[Solved] Possible AWARD Bios Mod for HP Pavilion s3750t?

[mtflynn2011]

All,

I've got an HP Pavilion Slimline s3750t that has a Foxconn Irvine board with an Nvidia nForce 630i chipset.

I've been in the process of updating the BIOS for this board to accept a Core 2 Quad (Q9400). There is only one official BIOS from HP and doesn't seem to support the Core 2 Quads. There is conflicting information from HP on CPU upgrade support. One spot only lists the dual-core CPUs with 65W TDP as potential upgrades. Another spot lists some of the quad core cpus but incorrectly labels the Core2 Quad Q9400 as a 65W part. It's a 95W TDP part the 65W version is a Q9400S.

Long story short....I updated the bios with the Q9400 microcode and when booted into Win10 it works. However, this BIOS has some kind of CPU whitelist. After POST it throws a screen up that says something like "Unsupported CPU installed. Will shut down in a few seconds". And, if left alone it will shut down! However, it is possible to bypass this shutdown by hitting F2 during POST. 

My question is: What in the BIOS is determining that the CPU is "unsupported" and can I remove that check? 


Thanks!

[DeathBringer]

Post screenshots of first (CPU) & third (Mainboard) tabs of CPU-Z with native CPU.

[mtflynn2011]

Here's the CPU-Z output with the NEW CPU (The Quad Core). I don't have the original installed.

The original CPU was a Pentium Dual Core E5300 (SLB9U)

http://ark.intel.com/products/35300/Inte...00-MHz-FSB

[DeathBringer]

OK. I'll try to find code that write string about "usupported CPU".
Can you post a foto of the screen with that error?

[mtflynn2011]

OK. I'll try to find code that write string about "usupported CPU".
Can you post a foto of the screen with that error?

I did take apart the BIOS and found the section that has those errors. It seems to be just a list of the possible user-interface responses to all of the possible responses the BIOS would print to the screen. There were several versions, for different languages, of the same set of responses. 

I'm guessing there is some other "test" that checks the CPU and references that "CPU Unsupported..." text if it fails.


I'm trying to figure out how it identifies the CPU. I've looked for strings for CPUID and processor stepping but found none.....


Thanks for your help.

[DeathBringer]

I've found that info too. But it isn't executable code. It look like text data in tree form for external using.
I still need a foto.

[mtflynn2011]

I've found that info too. But it isn't executable code. It look like text data in three form for external using.
I still need a foto.

Ok, Here's a pic during boot-up. Sorry about the quality.

Here's the text that I got from looking at strings in "_EN_CODE.BIN"

ERROR: Unsupported CPU installed.
PC will automatically power down in a few seconds.

[DeathBringer]

Thx. I'll try to find the function that print this string.

[DeathBringer]

I've found the required code. I see two ways to patch.
1. Add your CPU to whitelist.
2. Disable CPU whitelist.
what do you prefer?

[mtflynn2011]

I've found the required code. I see two ways to patch.
1. Add your CPU to whitelist.
2. Disable CPU whitelist.
what do you prefer?

Whichever one's easier. This is prob the last CPU for this box anyways.