mobilenvidia Posted August 23, 2020 Report Share Posted August 23, 2020 Just received a Lenovo M700 Tiny PC, as the name suggests its tiny It comes with: Pentium G4400T @ 2.9Ghz 2core/threads (Skylake) 4GB DDR4 120GB Samsung 560 SSD I've since added a 500GB M2. SSD Using Display port to HDMI cable to AV amp (VGA out shown in picture not on my model) Win 10 Pro I brought it for a Media player as my Satellite receiver/PVR won't play anything beyond H264, and struggles with some formats The Skylake CPU will decode 4k H265 up to 8 bit colour depth The PVR also had issues with Music files be it MP3 or FLAC, would stutter no matter what always in same place I have over Covid19 lock down converted all our DVDs/Blurays and CD's into digital files, filled in long hours of winter days, there were 100's Anywho the M700 as it is plays the movies I have just dandy, having a CPU just to decode the Video and the AMP decoding the sound, things don't get better visually or sonicaly But I do have some 4k H265 files in 10bit colour depth, and this the Skylake can't decode I would need a Kaby Lake CPU or newer for that So I looked into an upgrade Lenovo how ever made after the M700 a M710q which supports the Kaby Lake where as the M700 does not even though the Chipset (B150) can I rummaged around and found some one who had successfully modded the M700 BIOS with Micro Code for the Kaby Lake CPU that comes with the M710q No instructions, and lots of trial and error, I managed to also insert the Kaby Lake Microcode into the BIOS Did remove the ES Skylake Microcode from the BIOS to make room, but no big deal How ever I don't have a Kaby Lake CPU and they are very expensive to the point a decent CPU would cost me more than the M700 in its entirety So my search goes on for a reasonably priced Kaby Lake Here is a link to a folder I've made up that should contain everything needed to modify your own BIOS It comes with the very latest July 2020 BIOS for the M700 in both Original and Modded forms Files for modding the BIOS even further or grab others to mod another Do your homework, study up, I visited many sites with how to's and not to's You can brick your System with greatest of easy if you do it wrong, so you have been warned !! UPDATE, I've updated the M700 files, to also include m900 Only kept the bare minimum things needed to make a modded BIOS or use the one I'm using Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted August 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2020 Lenovo seem to have released another BIOS not very long after last More 'Security' updates I've updated the archive and have added this newer BIOS version FWKTB1A Modded the new BIOS as previous adding Kaby Lake and removing Skylake ES CPU's BIOS files are kept in 'BIOS" folder, original and modified now in version folders Copy and past into Windows or DOS folder then run updater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted September 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2020 i5-7500T arrived today Put it in the M700 using previous version of modded BIOS and NO go Used latest modded BIOS also NO go Used Haskeer's modded BIOS that he says works but updater has error with BIOS file, don't want to force the update 7500T does get very warm while in the M700 I'll need to do some research on this BUT my G4400T works fine with both modded BIOS versions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted September 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2020 Not having much luck with this, it should work from the outset as the B150M chipset support both Skylake and Kaby Lake CPUs The VBIOS is a version that also supports both CPUs Don't have another motherboard to test the 7500T in either Thinking is back on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted September 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2020 Have made some progress but the i5-7500T still refuses to work. I have managed to find a BIOS file from the Lenovo Thinkstation P310 that will flash to the M700 It has some later OPROM/BIOS drivers than the M700 I also made a modded BIOS with the Kaby Lake Microcode but same old nothing happens other than CPU gets really hot Below screen shot are from M700 on the left and the P310 flashed to the M700 on the right Note the GOP driver also includes support for Coffee Lake CPU's, there have been BIOS mods that allow Coffee Lake CPU's to work on Skylake/Kaby Lake Motherboards (100/200 Chipsets) I could update the Intel NIC and Realtek Audio drivers too, but not getting the 7500T to work is doing my head in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipx Posted September 13, 2020 Report Share Posted September 13, 2020 About to pick up one of these boxes. Following your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted September 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2020 8 hours ago, Slipx said: About to pick up one of these boxes. Following your progress. I have a feeling that to get Kaby Lake support there going to have to be Hardware flashing of the Firmware/BIOS chip Just checking out a Chinese Modding site Even without Kaby Lake support the M700 tiny is a great little Machine, my G4400T CPU not decoding 10bit HEVC is a bummer but it can do it via Software and high CPU use I could live it I'll keep looking about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipx Posted September 14, 2020 Report Share Posted September 14, 2020 Can it handle software decode without stuttering? