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niyazimustafa

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 20, 2018
4
0
Turket
hello I have a r9 280x tri-x 3gb graphics card. I want to use it on my Mac pro 5.1 device. I can't see the Boot screen. Can you help me.
 

MIKX

macrumors 68000
Dec 16, 2004
1,815
691
Japan
Yes !

The Netkas script.
http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,5619.0.html
read all pages in the thread ( as we all have )

Are we to guess which brand of R9 280X you have ?

( note : The 7970 is basically the same as the R9 280X )
I have an EFI flashed Sapphire HD 7970 ( and an non-EFI flashed MSI rX 580 8gb. )
You can learn how to do this from reading all the thread pages, taking notes in the Netkas thread shown at the top of this post.
 
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MIKX

macrumors 68000
Dec 16, 2004
1,815
691
Japan
I do not know about this process. I don't know what to do. how can you help.

The people here who read every page of the Netkas thread http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,5619.0.html ( Me = 5 times .. every page, took notes ) until they understood it .. . and did the flash ! Thye both Learned something that could share with others and enriched our cMP community's knowledge base... these members will watch your learning curve with interest ( if they are indeed interesting ) and will indeed offer salient help when you really don't get it but appear to have at least tried.

The key is . . .keep at it until you actually understand it.

No Pain no gain
 
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Yamahawk

macrumors newbie
May 28, 2017
28
1
Toledo, Ohio
I am curious too, as I have a Sapphire R9 280x Vaporx OC with two 6 pin power connections. Waiting on my mini 6 pin to PCI 6 pin cables still. Can you dump the ROM on a Mac Pro, or do you need a Windows machine for this? I do not have a desktop Windows machine (yech), and have seen a program for Mac that allows flashing the ROM, but I am not sure how to dump it for the file? Anything special, like a program I need for this? I have read Netkas, and haven't found this info yet!
Charlie
 

startergo

macrumors 603
Sep 20, 2018
5,021
2,283
I am curious too, as I have a Sapphire R9 280x Vaporx OC with two 6 pin power connections. Waiting on my mini 6 pin to PCI 6 pin cables still. Can you dump the ROM on a Mac Pro, or do you need a Windows machine for this? I do not have a desktop Windows machine (yech), and have seen a program for Mac that allows flashing the ROM, but I am not sure how to dump it for the file? Anything special, like a program I need for this? I have read Netkas, and haven't found this info yet!
Charlie
You can dupm it with Darwindumper, but flashing was possible on older OSX with Zeus program. I know zeus does not work on EC or greater .
Or you can try VBe7 for winehq:
https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=34519
And atiflash for Linux:
https://medium.com/@lukehamilton/flash-your-rx-470-card-on-mac-linux-7391fb78b6f6
 
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Yamahawk

macrumors newbie
May 28, 2017
28
1
Toledo, Ohio
You can dupm it with Darwindumper, but flashing was possible on older OSX with Zeus program. I know zeus does not work on EC or greater .
Or you can try VBe7 for winehq:
https://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=34519
And atiflash for Linux:
https://medium.com/@lukehamilton/flash-your-rx-470-card-on-mac-linux-7391fb78b6f6

Hey thanks for the links and info, I got my two cables today in the mail, and I installed the Sapphire R9 280X Vapor X OC. I depressed the ROM button, and it lit up, so that is the BIOS I am using, although I booted it first in the unlit position, and both work. I have the machine upgraded to Mojave, and it did the firmware update, too. I don't think it has a boot screen, but it does show the last part of the Mac loading bar before the login screen. In upgrade mode, I got the gray screen with the apple logo, and the bar, also. I do not think I will flash the ROM just yet, as I want to do some checking up on it.
The About This Mac shows an ATI Radeon H7xxx as the video card, so I am thinking the H7950 or H7970 Flash file would be the one to choose. If and when I get ready, I will do that. I will search for DarwinDumper too!
Charlie
 

