Test the First Flashed GTX285 ?

[The Rominator]

Any curious souls in my area? I have flashed a GTX285 with Mac ROM and need an EFI-64 machines to test on. Seems like there is a HIGH concentration of these machines around, just not at my house.

I CAN get access to them, but they are in Edit Bays at a friend's Production Office...and the Editors keep weird hours.....and they are wired in with lots of extra video/audio/disk drive stuff that I have to disconnect/move....and if one died or I caused bad Hard Drive corruption I would be SHOT ON SIGHT......etc.

So, if there is a video card enthusiast in Hollywood,CA area who has an EFI-64 Machine and would like to be part of this experiment, PM me.

FYI...there is a good chance this will work...on the other hand, there is also a good chance that Apple/Nvidia/EVGA placed an additional STOP to flashing and upon boot we will see a lovely black screen.

Whats in it for you? Immortal, undying glory ! A beer ! And when I figure out full process, I will make one for you with GTX285 you bring me. gratis

I have removed the 128K chip it came with and installed a 256K chip. I then flashed Mac EFI ROM onto it. On my first Gen it runs exactly as before. Boots into OSX with help of Netkas Injector Package, but not until desktop. (also requires additional Nvidia card)

It appears to be ignoring the Mac EFI due to it being 64 instead of the 32 it "requires".

So, anyone wanna help?

[Andrew Henry]

Any curious souls in my area? I have flashed a GTX285 with Mac ROM and need an EFI-64 machines to test on. Seems like there is a HIGH concentration of these machines around, just not at my house.

I CAN get access to them, but they are in Edit Bays at a friend's Production Office...and the Editors keep weird hours.....and they are wired in with lots of extra video/audio/disk drive stuff that I have to disconnect/move....and if one died or I caused bad Hard Drive corruption I would be SHOT ON SIGHT......etc.

So, if there is a video card enthusiast in Hollywood,CA area who has an EFI-64 Machine and would like to be part of this experiment, PM me.

FYI...there is a good chance this will work...on the other hand, there is also a good chance that Apple/Nvidia/EVGA placed an additional STOP to flashing and upon boot we will see a lovely black screen.

Whats in it for you? Immortal, undying glory ! A beer ! And when I figure out full process, I will make one for you with GTX285 you bring me. gratis

I have removed the 128K chip it came with and installed a 256K chip. I then flashed Mac EFI ROM onto it. On my first Gen it runs exactly as before. Boots into OSX with help of Netkas Injector Package, but not until desktop. (also requires additional Nvidia card)

It appears to be ignoring the Mac EFI due to it being 64 instead of the 32 it "requires".

So, anyone wanna help?

I'm in Seattle, WA you can send it to me for further testing. :)

[teeck2000]

Hey Rominator,

I'd like to help, I'm in Glendale, CA with a 2008 Mac Pro 2.8 Octo if you want to test it out, email me and we can setup a time.

[The Rominator]

Email sent. I would recommend you remove your email address from your post.

We will hopefully be able to meet up by Tuesday or Wednesday and have answer on GTX285 flash. In a perfect world, this could lead to other cards too. Fingers crossed.

[Cynicalone]

I would recommend you remove your email address from your post.

Yes you'll want to remove that quickly.

[The Rominator]

TEECK2000 just left my place with his Mac Pro Early 2008..........and a shiny new GTX285 !!!!

The flash worked !!!

We tested multiple things, all A-OK. Even a 5.0 GTs link speed.

Windows was good too. He tried XPlane in both and said it was smoother than his 8800GT had been.

So a RESOUNDING SUCCESS.

Thanks to TEECK2000 for dragging his Mac over here. He decided to keep the GTX285 that I had already done the surgery to...I'll be ordering another one.

BTW.please note that I forgot to change OGL test to 1920x1200....and it scored beautifully anyway.

[Cuda]

240 Unified Shaders, that's what I'm talking about.

In September when Snow Leopard Ships, it's going to put the Radeon 47xx to bed, Good Morning, Good afternoon, and Good night.

We're talking 2x the speed of the 8800's, with half the Power/Heat/Failure Rate.

Great Job Rominator, now break out that 2GB version.

I'm so keyed, in 10.6 I'll be able to put my Apps and large chunks of Data up in VRam. That should help cut down x264 encoding in HD from DAYS to Hours.

I can't wait to get my hands on one and 10.6:D

[10THzMac]

Wow. I'd vote for a test on the 2G. Could you spell out what you did with Rom chips?

[The Rominator]

I desoldered 128K chip and replaced it with a 256K chip.

Then I flashed with the EFI 156K ROM file.

Here is card I used:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130442

Quite likely that other cards will work.......BUT IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THEY HAVE A 256K CHIP...........RUN "NVFLASH -C" TO GET A READOUT OF WHICH CHIP YOU HAVE AND GOOGLE THE PART NUMBER !!!

If you have a 128K chip (technically 1024k in 8 pages of 128k each) then the file WILL NOT FIT ON THE CHIP AND YOU WILL SEMI-BRICK THE CARD if you flash it.

[netkas]

We tested multiple things, all A-OK. Even a 5.0 GTs link speed.



this makes me think they setup pcie2.0 in efi rom, and somehow it doesnt work on flashed 4870

i can setup pcie2.0 speed in aty_init, but I need to find out code for it first (like what to write to some MMIO adresses , or via pci config space)


If you have a 128K chip (technically 1024k in 8 pages of 128k each) then the file WILL NOT FIT ON THE CHIP AND YOU WILL SEMI-BRICK THE CARD if you flash it.


it will still work as pc card i think

can you share rom with me?

btw, what nvcap value you had with flashed gtx285 ?

[Dr.Pants]

I would just like to offer congratulations on the achievement. Since I can see one of these in my future, I would also like to say "thanks" early. :D

[The Rominator]

btw, what nvcap value you had with flashed gtx285 ?

didn't check...will be a couple days til I have another GTX285 to play with

is NVCAP something I find in IOREG?

[teeck2000]

Thanks again Rominator for the card, it's awesome.

I have been playing with the card for about 6 hours now and everything is working great, so I thought I would post a followup. I don't have any framerates for games but everything is playing and working smooth. Dual 24" displays work great and the card is running quieter than my 8800GT.

I was just playing the Crysis Demo at 1920x1200 with everything set to max and 2xAA and it was VERY smooth, 60+ fps I would say. There is one weird thing though that only happens with Crysis and no other app/game in OSX or WinXP. When the game is loading or at the menu screen before loaded, the card makes this really high pitched wine, but as soon as you finish loading and start playing it goes away, very weird.

I have not ran into any overheat issues or any other problems, works fantastic. Let me know if anyone wants me to run a specific task.

Great Job Rominator!

[jeanlain]

I desoldered 128K chip and replaced it with a 256K chip.

Then I flashed with the EFI 156K ROM file.

Here is card I used:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130442

Quite likely that other cards will work.......BUT IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THEY HAVE A 256K CHIP...........RUN "NVFLASH -C" TO GET A READOUT OF WHICH CHIP YOU HAVE AND GOOGLE THE PART NUMBER !!!

If you have a 128K chip (technically 1024k in 8 pages of 128k each) then the file WILL NOT FIT ON THE CHIP AND YOU WILL SEMI-BRICK THE CARD if you flash it.
Why is the apple ROM so big? Any way to shrink it?

[nightfly13]

I need a new card, and I think I'm having conflicts mixing ATI and NVidia presently, so I'd like an NVidia card... would this solution work for a first gen Mac Pro?

[10THzMac]

didn't check...will be a couple days til I have another GTX285 to play with

is NVCAP something I find in IOREG?

I found this mac app called NVCAPmaker that read the rom and spewed out a number.

[ventro]

Wow, fantastic work, Rominator! Once you post the in-depth tutorial I will definitely pick up a 285. Thanks so much for doing this!

[Cuda]

i can setup pcie2.0 speed in aty_init, but I need to find out code for it first (like what to write to some MMIO adresses , or via pci config space)


I think OS X Boot loader ( Still BootX? ) locks PCI Config Space Read Only for Nvidia cards.

