In this post I will show you how you can install an NVMe SSD into a HP Compaq Elite 8300 Small Form Factor and modify the BIOS so that the machine can boot natively from it. The 8300 SFF does have a UEFI BIOS, but there is no NVMe driver present.
I wrote a post on how add NVMe support to a Dell OptiPlex 7010 which has the same Q77 chipset at the HP 8300. So I wondered if the the same procedure could be used to upgrade the HP. Although the procedure is quite different, it is easy to do and can be completed in under 20 minutes.
The completed modification produces impressive results. Here is my CrystalDiskMark Result from the 8300 using a Samsung 970 EVO Plus:
Warning
This blog post contains instructions on how to modify your BIOS using a hardware programmer.
You could very easily break your machine. Proceed at your own risk!
Required Hardware
In order to carry out this upgrade, you will need a few things:
- An NVMe SSD. I used a 512Gb Samsung 970 EVOPlus
- An NVMe to PCIe Adapter, I used this one from Amazon.
- A USB Memory Stick of at least 2Gb.
- A jumper cap/paperclip etc.
- A HP Compaq 8300 computer to modify.
These computers are now really cheap on Amazon and in they are a bargain in my opinion if you just need a basic machine work school or office work.
Procedure Overview
The process involves a number of steps:
- Upgrade your current BIOS to the latest version.
- Create a SystemRescue bootable USB Drive.
- Put the machine into service mode.
- Modify the BIOS and inject the NVMe driver.
- Install the new NVMe hardware.
BIOS Upgrade
Before proceeding with the rest of the steps. Take a moment to check that you are on the latest BIOS available from HP. At the time of writing that was version 00.03.08 Rev.A.
ROM Firmware for 8300 Elite and 6300 Pro Business
I’d be interested to know if this BIOS mod also works for the 6300. But I do not have one to try it.
Create the bootable SystemRescue Image
Next, download SystemRescue using and make a bootable USB drive using Rufus. There are instructions on the SystemRescue website on how to make it bootable.
Put the machine into service mode
Once you have created the bootable USB you can shut the machine down and put it into service mode.
To put the machine into service mode you will need to remove the lid and find the FDO (Flash Descriptor Override) jumper, which is here:
Jump the pins with a jumper cap or anything else that you can find (paperclip etc). So it should look like this:
Boot the machine with SystemRescue
With the jumper on the FDO pins, insert your bootable USB into the machine and turn it on.
Press the escape key to access the boot menu and select your USB Stick. You will come to the SystemRescue boot menu, which should look like this:
Press the e key to change the default boot options. Use the cursor keys to move down to the line that says linux and add the following to the end:
setkeymap=uk copytoram dostartxChange the keymap to be appropriate for your own environment or if you are in the USA, just leave that part out.
Press CTRL-X to proceed with the boot.
Backup and modify the BIOS
The system will boot into a graphical interface. From there open Firefox and come back to this blog post so that you can copy and paste commands.
We have booted the USB drive using the copytoram option, which will enable us to mount the USB drive from within our booted environment to store the backup of the BIOS.
Backup Bios
First, open a terminal by clicking on the terminal icon:
Type the following command:
fdisk -l |grep "W95"The output of the fdisk command should be something like this:
/dev/sda1 * 2048 500118191 500116144 238.5G c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
Make a note of the device, this should be your USB thumb drive, in my case it is /dev/sda1. Then type the following commands:
mkdir /mnt/usb
mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb
flashrom -p internal -c MT25QL128 -r /mnt/usb/backup.binIt should look like this:
The flash chip will now be read and you should get output like this:
Leave the terminal window open as we will be coming back to use it again soon.
Now the backup of the HP BIOS is safely stored on the USB device we can inject the USB driver. Open Firefox and download UEFITool 0.28.0 from here.
Open the downloaded zip file and drag the executable on to the desktop. Then open UEFI Tool. Open backup.bin that was created in the previous step by navigating to Other Locations -> Computer -> mnt – usb.
Modify the BIOS in UEFITool
Next we can modify the BIOS.
- Expand the BIOS Image like this:
- Scroll to the bottom of this section until the final DXE driver, which should be HpDigitalSignatureVerification.
- Download this NVME Driver and save it to your machine.
- Right click on the final DXE driver and choose Insert After.
- Choose the NvmExpressDxe_Small.ffs that you just download and then save the file as nvme.bin.
Write the modified BIOS back to the HP 8300
Now that you have the modified BIOS image complete, go back to your terminal and use the command:
flashrom -p internal -c MT25Q128 -w /mnt/usb/nvme.binThe new BIOS image will be flashed to the chip and it should look like this:
Now you can shutdown the system and remove the jumper from the FDO pin headers.