startergo

macrumors 603
Sep 20, 2018
5,021
2,283
Hey thanks for the links and info, I got my two cables today in the mail, and I installed the Sapphire R9 280X Vapor X OC. I depressed the ROM button, and it lit up, so that is the BIOS I am using, although I booted it first in the unlit position, and both work. I have the machine upgraded to Mojave, and it did the firmware update, too. I don't think it has a boot screen, but it does show the last part of the Mac loading bar before the login screen. In upgrade mode, I got the gray screen with the apple logo, and the bar, also. I do not think I will flash the ROM just yet, as I want to do some checking up on it.
The About This Mac shows an ATI Radeon H7xxx as the video card, so I am thinking the H7950 or H7970 Flash file would be the one to choose. If and when I get ready, I will do that. I will search for DarwinDumper too!
Charlie
It does not matter for flashing .just get the netkas script and flash it following the included instructions in the same folder. When you dump your roms open them with VBE7 it will alert you of the presense of an UEFI section .this is the ROM you want to modify . Maka a backup of both ROM's just in case.
 

h9826790

macrumors P6
Apr 3, 2014
16,656
8,587
Hong Kong
It does not matter for flashing .just get the netkas script and flash it following the included instructions in the same folder. When you dump your roms open them with VBE7 it will alert you of the presense of an UEFI section .this is the ROM you want to modify . Maka a backup of both ROM's just in case.

VBE7 only present the warning if the ROM has UEFI section.

If his card have dual legacy ROM, there will be no warning no matter which ROM he use.

So, this part is not necessary.

No matter which ROM he flash, he should still have multiple backup of BOTH ROM. And only flash one of them, but leave the other one untouched. UEFI or not doesn't really matter.
 
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startergo

macrumors 603
Sep 20, 2018
5,021
2,283
VBE7 only present the warning if the ROM has UEFI section.

If his card have dual legacy ROM, there will be no warning no matter which ROM he use.

So, this part is not necessary.

No matter which ROM he flash, he should still multiple backup of BOTH ROM. And only flash one of them, but leave the other one untouched. UEFI or not doesn't really matter.
Ah ok I thought the script only overwrites the UEFI section and 0's out everything afterwards (if any) . So it can also add EFI section ieven if UEFI is missing?
 

h9826790

macrumors P6
Apr 3, 2014
16,656
8,587
Hong Kong
Ah ok I thought the script only overwrites the UEFI section and 0's out everything afterwards (if any) . So it can also add EFI section ieven if UEFI is missing?

The script can only work with 128k ROM. This is almost the sole limitation.

For UEFI ROM, the 1st 64k is the VBIOS, and 2nd 64k is the UEFI. The script will replace the 2nd 64k by Mac EFI UGA, and keep it activated.

For legacy ROM, 1st 64k is the VBIOS, 2nd 64k is just empty. The script will then put the Mac EFI UGA at the correct position, and activate it.
 
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Yamahawk

macrumors newbie
May 28, 2017
28
1
Toledo, Ohio
When I do the DarwinDump, I get several files, ones ending in .ROM and ones in .TXT.
The ROM files are either 1002.679a.from_ACPI_VFCT.rom or 1002.679a.from_ioreg0.rom
Which one would be the correct rom to use? I can look at the txt files, AND THEY LOOK LIKE A DUMP OF THE ROM, BUT CANNOT OPEN THE .ROM FILES. Sorry about the caps hehe... I will include the txt files, but it wont allow me to upload the .rom files, they are greyed out. Now, the card has video on the HDMI port, and the white DVI connector (lower one) but not the upper black DVI. The other display port on it isn't mini display, but some type of keyed display port similar to a HDMI one. I can't test that one. So, is this one of the files I would use with the Netkas script to flash my rom? I might try it on the 1st switch position, (without the button lit) and see if I can get a boot screen. I see in the rom dump the the rom also reports the card as being an H7xxx ATI card also. That is why I was thinking the 7950 rom mod would be the one to use. I have not seen a mod rom for my Sapphire R9 280X VaporX OC card yet, does anyone have one specifically for this card? If so, please point me to the link for it. Thanks everyone for your replies, and knowledge.
Charlie
 

