I just wanted to share how I updated my cpu microcode to the latest version. I use to mod my roms using MMTool or Ubutool and all was good. These days this is not 100 percent possible anymore due to compatibility issues with Aptio V and MMTool writing to X99 roms. As I understand efi files still work but couldn't even update the microcodes using those tools anymore and we are forced to do it manually until UBU supports X99. So until then ...
Step 1:
Get your hands on UBUTool and drill down the CPUI folder until you find the HSW-e folder containing all the microcodes:
Step 2:
Run UBUTool on your bios file and have it display the details of what version microcode is currently installed:
Step 3:
Find the matching microcode file corresponding to the date just displayed and open it in a hex editor.
Then copy the first 16 digits displayed in hexadecimal by right clicking:
Step 4:
Open your bios file in UEFITool included inside the UBUTool folder and search for that 16 digit sequence:
Step 5:
Double click on the search result in the bottom result panel. This will take you to the right GUID file
where your microcode is located:
From there right click on that GUID displayed in the main window
and do a 'extract body' and save the file somewhere:
Go to your old microcode file that you found in the HSWe folder from Step 3 and scroll to the very end of the file.
Pay attention to the address of where it ends. In my case it was 6FF0:
Step 6:
Open the newer version microcode in a hexedit, select everything and copy, and paste into
the first half of the extracted body from step 5 up to the address you noted before at 6FF0.
Hexedit will warn you the file size has changed. Ignore it. Save the file.
Step 7:
Go back to UEFITool and find that GUID file from earlier, and do a 'replace body' selecting
the file you saved from the last step:
Step 8:
Save the file
Step 9:
Use Ubutool to verify that your changes are correct:
Step 10:
Flash and cross your fingers!
Notes: The reason you copy paste into the first half of the extracted microcode file is that there are also Xenon microcodes residing in the second half. I really didn't care
for those but if you wanted you could probably find updated ones from intel and use the same technique to replace them.
Also it would have been quicker to just search for the UUID within UEFITool to save time. That GUID is '17088572-377F-44EF-8F4E-B09FFF46A070' but there is two of them so make sure you pick the right one!
Lastly you can this very same technique to update Raid Rst Roms if you knew what the corresponding GUIDs are. I believe there is a tutorial on that one floating around on Win-raid. All this not possible without UBUTool of course..
Hope this helps others..
Cheers!
Edit: Lordkag from Win-Raid.com has brought to light an easier way to mod the microcode or rather there is a mod that allows UBUTool to work with bios files that UBU couldn't work with before. So I quote Lordkag:
Edited by davidm71 - 10/31/15 at 4:55pm
Step 1:
Get your hands on UBUTool and drill down the CPUI folder until you find the HSW-e folder containing all the microcodes:
Step 2:
Run UBUTool on your bios file and have it display the details of what version microcode is currently installed:
Step 3:
Find the matching microcode file corresponding to the date just displayed and open it in a hex editor.
Then copy the first 16 digits displayed in hexadecimal by right clicking:
Step 4:
Open your bios file in UEFITool included inside the UBUTool folder and search for that 16 digit sequence:
Step 5:
Double click on the search result in the bottom result panel. This will take you to the right GUID file
where your microcode is located:
From there right click on that GUID displayed in the main window
and do a 'extract body' and save the file somewhere:
Go to your old microcode file that you found in the HSWe folder from Step 3 and scroll to the very end of the file.
Pay attention to the address of where it ends. In my case it was 6FF0:
Step 6:
Open the newer version microcode in a hexedit, select everything and copy, and paste into
the first half of the extracted body from step 5 up to the address you noted before at 6FF0.
Hexedit will warn you the file size has changed. Ignore it. Save the file.
Step 7:
Go back to UEFITool and find that GUID file from earlier, and do a 'replace body' selecting
the file you saved from the last step:
Step 8:
Save the file
Step 9:
Use Ubutool to verify that your changes are correct:
Step 10:
Flash and cross your fingers!
Notes: The reason you copy paste into the first half of the extracted microcode file is that there are also Xenon microcodes residing in the second half. I really didn't care
for those but if you wanted you could probably find updated ones from intel and use the same technique to replace them.
Also it would have been quicker to just search for the UUID within UEFITool to save time. That GUID is '17088572-377F-44EF-8F4E-B09FFF46A070' but there is two of them so make sure you pick the right one!
Lastly you can this very same technique to update Raid Rst Roms if you knew what the corresponding GUIDs are. I believe there is a tutorial on that one floating around on Win-raid. All this not possible without UBUTool of course..
Hope this helps others..
Cheers!
Edit: Lordkag from Win-Raid.com has brought to light an easier way to mod the microcode or rather there is a mod that allows UBUTool to work with bios files that UBU couldn't work with before. So I quote Lordkag:
Quote:
To have UBU support, you just have to remove FFS_ATTRIB_FIXED (useless on Volume Top Files), in other words, change file attribute from 0C to 08. You could do this with UEFITool, by extracting 1BA0062E-C779-4582-8566-336AE8F78F09 and in that file change offset 0x13 from value 0C to 08, save the file, then replace it. The problem is that UEFITool will also remove the trampoline for recovery (CodeRush can offer more details). To avoid this, open your E7883IMS.110 file in hex editor and change offset FFE0C8 from 95 to 99, then change offset FFE0CB from 0C to 08. You can double check the result with UEFITool. After this change, your file will work in UBU for microcode update. See the picture bellow, you need to change only the two values, but keep the top red line unchanged.
Edited by davidm71 - 10/31/15 at 4:55pm