Add the NVMe Adapter and Drive
The system will now be able to from an NVMe drive! You can either complete a fresh install of your Operating system or clone your existing installation to the new NVMe SSD
Here is my Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe SSD from Amazon installed on to a PCI Adapter in the machine:
Performance
Adding NVMe support the HP Compaq 8300 Elite does provide a massive boost in performance. The machine I upgraded had a mechanical hard drive so the difference was astonishing. Here is the difference in speed results:
Cold boot time for Windows 10 with the mechanical hard drive was 1 minute and 16 seconds. With the NVMe drive it was 20 seconds.
Google Chrome OS Flex
As the HP Compaq Elite 8300 is a Chrome OS Flex Certified Device I decided to install that on to the NVMe drive and try it out. The installation worked no problem and it booted in 12 seconds. I really like OS Flex for giving older machines a new lease of life. It feel like a brand new machine.
Conclusion
You will have to judge if this is the right upgrade for you. A SATA SSD would be much easier to fit and does not require any additional hardware. This NVMe modification provides greater performance.
I would like to say a big thanks to Ivan in the comments who found that the BIOS chip could be flashed using the Linux based Flashrom tool. Previously this guide contained a much more complicated procedure.
In the end I actually used this Dual M.2 NVMe and SATA adapter from Amazon:
This allowed me to have the Samsung NVMe drive with a Western Digital SATA drive for additional storage. I used a short right angled SATA cabled which turned out to be a very neat solution. I removed the hard drive completely.
Jake Klumpp says
How do you get those speeds its only pcie 2.0, more like 1650mps ?
Paulie says
Those are the speeds I got. According to the service guide:
HP Compaq 8300 Elite Maintenance and Service Guide
The computer has one PCI expansion slot, one PCI Express x1 expansion slot, one PCI Express x16
expansion slot, and one PCI Express x16 expansion slot that is downshifted to a x4 slot.
Tony says
Hi Paulie, I have HP Compaq Elite 8100 SFF. Do you think I can do the same upgrade just like here ?
Tim says
Paulie, Do you think you will be trying the HP 8200 in the future? I have 3 or four.
Ivan says
@Paulie – I used flashrom (https://www.flashrom.org/Flashrom) for reading and writing flash, and UEFITool 0.28.0 (https://github.com/LongSoft/UEFITool/releases/tag/0.28.0) for modifying the firmware adding your linked .ffs.
Find below the precise commands executed by root:
# flashrom –programmer internal -c MT25QL128 -r backup.bin
(Modified backup.bin inserting NvmExpressDxe_Small.ffs and saving as Fixed_NVME.bin)
# flashrom –programmer internal -c MT25QL128 -w Fixed_NVME.bin
Juan Carlos says
Hola, intento implementar esto en un HP Z230 SFF, de momento no lo he probado, solo he encontrado las guías para poder hacerlo.
Os adjunto 3 enlaces sobre como instalar NVMe M.2 pcie, reprogramando la bios por software (1 y 2) o, alternativamente, mediante un simple arranque alternativo del bios (3). Para quién pueda interesar
1. [Cómo] Obtenga soporte completo de NVMe para todos los sistemas con un AMI (American Megatrends Inc) UEFI BIOS
https://winraid.level1techs.com/t/howto-get-full-nvme-support-for-all-systems-with-an-ami-uefi-bios/30901
2. [Solucionado] HP Z230 Tower Workstation
https://winraid.level1techs.com/t/success-hp-z230-tower-workstation/38156
3. [Guía] NVMe-boot sin modificar su UEFI/BIOS (método con Clover)
https://winraid.level1techs.com/t/guide-nvme-boot-without-modding-your-uefi-bios-clover-efi-bootloader-method/31665/639
Mike Steak says
Great work that is impressive!
Maybe you can help me with an issue. I have a 6300sff i7 3770 – 16gb- sata ssd.
Its been nothing but issue after issue. I have had great results in the past with similar models like your 8300 and an older version that had a core 2 quad.
The rear usb 3.0 ports are the main reason I bought this machine and the damn things wont transfer faster than usb 2 speeds.
Ive updated BIOs to 3.08 but I only read too late that you have to do 2.99 first.
Ive even reverted from windows 10 to 8.1 pro.
theres a guy on the hp forum with my exact same issue and he said if he boots into linux they work at usb 3 speeds but not in win 10.
in windows 10 No matter what I did it would not find a driver for a few components even with snappy driver.
Windows 8.1 found the driver as soon as I got wifi.
my current bios version reads 3.08. Do I have to rollback to 2.99 and then go back up again? or since it accepted the flash that means its algood?
it wont accept rollbacks now through BIOs flash or winflash.
If I have to I will buy a 3.5″ front usb 3 panel that connects to the pci slot from memory?
Look forward to hearing from you.
Artur says
Hi!
