ASUS Sabertooth X99 pad-file issue

[gravufo]

System

• Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X99
• BIOS Version: 4101
• GPU: AMD RX480
• CSM is turned off. Make sure to confirm this in the BIOS and not with GPU-Z or similar since it can be inaccurate
• 4G decoding is enabled. Make sure to confirm this in the BIOS and not with GPU-Z or similar since it can be inaccurate
• UEFIPatch is applied (see Using UEFIPatch for more information). On some motherboards DSDT Patching is also needed
• I have read Common issues (and fixes)

Description

First off, thanks a lot for this repo and all the effort put into the wiki. It was really helpful!

I have successfully flashed a BIOS with the ReBarSmiDxe module as well as the NvramSmiDxe patch (required for X99).
However, I end up with no video at POST and I can't see anything if I manage to enter the UEFI settings (similar to issue #4 ).
I realise that the UEFIPatch was also trying to patch my PciBus with the patch PciBus | Don't downgrade 64-bit BARs to 32-bit, which is probably what is causing the no video issue.

Unfortunately, if I apply that patch whether it's through UEFIPatch, UEFITool or even MMTool 5.x (can't use 4.x on my BIOS), it seems to add a new pad-file that wasn't there before:

I have even tried messing around with the hex editor, however I can only do that on the extracted uncompressed version of the module, so it ends up being the same problem at the end.

Any idea how I could proceed to fix that?

[ZOXZX]

I've used another version of mmtool to replace pcibus and now bios is free of padding issue, but beware:
on x79 that version caused CPU voltage to be fixed at 1.5V. Thankfully, it's under water cooling and I've seen the voltage error in BIOS and shut down the system.
Maybe there was some config error or it's x79 specific, but use it at your own risk and check immediately for cpu voltage ...
asus.rom.zip

[gravufo]

I've used another version of mmtool to replace pcibus and now bios is free of padding issue, but beware: on x79 that version caused CPU voltage to be fixed at 1.5V. Thankfully, it's under water cooling and I've seen the voltage error in BIOS and shut down the system. Maybe there was some config error or it's x79 specific, but use it at your own risk and check immediately for cpu voltage ... asus.rom.zip

Thanks for the response! So the zip you provided is for which board? Highly doubt I can use it if it's a BIOS for another model.
1.5V on CPU is quite high, even with watercooling, it will degrade the CPU pretty fast. I am on air cooling, so not willing to risk running at 1.5V.

[ZOXZX]

It is for your board, what else?
Voltage problem was with x79 and mmtool that supports both 4 and 5, maybe it's not present here ...

[gravufo]

Thanks, opening it in UEFITool NE does show that the pad-file is not there, so it looks pretty good (I'm assuming both the PciBus and the NvramSmiDxe patches were applied).
That's really helpful! I'm not sure when I'll have time to test/flash it, but I'll report back as soon as I do.

[AiSuperBot]

The cause of the added pad file is that after the patch you applied the module has changed his size causing it to be unaligned, hence needing to add a pad file to realign the other module after the patched one.

There is more than one solution to this:
Try modding an older BIOS version.
Try compressing the module and the insert it to the BIOS (@Sweet_Kitten’s solution).
If you have more than one module to patch, try patching them (like DSDT or whatever, while ignoring the added pad file) and if you have enough luck it might fix the pad file issue (this solution counts on other modules change of size as a fix).

I went through the same issue. Here is the post that concludes all the process, in case this would be helpful to you.

[Ruffy47]

Hey I tried to modify the BIOS file from Asus. I don´t own this board and can´t test it, but you can try if you want. I added the NVStrapsRebar module too.

https://easyupload.io/yq82fu

[madihaz]

For my Asus X99-A, after many tries of different suggestions scattered all over the place (including this discussion and other places), using MMTool in different permutations with UEFITool... what worked for me was:

UEFITool / UEFIPatch 0.28.0

0. Note: I've also saved my overclock BIOS profile to USB drive from the BIOS tools, before I started flashing anything, to be sure the settings I was using before were stable and bootable...
1. First patch the BIOS using UEFIPatch and the patches.txt from https://github.com/xCuri0/ReBarUEFI/wiki/Using-UEFIPatch. For me it patched PciBus and NvramSmiDxe.
2. Open patched CAP with UEFITool.
3. For each patched module do "Extract as is..." into a .fss file. For me it was NvramSmiDxe.fss and PciBus.fss.
4. Close UEFITool and reopen it with original unmodified BIOS CAP file.
5. Find again the modules NvramSmiDxe and PciBus and for both do:
   a. Right click on the module and click Delete.
   b. Right click the module right above the deleted module and click "Insert after..." and selected previously extracted module (NvramSmiDxe.fss and PciBus.fss accordingly)
6. UEFITool should now show two entries for the same module, one with "Insert" and second with "Remove"
7. Add ReBarDxe.ffs as described in wiki using Insert After method https://github.com/xCuri0/ReBarUEFI/wiki/Adding-FFS-module
8. Save the CAP and use ASUS flashback to flash the BIOS.
9. During first boot go to BIOS settings and restore your Overclock profile from USB drive, then go and enable "Above 4G Decoding" and disable CSM
10. Boot into windows, run ReBarState.exe, then reboot.

