OptiPlex 360 380 760 780 960 Xeon LGA 771 E0 1067A Microcode

[William P]

hello I installed a Xeon L5420 on my Optiplex 380 (sff) with the 239's modded Bios (version A07)[url=https://katfile.com/6spphvw2a8ga/380_A07.rar.html][/url]
The cpu is recognized and working problem is the fans are spinning full speed at all times. This is making me crazy.
Anyone have an idea how to solve it? Is it because of the bios version? (already tried cleaning CMOS).
CPU temps seems high to me too (about 70ºC idle)

thanks in advance and thx for your work on keeping this old hardware still running

 Check to sse that you don't have a wire or something under the heatsink shroud keeping the cooler form contatcing the CPU. The high temp is why the fan is running fast.

[MikeZelaya21]

This is an update since I created my original post...

I'm writing about the following:

1. DeathBringer
2. Genius239
3. What I'm trying to do
4. Dell BIOS HDR flashing options that did not work
5. Dell BIOS HDR flashing option that worked

The information I'm including here may be common knowledge to many of the people on this site, but I'm writing about it as a public service announcement, mainly for the benefit of those who may be new to these processes and/or tools.


1. Deathbringer

I'd like to thank you for creating/managing this site. Without it, many of us would not be able to update our systems so we can use newer processors and/or microcodes. You are quick to reply to posts and to suggest solutions that make sense. Thank you for all the work you do!


2. Genius239

I'd like to thank you for creating/managing the BIOS HDR files on your site. I don't know why Avast Antivirus considered the old file I downloaded from your site ("optiplex 760_771_a16.rar") to be infected. The new HDR file listed on your website ("760_A16.rar") worked great!


3. What I'm trying to do

I have an older Dell OptiPlex 760, and I wanted to upgrade the processor to an Intel Xeon because it would be much faster than any Dell-supported processor on that PC. A used Intel Xeon processor compatible with the Dell 760 is fairly inexpensive, so this upgrade really made sense in terms of price/performance to extend the life of the system. The Dell 760 uses a BIOS, unlike most newer computers which use an UEFI, and my Dell 760 already had the Dell BIOS version A16 installed, which is the latest release available from Dell. But I had 3 problems to resolve before I could use a Xeon processor on my Dell 760: (1) the Dell BIOS A16 version I had installed on my Dell 760 did not support any Intel Xeon processors, (2) I needed to install a Xeon processor that was compatible with my Dell 760, I could not install just any Xeon processor, and (3) the Dell 760 also uses an LGA 775 processor socket on the motherboard, while the Intel Xeon I wanted requires an LGA 771 processor socket on the motherboard.

In order to use a Xeon processor on my Dell 760, I would need to:

1. Flash a modified BIOS HDR file that included the microcode for the Xeon processor onto my Dell 760. I would need to modify that HDR file myself, or use an HDR file modified by someone else. I decided to use a modified BIOS HDR file for my system from Genius239's site;

2. Use a Dell 760-compatible Xeon processor. An online search will produce some good results for Xeon processors that will work with your specific system;

3. Use an 771-to-LGA 775 adapter sticker that allows me to use LGA 771 processors on LGA 775 motherboards with a minor modification of the LGA 775 socket (removal of 2 small plastic tabs). An online search will produce some good results for sites that sell these stickers;

I downloaded a modified BIOS HDR file for my system from Genius239's site, I purchased a Xeon processor compatible with the Dell 760 on Ebay, I bought an 771-to-LGA 775 adapter sticker on Ebay, and I modified the LGA 775 socket on my motherboard by using a utility knife to carefully remove the 2 plastic tabs.

All I needed to do now was to flash the modified BIOS HDR file, and install my new Xeon processor with the adapter sticker, and I would be on my way.


