bios / flashing question. Need EFI for older card

[videoman]

Hello,

I have a Sapphire R9 270X Dual-X OC, which has a 'legacy' style bios. I would like to use this card for GPU passthrough for some VMs I have. I am getting a blank screen whenever I run these VMs with this card passed through, and it looks to me like it is because this card does not support EFI.

Google search showed me this 'unverified' EFI-enabled bios for this card: https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/207451/207451.

I guess I have two questions:

1. If I flash this unverified bios and it doesn't work out, can I simply re-flash my old bios and get a working card again? I have saved my old bios using amdvbflash, and I see it's also hosted on techpowerup.

2. Does anyone know of a better EFI-enabled bios for this card? Or perhaps a way to get this card working with OSes requiring EFI?

Thank you.

Also, here is what amdvbflash says about this card, just in case it's useful:

Adapter  1    SEG=0000, BN=0A, DN=00, PCIID=68101002, SSID=E271174B)
    Asic Family        :  Pitcairn
    Flash Type         :  M25P10/c    (128 KB)
    Product Name       :  C63101 CURACAO XT GDDR5 64Mx32 2GB 150e/150m
    Bios Config File   :  271X0400.O48
    Bios P/N           :  113-1E27100-O48
    Bios Version       :  015.042.000.001.000000
    Bios Date          :  12/09/13 00:30
    ROM Image Type     :  Legacy Image
    ROM Image Details  :
        Image[0]: Size(65536 Bytes), Type(Legacy Image)

And I contacted Sapphire support asking for an EFI bios, and they said they don't provide them.

 

[Imperator]

Hello.
Using GPU-z to identify your card vendor and sub ID is great.
Put a picture from the main screen here.
Then in the main screen you will use the save BIOS button and you will store that file in a safe place for further use.
After that in the advanced tab you will press the drop down menu arrow and from the next menu that appear please choose the memory info tab.
Also make a picture and post it here.

 

[videoman]

Thanks for the response. I'm on Linux but I do have a Windows install I can boot to if necessary. I won't be able to do so for a few hours, but I will post the results as soon as I can.

 

[Durhamranger]

Have you tried here..... https://www.win-raid.com/t892f16-AMD-and-Nvidia-GOP-update-No-requests-DIY.html

It worked for me with my nvidia gt710......

Regards

 

[videoman]

Have you tried here..... https://www.win-raid.com/t892f16-AMD-and-Nvidia-GOP-update-No-requests-DIY.html

It worked for me with my nvidia gt710......

Regards

Thanks! Interestingly, someone just made the modified vbios using that tool and then just passed that bios to qemu without actually flashing it, and it seems to have worked for them. I might try that, as I'm a bit nervous about flashing, even though it's an old card that I have no other use for. Anyway, I might give this a try after pulling the GPU-Z info out.

Hello.
Using GPU-z to identify your card vendor and sub ID is great.
Put a picture from the main screen here.
Then in the main screen you will use the save BIOS button and you will store that file in a safe place for further use.
After that in the advanced tab you will press the drop down menu arrow and from the next menu that appear please choose the memory info tab.
Also make a picture and post it here.

Have you tried here..... https://www.win-raid.com/t892f16-AMD-and-Nvidia-GOP-update-No-requests-DIY.html

It worked for me with my nvidia gt710......

Regards

So I ran this batch file on my old rom, and when I pass the outputted rom to qemu I'm able to get video output from my old gpu! Now I've got to figure out how to pass keyboard and mouse through :/

Anyway, thanks everyone.

I guess I should ask: if this bios works when passing to qemu, does this suggest that I can flash it onto the video card without issue?

 

[Imperator]

Ok, based on the info you provided, i found a perfect match for your card.
This are the latest BIOSes for your card.

