PCIe device boot

It would be nice to get an official list from Dell that includes 1. Systems that support NVMe boot, 2. Systems that have an upcoming BIOS update to add support, 3. Systems that will never work and never get a BIOS upgrade.

It would be nice to have a few lists regarding the UEFI BIOS... and its capabilities.

There is no list however which mentions what systems have other technologies such as an UEFI Boot or what systems have SecureBoot...

Therefore I can't really see one being released specifically for NVMe.

As a rough guess I guess we can use the SMBIOS version as a guide. If the system has an SMBIOS of 2.7 there is no SecureBoot and no NVMe support. If the SMBIOS is 2.8 these technologies will likely be available.

A small clarification to your guidelines, my T3610 has SMBIOS 2.7, it DOES have Secure Boot, but it doesn't have NVMe boot.

Secure boot UEFI 2.3.1 came out in 2012 (Windows 8.0)

Windows 7 does not support native UEFI booting without a Compatibility Support Module(CSM). As a result, system compatibility is limited and varies by vendor. In order to properly boot Windows 7 from an NVMe SSD, your system must support loading UEFI drivers when the Compatibility Support Module (CSM) is enabled.

NVME booting (as an option in bios) came out much later.

Using an NVMe device to boot a computer system requires the following:

   A system BIOS configured to enable uEFI* version 2.3.1 AND support NVMe boot

   A system based on an Intel® Z97 or X99 Chipset

   A 64-bit operating system that supports uEFI; Windows* 7, 8 or 8.1

   For Windows 7, the CSM in the system BIOS might need to be set

   The Intel® NVMe driver or driver from manufacturer

Boot Guide for NVMe* PCIe* SSD

http://goo.gl/C9YXHB

Most of your information is correct.  However, for future audiences looking at this post I would like to point out some things.

The guide you referenced talks about 4 different chipsets that support NVMe boot.  It gives examples for motherboards that use these chipsets:  H77 (with a BIOS dating back to 2013), Z87, Z97, and X99 chipsets.  Also, that guide is old, there are newer chipsets that support it as well, such as the Z170.

For older motherboards, it all comes down to the motherboard vendor and if they will ever update the BIOS to support NVMe boot.

In my case, with my Dell T3610, I'm just going to quit asking, and assume Dell will never update the BIOS to support NVMe boot.

I agree with nnellanser on this.

It's up to DELL to provide an update, and I really don't see that happening.

What truly annoys me is what ever rationale DELL has for not providing the necessary BIOS updates they did take the time and effort to prevent me from doing it myself with their signed firmware update.

I'm quite sure I own the machine.  A mother board jumper or alike that turns off the signed firmware requirement seems like an acceptable option.  Since that wasn't made available, DELL should feel obligated to provide some solution to us for NVMe support.

I suspect DELL feels like that solution is to buy a new machine.  So I when that time comes, due to this experience, it will NOT be a new DELL.  Which is a shame really, since I've used them for years.

There are no technical reasons that prevent Dell from updating the BIOS so I assume they think that the machine has already exceeded its lifespan. However, with Moore's law coming to an end, there is no sufficient reason for me to throw away my T5600 after 3 years. I would even be willing to pay for a BIOS update.

It is truly upsetting that there is no physical way to turn off the signed firmware update. That will be a sufficient reason to look for a better arrangement when time finally comes to buy a new machine.

I have a programming device.

If I read the data.

Can someone add nvme module?

the motherboard has two bios circuit.

Which one is right?

U_BIOS2 U_SPI2 -> mxic MX25L6406EMI-12G

U_BIOS1 U_SPI1 -> mxic MX25L3206EM2I-12G

What's the difference ?

Can I use these Windows 10 64 bit ?

Dell Precision T5600 E-Rev BIOS T5600E12.bin

Dell Precision T5600XL E-Rev BIOS X5600E12.bin

www.dell.com/.../DriversDetails

www.dell.com/.../DriversDetails

You're wrong again SpeedStep.  Please stop responding, you're not helping at this point and I don't know why you keep replying with the same information over and over again.

Many people have successfully patched their older BIOS for boards running Intel chipsets from series 6 and newer.  The link to a guide that describes that process is here.  Dell uses only signed firmware updates, so we are not allowed to patch our Dell BIOS using this method.

Please stop replying unless you have something new to say.

You're not offering anything new to this discussion, please stop replying.

Here's exactly where my research has gotten me:  It's up to your motherboard manufacturer to release an updated BIOS that supports NVMe boot.  You may never get that update from your motherboard manufacturer, it's up to them if they want to work on and release a new BIOS with NVMe boot support.

