at all, not even sure how to set that. I just ordered this card off eBay last week here in the states. Guess I need to see if there is a way to change this. This is probably very likely why it's only seeing my 2 networks and nothing else nearby like my Intel card does in Windows and is also probably why I cannot successfully connect to either one of my two networks despite seeing them.

Hi,

Okay, might be worth re-checking the Fenvi card and see which locale that uses. My guess is you need to see "FCC".

However I am not at my desktop right now to be more specific. There are plenty of dodgy "patches" out there that claim to convert one Locale to another, but I'd steer clear for now.

I'll go deeper myself when I'm back on the hack...

 

[CaseySJ]

Thank you very much for spotting this @UtterDisbelief. I was not aware of that at all, not even sure how to set that. I just ordered this card off eBay last week here in the states. Guess I need to see if there is a way to change this. This is probably very likely why it's only seeing my 2 networks and nothing else nearby like my Intel card does in Windows and is also probably why I cannot successfully connect to either one of my two networks despite seeing them.

Hi,

Okay, might be worth re-checking the Fenvi card and see which locale that uses. My guess is you need to see "FCC".

However I am not at my desktop right now to be more specific. There are plenty of dodgy "patches" out there that claim to convert one Locale to another, but I'd steer clear for now.

I'll go deeper myself when I'm back on the hack...

Please see this from my Fenvi FV-T919 in California. Locale is ETSI, but Country Code is US. The card works flawlessly. However, for @notthefirstryan, country code is X3. I haven't looked into this methodically enough to state whether country code is the problem, but X3 looks suspicious.

 

[NCMacGuy]

@NCMacGuy

WOW WOW!!!

Before I get carried away with flowery praise can you please post one or two photos and screenshots? Perhaps like this:

1. Photo of the front of monitor with macOS desktop showing.
2. Photo of the rear IO panel of motherboard.
3. Screenshot of System Information —> Graphics/Displays
4. Screenshot of System Information —> USB (to show on-board USB devices working)

Trust, but verify!

Here is some verification information as requested.

Yes, it does work!

 

[alex2003super]

Technically there is a software-only method for flashing the Thunderbolt firmware, and it works through macOS itself. But the method is extremely time-critical. It gives us a 20-second window of opportunity immediately after boot, during which the firmware can be flashed. But because the Winbond W25Q80DV is a page-programmed chip, and a page is 4K bytes, even though we modify only about 6 bytes in a single page we nevertheless need to reprogram the whole page. Sometimes this can finish within 20 seconds, but most of the time it cannot. If the 20-second window expires before the full page has been programmed, it will leave the firmware in a corrupted state. It will then be necessary to use an external flasher such as the Raspberry Pi. So the software method is like playing Russian roulette. And that is why Elias and I decided not to publish any information about the software procedure.

Using the Raspberry Pi is the best way to flash the on-board Titan Ridge firmware chip. The Pi can be used for other tasks, so it's not a wasted one-time purchase.

Thanks a lot for the reply. I already have two RPi 3Bs inside the house, that's not a problem. I was just making sure I hadn't missed anything before committing to doing this the hardware way. I don't have the mobo yet, but I plan to get one soon. If I understand correctly, I just need to connect the clip to the Pi's GPIO following a specific pinout posted in this thread, place the clip onto the Winbond chip with a blue dot (not a green one) so that LEDs light up faintly but stably red (with the PSU unplugged from power), enable SPI in raspi-config, read/dump the flash and - if successful - flash the provided BIN file to the Winbond chip.

 

[notthefirstryan]

Please see this from my Fenvi FV-T919 in California. Locale is ETSI, but Country Code is US. The card works flawlessly. However, for @notthefirstryan, country code is X3. I haven't looked into this methodically enough to state whether country code is the problem, but X3 looks suspicious.
View attachment 462883

Just to clarify, all those screenshots are from the BCM4360CD I bought from eBay (it was pulled from an iMac). I did not post any screenshots of the Fenvi. The problem I have with the Fenvi (tested in both bottom two PCIe slots) is that it power cycles itself every few seconds. WiFi turns on, searching for network, WiFi turns off. This repeats over and over again and WiFi is unusable. I suspect this has more to do with the potential motherboard issues than the card itself.

 

[notthefirstryan]

@NCMacGuy that is very cool! Now I am wondering if dual TB displays would work (one on each USBC port with an adapter). Theoretically the GPU should be able to push dual displays over the single DP cable. So I guess it boils down to how the motherboard routes that video to the USBC ports. If it's an MST hub built into the motherboard I would think it might work. Someone has two of those displays listed for sale locally here and I have been tempted to pull the trigger.

 

[CaseySJ]

Trust, but verify!

In the words of Mr. Reagan, "Doveryay, no proveryay". доверяй, но проверяй

Here is some verification information as requested.

Yes, it does work!

This is truly amazing!! I'm going to have to change Post #1 ASAP. This has been an intractable problem for so long so I'm wondering...

• Does the Apple Thunderbolt Display work if it is the only monitor in the system?
  • If the monitor is black until macOS boots up, maybe a second, but different monitor is required?
• Does the Cable Matters Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter matter, or can any Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt adapter get the job done?

cc: @AlexD @svandive @iRamon

 

[CaseySJ]

** Gigabyte Designare X299X Works Just as Well with Modified Designare Z390 Thunderbolt Firmware **​

Just wanted to post a kind of public service message...

• @dolgarrenan has a comprehensive build thread for the workstation-class Gigabyte Designare X299X motherboard.
• This board has two DP-INs, which means it can support:
  • True 5K to an LG UltraFine 5K fed by two DP cables from an AMD GPU (not iGPU)
  • Two 4K monitors fed by an AMD GPU (not iGPU)
  • No add-in-card needed.
• This board comes with on-board Titan Ridge with NVM 43.
  • Several weeks ago we modified NVM 43, but the resulting Thunderbolt behavior was unreliable and not fully functional.
• @dolgarrenan decided to experiment with the modified NVM 33 from Designare Z390.
  • Yes, the idea was to flash our modified firmware onto the Designare X299X because of the similarities between them.
• He just informed me that this works!
  • Details in this post.

The Designare X299X provides better-than-Mac-Pro levels of performance per dollar.

 

[UtterDisbelief]

Please see this from my Fenvi FV-T919 in California. Locale is ETSI, but Country Code is US. The card works flawlessly. However, for @notthefirstryan, country code is X3. I haven't looked into this methodically enough to state whether country code is the problem, but X3 looks suspicious.
View attachment 462883

Hi, back at the hack now ...

Yes, you are spot-on. Here's mine here in the UK :

​

This isn't my Fenvi, this is a BCM94360CS2 in a PCI-e adapter.

I still think the Locale is related to geographical area, but from what I've been reading the wi-fi system should be clever enough to negotiate itself around the world - e.g a laptop travelling.

As you point out though, what country-code is "X3" ?

I have found a perl script which forces the country-code to X2, but I don't understand the advantage ... yet. Still reading.

Of course there is a Wireless Diagnostics Tool in macOS that will show if there is any country-code conflict. To open it:

Option-Click on the Wireless Icon in the Menu bar. Select "Open Wireless Diagnostics".