Forum - RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools

#2176 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Thu Jun 16, 2016 7:55 pm

@ everyone that tried to flash 11.0.12.1008 PCH-H:

What filename did the firmware have? Was it the one I have uploaded or the one from SD? I think that file had two dots in the end by accident. Maybe these confuse FWUpdate or something. Or maybe it's just old. But in such case, wouldn't any PCH-LP CON/COR user with 11.0.12.1008 (released the past days) complain as well?

@chinobino

You must not be dumping it properly. Only the BIOS is there. If you are using some software tool, it is bound by the Intel Flash Descriptor. If that is locked then you cannot dump any protected regions such as FD, ME and GbE. You can check if it's locked quickly via FPT. If command fptw -d spi.bin results in cpu access error or similar then it's locked.

@Wootever

Before releasing you new mod with 11.0.12.1008 at the Consumer PCH-LP machine that you have, did you first flash it via FWUpdate by any chance or FPT directly? If you flashed via FWUpdate, did it work properly?

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#2177 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:10 pm

Zitat von plutomaniac im Beitrag #2182
@ everyone that tried to flash 11.0.12.1008 PCH-H:

What filename did the firmware have? Was it the one I have uploaded or the one from SD? I think that file had two dots in the end by accident.

I noticed the double dots also so I renamed the file to MEI.bin.

Zitat von plutomaniac im Beitrag #2182
@chinobino

You must not be dumping it properly. Only the BIOS is there. If you are using some software tool, it is bound by the Intel Flash Descriptor. If that is locked then you cannot dump any protected regions such as FD, ME and GbE. You can check if it's locked quickly via FPT. If command fptw -d spi.bin results in cpu access error or similar then it's locked.

The first dump was made using SP8-F SPI programmer - I think I made that dump before I realised I had accidentally left the mobo battery in - so it is probably corrupted as the data lines had additional external power.

The second dump was made using Universal BIOS Backup ToolKit 2.0 while the machine was on and the Flash descriptor was likely locked (i.e. I could not flash the MEI firmware twice).

Here is a third dump I made using Gigabyte's @BIOS software (flash descriptor also likely locked);
GA-Z170-HD3_DDR3_BIOS_F6a_CORRUPT3.zip

I have now recovered the system using @BIOS to flash the F6a BIOS in Windows.

I assume that none of the dumps are likely to be helpful?

1. EVGA Z370 Classified K, Core i9-9900KS @ 5.0 GHz, 4x8GB Patriot Viper Steel DDR4-4133 MHz,
Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe 2TB, Asus 2070 Mini OC, Corsair AX850
2. Gigabyte Z390 UD, Core i7-9700K @ 4.9 GHz, 4x8GB Patriot Viper Steel DDR4-3733 MHz,
Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 512MB, GALAX GTX 1060 OC, EVGA G2 850W

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#2178 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:40 pm

Zitat von chinobino im Beitrag #2183
I noticed the double dots also so I renamed the file to MEI.bin.

So even the first time you tried to update, you changed the filename to MEI.bin and not the original? If yes, we can safely disregard the double dot mistake as the cause of the FWUpdate's problem (if that's where the problem is).

Zitat von chinobino im Beitrag #2183
I assume that none of the dumps are likely to be helpful?

You have a Gigabyte system, they tend to leave the FD unlocked. Not sure about their recent (SKL) policy though. I know that everything pre-SKL was unlocked.

Anyway, the 3rd dump is full. The ME region however is indeed corrupted. There are two regions that FWUpdate send to the ME to validate and update: FTPR and NFTP. At your dump, your FTPR is of version 11.0.12.1008 but it's half-flashed or so as it's missing many parts. Your NFTP section is left at 11.0.11.1005. It seems that during the update, only the first of the two sections got half-updated and then got stuck (at 77% as shown at your picture). Why, I don't know yet.

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#2179 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Thu Jun 16, 2016 9:55 pm (Last edited: Thu Jun 16, 2016 10:15 pm)

Wootever

Show info

Posts:	51
Registered since:	06.03.2015

Zitat von plutomaniac im Beitrag #2182
@Wootever

Before releasing you new mod with 11.0.12.1008 at the Consumer PCH-LP machine that you have, did you first flash it via FWUpdate by any chance or FPT directly? If you flashed via FWUpdate, did it work properly?

I tried both methods and verified it by using MEInfo. As far as i can tell they are both working fine on my device.

