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

The iMessage keys are hexadecimal. They look fine to me, I can post it here if it's not hazardous to me.
best not to upload here
 
Hi, I have a fully working Z390 Designare. But I need to flash the thunderbolt firmware due to blackmagic Ultrastudio issues. (It lags by 7 seconds after several minutes of playback all of a sudden, even though everything is word clocked.) Unfortunately, I can't buy another Designare MB since they are not available. I have bought the tools to flash. But I am not comfortable in blowing it up since I can't purchase another MB. Is it really that difficult? Has anyone burnt his MB doing this? Is there a similar board that could replace this one in case I mess up? Thanks for your help
 
The iMessage keys are hexadecimal. They look fine to me, I can post it here if it's not hazardous to me.
Reset NVRAM, issue persisted.
Followed steps in the link, and still same issue :/
Please refer to this Dortania guide, which in summary follows these steps:
  1. Generate new serial number
    • You do not need to do this
  2. Checks presence of en0 Ethernet
    • From System Information --> Network you can see if en0 exists
    • If not, remove the Network Preferences plist (see link) file and reboot
  3. Checks ROM value in PlatformInfo --> DataHub
    • Make sure you have a proper ROM value; generate new one from OpenCore Configurator (there's a Generate button under ROM)
  4. Verifying NVRAM
    • You've already done this
 
Hi, I have a fully working Z390 Designare. But I need to flash the thunderbolt firmware due to blackmagic Ultrastudio issues. (It lags by 7 seconds after several minutes of playback all of a sudden, even though everything is word clocked.) Unfortunately, I can't buy another Designare MB since they are not available. I have bought the tools to flash. But I am not comfortable in blowing it up since I can't purchase another MB. Is it really that difficult? Has anyone burnt his MB doing this? Is there a similar board that could replace this one in case I mess up? Thanks for your help
Flashing the on-board Thunderbolt firmware must be done with care and patience.
  • If you rush, you will fail.
  • You must have EXCELLENT nearsightedness. If you are naturally nearsighted, you should remove contact lenses or glasses (which provide far-sight focus).
  • You must have STEADY hands. There are tiny surface mount resistors close to the Thunderbolt firmware chip on the back side of the motherboard. A number of folks have accidentally dislodged these components while attaching or detaching the SOIC clip.
    • If one of these resistors comes out, Thunderbolt will permanently fail. Attempts to replace the resistor may or may not work.
  • The SOIC clip must be attached and detached GENTLY.
  • You must work in GOOD LIGHTING conditions.
  • Use the 3.3V Arcelli or equivalent device for best results. Refer to Quick Reference spoiler (section 8) for mini-guide on using the Arcelli.
Most folks who've attempted to flash the on-board controller have SUCCEEDED, but some have failed (due to accidental damage to nearby surface mount components).

Each person must determine for themselves whether they are confident in the procedure and in their hand-eye coordination abilities. They must also determine for themselves whether they are comfortable with the risks involved. Anyone who feels "clumsy" (I don't use this word in a derogatory way) with delicate tasks should avoid this.

Alternative option is to purchase a Thunderbolt add-in-card such as GC-Titan Ridge and flash the firmware of that card. A flashed PCIe add-in-card will not be as reliable. It will require starting the computer and doing one reboot every time. But if the add-in-card is damaged, it is more easily replaceable.
 
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Hi, I have a fully working Z390 Designare. But I need to flash the thunderbolt firmware due to blackmagic Ultrastudio issues. (It lags by 7 seconds after several minutes of playback all of a sudden, even though everything is word clocked.) Unfortunately, I can't buy another Designare MB since they are not available. I have bought the tools to flash. But I am not comfortable in blowing it up since I can't purchase another MB. Is it really that difficult? Has anyone burnt his MB doing this? Is there a similar board that could replace this one in case I mess up? Thanks for your help

Hi @mysticmerlin That's a lot of seconds of drift! I thought I'd weigh in as a fellow BMD and Word Clock user. I'm running Mojave on both of my hacks. Neither has flashed Thunderbolt hardware and hotplug works well and I don't have any connection issues or framerate/samplerate drift.

Are you absolutely certain that it's not an external hardware issue, driver issue, or a ystem Preferences< Security & Privacy parameter? FWIW, my Blackmagic Design Multidock II has no issues and my Apollo 8, Fractal Axe FX II XL+, and 003R can slave via WC or S/PDIF without issue in Avid, FCPX, and Resolve (the free one).

