MP 1,1-5,1 MacPro5,1: BootROM thread | 144.0.0.0.0

[tsialex]

Recover dead bios recovery MacPro 5.1 ,it was possible to restore using CH341a clip programmer ,already having bios for macpro 5.1 from another Macpro,with out removing chip can be write the bios files can be able to change serial of original MacPro. 2009 Logic board Memory chip shows chip 25VF032B ,Ch341A detects as different chip W25Q80DV/DL.

First problem, you can't use the BootROM image of one Mac Pro with another one since it won't match the SMC ID, FW MAC address or the two Ethernet MAC addresses - these have separate SPI flash memories. When you have a corrupt BootROM image/dead SPI/etc, always flash the generic MP51.fd instead of another Mac Pro BootROM image dump.

Second problem, you will get nowhere since it's being incorrectly identified as a 8MB flash memory instead of the correct 32MB one - you have to desolder the SPI flash from the backplane.

 

[streak8047]

First problem, you can't use the BootROM image of one Mac Pro with another one since it won't match the SMC ID, FW MAC address or the two Ethernet MAC addresses - these have separate SPI flash memories. When you have a corrupt BootROM image/dead SPI/etc, always flash the generic MP51.fd instead of another Mac Pro BootROM image dump.

Second problem, you will get nowhere since it's being incorrectly identified as a 8MB flash memory instead of the correct 32MB one - you have to desolder the SPI flash from the backplane.

I having Pin damaged MacPro Logic Board having MP51.fd, boot rom so it can dump using CH341 clip to use for damaged one.

 

[tsialex]

I having Pin damaged MacPro Logic Board having MP51.fd, boot rom so it can dump using CH341 clip to use for damaged one.

This is not news, you can't dump or flash while the SPI flash is soldered to the board, not even with a much more capable in circuit serial programmer, which a CH341A is definitively not one. Apple wired /CS in a way that you can't connect a clip and also the extreme parasitic drain from the backplane makes it completely unreliable even if you isolate /CS. Also powering VCC with a lab PSU to compensate the drain, doing something like with the MacBook Pro PP3V3 power injection trick, does not work with a MacPro5,1.

 

[streak8047]

This is not news, you can't dump or flash while the SPI flash is soldered to the board, not even with a much more capable in circuit serial programmer, which a CH341A is definitively not one. Apple wired /CS in a way that you can't connect a clip and also the extreme parasitic drain from the backplane makes it completely unreliable even if you isolate /CS. Also powering VCC with a lab PSU to compensate the drain, doing something like with the MacBook Pro PP3V3 power injection trick, does not work with a MacPro5,1.

Desolder also from both board and program will with boot room MP51.fd also not helpfull

 

[tsialex]

Desolder also from both board and program will with boot room MP51.fd also not helpfull

If the backplane can't boot with a brand new MXIC25L3206E programmed with 144.0.0.0.0 MP51.fd, the defect is elsewhere/the board is probably dead, no need to continue messing with the BootROM.

 

[avro707]

I have a CH341A on order. I'll go through this process as well. My machines are working correctly but it's worth doing.

 

[PRiixx]

@tsialex
Can you please PM me regarding a BootROM reconstruction? I can't, because of the New Member rules.. I am in fear of bricking my MacPro5,1 ..

 

[chphoto]

Not the Mac Pro, just a BootROM image dump made with ROMTool and some other necessary info (pictures of the MLB and ESN labels), after the reconstruction is completed you'll flash the never booted BootROM image back to your Mac Pro, also with ROMTool.

After you get your early-2009, send me a PM.



No, but be aware that since it's a 12+ years old Mac, sometime in the future you will need to replace the SPI flash memory - it's a component with limited lifetime, designed for just 100K cycles of non-contiguous NAND erases/re-writes (unfortunately, the Mac Pro NVRAM is contiguous).

Once replaced, your BootROM will work for another 10 years.

I have an early 2009 4,1 that had in storage and just flashed it to 5,1. I stumbled upon your conversation about BootROM reconstruction, I followed your instructions with the ROMTool and UEFITool and looks like my NVRAM is in the 26000 range. I wanted to see about BootROM reconstruction before I spend money on upgrading CPU, GPU,Ram etc.. Thanks

 

[tsialex]

I have an early 2009 4,1 that had in storage and just flashed it to 5,1. I stumbled upon your conversation about BootROM reconstruction, I followed your instructions with the ROMTool and UEFITool and looks like my NVRAM is in the 26000 range. I wanted to see about BootROM reconstruction before I spend money on upgrading CPU, GPU,Ram etc.. Thanks

PM sent, please follow the instructions to the letter and I'll check it ASAP.

