Your RX480 with 8 GB VRAM or another one with 4 GB?
None of the uploaded VBIOS zip files for the RX480 or the WX7100 seem to contain more than one file, so which file and which post are you referring to?
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iM 4,1-14,4 2011 iMac Graphics Card Upgrade
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None of the uploaded VBIOS zip files for the RX480 or the WX7100 seem to contain more than one file, so which file and which post are you referring to?
thank you again for the quick respond. So the folder contains one rom file like the first screenshot and an other folder with an other rom file like the second screenshot. I used the one in the first screenshot yesterday, but I got black screen
Attachments
I istalled windows in my imac. I dont think thats the problem, or is it?
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The folders __MACOSX are for use by macOS only and not visible in macOS; you can ignore those.
Hello, unfortunately did not work for me (iMac 27 - 2010).
Removed the original HD 5670 512 MB and placed this card in it.
After install the Mac started up, but with black screen.
And restarted every 3 seconds (with chime), but no screen.
I installed BOOTCAMP (start-up disk) with nvflash to flash the card, but I never reached it.
The only thing I can tell is that the card came out of a HP laptop, maybe that's the reason nothing happened.
To break the 3s boot chime loop get the card out of the iMac and reset the PRAM without the card installed.
You will not get a working screen (with HP cards in particular) unless it has been flashed with a vBIOS. Even the windows method needs remote access to get around this. So take your time and search on the first post for the other methods to flash your HP card.
In the worst case (ongoing boot chime loop) you will need to write the vBIOS using a clip. All this has been reported and described several times here.
Thanks for the explanation, I'll try it tomorrow and I am going to search on the forum for HP cards.
By the way and maybe a very stupid question: can I flash the rom for K610 while my HD card is still on, and after that replace the HD card with the K610M?
AMD_GOP update
Greetings everyone!
The following is a minor update for the PC based UEFI GOPs that we are using for the AMD class cards.
The version is: AMD_GOP_1.70.0.15.50.
I also went ahead and removed the signature check that this efi does to disable any modifications that are made in the vbios:
As you can see, there is a checksum verification that is done on a portion of the rom.
If you
Anyhow, I've tested it on my AMD Saturn M6100 card and it works as expected.
Thanks,
Nick.
Greetings everyone!
The following is a minor update for the PC based UEFI GOPs that we are using for the AMD class cards.
The version is: AMD_GOP_1.70.0.15.50.
I also went ahead and removed the signature check that this efi does to disable any modifications that are made in the vbios:
As you can see, there is a checksum verification that is done on a portion of the rom.
If you
NOP out that command and always set eax to be 1, then the next check will compare eax with decimal value '4'. Ofcourse, it will never be equal and the jnz (jump-not-zero) line will send you to the valid part of the code and skip the loading of the invalidation subroutine into rcx. I did not create this, I'm just modifying and patching it to work on the latest release. I hope you don't mind my boring long explanations!Anyhow, I've tested it on my AMD Saturn M6100 card and it works as expected.
Thanks,
Nick.
If you want to use nvflash software from windows or linux the card has to be installed in the iMac - how would the software reach your card lying on the desk??
The only way to flash it on the desk is using a CH341A clip programmer.
That's why it was stupid question...hahah....
After I wrote that, I thought already it would be impossible.
Thanks anyway.
Thanks for the detailed explanations!
With which GPU types is this GOP supposed to be compatible with?
And the signature protects the GOP driver only, not the ATOM BIOS?
And are there other modifications you did to the GOP driver?
Newbie here, and yes reread post 1 multiple times. Just wanted to summarise, because it can be confusing.
My aim is to upgrade 2010 and 2011 iMacs both 21" and 27". They (my parents and family) are currently using these 'happily' with High Sierra (simple browsing and office works, nothing fancy). I wanted to get them Big Sur or Monterey.
What I gathered what I needed to do is:
1) find a proper AMD WX4130/WX4150 that work for the specific iMac models. I want to avoid the mods, so choose the right card. This is better than NVIDIA at the moment, because somehow support for these are dropped.
2) Once installed. One need to install OCLP (advised to keep High Sierra on main drive, and install this on a separate drive etc etc). And upgrade all the way up to Big Sur Monterey
3) In order to benefit from continuity/hand off or even 'simple' BT, replace the current cards with BCM94360CD.
Although I leave a few details in the process, this is the gist of it that I thought I need to undertake without any soldering/modding. Just disassemble and reassemble (with the risk of nothing working after installed, ok).
I just want to check with someone, before I actually go procuring these cards.