Attachments

  • 1002.679a.from_ioreg_0.rom.decoded.txt
    998 bytes · Views: 348
  • 1002.679a.from_ioreg_0.rom.disassembled.txt
    407.7 KB · Views: 412

startergo

macrumors 603
Sep 20, 2018
5,021
2,283
When I do the DarwinDump, I get several files, ones ending in .ROM and ones in .TXT.
The ROM files are either 1002.679a.from_ACPI_VFCT.rom or 1002.679a.from_ioreg0.rom
Which one would be the correct rom to use? I can look at the txt files, AND THEY LOOK LIKE A DUMP OF THE ROM, BUT CANNOT OPEN THE .ROM FILES. Sorry about the caps hehe... I will include the txt files, but it wont allow me to upload the .rom files, they are greyed out. Now, the card has video on the HDMI port, and the white DVI connector (lower one) but not the upper black DVI. The other display port on it isn't mini display, but some type of keyed display port similar to a HDMI one. I can't test that one. So, is this one of the files I would use with the Netkas script to flash my rom? I might try it on the 1st switch position, (without the button lit) and see if I can get a boot screen. I see in the rom dump the the rom also reports the card as being an H7xxx ATI card also. That is why I was thinking the 7950 rom mod would be the one to use. I have not seen a mod rom for my Sapphire R9 280X VaporX OC card yet, does anyone have one specifically for this card? If so, please point me to the link for it. Thanks everyone for your replies, and knowledge.
Charlie
You don't use anybody else's ROM but you create your own ROM with the netkas script. Just follow instructions in the folder . For the Darwindumper you only select Bios-Video .You need to have SIP disabled .
 

Yamahawk

macrumors newbie
May 28, 2017
28
1
Toledo, Ohio
You don't use anybody else's ROM but you create your own ROM with the netkas script. Just follow instructions in the folder . For the Darwindumper you only select Bios-Video .You need to have SIP disabled .

These are my rom dumps, using DarwinDump. I did not disable SIP, in Mojave, and I did select only the video BIOS. Did you look at the attached files? One of these, or the .ROM files that were dumped, would be the ones I use. This, as I understand, would be combined with a EFI section like the H7950 file that is referenced here, or one specifically made for an R9 280X Vapor X OC. Do i disable SIP in order to post the .ROM files that were dumped, as they are greyed out when i try to upload them here. And, do I disable SIP before I run the Netkas script? I will read the info file next lol...
Thanks for the info.
Charlie
[doublepost=1547988803][/doublepost]OK! I used the .TAR from Netkas, and i believe, successfully created the H7950.ROM file. I tried Zeus, but it only supports Lion as the latest OSX. It gave a script error also. Do I have to disable SIP in Terminal before I run a flash program, and will Zeus run ok after disable SIP? Is there another flash program that runs on OSX Mojave, or High Sierra? I want to flash this card's BIOS, but am stumped at this point. What is my next step to be... (A Horn Pipe?)
Charlie
 

hwojtek

macrumors 68020
Jan 26, 2008
2,274
1,277
Poznan, Poland
.rom extension is not allowed here. You don't need to disable SIP to run a python script. However, AFAIK you need to disable SIP to get a full ROM dump. If you feel it's a bit too much, just post your ROM file to Dropbox, Mediafire, Filedropper, Jumpshare, Google Drive, wherever, share the link and let someone run the script for you.
 
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startergo

macrumors 603
Sep 20, 2018
5,021
2,283
These are my rom dumps, using DarwinDump. I did not disable SIP, in Mojave, and I did select only the video BIOS. Did you look at the attached files? One of these, or the .ROM files that were dumped, would be the ones I use. This, as I understand, would be combined with a EFI section like the H7950 file that is referenced here, or one specifically made for an R9 280X Vapor X OC. Do i disable SIP in order to post the .ROM files that were dumped, as they are greyed out when i try to upload them here. And, do I disable SIP before I run the Netkas script? I will read the info file next lol...
Thanks for the info.
Charlie
No the files you attached are from the Ioreg dump not the Bios-Video . And these are deconstructed and disassembled dupms not the real vbios. You can't dump anything in the section "root privileges required" without disabling SIP. You have to boot to recovery partition and disable SIP .
 