I’d like to say BIG Thank You! – for your amazing knowledge, great tutorials on modding BIOS for NVMe boot capability and your willingness to share this information. I really appreciate your work because I’m very interested in these old and affordable SFF office PCs/desktops that lack NVMe boot support.
So far, I managed to enable NVMe boot in my DELL OptiPlex 3020 SFF PC – making a good use of your tutorial. I also would like to try modding BIOS in DELL OptiPlex 790 and HP Elite 8300 SFF that are on my shelf.
However, I’d love to learn about modding BIOS in my current main PC which is HP Z230 SFF (BIOS L51 v01.63 – Rev.A / Xeon E3-1245 v3). So far, I was able to open BIOS .BIN file in UEFI Tool (.BIN BIOS file taken from this official HP repository https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp103501-104000/sp103745.exe ) I managed to insert NvmExpressDxe_Small.ffs somewhere after the last DXE driver (I’m not sure if this place was chosen correctly).
However, after saving modded BIOS .BIN file to nvme.bin … I don’t know how to flash it back into my machine. I tried via USB DOS Flash option but system said it could not find proper BIOS .BIN file on my pendrive formatted in FREE DOS via Rufus. Maybe it can recognize that BIOS file has been changed in an unauthorized manner? I can only guess because my knowledge is very basic in this area. Can I somehow switch this PC in Service Mode or flash back modded BIOS via clip and programmer … I’d like to read your opinion or advice if possible.
Best Regards,
Artur
Cosmo says
@Artur
See this post here: https://winraid.level1techs.com/t/success-hp-z230-tower-workstation/38156
This person gives you step by step instructions for what to do and how to do it for your specific machine+bios file and version.
Cosmo says
Hmm so here’s my update. I suppose it could just be the m.2 adapter I got, but the nvme isnt showing up in bios. anyone know why that might be? I guess I will order another adapter to rule the first one out.
clonezilla does detect the nvme drive though. I am presently cloning my SSD boot drive just to see if that will do anything.
Cosmo says
ok so my issue now is MBR vs GPT. I guess my SSD that I am cloning is GPT. but with the nvme on the pcie adapter, it needs to be MBR. the bios doesn’t detect the drive unless it is MBR. so there’s no way that I’ve tried that will clone the SSD to the NVME, keep the data, but make it bootable over MBR. Maybe someone here can drop a hint. Really don’t want to have to reinstall my entire system and all the settings and data etc.
Cosmo says
lost patience and just started a fresh windows install. so so so much to restore now. but at least I have an nvme running as a boot drive. anyone who has questions I spent a lot of time on this and now know it like the back of my hand. feel free to reach out and I’m happy to help
Cosmo says
ok, final word on this. originally had a crucial 500gb p3 plus nvme in there. 3500 read and 1900 write. just used clonezilla to clone that 500gb drive to a 1tb version of the same drive with 3500 read and 3500 write. then used gparted to move my recovery partition, permitting me to expand my data partition to the full 1tb. read and write speeds confirmed at 3400ish/3400ish. seems like this project has reached its end for me. this PC will now have another 5-7 years of life. thanks to all who have helped me along the way.
again, if anyone has any questions, please feel free to reach out. [email protected]
Jim G. says
@Paulie
Do you recall what kind of processor is in your HP 8300?
It looks like you are getting PCIe 3.0 speeds with your setup.
This is a gen2 and gen3 crossover motherboard. Whereas a lot of the newer chipsets only handle 1 generation of cpu.
It sounds like 2nd gen sandy bridge chips are PCIe 2.0 and the 3rd gen Ivy Bridge chips are PCIe 3.0
I was under the impression this is a PCIe 2.0 board only.
Oscar says
@Paulie and @Ivan Thanks for the instructions.
I modified the flash following Paulie’s path and Ivan’s Linux way on two HP 8300 SFF PCs.
I did something like:
– Install the internal jumper
– Format a USB pen with SystemRescue (https://www.system-rescue.org/) I used RUFUS utility.
– Boot from the pen and select SystemRescue to be fully loaded into ram memory. This allows the USB pen to be mounted and used to exchange the files.bin with Windows.
– run #flashrom -p internal -c MT25QL128 -r backup.bin
– Modify backup.bin inserting NvmExpressDxe_Small.ffs and save it as Fixed_NVME.bin.
I did it in Windows and copied the fixed file to the USB pen back to Linux.
– run #flashrom -p internal -c MT25QL128 -w Fixed_NVME.bin
– Remove the internal jumper
Note that the procedure generates different NVME.bin code starting from each backup.bin .
If you write the wrong one possibly you will require the hardware programming tool to recover the flash ?
@Paulie thanks again for the very useful post.
Oscar says
System is HP 8000 SFF, I7-3770, BIOS 3.08 modified, Window10 Pro 22H2.
After bios mod to move Win10 to the new NVME disk I followed this tip https://youtu.be/Z939daHclxY .