I beleve you'd have to do this in EFI.

[Cuda]

I found this mac app called NVCAPmaker that read the rom and spewed out a number.

OR

ioreg -l w0 | grep NVCAP

Better is both, so we can see if the NVCAP is in the EFI Rom and is not the same as the one in the Bios( That is the one NVCAPmaker Reads)

[icyderguru]

Grats Rominator, glad yours worked.

Could you please post the Rom so others can try as well. ;)

Thanks

[10THzMac]

OR

ioreg -l w0 | grep NVCAP

Better is both, so we can see if the NVCAP is in the EFI Rom and is not the same as the one in the Bios( That is the one NVCAPmaker Reads)

NVCAP maker on the 285 ROM gives

0400000000000f00000000000000000700000000

the same as my Palit 2G 285. But your command gives

bash-3.2$ ioreg -l w0 | grep NVCAP
| | | | "NVCAP" = <05000000000003000c0000000000000b00000000>

which is clearly different. This is with just the mac 285 live. I wonder what this difference can affect?

[netkas]

I think OS X Boot loader ( Still BootX? ) locks PCI Config Space Read Only for Nvidia cards.

I beleve you'd have to do this in EFI.

its boot.efi the bootloader

pcie setup is made by efi rom i believe

10THzMac

NVCAPMake is joke, it has a nvcap value hardcoded inside, and only calculates two digits analyzing rom, it doesnt create a real nvcap, it just guesses one. ioreg -l -w0 | grep NVCAP is better :)

[The Rominator]

So, I 'm confused. Is there something I need to check on when I get another GTX285?

IN any case, if you need something checked on the flashed one, you could ask TEECK2000 since he has the card now.

[netkas]

btw, looks like apple uses ancient old tianocore, thats why their drivers failz to work in latest duet i think

"C:\p4\sw\main\efi\edk\Tiano20061117\Foundation\Library\Dxe\EfiDriverLib\EfiDriverLib.c..gRT != ((void *) 0)"

that from decompressed rom

[10THzMac]

NVCAPMake is joke, it has a nvcap value hardcoded inside, and only calculates two digits analyzing rom, it doesnt create a real nvcap, it just guesses one. ioreg -l -w0 | grep NVCAP is better :)

That explains a lot of wasted time! Thanks netkas.

[Cuda]

btw, looks like apple uses ancient old tianocore, thats why their drivers failz to work in latest duet i think

"C:\p4\sw\main\efi\edk\Tiano20061117\Foundation\Library\Dxe\EfiDriverLib\EfiDriverLib.c..gRT != ((void *) 0)"

that from decompressed rom

I think that's Nvidia, not Apple, tho I did note that too.

When you say Fails to work, how did you mean?

I managed to get the lasted Duet to build, what a pain.

Now I'm going to see if the UEFI64 will build and boot on my C2D.

Do you know anything about the irc://irc.osx86.hu/UEFI-Boot project, it seems to be what I'm trying to get done?

[Incision]

Hello,

I am down in the orange county area. If you ever need any other testers please let me know and i can get my hands on a GTX285. I have the dual Quad Core 2.8GHZ Mac Pro. Please just let me know and i will come up there in a hurry :)

[The Rominator]

you know what....we might be able to work something out.

I need to find some more 256K chips.

The only card I can 100% guarantee is the EVGA I just did for teeck2000.

By Wednesday or Thursday I may be ready to do a card for you.

When might you want to drive up?

I am near the Hollywood & Highland mall, by Runyon Canyon park.

[netkas]

I think that's Nvidia, not Apple, tho I did note that too.

When you say Fails to work, how did you mean?

I managed to get the lasted Duet to build, what a pain.

Now I'm going to see if the UEFI64 will build and boot on my C2D.

Do you know anything about the irc://irc.osx86.hu/UEFI-Boot project, it seems to be what I'm trying to get done?

that is about custom bootloader which work in efi shell

this will not work with gtx285 like on real mac (will not read the keys rom set for card, and will not pass it to OS)

[Frixo Cool]

Is there any way to use original or PC version of the card on 1st gen Mac Pro and to have picture and boot options at boot time?

Is it only an issue of 32-bit EFI? Why Nvidia does not support older Macs when the card itself could work?

[The Rominator]

Is there any way to use original or PC version of the card on 1st gen Mac Pro and to have picture and boot options at boot time?

Is it only an issue of 32-bit EFI? Why Nvidia does not support older Macs when the card itself could work?

As far as I know, all the best info on this is here on these pages. So, currently there is NO WAY to see boot screens on First Gen. In fact, as far as I know, I am the only one to run a GTX285 in a 1st Gen. As you can read, it required an additional Nvidia card and Netkas injectors.

I want to start an effort to learn how to "sew" EFI ROMs for Nvidia cards, as Pipolomo42 did for 4870. Would open up quite a few cards as options.

[ohkuipo]

So in order to use a store-bought PC version of this card, it requires physically removing a 128k chip on the card and soldering on a 256k version which Apple supports in its place? Seems a little crazy to me! If that's the case, where would you even get ahold of one of those chips? Sorry if I missed an obvious answer, I'm just trying to wrap my mind about this whole flashing business. :confused:

[The Rominator]

Since the early days of Video Card flashing, the usual "block" to making an inexpensive PC card work as if it were a more expensive Mac version has been the size of the ROM file/chip.

Typically, cards like the Radeon 9800 for PC had a 64K chip while the Mac ROM file itself was 128K. So, like everything else in computer world, the numbers have gotten bigger. Now we have Mac ROM file requiring 156K while most PC boards have a 128K chip...so once again the file won't fit on the chip.

Same game, different players.

[ohkuipo]

I know it is possible to flash a PC 9800 for Mac compatibility with software utilities, such as graphiccelerator. You used the 9800 as your example... does that mean software such as that finds a way of getting around the self-imposed limitations of the size of the ROM chip? Or does it find a sort of workaround?

[The Rominator]

There is new Free Lunch or Magic Pill. 128K doesn't fit in 64K chip, no matter what you try.

Do some more research at Mac ELite.

There is a reduced 64K ROM for Radeon 9800, but it loses some functionality.

There MAY be a way to chop 30K out of the EFI GTX285 ROM, but for me it is easier to just solder a new chip on.

[ohkuipo]

Sorry to keep pestering you about an unimportant card, but http://themacelite.wikidot.com/compatibility lists the 9800 as having full compatibility for all listed models. Could you please elaborate on what is lost when the ROM is flashed in this way?

[The Rominator]

It has been a few years since I fiddled with a 9800 so my memories are a little vague.

The process of reducing the 9800 ROM clipped out certain things that COULD be replaced by something called "ATI ROM extender" which various ATI packages could install. SO SOME of the loses could be replaced.

Specific things I can remember were that the reduced 9800 had fewer resolution choices under certain circumstances and the big one to me was that the boot message that would normally be triggered when there was a problem with exterior power connection was removed.

So, if you forgot to plug in power or there was a connection or voltage issue with the power connection; cards running the reduced ROM would just NOT WORK. Cards with the full rom would have an image of card drawn on screen with power connector flashing in red. If you corrected power issue, the power connection in the image turns green and card resumes booting.

As far as the GTX285 goes, it may be possible to reduce. The PC BIOS is only 64K so it is hard to understand how the EFI portion of the ROM requires 92K.

But as I said, I won't be spending hours trying to excise the code. There are better people for that.

[netkas]

decompressed is much bigger

174080 Jun 23 10:26 efi_285.efi
87500 Jun 23 10:26 efi_compressed_285

[Incision]

you know what....we might be able to work something out.

I need to find some more 256K chips.

The only card I can 100% guarantee is the EVGA I just did for teeck2000.

By Wednesday or Thursday I may be ready to do a card for you.

When might you want to drive up?

I am near the Hollywood & Highland mall, by Runyon Canyon park.

Hey The Rominator,

I dont have the ability to send you a PM. How would you like for me to get in contact with you?

