Dell Optiplex NVME BIOS mod - Revision history

T20A02 at 04:37, 2 February 2025

2025-02-02T04:37:41Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:37, 2 February 2025
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	Install and boot from an NVMe SSD on a Dell OptiPlex 9020, 7020 or 3020		=== Install and boot from an NVMe SSD on a Dell OptiPlex 9020, 7020 or 3020 ===

	December 25, 2021 by Paulie		December 25, 2021 by Paulie

T20A02 at 04:37, 2 February 2025

2025-02-02T04:37:20Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:37, 2 February 2025
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	~~This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters!~~
	This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters that may be confused with others in your current locale. If your use case is intentional and legitimate, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to highlight these characters.
	Install and boot from an NVMe SSD on a Dell OptiPlex 9020, 7020 or 3020		Install and boot from an NVMe SSD on a Dell OptiPlex 9020, 7020 or 3020

T20A02 at 02:22, 31 August 2024

2024-08-31T02:22:17Z

T20A02 at 02:20, 31 August 2024

2024-08-31T02:20:32Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:20, 31 August 2024
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	Just download the BIOS update from the Dell website and run the update. Before the update runs it will show your current version and the version that you will be updated to:		Just download the BIOS update from the Dell website and run the update. Before the update runs it will show your current version and the version that you will be updated to:

			[[File:Dell-Optiplex-BIOS-Update-Prompt.png\|400px]]

	Dell BIOS Update Utility for Dell Optiplex		Dell BIOS Update Utility for Dell Optiplex
Line 64:		Line 64:
	Move the jumper from the two pin PSWD connector, to the two PIN SERVICE_MODE connector. It is located between the Power Supply and the PCI Slot closest to it:		Move the jumper from the two pin PSWD connector, to the two PIN SERVICE_MODE connector. It is located between the Power Supply and the PCI Slot closest to it:
	Note: If you have a spare jumper you could leave the password jumper in place.		Note: If you have a spare jumper you could leave the password jumper in place.

			[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-Service-Mode.jpg\|400px]]

	Image of Dell Optiplex 7020 Motherboard Service mode pins.		Image of Dell Optiplex 7020 Motherboard Service mode pins.

			[[File:OptiPlex-3020-Service-Mode.jpg\|400px]]

	Service Mode pins for Dell OptiPlex 7020 SFF		Service Mode pins for Dell OptiPlex 7020 SFF

			[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-9020-Service-Mode.jpg\|400px]]

	Image of Dell Optiplex 3020 Motherboard Service mode pins.		Image of Dell Optiplex 3020 Motherboard Service mode pins.
Line 80:		Line 86:

	First a warning informing you that the password has been disabled. Don’t worry about this as you will be putting the password jumper back where it should be soon. It will show this message:		First a warning informing you that the password has been disabled. Don’t worry about this as you will be putting the password jumper back where it should be soon. It will show this message:

			[[File:Dell-Security-Manager.png\|400px]]

	Image of Dell Security Manager warning when the password reset jumper has been removed from Dell OptiPlex		Image of Dell Security Manager warning when the password reset jumper has been removed from Dell OptiPlex

	Next, you will also receive a message notifying you that service mode is enabled:		Next, you will also receive a message notifying you that service mode is enabled:

			[[File:Optiplex-7020-Service-Mode-alert.png\|400px]]

	Warning from Dell OptiPlex when the service mode jumpers have been set.		Warning from Dell OptiPlex when the service mode jumpers have been set.
Line 90:		Line 100:

	When your machine is booted up again you can take a backup of your existing firmware. Open a command prompt as administrator:		When your machine is booted up again you can take a backup of your existing firmware. Open a command prompt as administrator:

			[[File:Run-Command-Prompt-Administrator.png\|400px]]

	Showing how to run a command prompt as an administrator		Showing how to run a command prompt as an administrator
Line 96:		Line 108:

	cd "\Intel ME System Tools v9.1 r7\Flash Programming Tool\WIN64" fptw64.exe -d backup.bin		cd "\Intel ME System Tools v9.1 r7\Flash Programming Tool\WIN64" fptw64.exe -d backup.bin

			[[File:Optiplex-7020-3020-Backup-BIOS-Intel-FPT.png\|400px]]

	Image of output from Intel Flash Programming Tool when taking a backup of a Dell OptiPlex BIOS		Image of output from Intel Flash Programming Tool when taking a backup of a Dell OptiPlex BIOS



	The example above is from an OptiPlex 7020, the output from the 3020 will look slightly different as it only has a single flash device and will give output such as:		The example above is from an OptiPlex 7020, the output from the 3020 will look slightly different as it only has a single flash device and will give output such as:
Line 117:		Line 133:

	Image of UEFI Tool with a Dell BIOS Image loaded.		Image of UEFI Tool with a Dell BIOS Image loaded.