One important thing about my systems is that they never sleep. Even with my real Macs, I've had nothing but trouble with Sleep and Power Nap. The machines never sleep. Also, sometimes Mojave (and especially Big Sur) will "automatically" change my audio hardware device settings and their respective samplerates and master clock source. Go in to each audio device in Audio Midi Setup and manually change the sample rates for each to 48 KHz. Close the Audio Midi Setup app. Relaunch it, and while Audio Midi Setup is open, power cycle your external devices and see if there are any mismatched sample rates. I know it sounds unlikely, but it could fix things and save you a flashing.

Please try it before flashing your Thunderbolt. Here's the TB patch I've been using:
 

Attachments

  • SSDT-Z390-DESIGNARE-TB3HP-V4.aml
    6.1 KB · Views: 83
** OpenCore 0.6.7 EFI for Z390 Designare **
Supports Mojave, Catalina, and Big Sur
Please do not quote this post in its entirely. Use a link instead.

Requires OpenCore Configurator 2.29.0.1 or Newer.

URGENT: Set OpenCore Configurator "Preferences" to OpenCore 0.6.7 Release Version

The formal release of OpenCore 0.6.7 has arrived, along with an update of WhateverGreen, AppleALC, and VirtualSMC.

This EFI contains the following changes:

Bootloader / Kexts:
All of the items listed below are official builds.
  • OpenCore 0.6.7
  • WhateverGreen 1.4.8
  • AppleALC 1.5.8
  • VirtualSMC 1.2.1
config.plist Changes:
  • Misc --> Security --> SecureBootModel --> Disabled (change to Default for OpenIntelWireless)
  • Kernel --> Patch --> F1/F2 Brightness Keys --> Disabled
  • NVRAM --> Add --> csr-active-config --> 00000000 (SIP Enabledfor System Integrity Protection)
    • If you need to disable SIP, set this to E7030000
  • NVRAM --> Delete --> csr-active-config (allows us to change SIP without needing to Reset NVRAM)
How to Use:
  1. Find a USB flash disk with an EFI partition, or format the USB flash disk in Disk Utility with Scheme = GUID Partition Map and Format = MacOS Extended (Journaled).
  2. Mount EFI partition of the USB flash disk.
  3. Download the attached ZIP into the top level of the EFI partition of the USB flash disk. When the file is unzipped, there will be a folder called OC-067-DESIGNARE-Z390.
  4. Rename this folder to EFI, otherwise the system will not boot.
  5. Use HackinDROM to transfer PlatformInfo from existing OpenCore config.plist to new version. Please follow the guide by clicking here and select one of the following from the CopyConfig feature.
    • Z390 Designare OC 067 AMD GPU - CaseySJ
    • Z390 Designare OC 067 Intel IGPU - CaseySJ
After the modified config.plist has been copied to the EFI/OC folder of the USB flash disk, proceed as follows:
  1. Reboot and press F12 at the BIOS Splash Screen. When the BIOS Boot Menu (not OpenCore Picker) appears, select the USB flash disk.
  2. Warning: It is necessary to Reset NVRAM one time prior to booting macOS. This can be done by pressing spacebar at the OpenCore Picker and choosing Reset NVRAM. On multi-boot systems, select the default startup disk in System Preferences --> Startup Disk.
  3. At the OpenCore 0.6.7 Picker menu, select and boot the internal macOS disk.
  4. If everything works correctly, copy the new OpenCore EFI folder from the USB flash disk to the EFI partition of the main macOS SSD.
CAUTION:
  • If you are using a custom Thunderbolt SSDT or any other custom SSDTs or Kexts, please update your config.plist accordingly.
  • During startup or reboot, the Gigabyte splash screen may take several seconds to clear, which means the OpenCore Picker GUI will take more time to appear. If this happens, the delay could be fixed by removing AudioDxe.efi from the OpenCore config.plist.
 

Attachments

  • OC-067-DESIGNARE-Z390.zip
    4.7 MB · Views: 443
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@Inqnuam,

I am currently unable to load new config.plist files to CopyConfig in Hackindrom website. Clicking the Browse... button opens the file selection dialog, but when a config file is selected, the dialog immediately closes.

Screen Shot 2021-03-04 at 12.42.13 PM.png


UPDATE: I was able to upload files from a different Hackintosh. The failed attempt mentioned above was from my Z390 Designare test bench with Safari and Firefox.
 
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