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted September 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2020 5 hours ago, Slipx said: Can it handle software decode without stuttering? Seems to by its self, I use remotePC to log into the unit, but doing it this way it does stutter, but is trying to display on both TV and via LAN on my laptop Running all by its lonesome no other influences the CPU runs at about 30% SW decoding 10bit x265 4k movies I don't have a 4k TV so 4k movies are getting down sampled, not sure if the SW decoder is doing it or AMP (4k passthrough) or TV (1080p) I'm using MPC HC via K-Lite Codec Pack and use Foobar2000 for audio, this combo seems to give me best audio visual performance But get your self a Kaby Lake CPU if you are worried But remember you need DP out as HDMI only does 4k24, and with DP you still need an active adaptor to get to HDMI 2.0 (DP does do 4k60 but not many TV's have DP in) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted September 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 Hmmm, I"ve not got many (well just one) 4k60 movie in 10bit HEVC with full surround sound (True Dolby HD) I could test Not good news, the G4400T is maxed out and running 90+% and skipping frames merrily 4k60 is out, a 4 core CPU might fare better but that high frame rate needs HW decoding 1080p h265 10bit - 8 channel AAC sound running at 30% CPU, no stutter Conclusion 1080p 10bit with pretty well any audio encoding the Skylake can pretty well software decode 4k60 software decoding not a chance But other than that one movie everything I currently have is watchable but not anything for the future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipx Posted September 16, 2020 Report Share Posted September 16, 2020 Thanks for the feedback. Getting my box this week to test. It might not do HW decoding but it's still an upgrade on my current HTTPC. Next best option is to get an ODROID-N2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted September 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2020 I've ordered an EPROM programmer to have a play with, US$12.40 delivered won't break the bank https://www.ebay.com/itm/264715247642 Hopefully I can attach to the soldered on EPROM and at least get a backup, before I maybe attempt to flash it Not too interested in 8/9th Gen support and its issues of making that work, would be happy with Kaby Lake My other option is find a cheap M710/910 tiny with no CPU and/or RAM, as I can transplant those parts If you want the newer OROM/Driver versions in your BIOS the Lenovo P310 BIOS will flash to the M700 Don't need any mods (only support 6th Gen) Quite strange as the P310 runs on a C236 chipset which is supposedly like the Q170 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted September 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2020 Alrighty, the EPROM programmer has arrived I've have had a quick play and it looks to work just nicely with just attaching the clip to the Chip legs I now need to flash the M700 BIOS to the unit as currently running the P310 BIOS which has newer OPROMS but ME version error at boot up (m700 still boots) Then I'll need to take the BIOS to win-raid.com to confer with Lost_N_BIOS, as adding Kaby Lake is not as easy as adding the Kaby Lake Microcodes to the BIOS Did have a mission to get the BIOS EPROM chip version (very important step) as the programmer can't auto detect exact version, I needed to pick one from about 7 in a pull down menu Not sure if they all would have read the BIOS but best to get the correct chip Note I used ASProgrammer v2, as CH341A Programmer didn't work, well at each read the rom data was different Below some pics to show hows its done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted October 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2020 OK, wasn't getting very far at win-raid.com as very hard to attach or link to files when one can't do either when starting out Have since found an auto BIOS modder mode meant for mainstream motherboards A very good guide can be found at LTT I have made a modded BIOS that also includes the ability to go as far up as Coffee Lake Also found out that Coffee Lake B0 stepping CPUs don't need a pin mod Now I just need the M700 not being used for movie watching to give it a try. I have my doubts, as still working with the M700 BIOS And I think I need to insert the M710 BIOS in there somehow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted October 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2020 OK, that didn't work Now trying to copy the M710 BIOS into my M700 Backup The actual BIOS starts at the 8MB point and goes up to 16MB end of file Copied this and now burning this BIOS to machine This BIOS flashing using the CH341 is rather easy and very convenient as you can't really go wrong Any mistakes as long as you have original BIOS you can just flash that back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted October 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2020 Houston we have Kaby Lake Support, what a mission but I got there Now of course pushing for Coffee Lake support for completeness Not sure if everything is working Will need to put back in the Serial number, look to have lost the Windows key Not sure what else, Display Port 1 works Can boot to BIOS But will give Coffee Lake ago, if fail to back to Kaby Lake version and see what's working/broken/missing/added Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted October 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2020 Coffee Lake BIOS Mod also boots but I dont have SATA support = no boot OS I'll look some more into this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted October 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2020 Boohoohoo Got the Coffee Lake support BIOS to work and boot Had a closer look at what doesn't work SATA and possibly NVMe are not working (well in BIOS anyway) I was going to as a last before going to bed as time was approaching 1am make BIOS and copy in the Intel RSTe OROM from the M700 BIOS Well I did that, but from unplugging the M700 out of TV and move it to laptop under good lighting, the BIOS EPROM is no longer recognised by the programmer, and turning on the M700 it no longer boots up, the fans just spin I'll have to have a