Sapphire R9 270X VBIOS

2048 MB GDDR5, 1070 MHz GPU, 1400 MHz Memory

www.techpowerup.com

Sapphire R9 270X VBIOS

2048 MB GDDR5, 1070 MHz GPU, 1400 MHz Memory

www.techpowerup.com

Flashing a BIOS or recovering from a bad flash procedure is not something to scare you.
Trust me is easy as long as you respect those steps.
Here is a short guide ...Howto guide :

AMD/ATi Flash Command Line (CMD) Syntax Mini Guide (WINDOWS)

This is a Guide Thread Only, not an asking for help thread. If you need help, start a new thread, do not post in here as it will be reported and possibly deleted. This is a Mini Guide to using AMDVBFLASH/ATi Flash. DO NOT USE WINFLASH it has been discontinued and rearely ever worked Make...

www.techpowerup.com

 

[videoman]

Thank you! Both for the bioses and for linking the guide.

It looks like neither of the bioses support EFI, which I think is a major problem for using this card in GPU passthrough situations, as modern OSes all seem to require that the card be EFI-capable.

I am able to get Windows to boot by simply passing the modified bios I got from running the script above, and everything works great. With Mac I am able to get farther than before, but when it gets to the point in the boot process where video stuff kicks in the screen goes blank. I am wondering if the installed bios needs to be EFI-capable for Mac.

The guide the user above linked to suggests that people first flash the most recent bios for their card, and then run his magic script afterward. I guess the assumption is that later bioses are more likely to work well with EFI?

Anyway does that sound like a reasonable plan to get my current card to be EFI-capable? Flash most recent rom -> convert this rom to EFI-capable rom -> flash this new rom

Update: Hm, I tried flashing the 'verified' rom here https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/163875/sapphire-r9270x-2048-140729 and the amdvbflash utility does not like that the part number has changed, and it refused to flash.

AMDVBFLASH version 4.71, Copyright (c) 2020 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Old SSID: E271
New SSID: E271
Old P/N: 113-1E27100-O48
New P/N: 113-1E27140-O4H
P/N mismatched

 

[AugeK]

Sorry to say but both the BIOS will not work on your card as its BIOS capacity is 64k only while both the BIOS come with 128k.
AFAIK in general 128k is required for UEFI.

 

[videoman]

The weird thing is the rom I extract from the card using amdvbflash is 128k. Others have apparently got their R9 270X to work in EFI mode. All somewhat confusing!

 

[Nike_486DX]

If it was my card and i was desperate to get a proper uefi support, i would perhaps try flashing R7 370 bios to it. R7 370 is a re re re branded HD 7850 (so pretty much a 7870 but with 64 tpus instead of 80), surely it would negatively affect the 3d performance but it can also bring better uefi support (300 series are like from 2015, and 270X is 2013 so you can potentially get some new bios features) . That could be an interesting experiment. Just make sure that you are flashing the bios from a same manufacturer and that it supports your card's memory.

Edit checked the 370X, it is identical to 270X so you can try with that one as well. 128kb is the normal bios size for your card btw. If your 270x carries samsung chips (please provide photos of physical chips) you could trry out this rom https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/182455/182455 its uefi enabled and should work on a sapphire 270x as long as its got samsung FS chips.

 

[videoman]

Thank you for the suggestion @Nike_486DX.

This is apparently the bios that is installed currently: https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/152468/sapphire-r9270x-2048-131209. If I'm reading that right, it supports Hynix memory. GPU-Z output seems to suggest that my card uses Hynix memory. (There is something called Elpida referred to on the vBIOS info page and in my GPU-Z screenshot, but I'm not sure what that is.) Would that make it ineligible for the 370X vBIOS?

And I'm thinking of flashing the modified vBIOS produced by the script @Durhamranger linked to. Is it possible to flash a new vBIOS and perma-brick the card? Or can I always simply re-flash the original vBIOS and be fine?

Edit: Here is the relevant output of GPU-Z, showing Hynix:



Edit 2: Interesting. According to a post in the thread linked above (link here), the R9 270X has a 'hidden' EFI image, which I guess would explain why the vBIOS is 128k.

PS EDIT: Looking at the BIOS for a card that does boot on my r3 system (an R9 270X) all that may be required is to mark the legacy vbios image at the last image (0x80). The R9270X has an EFI image on it but it is hidden from the motherboard in the aforementioned manner. The RX 480 however correctly marks the legacy images as "not last" and the EFI image as last with 0x80

So I think I would like to try flashing this modified vBIOS that apparently un-hides an existing EFI image. I am just wondering if someone here thinks that there would a decent chance that I would be able to re-flash the old vBIOS in the event of my card not liking the modified vBIOS. It's an old card that I don't have any other use for so it wouldn't be the end of the world if I bricked it, but I just don't want to take any totally uncalculated risks for no reason.

