Messages

Here's the final WIP, awaiting for review/P91 pinout confirmation.

Hi all, I'm working on an "not-so-official" pinouts guide for the Z800 mb and I'd like you attention to P91: MEMORY FANs: fisrt attachment

Please help me fulfill the "P91 MEM FANS" pinout and I'll post the complete pinout guide WIP for review.

Hi msilveira,
LOL
Booted 1st time after pulling a CPU.....
in retrospect I guess low voltage means higher current ??
maybe trying to step from 12gb to 96gb is too much power drain ?

Thanks again
to all who have posted
Paul

You may try another low power GPU, and try adding one pair of memory stick ( 1 per cpu )  a time ...

[REALLY NEED an information about the DPS-1050CB PSU]

Hi all.
I'll soon post my build, in a week or two.

But now, I REALLY NEED an information about the DPS-1050CB PSU.
I just got one, used, and I need to know a simple thing: Is it normal for this PSU ( or DELTA/HP's PSUs  ) to turn on when powered without the 24pin ATX connected to a Mb?
If I plug mains without a mb connected, it turns on, as if shorted GND + PSU_ON pins.
If I plug mains, with the 24pin ATX connected to the mb, it works as expected.

Is this behavior correct? I need to know before I pay the dealer.

Hi Andy,
Thanks for your prompt reply,
I have 2 processors, therefore the sticks have to be in the configuration set out (black slots).
I don't know any other configurations I could try,
The 24gb I had originally, came out of the same black slots, meaning the slots aren't at fault?

I know some operating systems aren't as fussy as Windows, which is why we tried Ubuntu.
I also believe it's something to do with Windows, but nobody else seems to have the same fault that I do. Which is the spinning dots crashing on Windows 10 load.

I also have all the drivers up to date, and BIOS flashed to the latest version (ver3.60)

Thanks in advance,
Paul.

Have you tried a different, low power GPU? or only 1 CPU? This might be related to PSU stability or GPU.
I know, ubuntu runs fine, I know linux very well... but it's time for some trial / error.

[https://www.livreti.com.br/itfiles/1068E-Z800.zip]

Anyone tried to flash the onboard SAS controller to IT mode?
I

I have created a zip with the necessary files to flash the onboard 1068E to IT mode.
Here: https://www.livreti.com.br/itfiles/1068E-Z800.zip

Just unzip this file to any DOS bootable usb and run hbaFlash.bat.
It will start a menu based flash process, you need to answer some questions:

Y - for backup
2 - for 3081 ( this is the same as LSI SAS1068E)
e - for pciexpress
t - for ti mode
6 - for B3 rev.( I bet all Z800 use the B3 rev. )
F - to confirm flash
Y - mismatch vendor id or product
Y - write IT over IR firmware

Or rather simply type: "sasflash -o -f  3081ETB3.fw -b mptsas.rom"
AFAIK, the mptsas rom is not really necessary ( I know it is troublesome with M1015 / PERCH200/300 9211-81 crossflashing ), unless you really want to boot off from a HDD connected to the onboard 1068E.

And it's done, now you have a total of 8 SAS ports working in HBA mode, or 14 SATA in HBA mode  ( 8 LSI1068E + 6 Intel AHCI )

Now you can play a bit with FreeNAS and lots of disks

[FYI: It works with Unbuffered, non-ECC]

Not sure yet about my last post, but I guess I could mix PC3L for CPU0 and PC3 for CPU1 , right?

FYI: It works with Unbuffered, non-ECC ( Standard desktop ) Memory modules, both single side an dual side, I've just thrown 6x4gb for CPU0 and it works fine!
PS: I had a pair of modules that didn't work, theoretically equal to another pair I have working, but... for whatever reason, the Mobo didn't like them!

FYI2: Memtest86+ doesn't work with Z800, but memtest86 4 from http://www.memtest86.com/download.htm#v4 works fine ( v4.3.7 )

[Are these setups possible]

Anyone kind enough to tell me wether it is possible to use 4x PC3L-8500 4rx4 + 2x PC3-8500 4xr4 (16gb modules) ?
I'm not sure about this setup... I've just found someone selling "cheap" PC3L-8500 4rx4 16gb modules ( only 4 units unfortunately ) ... but I'll still be missing 2 modules ( Dual CPU )...
As soon as I find other 2 cheap PC3L modules, I'll buy them and change the PC3 modules for the PC3L modules ( and probably sell the PC3 modules )...
Or.. If the budget is OK in the future, I might upgrade to 192gb and upgrade the CPUs ( E5620 at the moment )...

Are these setups possible: 4x PC3L + 2x PC3 and 6x PC3L + 6x PC3 ( all 16gb 4rx4 )?

Anyone tried to flash the onboard SAS controller to IT mode?
I

About the Main Power connector....
Did you notice that the manual's connector drawing doesn't match the official molex pins? ( Square / Chamfered )
Open the "HP Z800 Workstation Maintenance and Service guide" at page 220 and compare with molex's official 3d drawing for the 18 pin mini fit: http://www.molex.com/pdm_docs/adobe3D/39-01-2180.pdf
Should we reallly discard HP's drawings?

I'm a bit paranoid about this....

About the cable sensing, I know it's by grounding the "detect cable" pin...
About the thermal sensor, here's some insight: http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-PCs-Workstations-and-Point-of-Sale-Systems/HP-xw-SERIES-THERMAL-SENSOR-TRANSISTOR-SWAP-TUTORIAL/td-p/5156011
Pretty simple, huh? I just have to check for pinout in xw series service manual.