[The Rominator]

had my addy here....removed for security after 2 days

[GrnEydDvl]

I grabbed the part number of my chip via "nvflash -c" and it is "pm25lv512".

Googling the part number turns up some info on the chip.

• Memory Organization
Pm25LV512: 64K x 8 (512 Kbit)

It looks to my very layman eyes that the OEM Mac gtx285 ROM should fit easily. But before I charged ahead and possibly bricked the card, I thought it best to ask.

So, should I be OK to flash my PC GTX 285 with the Mac firmware?

I desoldered 128K chip and replaced it with a 256K chip.

Then I flashed with the EFI 156K ROM file.

Here is card I used:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130442

Quite likely that other cards will work.......BUT IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THEY HAVE A 256K CHIP...........RUN "NVFLASH -C" TO GET A READOUT OF WHICH CHIP YOU HAVE AND GOOGLE THE PART NUMBER !!!

If you have a 128K chip (technically 1024k in 8 pages of 128k each) then the file WILL NOT FIT ON THE CHIP AND YOU WILL SEMI-BRICK THE CARD if you flash it.

[The Rominator]

And here is why there are so many problems.

That is a 64K chip.

It would seem that there are 8 pages of 64K each but for whatever reason, when these chips are used as EEPROMs for GPU, they only access the "first page"

So, any attempt to put more than 64K on that card will result in BRICK CITY.

If anyone in LA wants to try to make another of these, PM me. I have one more 256K chip here and that guy in Orange County hasn't written me yet.

[hyram]

And here is why there are so many problems.

That is a 64K chip.

It would seem that there are 8 pages of 64K each but for whatever reason, when these chips are used as EEPROMs for GPU, they only access the "first page"

Rom,Rom, Rom... I usually trust you, but this is totally wrong. You are correct that it's a 64k part...at least a 64kByte part. When it says 64k x 8 it is specifing that it's 64k by 8 bits wide. NOT 8 pages of 64k each.

If you take the 64k and multiply by 8 bits you get 512kbits. Flash and ram parts are useally specified (these days anyway) by their bit capacity, not their byte capacity.

I sugggest you have a ;look at the data sheet: http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/153931/PMC/PM25LV512.html

You'll see this part is specified as a 512kbit part organized as 64kBytes.

hyram

[The Rominator]

Whatever you want to define it as....it won't fit the EFI ROM and the card will be bricked.

[itsalan]

And here is why there are so many problems.

That is a 64K chip.

It would seem that there are 8 pages of 64K each but for whatever reason, when these chips are used as EEPROMs for GPU, they only access the "first page"

So, any attempt to put more than 64K on that card will result in BRICK CITY.

If anyone in LA wants to try to make another of these, PM me. I have one more 256K chip here and that guy in Orange County hasn't written me yet.

I'm available if you want to try to make another one, although I don't have a card yet.

[Guiyon]

If anyone in LA wants to try to make another of these, PM me. I have one more 256K chip here and that guy in Orange County hasn't written me yet.

What's the part number of the chip?

[The Rominator]

It is an SST chip....I don't have it in front of me.

Best is to look at the "supported EEPROM" part of Nvflash, it lists chips and sizes.

I know the SST has a part number ending in 020

[Guiyon]

Looks like the only one DigiKey has in stock is the Atmel AT25DF041. Am I correct in assuming that most of the reference-based boards use a 3.9mm wide 8-SOIC package?

[The Rominator]

Supported EEPROM's --
AMD AM29LV001B 128Kx8 2.7vV, 1B page, 16k blk, ID=(01,006D)
AMD AM29LV010 128Kx8 2.7vV, 1B page, 16k blk, ID=(01,006E)
AMD AM29LV001T 128Kx8 2.7vV, 1B page, 16k blk, ID=(01,00ED)
Atmel AT49F512 64Kx8 5.0,3.0,2.7V, 1B page, 0k blk, ID=(1F,0003)
Atmel AT49F001T 128Kx8 5.0V, 1B page, 0k blk, ID=(1F,0004)
Atmel AT49F001 128Kx8 5.0V, 1B page, 0k blk, ID=(1F,0005)
Atmel AT49BV/LV010 128Kx8 2.7-3.6V, 1B page, 0k blk, ID=(1F,0017)
Atmel AT29LV/BV010A 128Kx8 3.0V, 128B page, 0k blk, ID=(1F,0035)
Atmel AT29LV512 64Kx8 3.0V, 128B page, 0k blk, ID=(1F,003D)
Atmel AT25F1024 1024Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 256B page, 32k blk, ID=(1F,0040)
Atmel AT29C512 64Kx8 5.0V, 128B page, 0k blk, ID=(1F,005D)
Atmel AT25F1024 1024Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 256B page, 32k blk, ID=(1F,0060)
Atmel AT25F512A 512Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 128B page, 32k blk, ID=(1F,0065)
Atmel AT49F010 128Kx8 5.0V, 1B page, 0k blk, ID=(1F,0087)
Atmel AT29C010A 128Kx8 5.0V, 128B page, 0k blk, ID=(1F,00D5)
Atmel AT25DF021 2048Kx1S 2.3-3.6V, 256B page, 4k blk, ID=(1F,4300)
Atmel AT25DF041 4096Kx1S 2.3-3.6V, 256B page, 4k blk, ID=(1F,4401)
Atmel AT25FS010 1024Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 256B page, 4k blk, ID=(1F,6601)
ST M25P05 512Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 128B page, 32k blk, ID=(20,0005)
ST M25P10 1024Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 128B page, 32k blk, ID=(20,0010)
ST M29W512B 64Kx8 2.7-3.6V, 1B page, 0k blk, ID=(20,0027)
Tenx ICE25P05 512Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 128B page, 32k blk, ID=(5E,0001)
PMC Pm39LV512 64Kx8 3.0-3.6V, 1B page, 4k blk, ID=(9D,001B)
PMC Pm39LV010 128Kx8 3.0-3.6V, 1B page, 4k blk, ID=(9D,001C)
PMC Pm25LV512 512Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 256B page, 4k blk, ID=(9D,007B)
PMC Pm25LV010 1024Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 256B page, 4k blk, ID=(9D,007C)
SST SST29EE010 128Kx8 5.0V, 128B page, 0k blk, ID=(BF,0007)
SST SST29LE/VE010 128Kx8 2.9,2.7V, 128B page, 0k blk, ID=(BF,0008)
SST SST29LE/VE512 64Kx8 2.9,2.7V, 128B page, 0k blk, ID=(BF,003D)
SST SST45VF010 1024Kx1S 3.0-3.6V, 1B page, 4k blk, ID=(BF,0042)
SST SST25LF020 2048Kx1S 3.0-3.6V, 256B page, 4k blk, ID=(BF,0043)
SST SST25LF040 4096Kx1S 3.0-3.6V, 256B page, 4k blk, ID=(BF,0044)
SST SST25VF512 512Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 256B page, 4k blk, ID=(BF,0048)
SST SST25VF010 1024Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 256B page, 4k blk, ID=(BF,0049)
SST SST29EE512 64Kx8 5.0V, 128B page, 0k blk, ID=(BF,005D)
SST SST39SF010 128Kx8 5.0V, 1B page, 4k blk, ID=(BF,00B5)
SST SST39VF512 64Kx8 2.7-3.6V, 1B page, 4k blk, ID=(BF,00D4)
SST SST39VF010 128Kx8 2.7-3.6V, 1B page, 4k blk, ID=(BF,00D5)
MX MX29F001T 128Kx8 5.0V, 1B page, 0k blk, ID=(C2,0018)
MX MX29F001B 128Kx8 5.0V, 1B page, 0k blk, ID=(C2,0019)
MX MX25L512 512Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 256B page, 4k blk, ID=(C2,2010)
MX MX25L1005 1024Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 256B page, 4k blk, ID=(C2,2011)
MX MX25L2005 2048Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 256B page, 4k blk, ID=(C2,2012)
MX MX25L4005A 4096Kx1S 2.7-3.6V, 256B page, 4k blk, ID=(C2,2013)
WBond W39L010 128Kx8 3.3V, 1B page, 4k blk, ID=(DA,0031)
WBond W39L512 64Kx8 3.3V, 1B page, 4k blk, ID=(DA,0038)
WBond W29C011A 128Kx8 5.0V, 128B page, 0k blk, ID=(DA,00C1)
WBond W29EE512 64Kx8 5.0V, 128B page, 0k blk, ID=(DA,00C8)

The chip in RED is the one that 10thHzMac found on original Mac GTX285

The chip in GREEN is the one I used.