 

[monoton]

PM sent, please follow the instructions to the letter and I'll check it ASAP.

This is very interesting. Maybe something my 2009 cMP should get.

 

[mikas]

The only thing I am curious about is the price of it. But I'll leave it to tsialex himself. It seems it's not that much. He is a decent and a helping man, and reading the forum posts, he delivers what he promises with his services.

 

[matmilano]

It's a service. You send your current BootROM image dump, pictures of the MLB and ESN labels and the SystemInformation report. Your current BootROM image dump is validated against the data from the labels, all checksums verified, all modules checked if are the current versions, then everything is upgraded, NVRAM volume cleaned, BootROM reconstructed and tested. After all that, a never booted BootROM image for your Mac Pro is sent.

Hi Tsialex. Could you pm me for a BootROM reconstruction?
I got a cMP 2010 dual 3,46 with 8 DIMMs.
A ROMTool dump which I made pre OC when still on a fresh Mojave showed a bit over 24000 free space.
I am on nvme with Monterey now with MartinLo's oc and have just stumbled again over your posts about being very careful about the BootROM's free space. I put my Mojave SSD (2.5" in a bracket) back into bay 1 and took my opencore Monterey nvme out to clean boot into Mojave. And did a deep NVRAM reset (5 chimes).
A new dump with ROMTool unfortunately shows now that free space went down to 15070.
I understood that it's critical to be much under 30000 with my kind of setup and that BootROM corruption is just around the corner, is that correct?
Thanks for a the help

 

[tsialex]

This is very interesting. What exactly does the reconstruction entail?

It's a paid service. You'll send your current BootROM image dump, pictures of the MLB and ESN labels and the System Information report for validation.

Your dumped BootROM image is validated against the data from the ESN and MLB labels, all checksums verified, all modules/volumes that are not upgraded when Apple sent a firmware upgrade are upgraded to the current releases, NVRAM volume cleaned, BootROM is reconstructed and tested.

After all that, a never booted BootROM image for your Mac Pro is sent with instructions on how to correctly flash it.

He is a decent and a helping man, and reading the forum posts, he delivers what he promises with his services.

Thx for the kind words. 😍

Hi Tsialex. Could you pm me for a BootROM reconstruction?
I got a cMP 2010 dual 3,46 with 8 DIMMs.
A ROMTool dump which I made pre OC when still on a fresh Mojave showed a bit over 24000 free space.
I am on nvme with Monterey now with MartinLo's oc and have just stumbled again over your posts about being very careful about the BootROM's free space. I put my Mojave SSD (2.5" in a bracket) back into bay 1 and took my opencore Monterey nvme out to clean boot into Mojave. And did a deep NVRAM reset (5 chimes).
A new dump with ROMTool unfortunately shows now that free space went down to 15070.

When it's worse after reseting the NVRAM, you for sure have a problem. I'll send you a PM.

I understood that it's critical to be much under 30000 with my kind of setup and that BootROM corruption is just around the corner, is that correct?
Thanks for a the help

For staging the Monterey Software Updates safely, the value to have available inside the primary VSS store is at least 25KB.

 

[behart]

It's a paid service. You'll send your current BootROM image dump, pictures of the MLB and ESN labels and the System Information report for validation.

Your dumped BootROM image is validated against the data from the ESN and MLB labels, all checksums verified, all modules/volumes that are not upgraded when Apple sent a firmware upgrade are upgraded to the current releases, NVRAM volume cleaned, BootROM is reconstructed and tested.

After all that, a never booted BootROM image for your Mac Pro is sent with instructions on how to correctly flash it.



Thx for the kind words. 😍



When it's worse after reseting the NVRAM, you for sure have a problem. I'll send you a PM.



For staging the Monterey Software Updates safely, the value to have available inside the primary VSS store is at least 25KB.