It run well for my GPT partition system.
Cosmo says
@oscar, I think the reason you had different nvme bins generated is because the bios clock changes, so the CRC or the bin necessarily changes. that’s my logic to justify the change anyway.
@Jim G, i have the same speeds as @paulie. I am running an i7 processor in this machine: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz 3.40 GHz.
i am using a piece of sh*t nvme adapter purchased from amazon — cheapest i could find. i also bought 4 others to test and they all produced identical speeds. my nvme is a crucial p5 pro 1tb drive. dont forget, most drives market as UP TO 3500meg/s or whatever. because the 500gb and smaller drives are slower. typically only the 1tb and up drives support the fastest theoretical transfer speeds.
Joseph Shaff says
Will that method work on the HP Compaq Elite 8300 CMT (Convertable Micro Towers) ?
Gary Sapir says
@ Joseph Shaff, i can’t speak to that, sorry. I would think if the bios file used to upgrade the 8300 sff and cmt is an identical file, then the method should work the same
Paulie says
For anyone following this blog post, it has now been completely rewritten with the useful information provided by Ivan. Let me know how you get on!
Jim G says
Thanks for the heads up. I’m glad I made a PDF of the old one. Honestly if it was me I would have made two pages, offering two different methods. Why dump up tried, tested, and true work? Method 1 would have been with the SOIC 16 programmer stuff you have already done, and Method 2 as a whole new write up using the the Linux programming.
As for me, I wouldn’t have even have the idea right now to try resurrecting my bad flashed HP 8300 if it weren’t for @Paulies original article with the SOIC 16 programmer stuff… After 2 weeks of delays from amazon, I finally got an SOIC 16 cable to go with the usb programmer. I had to go with an off brand, and hope it works. It’s 16 pins and 16 cables. The DollaTek from the article was out of stock.
I am wondering too about other HP system possiblities, but I have to find out more on the flash chips for them.
HP Pro 6200 (it’s only PCIe 2.0 and would be similar in NVMe speed to the Dell 990 write up), plus HP 600/800 G1 core 4th gen and HP 600/800 G2 core 6th gen machines. They all use a similar ‘blue bios’ to the 8300. All things being equal with the programmer, chip etc… it might work.
Hoping the HP 8300 will come back to life trying this method to read and flash the bios. Then will try the other steps to add the NVMe support…
Paulie says
Hi Jim, I did toy with keeping the existing page active. But I want new visitors to have the clearest, and easiest possible solution. The Linux method is very easy and will make this modification straightforward for anyone else trying to do the same. Your situation is a bit of an exception.
I wouldn’t worry too much that you couldn’t get the same brand programmer, they all seem to be the same until you get into the higher quality, more expensive units. I am sure there are many possibilities of machines that this mod will work with. But right now I have an Office full of old machines that I need to get rid of before trying any more!
Jim G says
@Paulie
I hear you, true the Linux method is easier overall. I wish someone out there had a writeup about programming using the SOIC 16 method some time ago. Without your old post, I would have never known about any of this, so thanks for the idea anyway.
I am having some problems with your old SOIC 16 clip method though. I noticed my off brand cable did not come with the 8 to 16 pin header that yours has with the Dolla Tek (which is still out of stock right now at Amazon). It only came with a 16 pin header for the clip cable to connect to the programmer. Do you think this is a problem? Only once has the aux light came on so far. So maybe this 16 pin header is an issue?
Even with the ram chip white holder clip fully removed for the same slot that your top part was broken for in the old post: the clip still does not like to stay on the chip, and it is a bit difficult to line up right.
All the software and drivers installed ok, the programmer red power light is on, so all looks well.
The problem is this: The HP 8300 mainboard aux light has come on only one time. The AS programmer just keeps returning FF FFF FFFF etc for all the stats. It is not reading the IC correctly. I have tried flipping the SOIC 16 cable every which way at the programmer side and at the BIOS chip side, and no luck. Do you think this 8 pin to 16 pin converter is really needed? Is it a bad cable?
Maybe I need take the board fully out of the case and look to see what the clip contact looks like? I don’t get why only 1 aux light in about 12+ tries at getting this clip to make good contact, unless it IS that 16 pin header vs the 8 pin header you have???
I can see why you broke part of the RAM slot holder off in your original post with the programmer method. The SOIC 16 clip is very sensitive, the spring is super tight. I managed to take out the RAM slot holder clip completely, by gently but firmly pulling on it with a needle nose pliers. Squeezing in the right spot apparently released the tabs enough for it to come out as one piece. The holder tabs on the sides of it look ok. We’ll see if it goes back in or not later once the machine is repaired…
Paulie says
It can be very difficult to get the clip on. But when it’s on you’ll know you have it right. I’ve got the knack of it now having done it to several machines, but the first time I tried I just couldn’t get it right for quite a while.