Edit:
I also updated my Z170 Mainboard with the PCH-H v11.0.12.1008 firmware via FWUpdate, didn't encounter any issues.

Updated with FWUpd x64 11.0.0.1205

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Intel(R) MEInfo Version: 11.0.11.1002
Copyright(C) 2005 - 2016, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
 

Intel(R) ME code versions:
                  
BIOS Version                                 1801
MEBx Version                                 0.0.0.0000
GbE Version                                  0.7
Vendor ID                                    8086
PCH Version                                  31
FW Version                                   11.0.12.1008 H
LMS Version                                  Not Available
MEI Driver Version                           11.0.5.1189
Wireless Hardware Version                    Not Available
Wireless Driver Version                      Not Available
                                             
FW Capabilities                              0x31111D40
                                             
    Intel(R) Capability Licensing Service - PRESENT/ENABLED
    Protect Audio Video Path - PRESENT/ENABLED
    Intel(R) Dynamic Application Loader - PRESENT/ENABLED
    Intel(R) Platform Trust Technology - PRESENT/DISABLED
                                             
TLS                                          Disabled
Last ME reset reason                         Power up
Local FWUpdate                               Enabled
BIOS Config Lock                             Disabled
GbE Config Lock                              Disabled
Host Read Access to ME                       Disabled
Host Write Access to ME                      Disabled
Host Read Access to EC                       Disabled
Host Write Access to EC                      Disabled
SPI Flash ID 1                               C84018
SPI Flash ID 2                               Unknown
BIOS boot State                              Post Boot
OEM ID                                       00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
Capability Licensing Service                 Enabled
OEM Tag                                      0x00000000
Slot 1 Board Manufacturer                    0x00000000
Slot 2 System Assembler                      0x00000000
Slot 3 Reserved                              0x00000000
M3 Autotest                                  Disabled
C-link Status                                Disabled
Independent Firmware Recovery                Disabled
EPID Group ID                                0xF91
OEM Public Key Hash FPF                      0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
OEM Public Key Hash ME                       66687AADF862BD776C8FC18B8E9F8E20089714856EE233B3902A591D0D5F2925
ACM SVN FPF                                  0x0
KM SVN FPF                                   0x0
BSMM SVN FPF                                 0x0
GuC Encryption Key FPF                       0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
GuC Encryption Key ME                        6DB65FD59FD356F6729140571B5BCD6BB3B83492A16E1BF0A3884442FC3C8A0E
                                             
                                             FPF                      ME
                                             ---                      --
Force Boot Guard ACM                         Disabled                 Disabled
Protect BIOS Environment                     Disabled                 Disabled
CPU Debugging                                Enabled                  Enabled
BSP Initialization                           Enabled                  Enabled
Measured Boot                                Disabled                 Disabled
Verified Boot                                Disabled                 Disabled
Key Manifest ID                              0x0                      0x0
Enforcement Policy                           0x0                      0x0
PTT                                          Enabled                  Enabled
PTT Lockout Override Counter                 0x0
EK Revoke State                              Not Revoked
PTT RTC Clear Detection FPF                  0x0
 

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#2180 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:25 pm

Thank you Wootever, so both 11.0.12.1008 CON-LP and CON-H worked with FWUpdate 11.0.0.1205. I assume the problem is with FWUpdate, it may be buggy under certain circumstances only. Hopefully we'll find a newer version soon, if there is one.

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#2181 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Sun Jun 19, 2016 12:57 pm

Anyway to completely get rid of ME? xD

https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/inte...d-get-rid-of-me
http://forums.windowscentral.com/windows-10/376623-2.htm

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#2182 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Sun Jun 19, 2016 7:34 pm (Last edited: Sun Jun 19, 2016 7:52 pm)

Intel ME 11.0 Consumer PCH-H Firmware v11.0.12.1008 (PDM)
Intel ME 11.0 Consumer PCH-LP Firmware v11.0.12.1008 (PDM+NOPDM)
Intel ME 11.0 Corporate PCH-LP Firmware v11.0.12.1008 (PDM+NOPDM)
Intel ME 11.0 Corporate PCH-H Firmware v11.0.12.1003 (UKPDM)

Zitat von RiP im Beitrag #2187
Anyway to completely get rid of ME? xD

No, unless you use a very old pre-PCH system (4-series or lower). Check Libreboot's point of view.

reply

#2183 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Sun Jun 19, 2016 7:57 pm