Thanks for any feedback. And what a wonderful thread!
My aim is to upgrade 2010 and 2011 iMacs both 21" and 27". They (my parents and family) are currently using these 'happily' with High Sierra (simple browsing and office works, nothing fancy). I wanted to get them Big Sur or Monterey.
What I gathered what I needed to do is:
1) find a proper AMD WX4130/WX4150 that work for the specific iMac models. I want to avoid the mods, so choose the right card. This is better than NVIDIA at the moment, because somehow support for these are dropped.
2) Once installed. One need to install OCLP (advised to keep High Sierra on main drive, and install this on a separate drive etc etc). And upgrade all the way up to Big Sur Monterey
3) In order to benefit from continuity/hand off or even 'simple' BT, replace the current cards with BCM94360CD.
Although I leave a few details in the process, this is the gist of it that I thought I need to undertake without any soldering/modding. Just disassemble and reassemble (with the risk of nothing working after installed, ok).
I just want to check with someone, before I actually go procuring these cards.
Thanks for any feedback. And what a wonderful thread!
Condensed this is the optimal patch to walk.
You may try the M5100 within the 2010 models - I tested this card in both the Late 2009 27, Mid 2010 21.5 and 27 models and it works flawlessly. Complex to setup but really nice cards.
For the Mid 2011 there are no better working cards than the (invisible) WX4130& and WX4150 cards.
You should install and adapt (for the M5100) OpenCore through OCLP before installing the new cards. Should not harm your old ATI cards.
This is no complete vBIOS, it is just an important part of it - read the post carefully.
Hello smart, talented and extremely patient ladies and gentlemen.
I have an iMac Core i7 3.4 27-Inch Aluminum Mid-2011 that I would like to get up and running again after 4 years of death because the factory installed 6970 GPU failed.
It was suggested to me to use a WX4130 and I have found one for sale on eBay from China. I wrote and asked if they would be able to flash the card for me (because if something were to go wrong, I don’t have the knowledge to do anything about it). They sent this reply… “We can flash Apple BIOS, but I'm not sure it's compatible with your computer.”
This is the actual ad title: NEW Dell Precision 7510 7520 M4800 HP ZBOOK15 G4 AMD WX4130 2GB WX4150 4GB MXM3.0 A Video Card V30XX J3X45.
I’m now left wondering what to do.
I would trust the man who suggested this card before the eBay seller’s opinion but just to be double sure I’m asking again here.
Preferably I would rather buy one from you if you have an extra card I’ll be more than happy to pay you for it rather than take my chances on eBay.
Thank you for your kindness and all your hard work, each and everyone of you involved in this great project.
I have an iMac Core i7 3.4 27-Inch Aluminum Mid-2011 that I would like to get up and running again after 4 years of death because the factory installed 6970 GPU failed.
It was suggested to me to use a WX4130 and I have found one for sale on eBay from China. I wrote and asked if they would be able to flash the card for me (because if something were to go wrong, I don’t have the knowledge to do anything about it). They sent this reply… “We can flash Apple BIOS, but I'm not sure it's compatible with your computer.”
This is the actual ad title: NEW Dell Precision 7510 7520 M4800 HP ZBOOK15 G4 AMD WX4130 2GB WX4150 4GB MXM3.0 A Video Card V30XX J3X45.
I’m now left wondering what to do.
I would trust the man who suggested this card before the eBay seller’s opinion but just to be double sure I’m asking again here.
Preferably I would rather buy one from you if you have an extra card I’ll be more than happy to pay you for it rather than take my chances on eBay.
Thank you for your kindness and all your hard work, each and everyone of you involved in this great project.
For your case, I would suggest a Quadro K3100m or K4100m, preflashed with Mac compatible vBIOS. This will save you the flashing step and other complicated moddings. The seller don't charge you extra for the different bios. The price will be more reasonable than the rare WX4150/4130. You already have the 3-pipe heatsink.
It's possible. It's just not easy.
You will need to install Windows and use the CH341a mini programmer to write directly onto the vBIOS chip.
In some case the CH341a clip just can't clip the vBIOS chip firmly enough to make connections.
Then you will have to transfer it to the jig/board of the CH341a programmer, write the vBIOS, then transfer it back to the card.
Working with a CH341a programmer in some case would require micro-soldering skill and tools.
Good day,
I got my hands on an iMac 27" 12,2 with a defect graphics card.
So I searched the internet, to find a way to get the iMac up and running again.
First try was the BAKE method - and hell yeah - it worked.
Then I found this thread on macrumors
First many thanks to all users, who make this possible.