 

[eidairaman1]

Thank you for the suggestion @Nike_486DX.

This is apparently the bios that is installed currently: https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/152468/sapphire-r9270x-2048-131209. If I'm reading that right, it supports Hynix memory. GPU-Z output seems to suggest that my card uses Hynix memory. (There is something called Elpida referred to on the vBIOS info page and in my GPU-Z screenshot, but I'm not sure what that is.) Would that make it ineligible for the 370X vBIOS?

And I'm thinking of flashing the modified vBIOS produced by the script @Durhamranger linked to. Is it possible to flash a new vBIOS and perma-brick the card? Or can I always simply re-flash the original vBIOS and be fine?

Edit: Here is the relevant output of GPU-Z, showing Hynix:

View attachment 240507

Edit 2: Interesting. According to a post in the thread linked above (link here), the R9 270X has a 'hidden' EFI image, which I guess would explain why the vBIOS is 128k.



So I think I would like to try flashing this modified vBIOS that apparently un-hides an existing EFI image. I am just wondering if someone here thinks that there would a decent chance that I would be able to re-flash the old vBIOS in the event of my card not liking the modified vBIOS. It's an old card that I don't have any other use for so it wouldn't be the end of the world if I bricked it, but I just don't want to take any totally uncalculated risks for no reason.

Ok the gpu-z image above represents your card being able to bootup via CSM correct?

I noticed a couple of Hynix MFR bios that have uefi ebabled.id say contact sapphire

Otherwise you would need to take all data from your existing bios for ram and put it in place of the hynix mfr ram

 

[videoman]

I did contact Sapphire and they claimed they they do not offer UEFI bios for this model because it supports legacy only. Given that it looks like it shipped with a 'hidden' UEFI image alongside the legacy one I find that to be an odd statement.

And yes the card is bootable via CSM. The issue is that the VMs I'm using require OVMF, and Mac (the VM I am most interested in) I think is pretty strict about EFI.

As I mentioned earlier I ran a script which claims to take a legacy BIOS and make it EFI-capable. I am wondering if I should try to flash this modified vBIOS onto my card.

 

[eidairaman1]

I did contact Sapphire and they claimed they they do not offer UEFI bios for this model because it supports legacy only. Given that it looks like it shipped with a 'hidden' UEFI image alongside the legacy one I find that to be an odd statement.

And yes the card is bootable via CSM. The issue is that the VMs I'm using require OVMF, and Mac (the VM I am most interested in) I think is pretty strict about EFI.

As I mentioned earlier I ran a script which claims to take a legacy BIOS and make it EFI-capable. I am wondering if I should try to flash this modified vBIOS onto my card.

Before you flash, I suggest backing up your existing bios, give me a moment to find the tool.

I presume this card doesnt have a dual bios switch like the R9 290 VaporX does

Get amdvbflash, extract the zip file to C:/amdflash, then go to the directory and open amdvbflashwin.exe or atiflash.exe and see if you can save your existing gpu bios via that program.

 

[videoman]

Yes, I have done that using amdvbflash tool. I extracted the rom, and then used it as the input to a script that creates an EFI image out of a legacy image, which is what I have been passing to my VMs lately when trying to do gpu passthrough. This is the image that I was thinking of trying to flash on my card, as I can't find any more 'official' way of doing this.

 

[eidairaman1]

Yes, I have done that using amdvbflash tool. I extracted the rom, and then used it as the input to a script that creates an EFI image out of a legacy image, which is what I have been passing to my VMs lately when trying to do gpu passthrough. This is the image that I was thinking of trying to flash on my card, as I can't find any more 'official' way of doing this.

Ok make sure your stock backup bios is labled differently than your modded bios, are you on an AMD APU, core i cpu or have a spare gpu?

 

[videoman]

Ok done.
And yes I have another gpu. This R9 270X is an old backup that I am trying to find a new use for.