You recommend not to upgrade 9.0 system to 9.1. But usually all Asus BIOSes have 9.0.30 MEI version and don't start with Haswell Refresh CPU. The minimum version of MEI for Haswell Refresh CPU is 9.0.60 (as I could find). So I upgraded all BIOSes to 9.1.26 and everything worked fine. I think that most manufactures simply don'y bother themselves inserting later versions of firmware. They declare Haswell refresh CPU compatible but in fact these MB on't start with such CPU. I have now 9.0.60 firmware (1.5 M + 5M) from Asus - here it is https://yadi.sk/d/RXE2vwPascuce. You can use it for upgrade also

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#2184 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Sun Jun 19, 2016 8:09 pm (Last edited: Sun Jun 19, 2016 8:10 pm)

@ ring00:

When you say "9.0.60", you actually mean "9.0.30", right? There is no "9.0.60" release. There was a "9.0.50" firmware which was an Alpha version of 9.1 but that never saw the light of day so you are probably not referring to that.

For HSW Refresh you need v9.1 firmware. As I mentioned at that warning, whether the upgrade from 9.0 to 9.1 will work properly, is up to the OEM. They need to update the BIOS first to be compatible. If there's an OEM which says that a mobo is HSWR compatible with 9.0 firmware then they were probably drunk while releasing the update or they provide a separate updater which uses FWUpdate + v9.1 firmware to facilitate the upgrade (I think it was possible to do that with FWUpdate from 9.0 to 9.1 but don't remember anymore clearly). However, if you say that ASUS mentions the mobo being HSWR compatible and for some reason the fw is left at 9.0, then you can upgrade manually, of course you can. The warning is there for people whose OEMs haven't released a ME9.1 compatible BIOS which will result in issues after flashing (BCLK at 99Hz instead of 100Hz, fan control problems or similar).

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#2185 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Sun Jun 19, 2016 9:34 pm

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.10586]
(c) 2015 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

c:\MEInfo\WINDOWS64>meinfowin64 -verbose

Intel(R) MEInfo Version: 11.0.11.1002
Copyright(C) 2005 - 2016, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.

FW Status Register1: 0x94000245
FW Status Register2: 0x02F60506
FW Status Register3: 0x00000020
FW Status Register4: 0x00084000
FW Status Register5: 0x00000000
FW Status Register6: 0xC0000000

CurrentState: Normal
ManufacturingMode: Disabled
FlashPartition: Valid
OperationalState: CM0 with UMA
InitComplete: Complete
BUPLoadState: Success
ErrorCode: No Error
ModeOfOperation: Normal
SPI Flash Log: Not Present
Phase: ROM/Preboot
ICC: Valid OEM data, ICC programmed
ME File System Corrupted: No
PhaseStatus: AFTER_SRAM_INIT

FPF and ME Config Status: No match
FW Capabilities value is 0x31111D40
Feature enablement is 0x11111940
Platform type is 0x71220322
No Intel vPro Wireless device was found
Intel(R) ME code versions:

Windows OS Version : 6.2.9200 ""
Table Type 0 ( 0x 00 ) found, size of 24 (0x 18 ) bytes
BIOS Version 1701

