z820 e5-2600 v2 ivy bridge upgrade

[SalSimp]

@Dan - Further exploring the subject of this thread after finding information on another topic from another forum, it appears that not only do you need to have a Boot Block dated 03/06/2013 but that you also need to have the Intel ME firmware v8.x.xx.xxxx installed for the Ivy Bridge XEONs are to work.

And since the ME firmware cannot be upgraded from v7.x.xx.xxxx to version 8, this is a second BIG  hurdle. Can you shed any light on this whether it is factual?

[SDH]

I believe you have incorrect information regarding the updating of the ME firmware..... I just did that procedure on an original boot block date Z620 (2011, not 2013 boot block date).  However, I doubt that update will help you in your project even if you choose to do it, from what Dan has posted

Attached are documents on how to do the ME firmware update, and the Z820 is clearly listed as being able to take this update.  Remember to update the main System BIOS before doing the ME firmware update.

First, a Word conversion of HP's Release Notes from the SP66702 SoftPaq.  HP refers to three methods in that, and I used the Windows method, 64-bit, because my OS is W7Pro64.

Second, a "CriticalReadMe.txt" with my details on the process.  Read in there about the mistake in the HP directions given that my Windows install is a 64-bit OS, not a 32-bit one, and the correction I made to compensate for that.

Third, a screen capture of the cmd line process that was necessary to pull this off, which includes my false start(s) and then success.  When the flash is done you can go back into the main System BIOS and see that the listed ME firmware version has been updated.

There are a few HP SoftPaq updaters that use the Cmd level process, those are never that fun to figure out, but they do work.

Again, update the main System BIOS first.  I do that from within BIOS, having harvested the BIOS update .bin file from the DOS folder in the unpacked SoftPaq that gets placed on the root level of C by the main System BIOS update SoftPaq (which is different from the ME firmware update SoftPaq).

[SalSimp]

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@Scott D. Harrison wrote:

I believe you have incorrect information regarding the updating of the ME firmware..... I just did that procedure on an original boot block date Z620 (2011, not 2013 boot block date). . . .

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Mr. Harrison - Thank you for your very detailed response but I stand by my belief that HP does not provide the means for users to upgrade ME version 7.1.xx.xxxx to 8.1.xx.xxxx. If you try you will always get a "Error 8727: Firmware update tool failed to get the firmware parameters" message and the program terminates.

Initially, HP shipped workstations with BIOS having the 2011 boot block with ME 7.1.xx.xxxx code and later switched to 8.1.xx.xxxx (still with the 2011 boot block). Subsequently when HP started shipping workstation with the BIOS having the 2013 boot block all had ME version 8.1.xx.xxxx, both (boot block and ME) believed needed to be Ivy Bridge capable. So I surmize that the Z620 (with the 2011 boot block) that you updated already had an earlier ME version 8.1.xx.xxxx and not a version 7.1.xx.xxxx. You may not have noticed this since it was not at issue. We'll just have to leave it to the HP experts here to settle this. In any event, thank you for the stimulating post.

By the way, there is a way to simplify using the command prompt (cmd.exe) without having to navigate to the folder having the executable application (FCUpgLcl64.exe in this case). Simply do not execute cmd.exe from the search box but drag it to the folder holding the executable (this adds a copy of cmd.exe to that folder) and run it from there (double click or as administrator with a right click). Hope that helps.

[SDH]

Salsimp,

Thanks for the tip on cmd.exe.  I'll work with that.

I did check the ME firmware version in BIOS before I did that update..... it was a 7.x.x.x value..... and it updated successfully to the latest.  Hope this helps putting all the parts together. 

Scott

[IRomanovsky]

Is there any update on this topic? How to update boot block on z620 / z820 workstation to support ivi bridge CPU?

[Esskay]

As far as I know, you cannot change the bootblock at site. We do not support IVB CPU's on a system which was shipped prior to IVB release.

Sorry; there is no field-doable work to facilitate this.

Thanks,

Sasi

[RigoGon]

Been following this forum thread for some time and just registered today  to be able to post that the boot block has been succesfully updated to support a v2 Xeon in spite of all the disuading 'cannot be done' expressed by some.

I do not know the details but a friend (really) got a Board Rev. 1.01 operating with two E5-2630v2 and PC3-14900R memory. More information later if it becomes available.

[vhunjek]

Step by step guide would be fine...

...if friend ever decides to share his knowledge...

[RigoGon]

Here is what I got -- He bought it as a refurbished mother board on eBay for $270. I asked him to quiz the seller about how it was done and was told to look at this forum thread. Looks like a lot of hardware work with a good chance to screw up a mother board. If anyone tries (won't be me) this and succeeds, let us know.

[SalSimp]

It has been DONE! Simple but requires patience and hardware skills ... I removed the Flash chip (see elsewhere in this thread for the location), read out the contents with an external programmer, replaced the Boot Block (0xFF0000 to 0xFFFFFF) with the one from the Boot Block from that in a recent (v3.65) BIOS Softpack binary, reprogrammed the Flash chip with updated binary (original code from 0x000000 to 0xFEFFFF plus new Boot Block), and then soldered it back on the motherboard.

Works like a charm ... all the MAC addresses and ATM remain intact.  Takes a while but with the cost of a new board, well worth the effort.