So those two are only ones I can say work for sure.

[Guiyon]

Any idea what package the chips use? Both of those come in multiple packages.

[The Rominator]

Standard GPU EEPROM....SOIC8

[Guiyon]

Thank you. I ordered a couple of the AT25DF041A-SSH(H|HF)-B chips (50MHz and 70MHz variants) from DigiKey to test out along with a sample request from SST for the SST25LF020A-33-4C-SAE. Once I get these in (and pickup a card) I'll report back my success.

[The Rominator]

Rom,Rom, Rom... I usually trust you, but this is totally wrong. You are correct that it's a 64k part...at least a 64kByte part. When it says 64k x 8 it is specifing that it's 64k by 8 bits wide. NOT 8 pages of 64k each.

If you take the 64k and multiply by 8 bits you get 512kbits. Flash and ram parts are useally specified (these days anyway) by their bit capacity, not their byte capacity.

I sugggest you have a ;look at the data sheet: http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/153931/PMC/PM25LV512.html

You'll see this part is specified as a 512kbit part organized as 64kBytes.

hyram

This is an instance of me not knowing the "why" but knowing "what works"

All of the chips with 512 in their name have been 64K chips. This was a problem back when the Radeon 9800 was king and we were fighting the 64K vs 128K battle.

Thank you for the technical details, though I have to admit I still don't know what exactly your explanation means.

I just know that is a 64K chip and attempts to flash it with anything more than 64K will result in a BRICKED CARD that will likel require an actual PC with alternate Video Out to fix.

I am very concerned that this thread will result in bricked cards RMA'd to the same retailers I use. That is why this flash should only be attempted by people with enough skill and knowledge to read the part numbers, solder chips, and fix their mistakes.

I will also NOT be posting the EFI ROM for this card. It is not mine to post and I have no desire to test EVGA's Litigation Attorneys. There is also the ethical issue of "biting the hand that feeds".

If someone else is unencumbered by these concerns, they can post it wherever they wish.

[hyram]

This is an instance of me not knowing the "why" but knowing "what works"

All of the chips with 512 in their name have been 64K chips. This was a problem back when the Radeon 9800 was king and we were fighting the 64K vs 128K battle.

Thank you for the technical details, though I have to admit I still don't know what exactly your explanation means.

I just know that is a 64K chip....

My apologies.. I get a little anal retentive about technical matters. I always want to be as accurate and precise as possible. And I could have been a little more clear. I'm going to blame a lack of Mt. Dew.

Memory structures can come in numerous configurations: the most common being 8 bit wide, 16 bit wide, and 32 bit wide "words"; and have ever increasing densities: 256 kbits, 512 kbits, 1024 kbits, etc. Memory parts are specified by this bit density, not by the word density. For example: a 512 kbit part can be 64k of 8 bit words, or 32k of 16 bit words, or even 16k of 32 bit words.... It all comes down to how the manufacture wants to configure their part internally. This is usually reflected in the part number somehow.

What set me off in your original explanation was that you stated:

It would seem that there are 8 pages of 64K each but for whatever reason, when these chips are used as EEPROMs for GPU, they only access the "first page"


This would imply that these parts have 512k words (64k times 8) internally which they do not... they have 512 kbits configured as 64k worth of 8 bit words. I know... refer to the part above where I mention "anal retentive".:rolleyes:

On a side note: These memory parts generally have what is called a "page mode" of access. Where you send a "read (or write) page" command and the part will return an entire page worth of data which can vary in size again depending on how the manufacture wants to make the part. This is usually only possible with serial flash parts which the devices you're using here are. The particular part called out here has 256 word pages, so when you do a page read you get 256 words back. For parallel flash parts there's another meaning for "page" but we won't get into that here.

I hope this explanation is a bit clearer,

hyram

PS: I've specifically avoided the usage of the word "byte" as sometimes it can add more confusion that it resolves.

[Frixo Cool]

Now, when the dust has settled, is there any proven info are there PC cards out there with large enough EPROMs? Is there any PC GTX285 I can buy and to be pretty sure that I can flash it to Mac and use dual-DVI with Cinema 30"?

Thank you very much! :)

[vailance]

i think its none of the pc card out there have 256k of rom size. you have to solder yourself thats what they are doing. :)

[The Rominator]

Now, when the dust has settled, is there any proven info are there PC cards out there with large enough EPROMs? Is there any PC GTX285 I can buy and to be pretty sure that I can flash it to Mac and use dual-DVI with Cinema 30"?

Thank you very much! :)

This thread contains the sum total of what is known regarding flashing these. So, so far we have found 2 with 64K chips and one with a 128K chip. Not promising, but it is possible that there are cards out there with 256K chips.

Meanwhile, I am still open to making a SECOND flashed GTX285 for someone who brings their 3,1 or 4,1 Mac Pro and a 1 Gig EVGA card over. I have a 2 Gig version I need to test........

[segalife01]

Hey Rominator, Can you please sent me the rom? I want have a try myself.thank you very much.:)
My GMail (trophy.lei@gmail.com)

[The Rominator]

you will have to look elsewhere for ROM

I won't be distributing it

[segalife01]

you will have to look elsewhere for ROM

I won't be distributing it

YES i understand,but i could not found it(anywhere,many days),so i need you help,please.

i am already bought the card ,and the 256k eeprom,only without rom

[vailance]

@The Rominator

Can you let us know where else can i get a 256k compatible rom size ? and maybe a picture of the part where u soldered the rom chip? i might want to try on that. Got an Gtx285 today. :) Thanks!

[The Rominator]

If you are new to surface mount soldering, this REALLY isn't the place to pick up experience.

I didn't take a pic of the chip, but I can tell you that you need to remove 14 screws to get Fan off. Once you remove it, the chip is on upper edge of card on front face, quite near the SLi connectors.

First you should run "Nvflash -c" and it will give you the part number. The chip will have this part number on it too, this way you can be sure you are removing right chip. Removing old chip is tricky part, if you pull up a trace from PCB you will potentially have KILLED this lovely new card. I want nothing to do with responsibility for that.

Mouser & Digikey carry small electronics in US. DOn't know about elsewhere.

[vailance]

will this works for 285? - Macronix-MXIC-MX25L2005-2M-BIT-SPI-Flash-BIOS
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-x-Macronix-MXIC-MX25L2005-2M-BIT-SPI-Flash-BIOS_W0QQitemZ390056529891QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5ad12e4fe3&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

http://i13.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/ba/7f/3ab3_1.JPG

below is a sample of whre the chip located, its just below the sli connectors
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/5710/55562912.jpg

How can i make sure i didnt solder it upside down?

[Guiyon]

How can i make sure i didnt solder it upside down?

Look at the alignment markings? If you've been able to pick out a correct chip, disassemble the card and solder it you should know how to figure out which pin is pin 1...

[22Hertz]

Like Guiyon said, desolder the chip, align the dot on the corner of the chip to the dot on the board (Pin 1) and solder.

Use lots of flux and minimal solder.

Let us know how it turns out for you

[The Rominator]

The "Dot" is on both PCB and the chip.

And it is always bst to do a hi-res scn of card BEFORE removing chip. Gives you a reference in case anything goes wrong.

I usually just go by whatever way the writing was "rightside up", sometimes it is easier to see than the dots.

The suspense is killing me.......

[10THzMac]

If you are new to surface mount soldering, this REALLY isn't the place to pick up experience.

This is a really intimidating thread for those of us who have never even picked up ANY kind of a soldering iron. I feel much better now there are questions like "How can I make sure I didn't solder it upside down"?