closer look at this, but am thinking there might be a death in the family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted October 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2020 Phew that was close I managed to get the EPROM back via using CH341A programmer 1.38 Detect didn't find my exact EPROM so picked one close, seemed to have worked Other version either failed on Verify after writing to EPROM or just didn't have a EPROM close enough for my liking And ASProgrammer didn't work at all any more, opens into a blank box So progress so far i5-7500T showing at boot time 8GB RAM showing at boot time Do get a couple of errors to do with Serial number or lack of SATA not showing in BIOS but BIOS does eventually boot to windows on the SSD on SATA port M.2 SATA not showing in BIOS but does show in Windows Windows Boots and works fine h265 4k Main 10 Quicksync not decoding it Is decoding everything else lower Quote Version 5 (Skylake) The Skylake microarchitecture adds a full fixed-function H.265/HEVC main/8-bit encoding and decoding acceleration, hybrid and partial HEVC main10/10-bit decoding acceleration, JPEG encoding acceleration for resolutions up to 16,000×16,000 pixels, and partial VP9 encoding and decoding acceleration. Version 6 (Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake, Whiskey Lake, Comet Lake) The Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake and Comet Lake microarchitecture adds full fixed-function H.265/HEVC Main10/10-bit encoding and decoding acceleration and full fixed-function VP9 8-bit and 10-bit decoding acceleration and 8-bit encoding acceleration Wondering if the B150 chipset is holding it back I'll plug away a this But the i5-7500T is happy decoding the 4k 10bit stream, running at around 45% CPU, those 2x extra real cores making difference here, but I need Quicksync to work as whole reason for this high risk stuff But other than lack of SATA/M.2 not showing in BIOS all is looking very promising Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted October 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2020 UPDATE h265 4k Main10 decoding fully working well HW decoding Am using Media Player Classic via K-Lite Codec Package Needed to set the 10bit decoding inside MPC K_Lite settings not KLite settings tweak app Quite chuffed, do have some work to do and a how to at some point Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted October 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2020 Currently running Coffee Lake enabled BIOS via M710 Tiny BIOS overwriting M700 section of BIOS backup then written back. So I've enabled support for: All Skylake Desktop CPUs All Kaby Lake CPUs ONLY Coffee Lake B0 stepping CPUs (ie up to 4 core) Celeron/Pentium and i3 as this requires NO pin modding Possibly not supporting Coffee Lake, just going through modded BIOSs saved and can't see the one I did do with Coffee Lake support Not tested as I've not got a Coffee Lake CPU handy. This should also work on the M900 as uses same BIOS but probably a different BIOS backup as using a Q170 chipset I will work on the SATA/M.2 and BIOS issue Not tested Display Port 2, as port 1 works fine (there are rumours only one DP port works) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted October 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 To boot to Windows with a bootable SATA SSD/HDD or M.2 have network boot enabled, in System boot options (if you have the 2x UUID and Serial number errors) M700 will boot go through the network search and then boot from drive Only way I've seen to boot to a drive as drives not showing in BIOS Not having any luck with BIOS and finding a way to have the drives show Both Display Ports work, all USB's look to work, LAN works Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted October 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 M700 + P320 BIOS with CFL CPU support combo flashed to M700 Installs and boots with CPU fan missing/broken error (CPU fans now is thought of as System fan) The BIOS is full of settings to play with, PCIe slots that don't exist, 8x USB ports, Serial port + more Drives now show in BIOS, which is nice BUT 2x Beeps at boot time, boots to windows No Sound CPU stuck in Low Power mode (790Mhz), showing running at 0.5-0.7w of power at idle 2nd LAN port detected but Code 10 error, probably confusing Sound for LAN No sound = killer as not much use watching Silent movies Could possibly live with 800Mhz CPU as HW decoding movies should not stress it Could also probably play with BIOS OROMS/Drivers but too fiddly I'll go back to M710 BIOS and put up with no drives in BIOS, but that is for tomorrow After last nights not sleeping well thinking my M700 was a paperweight I'll sleep good tonight Some examples of what the ThinkStation BIOS looked like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted October 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2020 OK, flashed a M700 backup BIOS (16MB), with M710q BIOS flashed into the M700 BIOS Space (8MB) Ran CoffeTime to add Coffee Lake support Updated the Intel NIC OROM and EFI driver But twice now this build has crahed, once over night and again earlier today in middle of playing a song CPU not stressed at all, running high 30's degC, about 1w So now trialling M700 backup BIOS (16MB) with M710 BIOS flashed into M700 BIOS space (8MB) Loosing CFL support Pays to set all the first options to having Network boot first (you can escape out) then SATA As otherwise quite a clunky crash/reboot I'll let this run for a bit Running the G4400T on stock BIOS ran for weeks with no crashes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipx Posted October 3, 2020 Report Share Posted October 3, 2020 What an interesting thread. Hope you manage to get this stable. Looks like you are making good progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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