Cosmo says
if you need the old guide, you can reference it using waybackmachine
Paulie says
If people really want the old guide, I can make it available again. But it is a very complex procedure for most people to follow.
Jim says
Hi @Paulue @Cosmo
Getting further with the SOIC16 clip, but still no luck.
Got a 2nd cable, it seems to be making better contact than the first one, but still problems. I don’t know if I fudged my AUX light on the mainboard, but it is not coming on now no matter what I do.
Programmer is reading the IC but the codes are all different each time. As the old article said, to stop ‘here’. None of the codes matched what you had on the page.
The IC Chip on the 341A also getting VERY hot. I think this programmer is shot from the get go. It’s never read anything correctly with 2 different SOIC 16 cables now. The programmer usb device is coming up as unrecognized too after a few chip detections too and programmer not recognized (-1). I don’t think a bad SOIC 16 cable would cause this… very strange.
Should the LEFT side light on the programmer stay ON when it has made a proper connection to the SOIC16 clip? Or does that light only blink when there is activity?
Either way: getting another programmer… having such horrible luck with this.
Trying this with win 11, maybe this weekend I need to break out a win 10 box… I don’t think the OS would make that much difference.
Paulie says
You might be better off using a higher quality clip if you are struggling. Have a look at this one made by Pomona: https://cpc.farnell.com/pomona/5250/test-clip-8-pos-1-27mm-soj-soic/dp/IN08790
Jim G says
@Paulie Have you got more info for that Pomona clip: a part number, or model number, etc? Maybe I can google it or something. Getting Access Denied error…
Access Denied
You don’t have permission to access “http://cpc.farnell.com/pomona/5250/test-clip-8-pos-1-27mm-soj-soic/dp/IN08790” on this server.
Reference #18.cc1c2117.1679079529.1011d76
Paulie says
POMONA 5250
Jim G says
Thanks @Paulie
Ok so I got your clip page to come up now. Went to https://cpc.farnell.com and searched for Pomona 5250.
it came up, but it is only 8 pins:
8-Pin SOJ/SO IC Test Clip – 5250
https://cpc.farnell.com/pomona/5250/test-clip-8-pos-1-27mm-soj-soic/dp/IN08790?ost=pomona+5250+test+clip
The winbond bios chip for the 8300 is 16 pins. Shouldn’t I get one that is 16 pin like this one? Pomona 5252
16-Pin SOJ/SO IC Test Clip – 5252
https://cpc.farnell.com/pomona/5252/test-clip-16-pos-1-27mm-soj-soic/dp/IN08792
https://www.amazon.com/Pomona-5252-0-050-Spacing-0-830/dp/B00CO8B1QS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=IJR0NLZJ4A69&keywords=POMONA+16+pin+test+clip&qid=1679203898&sprefix=pomona+16+pin+test+clip%2Caps%2C100&sr=8-1
Thanks.
Paulie says
Yes, sorry. I’ve ordered a selection of them. I don’t know what they are like yet – but they seem to be higher quality (but may be not better for our purposes).
Jim G says
@Paulie
Understood. Let us know how it goes, I hope the Pomona clips work better for you. Amazon can’t get me one until May and for $35.00 or so US to use with the 8300…
Before dropping back to punt with a totally different working motherboard as a replacement:
I was wondering too about somehow using patch wires to piggyback a good working bios rom from another working HP 8300 board to fire up the ‘dead’ one and get it reflashed. Is that even possible somehow without soldering?
@Paulie @Ivan
As for the Linux steps in the new article: I have prepped a system rescue usb drive, while I figure out my next move for the 8300.
I was considering trying the patch on a working HP 6200, or maybe the 800 G1 or G2, but you have just posted a new article for the 800 G1 🙂 yay!
I still have a question on this new method for the Linux programming though:
It looks like one has to know what kind of rom chip with the -c switch from your Linux commands:
ex:
flashrom -p internal -c MT25QL128 -r /mt/usb/backup.bin
and
flashrom -p internal -c MT25QL128 -w /mt/usb/nvme.bin
I am confused why MT25QL128 (Micron Technologies?), when the bios chip on my HP 8300 mainboard says Winbond on it? In the old article for the 8300 for the 341A programmer, you had us select the W25Q128BV for the winbond chip.
Is the Linux flashrom util able to detect what kind of rom is on the mainboard? If not, how are you getting this info about MT to use in the command?
That said I’ll look up the IC info for my HP 6200 bios (its probably a similar winbond chip). I’d like to know how to figure out what to use for -c if I were to try this with some different HP machines, where the Intel ME tools might not work.
Cheers
Ashok Sagar says
Hi Paul, I tried to use your guide for modifying my hp 8300sff but after finding my Intel Q77 chipset I keep on getting this message: No EEPROM/flash device found
Please help as I am stuck at this point.