Hello tsialex,

I kinda think I'm at the point where I'm going to need a fresh bootrom image. I was running a Monterrey update and now my machine is not booting. I've tried a few simple things like checking the power supply and removing unnecessary hardware, with no luck. The fans come on but that's it. So, I ended here after reading your chip replacement posts. Please send me a PM about the reconstruction.

As I am unable to boot the machine, I am unable to dump the rom. I had no idea before this that the rom was prone to issues and regret not checking it sooner. Is a dump of this rom necessary for this procedure? Is a dump from flashrom sufficient once I dig out my programmer and remove the chip?

 

[tsialex]

Hello tsialex,

I kinda think I'm at the point where I'm going to need a fresh bootrom image. I was running a Monterrey update and now my machine is not booting. I've tried a few simple things like checking the power supply and removing unnecessary hardware, with no luck. The fans come on but that's it.

DIAG LED EFI_DONE is lit or not when you press the DIAG button?

So, I ended here after reading your chip replacement posts. Please send me a PM about the reconstruction.

Sure.

As I am unable to boot the machine, I am unable to dump the rom. I had no idea before this that the rom was prone to issues and regret not checking it sooner. Is a dump of this rom necessary for this procedure?

Yes, just dump the SPI flash memory and I'll probably can extract everything needed from the failed BootROM image, unless is a catastrophic SPI failure.

Is a dump from flashrom sufficient once I dig out my programmer and remove the chip?

Most probably, but you will need to take pictures of the MLB and ESN label, so I can validate whatever I can extract from the failed dump.

 

[behart]

DIAG LED EFI_DONE is lit or not when you press the DIAG button?

Yes, when I connect mains power to the power supply, the top two red leds flash on and off together. Then, pressing the DIAG button lights all the rest of the leds on my board. That's PSU_PWRON 3V_STBY, SYS_PO, EFI_DONE, GPU_OK.

When I Monterreyed this machine with opencore, I left the regulation Mojave install on the hard drive and installed to a NVME. I am unable to boot either drive, hear the tone, or get anything other than the diagnostic lights and fans. This is my first Mac Pro that I acquired recently and I am learning the debugging of it as I go, so bear with me if I missed something obvious somewhere.

I'll work on dumping the chip in the next few days and send what I get. I have everything I should need, but don't have a hot air station at home, so it will be a couple days until I'm in the office.

Sure.



Yes, just dump the SPI flash memory and I'll probably can extract everything needed from the failed BootROM image, unless is a catastrophic SPI failure.



Most probably, but you will need to take pictures of the MLB and ESN label, so I can validate whatever I can extract from the failed dump.

 

[tsialex]

Yes, when I connect mains power to the power supply, the top two red leds flash on and off together. Then, pressing the DIAG button lights all the rest of the leds on my board. That's PSU_PWRON 3V_STBY, SYS_PO, EFI_DONE, GPU_OK.

EFI_DONE LED being lit when you pressed the DIAG button complicates things.

If it was off while pressing the DIAG button, you could be almost sure that it was the BootROM/SPI flash that failed and not something else. Being lit, at least PEI is running, so could be something else, like the CPU tray, southbridge/etc or the BootROM failed later on the execution process - you can't know it right now.

When I Monterreyed this machine with opencore, I left the regulation Mojave install on the hard drive and installed to a NVME. I am unable to boot either drive, hear the tone, or get anything other than the diagnostic lights and fans. This is my first Mac Pro that I acquired recently and I am learning the debugging of it as I go, so bear with me if I missed something obvious somewhere.

I'll work on dumping the chip in the next few days and send what I get. I have everything I should need, but don't have a hot air station at home, so it will be a couple days until I'm in the office.

Before doing any expenses, flash MP51.fd to a replacement SPI flash (see the first post to see the compatible models that you can use and where to find the MP51.fd) and solder it to the backplane, so you can confirm that the backplane still works and you just need the BootROM reconstruction.

Never solder back the 12+ years old SPI flash, even if it was programmed successfully, it will fail soon - it's a $2 SPI flash memory, not worth risk having to replace it in a few months.

Anyway, even if you does not have a replacement SPI flash yet, I can flash your dumped BootROM image and check if it works or not with my test Mac Pro.

 

[behart]

EFI_DONE LED being lit when you pressed the DIAG button complicates things.