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Yamahawk

macrumors newbie
May 28, 2017
28
1
Toledo, Ohio
The ROM is 131k in size that is created, is this normal? I know the dump was only 65k...
[doublepost=1547989556][/doublepost]The ROM is 131k in size that is created, is this normal? I know the dump was only 65k... I tried to ulpoad my created ROM, and it said extension not allowed. Can I not upoad my created ROM here?
 

startergo

macrumors 603
Sep 20, 2018
5,021
2,283
You need to install Java for the netkas script. You don't need SIP disabled for it . As far as for flashing the new vbios to the card you might need SIP disabled
[doublepost=1547989671][/doublepost]
The ROM is 131k in size that is created, is this normal? I know the dump was only 65k...
[doublepost=1547989556][/doublepost]The ROM is 131k in size that is created, is this normal? I know the dump was only 65k...
When you run the script monitor the output in the terminal . Do you see any errors?
 

Yamahawk

macrumors newbie
May 28, 2017
28
1
Toledo, Ohio
You need to install Java for the netkas script. You don't need SIP disabled for it . As far as for flashing the new vbios to the card you might need SIP disabled
[doublepost=1547989671][/doublepost]
When you run the script monitor the output in the terminal . Do you see any errors?

Here is the terminal output!
Thes-Mac-Pro:bundle2 thechaplain$ ./makerom.sh --efifile=7950mac.efi --romfile=efiromheader.rom --originalrom=R9280XVaporXOC.rom --devid=679a

running on 7950mac.efi, efiromheader.rom with devid 679a

Patching files 7950mac.efi, efiromheader.rom for device-id 0x679a

Successfully patched efi file

Successfully patched efi rom file


Orig Size = 125440

Comp Size = 47591

47591+0 records in

47591+0 records out

47591 bytes transferred in 0.428816 secs (110982 bytes/sec)

EFI part is ready at 679a.efipart.rom

orig size - 65536

65536+0 records in

65536+0 records out

65536 bytes transferred in 0.735829 secs (89064 bytes/sec)

Before:

OpRom (size=65536, indicator_offset=0x241, indicator=0x80, checksum=0x0)

OpRom (size=48128, indicator_offset=0x31, indicator=0x80, checksum=0x0)

RawData (size=17408)


After:

OpRom (size=65536, indicator_offset=0x241, indicator=0x0, checksum=0x80)

OpRom (size=48128, indicator_offset=0x31, indicator=0x80, checksum=0x47)

RawData (size=17408)

the rom is ready at R9280XVaporXOC.rom.efi.rom

Thes-Mac-Pro:bundle2 thechaplain$
 

startergo

macrumors 603
Sep 20, 2018
5,021
2,283
It looks fine to me . Your card probably does not have the reference layout; right? You don't have 2 miniDP, do you? If it is so I don't know if all outputs will give you boot screen .
 

Yamahawk

macrumors newbie
May 28, 2017
28
1
Toledo, Ohio
The 7950mac.efi file in the .TAR is 125k also, i thought it was 66k when I first started...
[doublepost=1547990299][/doublepost]
It looks fine to me . Your card probably does not have the reference layout; right? You don't have 2 miniDP, do you? If it is so I don't know if all outputs will give you boot screen .
My card has no mini DP, it has one HDMI, two DVI(white and black), and the one keyed display port which is about the same size as HDMI, but notched on one side.
[doublepost=1547990394][/doublepost]my original ROM from the dump is only 66kb in size... thats what concerns me.
 

startergo

macrumors 603
Sep 20, 2018
5,021
2,283
The 7950mac.efi file in the .TAR is 125k also, i thought it was 66k when I first started...
[doublepost=1547990299][/doublepost]
My card has no mini DP, it has one HDMI, two DVI(white and black), and the one keyed display port which is about the same size as HDMI, but notched on one side.
[doublepost=1547990394][/doublepost]my original ROM from the dump is only 66kb in size... thats what concerns me.
Yes does not look right . I am not sure how big is the UEFI section providing your original ROM was legacy ROM .I would disable the SIP and repeat the dump with Darwindumper.
 
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