 

[eidairaman1]

Ok done.
And yes I have another gpu. This R9 270X is an old backup that I am trying to find a new use for.

Ok go ahead and flash, but make sure to use amdvbflash -i
to identify which number the 270 is (0 or 1, 2 etc) so you dont flash the wrong card.

Have you flashed before?

 

[videoman]

Never flashed a vBIOS, but I've done this with other devices - routers, phones, etc.

And ok I will give it a try! If it "fails" for some reason, can you usually just re-flash the original vBIOS and be back in business? I haven't been able to find a clear answer on this.

 

[eidairaman1]

Never flashed a vBIOS, but I've done this with other devices - routers, phones, etc.

And ok I will give it a try! If it "fails" for some reason, can you usually just re-flash the original vBIOS and be back in business? I haven't been able to find a clear answer on this.

Recovery can be a mixed bag

Let me get my guide on bios flashing

AMD/ATi Flash Command Line (CMD) Syntax Mini Guide (WINDOWS)

This is a Guide Thread Only, not an asking for help thread. If you need help, start a new thread, do not post in here as it will be reported and possibly deleted. This is a Mini Guide to using AMDVBFLASH/ATi Flash. DO NOT USE WINFLASH it has been discontinued and rearely ever worked Make...

www.techpowerup.com

 

[videoman]

Ok thanks for the push. I flashed the modified bios and it actually behaved exactly the same as if I had passed it to qemu via a command. I also noticed an error from grub about missing gfxterm when I turned the monitor attached tot his gpu on. I haven't looked into this much yet, but I think this might mean EFI isn't working. Anyway I decided to flash back to the original one for now. Too bad, but worth the effort. I appreciate your help.

I asked Sapphire for the most recent bios for this card, and my next thing might be to try the same mod procedure and hope for different results. Maybe I can just try passing different roms to qemu instead of flashing, since it seems to work the same in both cases as far as the VM is concerned.

 

[eidairaman1]

Ok thanks for the push. I flashed the modified bios and it actually behaved exactly the same as if I had passed it to qemu via a command. I also noticed an error from grub about missing gfxterm when I turned the monitor attached tot his gpu on. I haven't looked into this much yet, but I think this might mean EFI isn't working. Anyway I decided to flash back to the original one for now. Too bad, but worth the effort. I appreciate your help.

I asked Sapphire for the most recent bios for this card, and my next thing might be to try the same mod procedure and hope for different results. Maybe I can just try passing different roms to qemu instead of flashing, since it seems to work the same in both cases as far as the VM is concerned.

Before you head off, you may need to try a hex editor or red bios editor.

 

[videoman]

I see that in the thread linked above (https://www.win-raid.com/t892f16-AMD-and-Nvidia-GOP-update-No-requests-DIY.html) that's one way they suggest doing whatever it is that script does: you can just edit the hex characters yourself. I've never done anything like this before and it could be fun to try. I think emacs has a hex editor built in which should be good enough. Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try.

 

[eidairaman1]

Get 1 more bios screenshot of your gpu in gpu-z and a memory screendhot, I need verification of something

I see that in the thread linked above (https://www.win-raid.com/t892f16-AMD-and-Nvidia-GOP-update-No-requests-DIY.html) that's one way they suggest doing whatever it is that script does: you can just edit the hex characters yourself. I've never done anything like this before and it could be fun to try. I think emacs has a hex editor built in which should be good enough. Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try.

@videoman I need to verify what memory is on that card

 

[Shrek]

I have a Sapphire R9 270X Dual-X OC, which has a 'legacy' style bios.
...
Does anyone know of a better EFI-enabled bios for this card?

I had a similar issue to you

Final_Fighter offered to add UEFI support

ASUS video card update

I have an ASUS video card (HD7750-1GD5-V2) and there is a utility to update the BIOS to include UEFI, but the utility only runs on an ASUS mother board. HD7750-1GD5-V2 - Support (asus.com) Anyone know of a workaround to do the VBIOS to UEFI VBIOS update on a non ASUS mother board?

www.techpowerup.com

In my case the GUI amdvbflash utility was happy to upgrade.