If it was off while pressing the DIAG button, you could be almost sure that it was the BootROM/SPI flash that failed and not something else. Being lit, at least PEI is running, so could be something else, like the CPU tray, southbridge/etc or the BootROM failed later on the execution process - you can't know it right now.



Before doing any expenses, flash MP51.fd to a replacement SPI flash (see the first post to see the compatible models that you can use and where to find the MP51.fd) and solder it to the backplane, so you can confirm that the backplane still works and you just need the BootROM reconstruction.

Never solder back the 12+ years old SPI flash, even if it was programmed successfully, it will fail soon - it's a $2 SPI flash memory, not worth risk having to replace it in a few months.

Anyway, even if you does not have a replacement SPI flash yet, I can flash your dumped BootROM image and check if it work with my test Mac Pro.

OK, Thanks for your quick, excellent, and patient response. That sounds like a good plan. I will source a couple SPI chips and give that a try.

 

[RolfNoot]

Question on flashing Bootrom. I used @Macschrauber RomDump tool to dump the SPI flash and noted that the firmware is rather old. I'm running Monterey + OC on this machine without problems except the two front USB don't see USB1.1 devices (keyboard / mouse).

Do I need to update the bootrom and will it fix the USB issue? And if so, do I really need to revert to the older macOs to do the flashing (maybe there's a more recent way than the first post dated of 2018)?

 

[tsialex]

Question on flashing Bootrom. I used @Macschrauber RomDump tool to dump the SPI flash and noted that the firmware is rather old. I'm running Monterey + OC on this machine without problems except the two front USB don't see USB1.1 devices (keyboard / mouse).

Nothing to do with the Mac Pro BootROM, even if you have a very old early-2009 or mid-2010 Mac Pro that will welcome a BootROM reconstruction and update to hardware descriptor base_21.

Beginning with Big Sur, Apple started to remove support for the ancient dual OHCI/EHCI USB controllers of Mac Pro 3,1 to 5,1, now nothing that is OHCI/USB1.1 works anymore.

The only real workaround is to use a powered USB v2.0 or V3.0 hub between the USB v1.1 devices and the Mac Pro native USB ports to force the EHCI controller instead, which is still fully supported.

Do I need to update the bootrom and will it fix the USB issue?

Updating the BootROM won't solve the OHCI issue, it's not hardware or firmware related, but exclusively Big Sur/Monterey/Ventura related. Linux still works, Windows 10/11 still works.

And if so, do I really need to revert to the older macOs to do the flashing (maybe there's a more recent way than the first post dated of 2018)?

First post is constantly updated and is always the source for the most recent info.

 

[RolfNoot]

Thanks for the quick and clear response! Will stay on the old bootrom as I don't see a reason (for now) to upgrade.

 

[tsialex]

Thanks for the quick and clear response! Will stay on the old bootrom as I don't see a reason (for now) to upgrade.

There are a long list of reasons to upgrade, like NVMe support, update to the current microcode, removal of phantom sensors/ports, updated amperage/voltage sensor calibration, support for 5GT/s PCIe cards, BootBlock that does correctly support PCIe switched cards, mitigation of several security failures.

See the first post firmware version changelog.

 

[RolfNoot]

There are a long list of reasons to upgrade, like NVMe support, update to the current microcode, removal of phantom sensors/ports, updated amperage/voltage sensor calibration, support for 5GT/s PCIe cards, BootBlock that does correctly support PCIe switched cards, mitigation of several security failures.

See the first post firmware version changelog.

Yes, saw the list. Will do once I have some time or probably buy another MacPro as I can't take the risk of bricking my workmachine. By the way I'm using NVMe, booting from SSD EFI to OC to NVMe.

Is it possible to upgrade by manually programming the SPI (I've the tools to remove)?

 

[tsialex]

Is it possible to upgrade by manually programming the SPI (I've the tools to remove)?

This is answered on the first post of the BootROM upgrade stickie thread, please read it.

MP5,1: What you have to do to upgrade to Mojave (BootROM upgrade instructions thread)

 

[RolfNoot]

This is answered on the first post of the BootROM upgrade stickie thread, please read it.

MP5,1: What you have to do to upgrade to Mojave (BootROM upgrade instructions thread)

Got that. It's not clear for me though whether the BootROM reconstruction is just a matter of copying the board specific values (Serial Nr etc.) to the right locations and fixing the checksum or whether it involves more work.