Windows OS Version : 6.2.9200 ""
Table Type 0 ( 0x 00 ) found, size of 24 (0x 18 ) bytes
Table Type 1 ( 0x 01 ) found, size of 27 (0x 1B ) bytes
Table Type 2 ( 0x 02 ) found, size of 15 (0x 0F ) bytes
Table Type 3 ( 0x 03 ) found, size of 22 (0x 16 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 8 ( 0x 08 ) found, size of 9 (0x 09 ) bytes
Table Type 9 ( 0x 09 ) found, size of 17 (0x 11 ) bytes
Table Type 9 ( 0x 09 ) found, size of 17 (0x 11 ) bytes
Table Type 9 ( 0x 09 ) found, size of 17 (0x 11 ) bytes
Table Type 9 ( 0x 09 ) found, size of 17 (0x 11 ) bytes
Table Type 9 ( 0x 09 ) found, size of 17 (0x 11 ) bytes
Table Type 9 ( 0x 09 ) found, size of 17 (0x 11 ) bytes
Table Type 10 ( 0x 0A ) found, size of 6 (0x 06 ) bytes
Table Type 11 ( 0x 0B ) found, size of 5 (0x 05 ) bytes
Table Type 12 ( 0x 0C ) found, size of 5 (0x 05 ) bytes
Table Type 32 ( 0x 20 ) found, size of 20 (0x 14 ) bytes
Table Type 34 ( 0x 22 ) found, size of 11 (0x 0B ) bytes
Table Type 26 ( 0x 1A ) found, size of 22 (0x 16 ) bytes
Table Type 36 ( 0x 24 ) found, size of 16 (0x 10 ) bytes
Table Type 35 ( 0x 23 ) found, size of 11 (0x 0B ) bytes
Table Type 28 ( 0x 1C ) found, size of 22 (0x 16 ) bytes
Table Type 36 ( 0x 24 ) found, size of 16 (0x 10 ) bytes
Table Type 35 ( 0x 23 ) found, size of 11 (0x 0B ) bytes
Table Type 27 ( 0x 1B ) found, size of 15 (0x 0F ) bytes
Table Type 36 ( 0x 24 ) found, size of 16 (0x 10 ) bytes
Table Type 35 ( 0x 23 ) found, size of 11 (0x 0B ) bytes
Table Type 27 ( 0x 1B ) found, size of 15 (0x 0F ) bytes
Table Type 36 ( 0x 24 ) found, size of 16 (0x 10 ) bytes
Table Type 35 ( 0x 23 ) found, size of 11 (0x 0B ) bytes
Table Type 29 ( 0x 1D ) found, size of 22 (0x 16 ) bytes
Table Type 36 ( 0x 24 ) found, size of 16 (0x 10 ) bytes
Table Type 35 ( 0x 23 ) found, size of 11 (0x 0B ) bytes
Table Type 26 ( 0x 1A ) found, size of 22 (0x 16 ) bytes
Table Type 28 ( 0x 1C ) found, size of 22 (0x 16 ) bytes
Table Type 27 ( 0x 1B ) found, size of 15 (0x 0F ) bytes
Table Type 29 ( 0x 1D ) found, size of 22 (0x 16 ) bytes
Table Type 39 ( 0x 27 ) found, size of 22 (0x 16 ) bytes
Table Type 40 ( 0x 28 ) found, size of 32 (0x 20 ) bytes
Table Type 41 ( 0x 29 ) found, size of 11 (0x 0B ) bytes
Table Type 41 ( 0x 29 ) found, size of 11 (0x 0B ) bytes
Table Type 41 ( 0x 29 ) found, size of 11 (0x 0B ) bytes
Table Type 7 ( 0x 07 ) found, size of 19 (0x 13 ) bytes
Table Type 7 ( 0x 07 ) found, size of 19 (0x 13 ) bytes
Table Type 7 ( 0x 07 ) found, size of 19 (0x 13 ) bytes
Table Type 7 ( 0x 07 ) found, size of 19 (0x 13 ) bytes
Table Type 4 ( 0x 04 ) found, size of 48 (0x 30 ) bytes
Table Type 16 ( 0x 10 ) found, size of 23 (0x 17 ) bytes
Table Type 17 ( 0x 11 ) found, size of 40 (0x 28 ) bytes
Table Type 17 ( 0x 11 ) found, size of 40 (0x 28 ) bytes
Table Type 17 ( 0x 11 ) found, size of 40 (0x 28 ) bytes
Table Type 17 ( 0x 11 ) found, size of 40 (0x 28 ) bytes
Table Type 19 ( 0x 13 ) found, size of 31 (0x 1F ) bytes
Table Type 221 ( 0x DD ) found, size of 12 (0x 0C ) bytes
Table Type 20 ( 0x 14 ) found, size of 35 (0x 23 ) bytes
Table Type 20 ( 0x 14 ) found, size of 35 (0x 23 ) bytes
Table Type 20 ( 0x 14 ) found, size of 35 (0x 23 ) bytes
Table Type 20 ( 0x 14 ) found, size of 35 (0x 23 ) bytes
Table Type 130 ( 0x 82 ) found, size of 20 (0x 14 ) bytes
Table Type 131 ( 0x 83 ) found, size of 64 (0x 40 ) bytes
MEBx Version found is 0.0.0.0000
MEBx Version 0.0.0.0000
GbE Version 0.7
Vendor ID 8086
PCH Version 31
FW Version 11.0.12.1008 H
LMS Version Not Available
MEI Driver Version 11.0.5.1189
Wireless Hardware Version Not Available
Wireless Driver Version Not Available