[gravufo]

Just to report back, I was unable to flash @ZOXZX BIOS file, it simply wouldn't work with flashback. Not sure what it didn't like from that file, but it didn't.
In the end, I spent a lot more time to figure out what was the problem and it turns out that it's the NvramSmiDxe module that was larger after the patch + compression thus causing a pad-file addition.
What I did in the end was to edit that module's UI text (where it's written NvramSmiDxe) to simply remove the text. This made it smaller so tha the compressed version fit in the same spot as the unmodified one.
The BIOS now contains the following patches:

# PciBus | Don't downgrade 64-bit BARs to 32-bit (by @Mak3rde)
3C1DE39F-D207-408A-AACC-731CFB7F1DD7 10 P:C70605000000833E067506C70604000000BE01000000:909090909090833E067506909090909090BE01000000

# AMI APTIO V NvramSmiDxe (Socket 2011-v3 MB: C612, X99) NVRAM whitelist unlock
54B070F3-9EB8-47CC-ADAF-39029C853CBB 10 P:0F84B300000041F6:90E9B300000041F6

as well as the new RebarDxe module.

After flashing, I was able to enable Rebar at level 32 (maximum) and everything works as it should.

Before that, I took a chance and flashed the one with the pad file and that was breaking my AMD HD Audio. Now that the pad file is fixed, it seems to have fixed that issue.

For those that want the file (including the two patched modules I used), it's here:
X99ST.zip

Here are some screenshots that show it works:

[Koekieezz]

Just to report back, I was unable to flash @ZOXZX BIOS file, it simply wouldn't work with flashback.

@gravufo The thing is with old bios flashback to work, you need to make a 2-3GB partition of the flash drive and format it as FAT32, since there are many reports/findings about "i use my crappy 2gb/4gb drive formatted at FAT32 and it works" made me think that it is just how the old bios flashback recognize if the file is in the partition, and it was proven by some tests that it does work (like for one example, the Flash drive is 32gb, they make a small 1/2gb partition and format it as FAT32, and put the renamed bios file, it works immidiately). So any partition below 4GB + FAT32 = bios flashback will certainly work.

Anyway, i did a Sabertooth X99 bios mod but never been used yet, it has some updates to some dxe modules, latest intel ME, and latest Microcodes:

You can compare that the pad file is 1:1 with the original stock bios:

if you don't mind, please try this using bios flashback: X99ST.zip, and if you don't mind, make a screenshot similar to this:

[gravufo]

@Koekieezz I know how to do BIOS flashback. That was not the problem. The problem was clearly the file since I managed to flash my own custom version using the same USB key.
Why are you providing another BIOS? I don't need one since I just flashed one that is fully working with both patches and the rebar module and is based on the latest version of the BIOS from ASUS for this board. The updates you did to the DXE modules and microcode, where do they come from?

[Koekieezz]

The updates you did to the DXE modules and microcode, where do they come from?

I did update it myself. The bios was made from stock downloaded bios, and did the rebar mod + patch + dxe modules update.

[Archpoison]

Hey @gravufo,

Any chance you could guide me through this on discord or something? I've got the same username on all platforms.

I've got an Intel Arc B580 with a Sabertooth X99 and a i7-5930K that I plan to upgrade to an Intel Xeon E5-2687W v4, but I need this to actually get any use out of my GPU and I'm worried reading through all this that perhaps I might not be technical enough to do it alone.

I've modded a few things in the past so I'm not super scared off, but I'd love a step by step guide or maybe to call and have you walk me through it.

Thanks!

[gravufo]

Hey @Archpoison it's actually super easy since I did the hard part for you already :D
All you need to do is download the BIOS I posted above (https://github.com/user-attachments/files/24276619/X99ST.zip), extract the .CAP file and put it on a USB key*.
Then you can simply plug the USB key in the appropriate port on the back ports of the motherboard (should be marked in white for BIOS flashback).
Turn off the PC and then press the bios flashback button for a few seconds until the light starts blinking.
It will keep blinking for multiple minutes and then turn off completely once it's complete.
If the light flashes and then turns solid, see the note below.
After that, you can simply boot the PC again and you should be good to go on the bios side (though you still need to run the executable you can get from this repo to enable Rebar in Windows).

Notes:

• The USB key needs to be formatted in a specific way for it to work. You need an MBR (not GPT) partition table and then create a small FAT32 partition (~1-2 GB) and no other partition. Then you can put the file on it (ensure the name stays X99ST.CAP).
• I highly recommend booting into the BIOS before flashing and using the Profile feature to save your current BIOS settings to your USB key so that after flashing you can simply restore your previous BIOS settings (because they will all be reset after flashing).
• You are clearly aware of the risks but just in case: I am not responsible of whatever happens to your motherboard!

[Archpoison]

Can confirm this works and I am SUPER stoked to be able to actually use my graphics card for this work computer!!

Thanks a ton!!