Rominator - have you thought about what issues might be involved in sorting out a 295 - given the 2xGPU and memory config do you think that will have a totally different ROM?

[bozz2006]

If you've never soldered before, you might be better off shelling out a case of Miller Lite to your friend who knows how to solder. Make sure not to give him the beer until after he's done, he'll need steady hands for this little job.

[The Rominator]

This is a really intimidating thread for those of us who have never even picked up ANY kind of a soldering iron. I feel much better now there are questions like "How can I make sure I didn't solder it upside down"?

Rominator - have you thought about what issues might be involved in sorting out a 295 - given the 2xGPU and memory config do you think that will have a totally different ROM?

I stand by my statement that people with little or no soldering experience should NOT undertake EEPROM swapping. If you absolutely insist, try it out first on some old piece of hardware that is useless. These are $300+ cards.....and one lifted trace can be like dropping 15 @ $20 bills into a campfire.

If you can reliably do it on some old GeForce 2, then go for it. (There are other chips that use SOIC8 packaging, move a few around and see how they look) But if your attempts on said GeForce 2 look like a recreation of The Battle for Berlin, then HAVE A PRO DO IT! Nothing will ruin your day better than knowing you PERSONALLY wasted a brand new card.

As far as GTX295, I expect it will be like the 9800GX2. You can run a GX2 with Netkas package and additional Nvidia card, but it sees it as 2 @ 9800 cards. So, Netkas package either will now or will in future enable this card, but it will likely be seen as 2 @ GTX285s and full power only in WIndows.

I like the beer idea. So I will make a standing offer.......anyone who wants this done can bring me a GTX285 and a 6 of Stella, I'll switch chips. Hollywood & Highland area. (extra points if you bring your Mac Pro)

[TheLostBrain]

What's up guys. I just bought the EVGA FTW version of this card :D but I'm running OSX86/Hackintosh. Is there any benefit at all to me doing this mod as opposed to just using an injector, etc.?

Thanks. :)

[netkas]

What's up guys. I just bought the EVGA FTW version of this card :D but I'm running OSX86/Hackintosh. Is there any benefit at all to me doing this mod as opposed to just using an injector, etc.?

Thanks. :)

you nickname explains all.

[vailance]

yeah agree i have some slight skill on soldering wires on psu unit but not something small like the chip, i can solder no prob but i think wouldnt take the risk. I'll just send to some handphone repair shop and ask them do for me. :D will report back with my success story..

[TheLostBrain]

you nickname explains all.

Heh, well I guess your saying there's no point. However would it possibly help to prevent compatability issues such as going to and resuming from sleep etc? Also wouldn't I need the mac rom for the 5.0 vs 2.5 gt /s ?

[netkas]

Heh, well I guess your saying there's no point. However would it possibly help to prevent compatability issues such as going to and resuming from sleep etc? Also wouldn't I need the mac rom for the 5.0 vs 2.5 gt /s ?

why would you need efi part of rom on pc without efi itself ?

[The Rominator]

ie...there is no part of PC that loads EFI part of ROM, even on a Hackintosh, so there is no mechanism to benefit from EFI on card

[TheLostBrain]

why would you need efi part of rom on pc without efi itself ?

I appreciate the info... realizing I don't have as a good a grasp as I thought I did on how osx86 is working under the hood - time to start reading up again.

One thing did come to mind though. I know with my current 8800gt I had to wind up disabling a few kexts (AppleUpstreamUserClientDisabler, IntelCPUPMDisabler, etc.) in order to stop some random momentary lockups I was experiencing... and then I later learned that a few guys actually resolved the issue permanently by simply flashing their cards with the mac firmware.

This is more what I meant when I said "preventing compatibility issues". I wonder if there are any similar issues w/ the GTX 285? I'll probably just hold off for now and then if issues arise consider doing the flash then.

Thanks to both you and The Rominator for the help.

[netkas]

I appreciate the info... realizing I don't have as a good a grasp as I thought I did on how osx86 is working under the hood - time to start reading up again.

One thing did come to mind though. I know with my current 8800gt I had to wind up disabling a few kexts (AppleUpstreamUserClientDisabler, IntelCPUPMDisabler, etc.) in order to stop some random momentary lockups I was experiencing... and then I later learned that a few guys actually resolved the issue permanently by simply flashing their cards with the mac firmware.

This is more what I meant when I said "preventing compatibility issues". I wonder if there are any similar issues w/ the GTX 285? I'll probably just hold off for now and then if issues arise consider doing the flash then.

Thanks to both you and The Rominator for the help.

Guys was flashing only PC part of macpro's 8800gt rom and it worked fine (Cyclonefr is example)

[The Rominator]

I am surprised that only one of these cards has been flashed.

I am willing to do a few more for FREE, just so we can all benefit from the knowledge gained.

All you need is:

1. 2008 or 2009 Mac Pro
2. 2 @ Mac PCIE power cables
3. EVGA (or likely ANY brand) of GTX285 1 Gig

I have the EEPROM chip ready, just need some eager participants. You will be asked to post here afterwards regarding how it works.

Anyone? I am in LA, Hollywood area. I will even accept cards mailed to me, provided you include return postage and promise to post about it.

Just checked at Newegg...they have "Recertified" GTX285s for $259. So, nearly $100 LESS than an Apple 4870.

[10THzMac]

I am surprised there is not more take up of the flash option. Might be the case that the expenditure on ANY 285 is high enough that people will just then go the extra for the official version, rather than take any perceived risk with a card.

In the UK the web price for the Mac version is about 400GBP, which is 50% more than the PC EVGA card, and a huge premium over what you say you can get a PC card for.

[Guiyon]

I just got in the samples from SST so I'm just waiting until I can afford a $300 brick to flash it. I have at least a good half-dozen EEPROMs to test and a healthy supply of ChipQuik :)

[The Rominator]

Good News !!

I have been PM'd...a second person has stepped up to the plate and we will soon have more data regarding flashing the GTX285.

Keep in mind that once the next card comes out, the PC GTX285 prices will drop like a paralyzed Falcon while the Mac GTX285 prices will likely remain high for some time. (The Max X1900XT is STILL $399 at Apple Store)

So, our pioneering work here will lead to better options in 6 months to a year that will become more mainstream.

Someone more clever than I (like...Netkas perhaps) may even figure out a way around the 256K issue. Meanwhile, I am happy to do a little soldering for the community's benefit.

[zebity]

Rominator & Co,

I have ordered EVGA GTX 285 Mac (1GB RAM & EFI64) Mac Edition and a EVGA GTX 285 with 2GB RAM (PC/BIOS) card.

The objective is to try to flash the 2GB card with the the Mac EFI64 ROM to see if I can have a 2GB GTX 285 to work in my Early 2008 Mac Pro.

I am not sure if this has been attempted before and will post the results. At this point I am hoping that I do not have to solder ROM, but I will not know this until both cards arrive and I have checked the EEPROM details of the two boards.

I have previously had success flashing Quadro FX 5600, but this was relatively easy as the PC boards always had EEPROM chips on them that were big enough, so there was not need to solder. I want the 285 so I can get 30 processors with CUDA 1.3, as FX 5600 only has 16 processors with CUDA 1.0 .

There is delay of nearly 2 weeks for the Mac 285, so I will advise results once all the parts are available.

Cheers,


Zebity.

[The Rominator]

I am nearly 100% certain you will find either a 64K or 128K chip o any PC version of this card.

It only "needs" 64K, so even 128K is a "gift" from luck gods.

I thought I posted about the 2 Gig card I have.

I put the Mac ROM on it but in limited testing it would work briefly and register 2 Gigs, but if I opened a 3D ap in Windows it went zonkers.

I am pretty sure I can move memory strings from proper card over to ROM but it takes time. (See the 8800GTS thread I have....I moved memory timings over to increase power of 8800GTS and it worked)

I need to get a 2008/09 Mac Pro to test on....

[netkas]

I am nearly 100% certain you will find either a 64K or 128K chip o any PC version of this card.

It only "needs" 64K, so even 128K is a "gift" from luck gods.