Thanks in advance.
Ros De Siena says
Hi Paule, thank you for your article.
I got the whole thing, when I type the string:
mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt/usb
the system warns me that the usb drive is read only.
How can I fix?
Thanks again for your explanation.
Ros.
jordi says
Thanks for the guide, I used in my HP elite 8300 tower. The flash chip is diferent, is “W25Q128.V” so the orders are:
# flashrom -p internal -c W25Q128.V -r /mnt/usb/backup.bin
and
# flashrom -p internal -c W25Q128.V -w /mnt/usb/mod.bin
To add the driver I used MMTool 4.50.0023(https://winraid.level1techs.com/t/howto-get-full-nvme-support-for-all-systems-with-an-ami-uefi-bios/30901).
Thanks a lot,
Jordi
Ros says
RESOLVED
There is an error in the command syntax when rewriting on the Chip with the modified file, the command: flashrom -p internal -c MT25Q128 -w /mnt/usb/nvme.bin, the L is missing in the name the correct one is MT25QL128
I managed to get root permissions, using Linux Mint.
I too used #flashrom with the values ??described by Ivan. Thank you all, now it works perfectly!!!!
siliconbeaver says
I have an HP Elite 8300 tower (NOT mini, nor SFF). my order of PCIe adapter card and NVMe SSD 512 GB is shipping. I have read all 37 comments. Do I need a SOIC 16 programmer someone mentioned in comments?
Per Paul’s guide, looks I need a USB drive. That’s it. am I right?
(then follow 1st part of this post, Paul’s guide).
Thanks,
Paulie says
You don’t need a programmer. The comments reflect an old version of the post.
Marco says
Hi. I have used my HP elite 8300 tower to allow nvme boot. I followed all of the steps. Pci and nvme is inserted, jumper removed. I do not see boot option for NVME. What else I have to do to enable boot option for NVME in Bios? Thanks.
Paulie says
Nothing more, you need to install an operating system on to it to boot from.
em says
Hi. The method presented also works for the HP 6300 MT workstation.
Thanks for the guidance offered.
Paulie says
Thanks for letting us know. We’re the steps exactly the same as the article?
siliconbeaver says
Thank Paul,
finally my order of hardware delivered (NVMe SSD 512GB and PCIe adapter card) today. couldn’t wait any more.
plugged the card and SSD onto HP Elite 8300 tower, tested them both “good” (but non-bootable at this moment)
Next, I completed the modification produces using your method, step-by-step, less than an hour.
OS Install,
I was using Windows 7 install media from HP Cloud Recovery
https://ftp.hp.com/pub/caps-softpaq/CloudRecovery/crsupportedplatform.html
Windows 7 clean install no any problem
1. install media offered by HP Cloud Recovery
2. run Simplix (update of hotfixes, a step longest time)
3. install HP Elite 8300 drivers
4. apps
Windows 7 is up on NVMe SSD now.
the HP install media works for HP PC only (tested on my HP G3/G1, Elite 8300). its beauty:
1. naturally activated. no need of Window 7 key. no need of online activate.
2. including NVMe driver.
con:
my PC was running GPT disk. while could boot MBR to use many MBR-boot tools (such as Ghost, Macrium). Now my PC is GPT-boot only. Lucky, some of them, GPT version available.
siliconbeaver says
looks like my PC is running PCIe 2.0, read/write some 1700 MB/s.
the test was performed on black PCIe slot of HP Elite 8300 tower. i3-3220 CPU @ 3.30GHz.
btw, the CrystalDiskInfo cannot detect the NVMe SSD. hence no CrystalDiskInfo data. it only reported SATA SSD data.
——————————————————————————
CrystalDiskMark 8.0.4 x64 (C) 2007-2021 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World: https://crystalmark.info/
——————————————————————————
* MB/s = 1,000,000 bytes/s [SATA/600 = 600,000,000 bytes/s]
* KB = 1000 bytes, KiB = 1024 bytes
[Read]
SEQ 1MiB (Q= 8, T= 1): 1762.071 MB/s [ 1680.4 IOPS]
SEQ 1MiB (Q= 1, T= 1): 1242.946 MB/s [ 1185.4 IOPS]
RND 4KiB (Q= 32, T= 1): 457.474 MB/s [ 111688.0 IOPS]
RND 4KiB (Q= 1, T= 1): 39.334 MB/s [ 9603.0 IOPS]
[Write]
SEQ 1MiB (Q= 8, T= 1): 1123.503 MB/s [ 1071.5 IOPS]
SEQ 1MiB (Q= 1, T= 1): 1090.117 MB/s [ 1039.6 IOPS]
RND 4KiB (Q= 32, T= 1): 356.137 MB/s [ 86947.5 IOPS]
RND 4KiB (Q= 1, T= 1): 162.347 MB/s [ 39635.5 IOPS]
Profile: Default
Test: 1 GiB (x5) [C: 14% (66/476GiB)]
Mode: [Admin]
Time: Measure 5 sec / Interval 5 sec
Date: 2023/05/06 1:23:57
OS: Windows 7 Professional SP1 [6.1 Build 7601] (x64)
Jim G says
@SiliconBeaverLooks like you need to upgrade your processor to an i5-3470 or so… you need something in the i5 range for sure, as that series supports PCI-E 3.