Here is a link to the Intel NVMe Boot guide that SpeedStep continues to post.  It lists examples of NVMe boot, using official BIOS releases, on the following chipsets:  H77, Z87, Z97, X99.  This document is quite old.  There are new chipsets that work as well, such as the Z170.

It is possible for the X79 chipset to work.  Asus mentioned on their DIY blog that "Internal testing has shown success though ( not validated ) with X79..."

Lastly, if you are technically inclined, you can patch the BIOS yourself and add NVMe boot support.  More information found here.  On my Dell T3610 system, Dell forces me to use signed firmware updates.  That means I am not able to patch the BIOS myself using this guide.

"The BIOS can be manually patched for boards running Intel chipsets from series 6 and newer.  "

Dell uses "Dell bios" not "The Bios"

There has never been a "Dell BIos patch tool" where you choose features.

Therefore I am not wrong and the "link" to a tool is irrelevant.

"However, since Dell uses only signed firmware updates, we are not allowed to patch our own BIOS."  

(uEFI 2.3.1 bios certificates come from Microsoft Not Dell)

Most all vendors that use Class 2.3.1 (Windows 8, 8.1, 10 bios) and this it s not exclusive to Dell.

The statement about signed firmware updates is therefore inaccurate at best.

Dell could easily release a BIOS update to support this, but they have not commented and we have not found any news that they will do so.

Dell won't update the bios to add a feature to series 6 chipsets and later released systems and therefore they won't comment so its not likely to be happening ever. The information about Single Root I/O virtualization (SRIOV) isn't covered in the "tool" for "the bios"

I removed Bios1 Chip "mx25l3206e m2i-12g" and read programming device.

Installed bios version A14.