I thought I posted about the 2 Gig card I have.

I put the Mac ROM on it but in limited testing it would work briefly and register 2 Gigs, but if I opened a 3D ap in Windows it went zonkers.

I am pretty sure I can move memory strings from proper card over to ROM but it takes time. (See the 8800GTS thread I have....I moved memory timings over to increase power of 8800GTS and it worked)

I need to get a 2008/09 Mac Pro to test on....

try to create hybrid rom for 2gig card

[The Rominator]

try to create hybrid rom for 2gig card

Brilliant idea...if only I knew how.

I never really understood how Pipolomo42 knew just how to assemble that 4870 ROM.

I tried using that script to "sew" a couple Nvidia bits together but no joy.

PPC was so much easier, 1 ROM and No Checksums. Although they did have those tedious tokenizing strings.

Maybe it's time for a contest.

[10THzMac]

Brilliant idea...if only I knew how.

Netkas injector works fine with 2G PC card. I have to wonder now about the effort/reward ratio for the ROM effort.

Netkas: has ANYONE reported to you on using 295 with your injector?

[netkas]

Brilliant idea...if only I knew how.

I never really understood how Pipolomo42 knew just how to assemble that 4870 ROM.

I tried using that script to "sew" a couple Nvidia bits together but no joy.

PPC was so much easier, 1 ROM and No Checksums. Although they did have those tedious tokenizing strings.

Maybe it's time for a contest.


the only difference will be different location and size of efi.part in 285rom

rest of script should work fine.

[The Rominator]

We Americans LOVE our color pictures. So to spice up this thread, I'm including some.

A fellow member from up North sent me an EVGA GTX285 for "the treatment"

Bad news is of the 3 cards I have checked, 2 had 64K chips and one had a 128K.

So even if we could whittle 28K out of the ROM, we would just be back to our hit-and-miss on 128K chips.

I have shown the chip as it appears in NvFlash and as it appears up close.

I am also attaching the output from the card once it had a 256K chip.

The flash takes quite some time on a Mac, not sure why. (couple of minutes perhaps...dots advancing very slowly on bottom of screen)

This card took the flash and worked as before pn my first Gen via Netkas magic helpers. It should be fine in an EFI-64 machine now.

Will ship it back to owner and wait to hear how it works for him. Looking forward to another success.

[zebity]

Rominator & Co,

do you have any idea where the CRC is stored and what portion of ROM is involved in CRC calculation...

I presume that this must be a subset of ROM as otherwise the "tricks" that people have been doing by directly editing ROM using Hex Editors to tweek clock speeds etc would fail as they would affect CRC.

To confirm this I wonder if anyone has ever done on the fly adjustment via RivaTuner/NiBiTor and then redump ROM and confirmed that ~CRC32 reports the same return as pre "tuning"?

Now I have Mac 285 ROM and PCI Blocks Addresses I should be able to do a binary compare of EVGA 2G x86 BIOS with equivalent x86 BIOS portion of Mac 285 ROM. If the two x86 BIOS portions are essentially same then this would validate idea that EFI64 ROM is created by getting EFI portion and BIOS ROM portions and then concatentating them together (sewing) with addition of some "extra" headers and CRC check.

Is there anyone out there who understands the details of EFI Boot loader and so can provide guidance of the ROM file structure?

Cheers,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro & Mini Mac)

[gugucom]

This thread contains the sum total of what is known regarding flashing these. So, so far we have found 2 with 64K chips and one with a 128K chip. Not promising, but it is possible that there are cards out there with 256K chips.

Meanwhile, I am still open to making a SECOND flashed GTX285 for someone who brings their 3,1 or 4,1 Mac Pro and a 1 Gig EVGA card over. I have a 2 Gig version I need to test........

When I was looking into differences between PC 3870 and 3870 Mac&PC I found that one difference was the size of the serial EEPROM. Of course the Mac&PC had the bigger 128kB version. I decided to replace an 64kB with a 128kB in a PC card and found a specialist in Germany www.bios-fix.de who fit a SST25VF010A-33-4I-SAE for 29€. I thought that wasn't such a bad price considering that the flashing and mailing of the card was included. Perhaps that address is usefull for other European experimentors. I eventually sold that card as a PC card because there were obviously other modifications which I couldn't identify. I also try to attach the spec sheet of the EEPROM.

EDIT: Of course you can also put a 256 kB EEPROM on and they will load your ROM file before soldering the EEPROM to the card which is handy.

[netkas]

Rominator & Co,

do you have any idea where the CRC is stored and what portion of ROM is involved in CRC calculation...

I presume that this must be a subset of ROM as otherwise the "tricks" that people have been doing by directly editing ROM using Hex Editors to tweek clock speeds etc would fail as they would affect CRC.

To confirm this I wonder if anyone has ever done on the fly adjustment via RivaTuner/NiBiTor and then redump ROM and confirmed that ~CRC32 reports the same return as pre "tuning"?

Now I have Mac 285 ROM and PCI Blocks Addresses I should be able to do a binary compare of EVGA 2G x86 BIOS with equivalent x86 BIOS portion of Mac 285 ROM. If the two x86 BIOS portions are essentially same then this would validate idea that EFI64 ROM is created by getting EFI portion and BIOS ROM portions and then concatentating them together (sewing) with addition of some "extra" headers and CRC check.

Is there anyone out there who understands the details of EFI Boot loader and so can provide guidance of the ROM file structure?

Cheers,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro & Mini Mac)

there is no CRC, bios part of rom must have some predefined checksum (16-bit)

[zebity]

Netkas,

ahh... I thought that the nvflash tool did a check of embedded CRC id against actual ROM prior to allowing that ROM to be loaded into card as protection against loading corrupted ROM.

But it appears you are right. I just mangled up ROM via HexEditor and then ran nvflash over both the original and mangled ROMs and it happily treated both as valid, even though the mangled ones CRC was different.


#nvflash --version evga285m.rom /* clean rom */
NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility (Version 5.80)

Image Size : 152064 bytes
Version : 62.00.58.00.06
~CRC32 : A36A53A8
OEM String : NVIDIA
Vendor Name : NVIDIA Corporation
Product Name : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285

Product Revision : Chip Rev
Device Name(s) : GeForce GTX 285
Board ID : C826
PCI ID : 10DE-05E3
Subsystem ID : 3842-1080
Hierarchy ID : Normal Board
Build Date : 03/06/09
Modification Date : 04/28/09
Sign-On Message : NVIDIA GT200 Bringup

#nvflash --version evga285x.rom /* edited rom */

NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility (Version 5.80)

Image Size : 152064 bytes
Version : 62.00.58.00.06
~CRC32 : 0C3A1C65
OEM String : NVIDIA
Vendor Name : NVIDIA Corporation
Product Name : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285

Product Revision : Chip Rev
Device Name(s) : GeForce GTX 285
Board ID : C826
PCI ID : 10DE-05E3
Subsystem ID : 3842-1080
Hierarchy ID : Normal Board
Build Date : 03/06/09
Modification Date : 04/28/09
Sign-On Message : NVIDIA GT200 Bringup


So CRCs are different but it does not report any problem... I had obviously falsely assumed that CRC was one of problems with being able to "sew" ROMs.

Speculatively it would seem that most of the EFI code in ROM is to "display" the Apple Logo and Spinning Wheel on boot, with primary data vendor id, clock, pci id etc sitting in x86 BIOS portion of the image and extracted from there by EFI image. As what is missed between EFI ROM vs. plain PC ROM and your injectors is boot behavior (ie Logo & Spinning Wheel). This might explain why EFI code section is so large relative to x86 BIOS section, as it is it doing a lot of extra "feel good" stuff, pending receiving signal from the Machine to activate the display.

Cheers,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro & Mini Mac)

[The Rominator]

Speculatively it would seem that most of the EFI code in ROM is to "display" the Apple Logo and Spinning Wheel on boot, with primary data vendor id, clock, pci id etc sitting in x86 BIOS portion of the image and extracted from there by EFI image. As what is missed between EFI ROM vs. plain PC ROM and your injectors is boot behavior (ie Logo & Spinning Wheel). This might explain why EFI code section is so large relative to x86 BIOS section, as it is it doing a lot of extra "feel good" stuff, pending receiving signal from the Machine to activate the display.