The i3 you have apparently does NOT support PCI-E 3.0 according to Intels’ specs
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/65693/intel-core-i33220-processor-3m-cache-3-30-ghz.html
Also, check the specs of your SSD itself, what kind of disk is it? The crystal disk mark isn’t telling us on what you posted.
i5 CPUs can be found at ebay these days for $10 USD or less shipped.
The same fan you have should work, just need to bump up the cpu
Jim G. says
Sorry for the double post. Needed to add some clarity.
@SiliconBeaver
The i3-3220 you have apparently does NOT support PCI-E 3.0 according to Intel’s specs. It is only PCI-E 2.0
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/65693/intel-core-i33220-processor-3m-cache-3-30-ghz.html
you can google ‘i3 3220 ark intel’ or any intel cpu model to get the spec sheets to find out this kind of info.
You need to upgrade your processor to an i5-3470 or so… and you’ll need some new thermal paste too in order to properly cool the new CPU. If you don’t know how to change out CPUs, before doing anything, you should google how to replace an intel i3 3220 cpu, and find out how to proerly add the conductive thermal paste to the cpu.
You need something in the 3rd generation core i5 or i7 range for sure, those series do support PCI-E 3.0. I had the same problem with an i3-2120 (only PCI-E 2.0) and went straight to an i5-3550. With the latest 3.08 bios installed on the HP 8300, it should be just fine to swap in the new CPU and do the mod. I would go with the i5 for the price, the i7 cpus are high $$$ even used. You can get a whole newer generation machine with an i5 already in it for the same price of the i7 3rd gen cpu alone: something like a HP 800 G1 with an i5 4570 or so that Paulie has an article for too.
Also, check the specs of the SSD drive itself, what kind of disk is it? The crystal disk mark isn’t telling us on what you posted.
i5 3rd generation CPUs can be found at ebay these days for $10 USD or so shipped.
The same fan/heatsink setup you have will fit just fine.
If you don’t find the cpu somewhere else and are in the US- I have an i5-3470 I can sell you for $10 shipped US. You can drop me a line at [email protected] if interested.
siliconbeaver says
Many thanks, Jim. 🙂
Frankly, I am NOT confident on CPU upgrade engineering. I recently updated ASUS motherboard. the CPU fan is getting noisy after CPU replace. no matter how to adjusting its seating, fan, or CPU thermal paste/glue. I was struggling about two weeks then gave up. Its CPU temp is about 23C, runs normal. Just it cannot be in Office because of the loud noise.
siliconbeaver says
typo,
upgraded ASUS than updated ASUS
Jim G. says
I see what you mean, then yes don’t pursue the cpu upgrade.
The other thing you could do is use a slower NVMe SSD in the HP 8300 machine. There are SSDs with about 1800MB or so read/write speeds. something like a TeamGroup MP 33 is perfect for what you need with a PCI-E 2.0 computer. They’re under 50 bucks these days new for a 1tb and have a good long TBW workload life as well.
It sounds like you have an 800 G1 already. You’re probably better off with that pc and finding some way to sell/trade the HP 8300 and upgrade it another 800 G1. The cost is minimal really between the two…
siliconbeaver says
Read Jim’s comments again. Thanks Jim, really good to learn.
Did google as suggested, the result is tantalizing,
Intel Core i3-3220 CPU “Upgrade Chance”
https://www.cpu-upgrade.com/CPUs/Intel/Core_i3/i3-3220.html
siliconbeaver says
@jim is right, a single i7 CPU costs more than an i5 PC system, when I was shopping for replacement.
I am taking Jim’s suggestion, replacing my HP Elite 8300 i3 system (PCIe v2) with an i5 system (HP 800 G1).
i5-4590 system, $35
i5-4670S system, $50
siliconbeaver says
Update
After HP Elite 8300 mod (i.e. flashing BIOS by Paul’s guide), my test confirmed
If PICe slot taken by NVMe SSD, then PC boot GPT only. MBR OS wouldn’t boot. on F9 boot menu, any legacy option was out of order.
If PICe slot empty, then PC boot SATA interface as usual. either MBR OS or GPT OS boot. F9 boot menu, each option worked normal (legacy or NOT).
