Adding software cooling to the bios

TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
edited June 2003 in Hardware
I have a kr7 that I have always added software cooling to at the OS level with wpcredit and wpcrset.

Didn't you tell me once you had a tool that would build a additonal nin file or soemthing that would actually be flashed into the bios itself instaed of me always having to do wpcrset?

Does it work also for say a ECS MB? When making the mod using wpcrset to teh ecs it adds like FIVE minutes to the boot time. The cooling worked but... not worth the 5 minutes.

Tex

Comments

  • TmodTmod
    edited June 2003
    What you are referring to is a ISA file that is built using the info from WPCredit. The file is then embedded into the bios as a ISA file.

    At boot up the file is executed along with everything else the bios does and no software is needed. I did come across a problem with that on my KT7 board in that when I tried to disable the cooling bits it wouldn't do it.

    What we came to the conclusion of is that that particular code was executed BEFORE the code in the bios and the bios code rewrote it.

    So yes the cooling bits should be able to be automatically turned on when the system boots up without WPCredit.
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited June 2003
    Be gentle with me please but... (grin) whats a ISA file.

    Tex
  • TmodTmod
    edited June 2003
    When we make a ISA file it will contain that data that the bios needs to implement the proper code to enable the cooling bits. So the ISA file is nothing more than a module that is placed into the bios to enable the cooling bits.

    It is sort of the same thing as the PCI modules which your RAID is.

    Here is a code for my KT7 if I remember correctly.

    pushad
    mov eax,0x80000050
    mov dx,0xcf8
    out dx,eax
    mov dx,0xcfc
    in eax,dx
    and eax,0xBF7FFFFF
    or eax,0x00000000
    out dx,eax
    popad
    ret
  • TmodTmod
    edited June 2003
    If you are interested in this idea I will need to know the the following.

    The lowest register number in the string using WPCredit.

    The Unmodified Hex string

    The Modified Hex string
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited June 2003
    I like it ! Will be back tomorrow.

    Tex
  • TmodTmod
    edited June 2003
    Ok this is what I will need from you. I need you to run WPCredit and go to the registers that you changed. I need this done in 32 bit mode. I will need the data string that this produces both before changing it and after. I will also need to know what the first offset of that string is, If there is two then I need both.

    Here is a image of WPCredit on my KT7 board. Notice the areas colored with what is suppose to be red? The one at the top is the button for 32 bit mode and the lower center is the data string that I will need from you.

    As you can see my lowest offset was 50
    My hex code prior to modding was F4 EB F4 16 (Can't see it as it is changed)
    My hex code after modding is B4 6B F4 16
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited June 2003
    Cool! I am out of the house and just checking in. I will get this for ya later and....

    Can you do this for an ecs k7s5a MB? For some reason the cooling bits work but ... after I install wpcrset the boot process takes like 7 minutes. The cooling seems to work ok but.... I mean crap on that !

    Tex
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited June 2003
    Is there anything like this for original nForce motherboards?

    NS
  • TmodTmod
    edited June 2003
    To verify that something like this is possible you would need either a module for WPCredit or the white papers for that chipset which I doubt are available. I will look into it though.
  • TheSourceTheSource
    edited June 2003
    i have a question: how does wpcrset work?
  • TmodTmod
    edited June 2003
    Wpcrset is a little utility that works in conjuction with WPCredit,

    After you have found the tweaks that you want to have set on bootup using WPCredit then you would enter this info in Wpcrset and have it execute on bootup.

    This will modify the contents of the bios in memory and depending on what you changed will implement those settings.

    If I didn't answer your qestion to your satisfaction please let me know and I will go further into it. I would have included a picture or two but I don't use Wpcrset.
  • TheSourceTheSource
    edited June 2003
    i see that it messes wiut hyour BIOS but how does that cool your computer? dows it slow down your cpu or what?
  • TmodTmod
    edited June 2003
    There are register settings for the chipset in the bios and the ones we are interested in are the HALT Command Detect and Disc When STPGNT# Detect. These are normally disabled by default from the manufacturer. These two register settings will halt the processor during not use times.

    Now the way it will run cooler is to use WPCredit and WPCrset and set these register setting to the enable position. The CPU even though it may not be doing any work is still running. By using these register settings and setting them active it will halt the CPU and result in lower idle temps.

    So basically it stops your CPU when you aren't using the computer.

    NOTE: These settings will NOT lower the full throttle temps.
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited June 2003
    Originally posted by TheSource
    i see that it messes wiut hyour BIOS but how does that cool your computer? dows it slow down your cpu or what?

    It issues a halt to the cpu when its not in use. It has never effected my benchmarks on the kt7a I use it on or I wouldn't run it.

    That may well be chipset dependent though.

    Tex
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited June 2003
    Would this just have the same effect as software like CPUCool or CPUIdle then as that is exactly what those are supposed to do aswell.

    NS
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited June 2003
    Thats what they do but they can also do it on non acpi OS's and HAls as they usually have their own process running and I have found they often drag down performance.

    With acpi and win2k/win98 this is incorporated in the idle process.

    Tex
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited June 2003
    Its strange, as going from WinME to Win2k or XP I didnt notice any difference in my idle temperatures, but going from that shouldnt they have dropped when going from 98/ME to 2k/XP?

    NS
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited June 2003
    Actually ME was the first OS to support ACPI. But even then you had to have the cooling bits set in the bios or run one of the progs you mentioned.

    Tex
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited June 2003
    But as I said, shouldn't have going from 9X to NT have lowered my idle temperatures due to the idle bit actually being set in NT?

    NS
  • karatekidkaratekid Ogdensburg, NY
    edited June 2003
    This looks like something I want to try. Is there a guide or something somewhere that explains how to do this? Tmod, I don't know if you plan on writing things for Icrontic, but if you are you should really consider doing a how to of this. I bet there will be a lot of people who would like to know how to do this.
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited June 2003
    Karate: You mean the software cooling? What MB or chipset are you running or want to try it on?

    Tex
  • karatekidkaratekid Ogdensburg, NY
    edited June 2003
    It is an Abit KX7333-R with a KT333 chipset.
  • TmodTmod
    edited June 2003
    I will be writing some articles after I return from vacation. I will be finishing the Modbin tutorial and then move on from there. Things are a little hectic around here at the moment with getting ready for the trip and all.
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