NO | FileName | GUID |Location| Size |Type|
+---+---------------+------------------------------------+--------+------+----+
|000| |17088572-377F-44EF-8F4E-B09FFF46A070|00372668|01A018|RAW |
|001|TcgPei2 |95038890-E1C9-4764-804C-F0852D44B621|0038C680|0006D8|PEIM|
|002|PeiMain |B1AEE818-B959-487B-A795-16C2A54CB36E|0038CD58|003ED0|PEIC|
|003|CORE_PEI |92685943-D810-47FF-A112-CC8490776A1F|00390C28|009632|PEIM|
|004|DellSystemIdCon|DE8A5A2C-D788-47FB-A0B5-20CA8E58DFEC|0039A260|000514|PEIM|
|005|CpuPeiBeforeMem|1555ACF3-BD07-4685-B668-A86945A4124D|0039A778|000740|PEIM|
|006|NBPEI |79AA6086-035A-4AD9-A89A-A6D5AA27F0E2|0039AEB8|003638|PEIM|
|007|WdtPei |1D88C542-9DF7-424A-AA90-02B61F286938|0039E4F0|000856|PEIM|
|008|PchInitPeim |FD236AE7-0791-48C4-B29E-29BDEEE1A838|0039ED48|0044D0|PEIM|
|009|DellErrorHandle|5924BE03-9DD8-4BAB-808F-C21CABFE0B4B|003A3218|000704|PEIM|
|010|DellEcConfigPei|FB8415B7-EA7E-4E6D-9381-005C3BD1DAD7|003A3920|0003A8|PEIM|
|011|DellSioPolicyCo|E747D8FF-1794-48C6-96D7-A419D9C60F11|003A3CC8|0003B6|PEIM|
|012|DellFlashUpdate|A27E7C62-249F-4B7B-BD5C-807202035DEC|003A4080|000AAF|PEIM|
|013|PeiEcIoDriver |30AC235F-5D39-4585-8C29-F357C0C5885E|003A4B30|0007F8|PEIM|
|014|DellMfgModePeiD|81F0BCF2-F1AD-4DDE-9E5B-75EB3427ABC4|003A5328|0006E1|PEIM|
|015|DellSbConfigPei|E9B60F94-7A0B-48CD-9C88-8484526C5719|003A5A10|001EE0|PEIM|
|016|SpdSmbusAccessP|51C67626-0BD9-4823-A8B8-9F61EAB5F91A|003A78F0|0007EC|PEIM|
|017|IntelLtsxPei |6B789215-B063-45FD-868A-668A49F00EC6|003A80E0|0024B2|PEIM|
|018|BitSmartBiosApi|8205B4D5-283A-48DB-939F-9F5A70AE5393|003AA598|000732|PEIM|
|019|QpiandMrcInit |5C08C7C8-24C2-4400-9627-CF2869421E06|003AACD0|0411D0|PEIM|
|020|OpPresence |4FE772E8-FE3E-4086-B638-8C493C490488|003EBEA0|00039E|PEIM|
|021|SbPowerOffPei |795477D9-1786-4D8A-8B89-3FA7623F7EF8|003EC240|000D38|PEIM|
|022|DellAcLossPei |E9A60F94-7A8B-45BA-9C32-3485526B5716|003ECF78|000528|PEIM|
|023|TcgPei |34989D8E-930A-4A95-AB04-2E6CFDFF6631|003ED4A0|0013EE|PEIM|
|024|CmosManagerPeiS|7D7789CD-FD20-4C05-A579-91253D5E3D9E|003EE890|001B5C|PEIM|
|025|Capsule |FAC2EFAD-8511-4E34-9CAE-16A257BA9488|003F03F0|000EEC|PEIM|
|026|DellAudioConfig|336CDDEA-AB28-4C4C-9F64-5FE0391FEBB8|003F12E0|00067E|PEIM|
|027|AudioPei |A0D7E505-5DD4-4459-A4D3-36119563C4F9|003F1960|000A96|PEIM|
|028|HeciPei |9CF30325-DC5C-4556-A8B0-74215C5F7FC4|003F23F8|000D98|PEIM|
|029|DellAmtConfigPei|49EAB1A6-AF2F-4064-9B29-D9655B3B8DED|003F3190|00056A|PEIM|
|030|AlertStandardFo|3E4817FD-2742-4351-B59F-91493280329C|003F3700|000B76|PEIM|
|031|StartWatchDog |5479E09C-2E74-481B-89F8-B0172E388D1F|003F4278|000638|PEIM|
|032|PchSmbusArpDisa|643DF777-F312-42ED-81CC-1B1F57E18AD6|003F48B0|000B40|PEIM|
|033|SaInitPeim |FD236AE7-0791-48C4-B29E-29BDEEE1A811|003F53F0|00055E|PEIM|
|034|DellVideoConfig|F665C81D-EFDE-4B5F-88E8-2160B748D2B4|003F5950|0003AE|PEIM|
|035|WarmBootPei |B178E5AA-0876-420A-B40F-E39B4E6EE05B|003F5D00|0004D0|PEIM|
|036|DellTcgPei2 |70E65212-F3AD-495F-B3A1-7A63542ED7D5|003F61D0|00106D|PEIM|
|037|CpuPei |2BB5AFA9-FF33-417B-8497-CB773C2B93BF|003F7240|004F5E|PEIM|
|038|SmmS3 |0997E770-756E-4139-BF3F-7FC2A308177E|003FC1A0|000548|PEIM|
|039|S3Resume |EFD652CC-0E99-40F0-96C0-E08C089070FC|003FC6E8|0016BA|PEIM|
|040| |FD44820B-F1AB-41C0-AE4E-0C55556EB9BD|003FDDA8|000228|FRFM|
|041|OEMPEI |6E59DF06-62D3-40B0-82B5-175CF84A94E4|003FDFD0|00056E|PEIM|
|042|DellNbEcPei |A300DE22-BC62-4356-8034-826E59856F7E|003FE540|00051D|PEIM|
|043| |1BA0062E-C779-4582-8566-336AE8F78F09|003FEA60|0015A0|SECC|
+---+---------------+------------------------------------+--------+------+----+
| Bytes Free : 0B2620 (713 KB) Bytes Used : 08D9E0 (566 KB) |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Total Bytes Free : 0B2620 ( 713 KB) Total Bytes Used : 34DA20 (3382 KB)

This is MMTOOL report file.

I removed and i read the bios2 "MX25L6406E MI-12G later.

I do not see "CSMCORE" bios1

I like where you're going with this pkjuha.

The method to patch the BIOS yourself will probably not work with our Dell systems.  I'm just taking a guess here, but I would say that the Dell BIOS is probably very customized and won't match 1:1 with the instructions.

Assuming you did get it patched, and re-wrote the chip with the new info, I'm guessing due to Dell's use of signed firmware updates that it won't boot to that newly flashed chip.

I agree again with nnellasner.

I like that you're attempting the one thing I wasn't really able to try.  I assume you're following Fernando's guide on this...?

There was plenty of space to insert the NVMe EFI module.  All the steps were straight forward and I was successful creating a new EFI BIOS without too much trouble, except for getting it flashed back to the chip.

Another user there, "Coderush" I think seemed to imply that by using a hardware flasher this would be possible to bypass the signed firmware update.  Since you'd essentialy be flashing a valid dell certificate back and most of the security was around preventing the update.

But, I too couldn't help but suspect that somewhere it would detect the change and prevent the machine from booting, and I'm not really in a position to risk that.

But I'm excited to hear how this goes for you.  If you get it to work I'll order my flash tool right away! :)  I have 6 to do!

Good luck pkjuha!