4. Dell BIOS HDR flashing options that did not work

One of the easiest ways to flash a Dell BIOS HDR file is to use the Dell Client Configuration Utility (DCCU). DCCU is a Windows application published by Dell. The latest DCCU version I could find was Version 3.1.1230, A00, which was last updated on 21 Mar 2014. This version is also known as "DCCU_3.1_MR1". My Dell 760 was running the latest version of Windows 7 64-bit (including the latest updates), so DCCU_3.1_MR1 was the version I decided to use. I tried using DCCU_3.1_MR1 to flash the BIOS HDR file I downloaded from Genius239's site, but I was unable to flash the file. DCCU_3.1_MR1 complained about some file being used by another process, or something along those lines, and the flashing of the BIOS HDR file failed repeatedly. I then proceeded to download DCCU Version 3.1.1128, A02, which was an older version last updated on 03 Nov 2011, but it also failed. Now I had to look for other BIOS HDR file flashing alternatives.

There is another popular Dell BIOS HDR file flashing tool called dellBiosUpdate. dellBiosUpdate is a linux application. It used to be available for Ubuntu, but it is no longer available for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS "Bionic Beaver", the current stable release. I found a blog about someone who suggested booting an older Ubuntu 14.04 LiveCD version, installing the Ubuntu package (smbios-utils) that includes the dellBiosUpdate tool on the LiveCD instance, and then flashing the BIOS HDR file. I tried his suggestions a couple of times, but they also did not work. So I kept looking for a file flashing solution.


5. Dell BIOS HDR flashing option that worked

I installed Ubuntu 14.04 LTS on my system (you can do this on another HDD/SSD/USB drive, if you don't want to use your main SSD/HDD), then I installed the Ubuntu package (smbios-utils) that includes the dellBiosUpdate tool. 

Using a root account on the Ubuntu 14.04 installation and the Ubuntu Terminal app with root privileges, I typed the following commands:

$ sudo apt update

$ sudo apt install smbios-utils

I copied the modified BIOS HDR file that included the microcode for my processor to a memorable directory/folder (such as Downloads), then typed the following command:

$ sudo dellBiosUpdate --override-version-check -u -f ~/Downloads/modifiedbios.hdr

where "Downloads" is the name of the directory/folder I selected, and "modifiedbios.hdr" is the name of my modified BIOS HDR file.

The dellBiosUpdate command also has a reboot option ("--reboot"), but it did not work for me. I recommend typing the command as I listed it above, waiting for a confirmation that the BIOS HDR file is ready to be flashed, waiting 1 or 2 minutes, and then rebooting the system manually. 

That's how I was able to flash the BIOS HDR file I downloaded from Genius239's site, and get my Dell 760 working with an Intel Xeon with no known issues. My Dell 760 is much faster now, and I could not be happier. 


Thank you to all who made this possible!

I did the method without being successful in all the modes my 760 is sff and it tells me directory error

Enviado desde mi Redmi Note 5 Pro mediante Tapatalk

[Gaou]

Guys happy new year.

Just a quick question if anybody is still following this post. I got my hands on a optiplex 360 with a Q8300 installed and i have a x5450 laying around from a project never happened. So i want to install the xeon in the optiplex. I was just wondering if i install the firmware will the optiplex work with the current cpu or every cpu needs it own firmware?

Thanks in advance Guys

[William P]

You will need the socket or CPU locating notch modified. Notching the CPU is preferred. The pins next to the new notches are non functional anyway.
Then you will need the Xeon CPU tape adapter to switch a couple pins to change the CPU from LGA771 to LGA775 configuration.
On the Opti 360 I would consider converting it to an Opti 380 first. They both can support 8GB RAM. But 2x4GB low density DDR2 is very rare and expensive. Almost non existent used due to FBDIMMs being used in that size back then.
The 2x4GB DDR3 low density x64 RAM is fairly common. The Opti 380 MB can be found for about $12. Much less than the $80 cost of a DDR2 kit.
There is a known issue with the network drivers needing to be manually loaded separately.
In the MT version the Zotac GTX1050 Mini is a drop in GPU.
Even with 8GB RAM some benchmarks will choke with the 4GB 1050Ti GPUs due to texture caching in system RAM.
The MSI 3GB GTX1060 OCV1 can be modded to fit and with a Dell T3400 375W PSU works very well.
But if 4GB and an older single slot GPU suits your purposes then the 360 version will be just fine