I became very curious and got me an k2100m on the internet.
The assembly wasn't that hard, as there wasn't modifications needed.
Flashing the bios was also no problem.
Then the moment of truth - starting the iMac and after some seconds the login screen appeared.
Great!
But then, after some time - I suspect the screensaver or sleep mode - the monitor has turned black and I haven't found a way to get it running again. Currently three status LED lights green
I'm aware of the Black Screen Issue mentioned on the first page.
So I create a OCLP medium (not an USB-stick but an old extern hdd) and added the agdpmod=vit9696 in the boot-args.
Unfortunately, nothing happens.
I hope someone can give me hint, what to do next, so the monitor is working again.
Many thanks in advance
I got my hands on an iMac 27" 12,2 with a defect graphics card.
So I searched the internet, to find a way to get the iMac up and running again.
First try was the BAKE method - and hell yeah - it worked.
Then I found this thread on macrumors
First many thanks to all users, who make this possible.
I became very curious and got me an k2100m on the internet.
The assembly wasn't that hard, as there wasn't modifications needed.
Flashing the bios was also no problem.
Then the moment of truth - starting the iMac and after some seconds the login screen appeared.
Great!
But then, after some time - I suspect the screensaver or sleep mode - the monitor has turned black and I haven't found a way to get it running again. Currently three status LED lights green
I'm aware of the Black Screen Issue mentioned on the first page.
So I create a OCLP medium (not an USB-stick but an old extern hdd) and added the agdpmod=vit9696 in the boot-args.
Unfortunately, nothing happens.
I hope someone can give me hint, what to do next, so the monitor is working again.
Many thanks in advance
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I have a 12,2 that I have upgraded with a K3100M and have had similar problems. Sleep is intermittent at best and some times if the power goes off I have a hard time getting the system to start again. I've not gone into figuring out what exactly is wrong as others have this same configuration with no issues.
First, turn off sleep. yes you will consume a bit more power but so what. you can let the screen saver kick on and put the screen to sleep but just don't sleep the machine. that "solves" the sleep issue.
Second, when the power goes off I've found that (1) leave the power on without trying to power up the machine for about 5 minutes before you try. The success rate is much higher and (2) it may take a dozen or so pushes on the power button to get it to power up.
Sometimes my machine will sleep and will easily power up, sometimes it won't. I suspect that there is some kind of race condition in the system that is hit and miss. I really don't feel like taking it apart so I'm just leaving it on and on that rare occasion where the power in the house goes off I deal with it.
First, turn off sleep. yes you will consume a bit more power but so what. you can let the screen saver kick on and put the screen to sleep but just don't sleep the machine. that "solves" the sleep issue.
Second, when the power goes off I've found that (1) leave the power on without trying to power up the machine for about 5 minutes before you try. The success rate is much higher and (2) it may take a dozen or so pushes on the power button to get it to power up.
Sometimes my machine will sleep and will easily power up, sometimes it won't. I suspect that there is some kind of race condition in the system that is hit and miss. I really don't feel like taking it apart so I'm just leaving it on and on that rare occasion where the power in the house goes off I deal with it.
@idenis42
This is not a bios. This is a GOP driver.
You need to modify your video card ID in the header to match the actual card you are using.
@internetzel:
yes, it is true, the signature checksum ties into the vbios.
Removal allows us to alter the memory timings and straps and increase the power limits. Not so important for us, but super important for all those guys that use these cards for mining and have very specific needs for timings. If they attempt to modify the mem straps, the GOP will recognize the alteration and abort the bootup sequence. Again, it may not be an issue with MacOS. I've been able to get the M6100 up to 1150Ghz GPU and 1375Ghz Mem, with 85 watts. I'm testing stability, but it runs a little hot.
This is not a bios. This is a GOP driver.
You need to modify your video card ID in the header to match the actual card you are using.
@internetzel:
yes, it is true, the signature checksum ties into the vbios.
Removal allows us to alter the memory timings and straps and increase the power limits. Not so important for us, but super important for all those guys that use these cards for mining and have very specific needs for timings. If they attempt to modify the mem straps, the GOP will recognize the alteration and abort the bootup sequence. Again, it may not be an issue with MacOS. I've been able to get the M6100 up to 1150Ghz GPU and 1375Ghz Mem, with 85 watts. I'm testing stability, but it runs a little hot.
Code:
1002-6640 = AMD Radeon HD 8950
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1002-67E0 = AMD Radeon BAFFIN Graphics
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1002-67FE = AMD Radeon BAFFIN Graphics
1002-67FF = AMD Radeon BAFFIN GraphicsHi guys. I attempted to upgrade my GPU and CPU today, and I’ve got problems. I hope you guys have ideas on what went wrong.