My HP Elite 8300 tower was migrating to HP 800 G1 SFF. hence I did the test when removing NVMe SSD. was thinking if I should restore backup.bin. no need after test.
Jim G. says
@siliconbeaver
Yeah there are plenty of cheap 800 G1s in that range for 40-50 bucks on ebay and elsewhere. They also take DDR3 so you could even move your ram from the 8300 to the 800 G1 too, in most cases.
The boot option you are talking about also happens when a 3tb or larger disks are installed in the 8300 as well. With GPT disks, you can only boot them using UEFI, it takes precedence. NVMe M. 2drives are probably native GPT anyway by default. I’m assuming that’s why the BIOS switched over.
I would just clean install Win 10 22H2 or Win11 22H2 on the new GPT drive, with either machine. It will make cloning the disk easier in the future. There are utilities to convert MBR to GPT for Win 10/11 boot drives. But I have yet to see windows own util for this, to actually work.
You’re better off with GPT in the long run. MBR only handles 2tb disks. If later you want to use a 3tb or larger regular hard drive or SSD in the machine as a boot disk, you’re going to have to move to GPT anyway. Or you’ll be limited to just a 2tb disk.
—–
Going to try my 8300 soon. Will let everyone know how it goes once done. Just finished making a USB flash drive and got the files on it… just have to find time to do it.
I decided to put a folder on the usb disk called HP8300, and I put all the files from the article in it. ZIP already extracted and ready to go too…
siliconbeaver says
The last HP model taking DDR3 is HP G1 (600/800 DM). Paul has released a mod guide to HP 8300/G1.
I did test, HP G3 is much faster than HP G1. HP G3/4 can be $60s (i7-8700). Hence, it’s better migrate to HP G3/G4 simply.
Jim G. says
@siliconbeaver
I was suggesting the 800 G1 because there is a mod, and the price diff between it and the 8300 are next to nothing, one could effectively upgrade for nothing provided they had a buyer…
Yeah you are better off going for a G3 or G4, for the extra money. I have yet to see a 600 G4 with i5 8500 8th gen series go for $60 US, because they natively support Win 11. HP 600 G3 does not, but there are workarounds to get it installed on it.
I have done so with My 8300 as of today as well. You can get the 600/800 G3 for $60-75 with i5 6500 6th gen series. These are DD4 systems, so ram for the 8300 will not fit.
I would suggest the G3 or G4 because you get an actual M.2 slot with that one, and none of these mods are needed. The add in cards do work with those, they can always be moved off of these older ones and into those as a secondary disk.
Myself I went with an 800 G3 because of the dual 3.5″ drive bays and raid support for the spinning drives… my media center runs one.
anyway- did my 8300 mod, notes to follow…
amitri55 says
Thanks for the guide, tried in my HP Elite 8300sff.
No EEPROM/flash device found with your command. It seems different chip is used. From other comments below I found and tried with W25Q128.V (Winbond chip) on SFF.
So – alternative BIOS chip read command:
flashrom -p internal -c W25Q128.V -r /mnt/usb/backup.bin
Write command:
flashrom -p internal -c W25Q128.V -w /mnt/usb/nvme.bin
Success!
lala says
i have hp elite 8300 micro tower can i install nvme on it to upgrade it
amitri55 says
It worked also in my HP Pro 6300 SFF with same BIOS 3.08.
Same commands with success!
However, disk speed with Intel Core i3-2120 CPU is lower – probably PCI-E 2.0
(1658 MB/s read, 1440 MB/s write). Even so 3x speed of SATA disks!
Cheers!
harpmaster says
this is great! thanks for this post. i have an 8300 microtower and your instructions worked beautifully. thanks also to @jordi for saving me the search for my chip.
Gio says
Hi,
Great guide. 100% success
Only 1 note; read and write commands:
“flashrom -p internal -c MT25QL128 -r /mnt/usb/backup.bin” were throwing the “No EEPROM/flash device found ” message.
it is because not all chips are called the same..
you need to identify what chip you actually have in order to make the backup and then modifications.. To show what chip you have; use:
“flashrom -p internal:boardenable=force”
“Found Macronix flash chip “MX25L12805D” (16384 kB, SPI) mapped at physical address 0x00000000ff000000.”
now just use replace as needed. in my case the chipset was MX25L12805D so I needed to run:
“flashrom -p internal -c MX25L12805D -r /mnt/usb/backup.bin”
hope that helps.
Jim G. says
@Gio. Thanks for sharing. I have two posts awaiting moderation that asked this very question of how to detect what kind of flash rom the motherboard has.
Mine turned out to be the same one as @jordi has and apparently our winbond chip is in the sff and cmt.
Adding your Macronix to the list, there are now at least 3 different flashrom types for the HP 8300 sff: micron, winbond, and macronix
Paulie says
I will update the post soon with all of the different types of chips