I've just got my board, it had some bent socket pins on CPU1, I'll fix it later when I get my hands on some test CPUs...
BTW, it's rev 03

But I'll try to find a way to disable the BIOS BootBlock WP, I have all the tools to hack it and get it back in one piece.

Of course I'll get it running before messing around 

All the tools to hack it? Like to modify the BIOS and flash a modded BIOS back to the board?

Yup. But there's another topic about the BIOS hacking. I'm a bit inclined to give up on this because, unfortunately, even a second hand board is very expensive in Brazil.

I hope this is my last post before I get my hands on the board!

According to this thread: http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-PCs-Workstations-and-Point-of-Sale-Systems/z820-e5-2600-v2-ivy-bridge-upgrade/td-p/5086052/page/7 , there's hope:

"I was pretty excited when I was able to dump the Descriptor section from my bios using FPT to a file desc.bin (fpt.exe -desc -d desc.bios). The result is a 4kb file. Then, using Intel Flash Image Tool (FITC) I edited Decriptor Region \ Master Access Section to remove the read / write locks. A problem however arouse on the last hurdle - flashing back the modified descriptor to the bios (fpt -desc -f desc.bin) as FPT reports that 'host CPU does not have write access to the target flash region'. It suggests modifing the descriptor settings (clearly just tried that with no success) to give host access to this region."

here
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-PCs-Workstations-and-Point-of-Sale-Systems/Z440-640-840-is-there-a-boot-block-issue-like-in-the-Zx20/td-p/5895487

I am the author of the post you quoted. Bear in mind that that discussion was pertaining to the Zx20. I have very little knowledge of the Zx00 platform, however do recall that the board itself underwent some revision during its lifetime (4 RAM slots and then 6 RAM slots) + supposedly some chipset changes so I can not comment whether just the changing the boot block will suffice in terms or running the newer processors.

As for the Zx20 and perhpas also the Zx00 there is a method of unlocking the descriptor - you need to connect / short pins 1 and 5 on the sound chip with a 1k ohm resistor during POST. THe board will be in debug mode until reset allowing you to fully dump your bios and to write to the descriptor and with the various jumpers (boot block, me) in place to the rest of the bios. Just bear in mind that it is VERY EASY to end up with a brick if this does not go according to plan. There may also be other security features / locks in place on the actual bios chip which despite the appearance that you are able to write to the bios from the chipset side will result in an error halfway through your write and render the board inoperable. ALso, since you will be able to write to the entire bios, it may be the case that a failed write will corrupt your boot block to the extent that you will be unable to recover using the boot block recovery feature. You have been warned.

Check my response to the Z420 bios thread on this forum, I outlined the steps needed to safely update the bios boot block in that thread - basically installing a socket and programming a new bios chip with an external programmer. An external programmer with a chip clip is perhaps also an option, however these can be hit and miss hence I would not recommend using one without being mentally prepared that it may be necessary to desolder the original bios if things do not go according to plan.

PS. re the picture you inserted - crisis recovery jumper is for restoring the bios using boot block recovery. It will not grant you write access to the boot block area (FF0000-FFFFFF on the Zx20). On the Zx20 boards there is a separate jumper for that.

Hi mtohaj!

I spent some more time thinking about this and I think you're right.
About board revisions, of course it will impact in the chances of success of the bootblock upgrade.
I read somewhere ( not sure if in the topic I mentioned ) about "creating" a bios file, using the last 64k from a new bios release ( that's the boot block ) on top of a dump of the board bios dump.
I think it's the way to go on the "What file should I burn to the bios chip?"  matter. Using dd in Linux or BSD is easy to do it ( seek / skip ).

Nice to know about the jumpers and project differences between zx00 an zx20 platforms ( those pretty black boxes ).

Well, I know my stuff and I know my odds. Don't mind me, I'm an old geek and I like getting my hands dirty.
eg: I've never looked into flash memory WP feature, this journey led me to learn about it 

I have to wait about two more weeks before I get my hands on some CPUs and memory modules ( I'll borrow the cheapest ones from a customer's future leftovers ). As sonn as I get these, I'll check if the board is OK before I mess with it. And then I'll decide about the PSU.

I remember the times when we used to build our 486 system, It worked like a charm on the bench, state of the art VLB IDE controller, S3 video card... then you get it back to your desktop and bang: it didn't boot or just kept beeping.
Wasn't it like that? 

Again, thanks for the info !

About the cable sensing, I know it's by grounding the "detect cable" pin...
About the thermal sensor, here's some insight: http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-PCs-Workstations-and-Point-of-Sale-Systems/HP-xw-SERIES-THERMAL-SENSOR-TRANSISTOR-SWAP-TUTORIAL/td-p/5156011
Pretty simple, huh? I just have to check for pinout in xw series service manual.

I've just got my board, it had some bent socket pins on CPU1, I'll fix it later when I get my hands on some test CPUs...
BTW, it's rev 03

But I'll try to find a way to disable the BIOS BootBlock WP, I have all the tools to hack it and get it back in one piece.

Of course I'll get it running before messing around 

Can anyone help me with determining what temperature sensor is used in Z800 (thermistor) power switch/speaker cable assembly?

Hi, Check out this post further back in the thread.

Hi Andy, I think the url reference is invalid.

Hi !

I'm wondering these post messages make pressing F1 a requirement:

If yes, has anyone managed to get these ports "sensed".

I've just ordered a Z800 board and I need to get this problem solved, It'll be used as a server!

Have a look at Attilio's posts on page 14

Thanks a lot Helgaiden.

I've just looked into Attilo's posts and I wonder:
1.) How the heck does the MB sense the Front USB connection?
2.) Any pictures of this thermistor? Any specs? Type? NTC ? PTC ?