Cheers,

Zebity


My fiddling with G92 cards backs this up.

Cards are "run" from PC BIOS.

This is exactly the sort of progress I was hoping to make in my "EFI Renaissance" thread. Once we crack this sewing thing we will be able to add many cards.

[GrnEydDvl]

Got the card back from The Rominator, installed it, and so far everything is working great.

I've tested it in OS X and Vista 32-bit. Runs like a champ. As expected, my flashed card seems to behave just like the OEM Mac gtx285's.

I was slightly nervous shipping the card to Rominator, but he got it done and back to me ASAP. Card shipped out on a Tuesday and I received it back by the following Monday. Thanks Rom!



A fellow member from up North sent me an EVGA GTX285 for "the treatment"...



... Will ship it back to owner and wait to hear how it works for him. Looking forward to another success.

[zebity]

Rominator & others,

ok I got my EVGA GeForce GTX 285 2GB FTW Edition (overclocked) version of card and here are ROM details:


#nvflash --version
NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility (Version 5.80)

Adapter: GeForce GTX 285 (10DE,05E3,3842,1187) H:--:NRM B:01,PCI,D:00,F:00

The display may go *BLANK* on and off for up to 10 seconds during access to the EEPROM depending on your display adapter and output device.

Identifying EEPROM...
EEPROM ID (9D,007B) : PMC Pm25LV512 2.7-3.6V 512Kx1S, page
Reading adapter firmware image...
Image Size : 64512 bytes
Version : 62.00.5E.00.80
~CRC32 : E52B9551
OEM String : NVIDIA
Vendor Name : NVIDIA Corporation
Product Name : GT200 Board - 08920053
Product Revision : Chip Rev
Device Name(s) : GeForce GTX 285
Board ID : C82E
PCI ID : 10DE-05E3
Subsystem ID : 3842-1187
Hierarchy ID : Normal Board
Build Date : 03/26/09
Modification Date : 05/12/09
Sign-On Message : GT200 P892 SKU 0053 VGA BIOS

#nvflash --pciblocks
NVIDIA Firmware Update Utility (Version 5.80)

Adapter: GeForce GTX 285 (10DE,05E3,3842,1187) H:--:NRM B:01,PCI,D:00,F:00

The display may go *BLANK* on and off for up to 10 seconds during access to the EEPROM depending on your display adapter and output device.

Identifying EEPROM...
EEPROM ID (9D,007B) : PMC Pm25LV512 2.7-3.6V 512Kx1S, page
Reading adapter firmware image...
Location Size Type
000000:00FBFF 64512 x86


So first problem is that as predicted board has 512K Bit EEPROM, so I will need to get 2048K chip and do some soldering... I see that the "MX25L2005" 2M Bit chips are available on eBay so I have ordered a few.

Note that both the 2GB FTW board and Mac Edition boards have identical x86 (PC BIOS) ROM sizes (64512 Bytes) .... so it looks like doing a replacement of Mac Edition 1GB x86 portion of ROM with 2GB FTW portion and then putting new EFI'ed ROM back onto 2GB FTW might work. This will mean I get an overclocked 2GB GTX 285 on my Mac Pro...

I have done hex dumps of both ROMs and compared them and the differences appear to be mostly related to version id differences/compile date stamps etc, towards start of ROMs, with bigger differences in main part of ROM. I am assuming that larger differences are due to PhysX code on FTW... I have new ROM image ready to go, now just need to get 2M Bit EEPROMs via post and do some soldering.

I presume that when you flashed "blank" GTX 285 after you soldered on new ROM, you did so via "autoexec.bat" sequence, as GTX would not be bootable as it has no ROM in it...

Cheers,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[The Rominator]

With blank ROM on it, I used an ATI card to flash from.

Specifically, a 2600XT.

BTW...if you have any other Nvidia cards around with EFI, you can test the 2 Gig via the Injector.

I am having a weird issue related to the "-" that OSX is adding before the "2048" in VRAM.

It appears that many 3D apps take this literally, believing there to be no RAM to run. I have tried a few different things and have been unable to figure out an easy solution.

I imagine Apple will fix in future OS update, but I am not so patient.

My 2Gig is the FTW too...nice card but the "2 Gig Bug" is bugging me.

[netkas]

I am assuming that larger differences are due to PhysX code on FTW...

:ROFL:

Since size of bios part is same just replace it.

[zebity]

Rominator and others,

I am having a problem opening up the EGVA 285 board. I have removed all the screws on back of circuit board (x8) and the PCI bracket screws (x 2). But cover does not come off.

I loosened the 3 screws on fan, but they do not appear to be what is holding on cover...

Are there other screws under the "GeForce GTX 285" sticker on the fan enclosure? Or do I need to remove the 2 screws on the top inner edge near the SDI connector tab?

Thanks for guidance.

Cheers,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, Mini Mac)

[The Rominator]

14 total screws

12 on back (the bigger ones, not little ones around GPU)

And 2 near the DVI connectors.

[zebity]

Rominator,

I got 2M Bit EEPROM chip installed into GeForce GTX 285 FTW board, but when I try to flash I get a "No NVIDIA display adaptors found" message.
I am using the inbuilt VGA board on PC to boot to and cannot put second PCI-e board into machine as it only has a single slot...
Is this why I need to boot from machine with Nvidia card in it to get an Nvidia ROM loaded to allow me to bootstrap the Blank 285?
Is is possible to load the new blank 285 ROM without having to have second Nvidia board in the machine?

I do not think the card is totally toasted as it does appear as a PCI device when put into Mac Pro...

see attachment.

Thanks,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro (Early 2008), Mini Mac)

[numnutz2005]

I wouldnt mind having this done for me.....please PM me with what i need to do to get this done and i hope you are still selling the service to people?? I just bought a gtx285 for my windows desktop but would much rather have it in my mac!! get back to me asap my aim is numnutz2005 or i guess pm me on here.

[The Rominator]

Use Free DOS CD on Mac Pro

numnutz2005...don't do AIM....get someone you know to PM me, or post an email addy in some disguised form

[The Rominator]

Rominator,

I got 2M Bit EEPROM chip installed into GeForce GTX 285 FTW board, but when I try to flash I get a "No NVIDIA display adaptors found" message.
I am using the inbuilt VGA board on PC to boot to and cannot put second PCI-e board into machine as it only has a single slot...
Is this why I need to boot from machine with Nvidia card in it to get an Nvidia ROM loaded to allow me to bootstrap the Blank 285?
Is is possible to load the new blank 285 ROM without having to have second Nvidia board in the machine?

I do not think the card is totally toasted as it does appear as a PCI device when put into Mac Pro...

see attachment.

Thanks,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro (Early 2008), Mini Mac)

You need to do in Mac Pro....download the FreeDOS disk. Would be best to use a 2600XT as card to "see" from.

If it still says "No Nvidia Adapters" then you buggered the soldering.

On another note, I have done another 1G GTX285...working great in my 1st Gen. Pity that the 2 Gig FTW one I got sits unused and unloved most of the time, due to OSX "2 Gig Bug"

[zebity]

Hi Rominator,

yes it could be soldering... I took card to my local tv repair shop and it looks like he has done a nice soldering job... but you never know.

In the meantime just to be sure to avoid possibility of getting it wrong a second time I have got a USB ROM Reader/Writer on the way, so will use this to "pre-write" onto another of the 2M EEPROMs (I have 4... just in case) prior to taking board back to repair shop. This way if it still does not work then I know it is because either soldering or disassembly has caused card to be trashed. I hope not.

Expect USB Read/Writer to arrive next week and so will be ready to report progress after that.

Thanks for tip... as I only 285s available (my original GT 8800 and flashed FX 5600 Quadro boards went out to ebay to cover costs of 285s ;-) ) getting two boards into my Mac Pro is not such an easy thing... hence pre-write prior to soldering approach.