My Setup: Mid-2011 iMac 27”. Previously had an i5-2500s + 6770m. Already had upgraded to an SSD last month and it worked amazing. I bought a Dell WX4150 and an i7-2600, which I installed today. I did the suggested extra 15mm x 15mm x 1mm copper pad on top of the GPU for cooling.
My Problem: After putting everything back together, I successfully flashed using the USB Linus flash process on page 1 (it recognize the GPU on test and then said the flash was successful). However, after restarting the computer with the SSD connected, only the left 2 LEDs were lit. When I connected the screen, it was black (normal startup chime and I can hear it if I try to enter my password (although I can’t select my username because I can’t see the screen!), but no picture).
Other Notes: When I was taking the computer apart, I was attempting to unplug the infrared sensor from the front, and I accidentally pulled out one of the cables. I believe I was able to reconnect the cable together correctly. I never use infrared so I don’t really care if it doesn’t work, but just wanted to let you guys know in case that was a problem.
Trying to narrow down what could be happening, here’s my thought process:
Thanks guys.
Update: I was reading more on this forum and realized that if you have High Sierra you have to first boot to an external display. I’m going to go buy an adapter and try right now. Any other thoughts are welcome!
My Setup: Mid-2011 iMac 27”. Previously had an i5-2500s + 6770m. Already had upgraded to an SSD last month and it worked amazing. I bought a Dell WX4150 and an i7-2600, which I installed today. I did the suggested extra 15mm x 15mm x 1mm copper pad on top of the GPU for cooling.
My Problem: After putting everything back together, I successfully flashed using the USB Linus flash process on page 1 (it recognize the GPU on test and then said the flash was successful). However, after restarting the computer with the SSD connected, only the left 2 LEDs were lit. When I connected the screen, it was black (normal startup chime and I can hear it if I try to enter my password (although I can’t select my username because I can’t see the screen!), but no picture).
Other Notes: When I was taking the computer apart, I was attempting to unplug the infrared sensor from the front, and I accidentally pulled out one of the cables. I believe I was able to reconnect the cable together correctly. I never use infrared so I don’t really care if it doesn’t work, but just wanted to let you guys know in case that was a problem.
Trying to narrow down what could be happening, here’s my thought process:
- CPU/GPU DOA. I don’t believe this is the case since I was able to flash using the USB Linux method and seemed to work.
- GPU tightened down too much. I don’t think I tightened too much, but I watched in one of Curtis Gross where he mentioned that happened to him.
- Compatibility. Perhaps my iMac and WX4150 don’t work together?
Thanks guys.
Update: I was reading more on this forum and realized that if you have High Sierra you have to first boot to an external display. I’m going to go buy an adapter and try right now. Any other thoughts are welcome!
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The GOP vBIOS will only show the first two LED without the internal LCD connected, and 1,2, and 4 with LCD connected. Having a black screen on boot may be related to High Sierra (I must admin I did not use it for ages with a WX4150 GOP vBIOS). There was this need to enter agdpmod=vit9696 on boot only and only with High Sierra.
Using OCLP installed on the internal SSD you should have an emulated OC boot screen (regardless which macOS version you are going to use) and the possibility to install any post High Sierra macOS version - all these will work fine without the setting mentioned above (in contrary: setting it will cause a black screen with all post High Sierra macOS versions).
If your WX4150 would be incompatible you would not get a starting chime at all and you would not be able to run the Linux flash utility. So you can assume the card is ok, it is just your configuration. You would not even see a 2nd LED when the card would be incompatible.
Try to get an external miniDP connected display, it should work out out of the box even with High Sierra. After moving on to Catalina or Big Sur you will get the internal LCD working.
Finally:
If you do not see the fourth LED although the internal LCD has been connected properly you are facing a hardware problem, likely your L5500 is gone, too.
EDIT:
Just booted one of my iMacs with a GOP vBIOS from High Sierra native. Black screen all way long until the graphics mode comes up with an external display connected. Both internal and external will work properly.
The same experiment without an external display connected fails. Only remote access possible. But if you plug in an external display or even a miniDP display emulator stick the internal and external display comes up and works!
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Thanks Ausd. Your suspicion was correct. As soon as I connected an external monitor, it worked. There are some nuances on this though. I’ll update my post above when all sorted out so that anyone doing this in the future can more easily search. I’m upgrading to Monterey now, so hopefully the dual monitor issue disappears.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!