FW Capabilities 0x31111D40

Intel(R) Capability Licensing Service - PRESENT/ENABLED
Protect Audio Video Path - PRESENT/ENABLED
Intel(R) Dynamic Application Loader - PRESENT/ENABLED
Service Advertisement & Discovery - NOT PRESENT
Intel(R) NFC Capabilities - NOT PRESENT
Intel(R) Platform Trust Technology - PRESENT/DISABLED

TLS Disabled
Last ME reset reason Global system reset
Local FWUpdate Enabled
BIOS Config Lock Disabled
GbE Config Lock Disabled
Get flash master region access status...done
Host Read Access to ME Disabled
Host Write Access to ME Disabled
Get EC region access status...done
Host Read Access to EC Disabled
Host Write Access to EC Disabled
Protected Range Register Base #0 0x0
Protected Range Register Limit #0 0x0
Protected Range Register Base #1 0x0
Protected Range Register Limit #1 0x0
Protected Range Register Base #2 0x0
Protected Range Register Limit #2 0x0
Protected Range Register Base #3 0x0
Protected Range Register Limit #3 0x0
Protected Range Register Base #4 0x0
Protected Range Register Limit #4 0x0
SPI Flash ID 1 EF4018
SPI Flash ID 2 Unknown
BIOS boot State Post Boot
OEM ID 00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000
Capability Licensing Service Enabled
OEM Tag 0x00000000
Slot 1 Board Manufacturer 0x00000000
Slot 2 System Assembler 0x00000000
Slot 3 Reserved 0x00000000
M3 Autotest Disabled
C-link Status Disabled
Independent Firmware Recovery Disabled
EPID Group ID 0xF86
OEM Public Key Hash FPF 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Retrieving Variable "OEM Public Key Hash"
OEM Public Key Hash ME 66687AADF862BD776C8FC18B8E9F8E20089714856EE233B3902A591D0D5F2925
ACM SVN FPF 0x0
KM SVN FPF 0x0
BSMM SVN FPF 0x0
GuC Encryption Key FPF 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Retrieving Variable "GuC Encryption Key"
GuC Encryption Key ME 6DB65FD59FD356F6729140571B5BCD6BB3B83492A16E1BF0A3884442FC3C8A0E

FPF ME
--- --
Force Boot Guard ACM Disabled
Retrieving Variable "Force Boot Guard ACM Enabled"
Disabled
Protect BIOS Environment Disabled
Retrieving Variable "Protect BIOS Environment Enabled"
Disabled
CPU Debugging Enabled
Retrieving Variable "CPU Debugging"
Enabled
BSP Initialization Enabled
Retrieving Variable "BSP Initialization"
Enabled
Measured Boot Disabled
Retrieving Variable "Measured Boot Enabled"
Disabled
Verified Boot Disabled
Retrieving Variable "Verified Boot Enabled"
Disabled
Key Manifest ID 0x0
Retrieving Variable "Key Manifest ID"
0x0
Enforcement Policy 0x0
Retrieving Variable "Error Enforcement Policy"
0x0
PTT Disabled
Retrieving Variable "Intel(R) PTT Supported"
Enabled
PTT Lockout Override Counter 0x0
EK Revoke State Not Revoked
PTT RTC Clear Detection FPF 0x0

c:\MEInfo\WINDOWS64>

MEInfo Tool verbose report after cross-flash (with FWUpdate Tool(Win64) ver.: 11.0.0.1205) from 11.0.11.1005_CON_H_D0_UKPDM_PRD_RGN.bin (which is NOPDM as it reports 0x00000200) to 11.0.12.1008_CON_H_D0_UKPDM_PRD_RGN.bin which is PDM as you can see from my report. Sorry but i didn't save report before cross-flash but it did show 0x00000200 at FW Status Register3. No errors during cross-flash and everything reports normally(both MEInfo and MEManuf) after reboot so its working for me at least. Windows 10 Pro x64 on Asus Maximus VIII Hero.

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#2186 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Sun Jun 19, 2016 9:48 pm

That was some great info plutomaniac.

My motherboard appears to be non-PDM according to MeInfo (verbose) so it looks like cross-flashing was the likely reason for failure.