It also means I might have some "pre-written" roms, available if experiment to get 2GB 285 FTW works out.

I have read thread on 2GB problem... but this is for standard card in combination with "injectors" isn't it?

I am still hoping that using original ROM might give a different result... if it is signed/unsigned integer problem then this would mean that hacked 4GB Quadro would be no go in Mac Pro until OS X bug if fixed ... but that is the next experiment down the road. It really pisses me off that we are getting "middle" range cards for Mac Pro, rather than top of range ones! After all machines like this are mostly purchased by professional users and not game players... but who I am to comment as I don't run Apple/Nvidia/EVGA/PNY marketing departments..

Cheers,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro (Early 2008), Mini Mac).

[AlienSexGod]

YPity that the 2 Gig FTW one I got sits unused and unloved most of the time, due to OSX "2 Gig Bug"

Hi Romi & Co ... what's the latest on this... why is the thread dead now?

Are there now better alternatives?

Is this because the Mac card is now only $450?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130500

The refurb PC one is now $275 though:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130488

[zebity]

AlienXXXgod,

for me the thread went dead as my 2GB 285 card went dead...

I got original 512k bit rom resoldered into my PC EVGA GeForce 285 2GB FTW card, but it was cactus....

I have now got a replacement card so am ready to do some further testing. This time I should be sure not to damage board in any way to get access to EEPROM chip.

I have just tested my 2M bit chips in ROM Reader/Writer and still have 2 that read ok, so I will open up the replacement board and try again to see if I can get a 2M bit ROM going on the 2GB 285 card.

Also since this thread started I have upgraded to Snow Leopard. I will post on further findings in due course...

Greetings from Oz...

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro (Early 2008), Mini Mac)

[Keita 1]

Hi. I was wondering if anyone could send me a copy of this ROM. I managed to snag a card from a PC friend for $190 (Rent Money was Due) and wanted to flash this one. I have done the EEPROM replacement procedure before(still have the special tools I made) back when I had my old G5 rig and it worked out nicely. If someone could send me a copy of the rom or a link to a place I could download it that would be awesome. I would be glad to report back any the results (if anyone is interested). Thanks in advanced.

P.S.
As you can tell I am new here. So I am still trying to set up my messaging/contact information here but I will have it all up and running in a bit.

[awoland]

...
I got original 512k bit rom resoldered into my PC EVGA GeForce 285 2GB FTW card, but it was cactus....
...


Hi, Zebity!
Could you share with me that the original 512-kbit ROM file? I also spend some experiments on the firmware of my PC EVGA GTX 285 ...

[zebity]

Rominator and others...

Well I got my free replacement for 285 GB FTW card and got 2MB ROM soldered in with the exact same result...

It comes up as "No Nvidia Graphics Card found" when I try flash it. Pretty much the same result as before.

As per Rominator's advise I thought I would try the flash in Mac Pro by booting FreeDOS live CD. However when I do this I end up in DOS but then it does not detect CDROM and so I cannot eject DOS Boot CD and put in a CD with NVFLASH on it to Flash card...

Rominator... sorry about another help request... but how did you get NVFLASH and ROM image onto the FreeDOS boot CD?

If I can get that then I will give this one more try...

Other possibility is that I send you card and you could try one of your ROMs which seem to work while my MX ones don't.

Cheers,

Zebity
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro (Early 2008), Mini Mac)

[The Rominator]

Sorry to hear of more woes.

This is why I don't think the GTX285 is ever going to be an easy flash for everyone, like the 4870 was.

I use Freedos to boot, and it gets me to an "A:" prompt. I then simply hit "C:" to switch to the C drive, which is a partition I made for Bootcamp. This drive is accessible in OSX and Windows, as well as DOS. I keep Nvflash and the ROMs I am using at root level and do all my flashing from this C drive.

When flashing an Nvidia card, I see from at ATI2600, and when I flash an ATI card, I use my trusty 7300GT. Reduces crossflashing errors to 0.

I used to get "No Nvidia Adapter Found" when I was using an old ECS MoBo that had AGP, PCI, and PCIE on it if I didn't have the boot config properly set. (I think I am using 5.71 now, from memory...which are you using?)

When I flash GTX285, I put it in lowest slot, with 2600XT in slot 3.

Keep trying, it isn't impossible. I have done like 4 now. (Still charging a 6 of Stella a piece. ) Still happy to have anyone in LA stop by with an GTX285 for a quick switch and flash.

[10THzMac]

I never was able to figure out how to boot my 08 Pro from some external source, so ran the Windows version of NVFLASH under bootcamp. I was unsuccessful due to small ROM chip (and cluelessness over soldering), but in all other respects my 2G 285 was recognized OK under windows. Maybe you could try that - if it still does not work you maybe really have got the soldering wrong.

Just to remind people, several pages back somewhere I said that my (injected) 2G card was working OK under OS X with a Mac 285 as boot card, at least as far as driving a monitor and running CUDA apps. The fact that the memory comes up as -2G is not causing me problems, though it is clear some apps do have a real problem.

[zebity]

Hi Rominator,

thanks for tip on flashing via Mac Pro.
I used an alternative method, as my Boot Camp partition has EXT2 partition with special stage1/stage2 files to enable AHCI mode and I did not want to have to stuff around with this having put considerable energy into getting AHCI XP up and running.

What I did is so simple... it was stupid of me not to have tried it earlier.

I created a DOS boot floppy image and then copied all my NVIDIA flash files and ROMs onto it via XP VMWare version and then used this to create Bootable CD-ROM.

The steps are:

1. On Mac copy blank 1.44MB floppy image to somewhere on HD
2. Add Floppy to VMWare XP Virtual Machine
3. Start Virtual Machine XP Machine
4. Connect Blank Floppy Image to XP VM
5. Right Click on Floppy and Select format option with DOS Boot box ticked
6. Copy NVIDIA directory to this
7. Disconnect Floppy
8. Using Roxio CD Creator create Boot CD-ROM choosing created boot floppy as bootable image
9. Reboot Machine with 285 installed and select Boot CD to boot from
10. This boots to DOS and a: prompt and I was able to re-flash ROM from here.

The problem with this technique is that as I booted from CD-ROM I cannot save any ROM back to disk... but that was ok in this case as I just wanted to restore ROM. In attempting to flash the board with GTX 285 Mac Edition ROM it complained about incompatible PCI and Board IDs. Overriding with -4 -5 -6 flags forced flash, but this failed...

So I then reflashed with original FTW PC ROM and board is once more usable but still not where I want to be...

But this is another hurdle out of the way.... as now I have a card that is usable in my "bread board" PC and so I can experiment without having to put card into Mac Pro.

Thanks for tip on using Mac Pro to flash blank ROM. The combination of having Motherboard with internal VGA, PCI and PCI-E slot definitely confused NVFLASH utility.

Now working on trying to create working 2GB GTX 285 Mac Card again.....

Cheers,

Zebity.
(MacBook Pro, Mac Pro (Early 2008), Mini Mac)

[gugucom]

I use Freedos to boot, and it gets me to an "A:" prompt. I then simply hit "C:" to switch to the C drive, which is a partition I made for Bootcamp. This drive is accessible in OSX and Windows, as well as DOS. I keep Nvflash and the ROMs I am using at root level and do all my flashing from this C drive.

1. I have been interested in booting a Mac Pro from DOS for flashing for some time. I assume that your Bootcamp partition is FAT32? So you can read stuff from there when you are booting from the FreeDOS CD? I might give that a try.

2. Which would be currently the best PC 285 for flashing? I'm not so interested in big memory and more in keeping the compatibility with the Apple card max. Soldering isn't desirable but possible.

Being in Europe I see no alternative to doing my own flash. I do have a trusted shop that do EEPROM replacements. I'm using the MP4,1 in my sig. So it got EFI64.

[Mitay007]

Can Anybody send me Mac gtx 285 Rom to smitay@mail.ru ? I need it for some experiments.
Or upload it somewhere