1. EVGA Z370 Classified K, Core i9-9900KS @ 5.0 GHz, 4x8GB Patriot Viper Steel DDR4-4133 MHz,
Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe 2TB, Asus 2070 Mini OC, Corsair AX850
2. Gigabyte Z390 UD, Core i7-9700K @ 4.9 GHz, 4x8GB Patriot Viper Steel DDR4-3733 MHz,
Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 512MB, GALAX GTX 1060 OC, EVGA G2 850W

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#2187 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:02 pm

@ Feyd1364:

Thank you Feyd1364! Such a useful first post and great report. I have now set 11.0.11.1005 CON-H as NOPDM at the MEA DB and firmware repository (not the one uploaded here at this time). From your results, you have verified as well that NOPDM to PDM should be ok for some people and such a flash results from a 200 to 020 change at FW Status Register3.

@ chinobino:

PDM is new so in theory all current motherboards are NOPDM (meaning they are running NOPDM firmware as I call it). Lenovo released PDM firmware without any same-period BIOS update and Dell did the same without a newer driver so I assume (time will tell if I'm right) that NOPDM is cross-flashable with PDM without a need for BIOS/Driver updating first. I'm wondering why it causes problems for some users only. What firmware do you currently have? Is it 11.0.11.1005? If yes you should see 200 just like Feyd1364 did before updating (for some reason without problems on his Z170 board). If you cannot restore the SPI/BIOS by reflashing it (unlocked flash descriptor with 2 chips or programmer required for that) in case of issues then I'd say don't try updating to the PDM variant of 11.0.12.1008 that we have currently.

Again, thank you both for your good reports. Hopefully more people will step up. PDM might be related to some "performance mode" or something (system clocks?) but we'll see. I'm hoping to find some more info these days.

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#2188 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:12 pm

Zitat von plutomaniac im Beitrag #2193
@ chinobino:

What firmware do you currently have? Is it 11.0.11.1005? If yes you should see 200 just like Feyd1364 did before updating (for some reason without problems on his Z170 board).

Yes, 11.0.11.1005 and yes 200 (not 020).

Thanks again for clarification.

1. EVGA Z370 Classified K, Core i9-9900KS @ 5.0 GHz, 4x8GB Patriot Viper Steel DDR4-4133 MHz,
Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe 2TB, Asus 2070 Mini OC, Corsair AX850
2. Gigabyte Z390 UD, Core i7-9700K @ 4.9 GHz, 4x8GB Patriot Viper Steel DDR4-3733 MHz,
Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 512MB, GALAX GTX 1060 OC, EVGA G2 850W

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#2189 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Sun Jun 19, 2016 10:57 pm

Zitat von plutomaniac im Beitrag #2188
Zitat von RiP im Beitrag #2187
Anyway to completely get rid of ME? xD

No, unless you use a very old pre-PCH system (4-series or lower). Check Libreboot's point of view.

Thanks a lot for the link o.O

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#2190 | RE: Intel Management Engine: Drivers, Firmware & System Tools datum

Sun Jun 19, 2016 11:28 pm

Some more info regarding "FW Status Register3" field of MEInfo. We are interested at the last 3 numbers only. From the above Z170 (CON-H) reports and Pacman's system we have 200 for NOPDM and 020 for PDM. From 2 CON-LP reports I received by pm from Wootever and deejaycaius (thx guys) it seems that the same applies there as well. So no matter H/LP, these last three numbers relate to Consumer only. Maybe for Corporate as well? After some searching, from this COR-H (old so NOPDM) and this newer COR-LP (first PDM we found from Lenovo) report, we have 300 for NOPDM and 030 for PDM. Again, for both Corporate (non H/LP related) firmware, the same numbers are used. In total I have these results so far:

Consumer H/LP PDM --> 020

Consumer H/LP NOPDM --> 200

Corporate H/LP PDM --> 030

Corporate H/LP NOPDM --> 300

So we can detect whether a system has PDM or NOPDM firmware now but only after flashing. Better than nothing. To detect PDM/NOPDM before flashing I would need to add such a capability at MEA which is probably not possible (we'll see in the following days). However, I have found 2 advanced users who can safely test new CON-H and CON-LP firmware (can recover in case of bad flash). So, every time a new Consumer H/LP firmware is found and we don't know it's PDM/NOPDM status, I will ask them to first flash it and let the rest of us know. I am looking for another set of advanced users with Corporate (H & LP) systems now. If anyone is interested, let me know.

P.S: Obviously if your "MEInfo -verbose" report shows anything other than 200,020,300,030 at "FW Status Register3", please report it here to reassess.

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