			[[File:Optiplex-7020-UEFITool.png\|400px]]

	Scroll to the bottom of this section and you should see an area that looks like this:		Scroll to the bottom of this section and you should see an area that looks like this:

			[[File:Insert-NVME-DXE-Location.png\|400px]]

	Image of correct location to insert NVMe driver in Dell OptiPlex BIOS		Image of correct location to insert NVMe driver in Dell OptiPlex BIOS
Line 128:		Line 148:
	Right click the item and choose Insert After:		Right click the item and choose Insert After:

			[[File:Insert-NVME-DXE-InsertAfter.png\|400px]]

			Choose the file NvmExpressDxe_Small.ffs that you just downloaded and you will see it appear right after the item that you selected:

	~~Choose the file NvmExpressDxe_Small~~.~~ffs that you just downloaded and you will see it appear right after the item that you selected:~~		[[File:Insert-NVME-DXE-Inserted.png\|400px]]

	Image of NVMe Driver being inserted into Dell Optiplex BIOS		Image of NVMe Driver being inserted into Dell Optiplex BIOS
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	Now go to File -> Save Image File and save the file as nvme.bin.		Now go to File -> Save Image File and save the file as nvme.bin.

	Write the new BIOS to the machine		== Write the new BIOS to the machine ==

	You are now ready to write the new file back to the machine. Go back to the command prompt session. Type the following command:		You are now ready to write the new file back to the machine. Go back to the command prompt session. Type the following command:
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	You should get output like this:		You should get output like this:

			[[File:Optiplex-7020-Write-NVMe-BIOS-1.png\|400px]]

	Shut down the machine and take the jumper off the service pins and move it back to the password reset pins if you took it from there.		Shut down the machine and take the jumper off the service pins and move it back to the password reset pins if you took it from there.

	Install the PCI NVMe SSD		== Install the PCI NVMe SSD ==

	If you have not yet installed your SSD into the machine, you can do it now. For the 7020 use the blue PCI slot, it is approximately twice as fast as the smaller black one.		If you have not yet installed your SSD into the machine, you can do it now. For the 7020 use the blue PCI slot, it is approximately twice as fast as the smaller black one.
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	For the 3020 you need to install it into the PCI Slot closest to the Power Supply.		For the 3020 you need to install it into the PCI Slot closest to the Power Supply.

	Optimise BIOS Settings		== Optimise BIOS Settings ==

	Now that you have written the new BIOS, restart the machine.		Now that you have written the new BIOS, restart the machine.

	You should be able to see the adapter in the BIOS:		You should be able to see the adapter in the BIOS:

			[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-NVMe-Bios-System-Information-1024x576.png\|400px]]

	Image of System Information screen from a Dell Optiplex 7020 BIOS.		Image of System Information screen from a Dell Optiplex 7020 BIOS.
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	If you are not going to have any SATA drives connected you need to disable them in the BIOS, here you can see I have disabled all of the ports that do not have a drive connected:		If you are not going to have any SATA drives connected you need to disable them in the BIOS, here you can see I have disabled all of the ports that do not have a drive connected:

			[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-NVMe-Bios-SATA-Options-1024x576.png\|400px]]

	Disabling the un-used ports prevents an error on startup.		Disabling the un-used ports prevents an error on startup.

	Finally, if you want the maximum possible speed from your new drive, consider disabling C-States in the BIOS. This makes it marginally faster, but I doubt you would notice much difference:		Finally, if you want the maximum possible speed from your new drive, consider disabling C-States in the BIOS. This makes it marginally faster, but I doubt you would notice much difference:

			[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-Disable-C-States-1024x576.png\|400px]]


			Now you should be bale to boot from an NVMe Drive natively using a PCIe adapter!

T20A02: Created page with "This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters! This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters that may be confused with others in your current locale. If your use case is intentional and legitimate, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to highlight these characters. Install and boot from an NVMe SSD on a Dell OptiPlex 9020, 7020 or 3020 December 25, 2021 by Paulie In this post I will show you how you can modify the BIOS of your Dell OptiPlex 902..."

2024-08-31T02:02:34Z

Created page with "This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters! This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters that may be confused with others in your current locale. If your use case is intentional and legitimate, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to highlight these characters. Install and boot from an NVMe SSD on a Dell OptiPlex 9020, 7020 or 3020 December 25, 2021 by Paulie In this post I will show you how you can modify the BIOS of your Dell OptiPlex 902..."

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This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters!
This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters that may be confused with others in your current locale. If your use case is intentional and legitimate, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to highlight these characters.
Install and boot from an NVMe SSD on a Dell OptiPlex 9020, 7020 or 3020

December 25, 2021 by Paulie

In this post I will show you how you can modify the BIOS of your Dell OptiPlex 9020, 7020 or 3020 so that they can support an NVMe SSD drive as a boot device. These machines have a UEFI BIOS, but they do not contain an NVMe driver. By adding the driver into the BIOS you can boot from a PCIe NVMe SSD.

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 Dell OptiPlex 9020, 7020 or 3020 to upgrade.
I have personally tried this procedure on the 3020 and 7020 Small Form Factor and a 9020 Minitower. It works for every variant of the machine. There are slight variations in the procedure for each machine.

Procedure Overview

This process involves five steps:

Upgrade your current BIOS if required.
A18 for the OptiPlex 7020.
A20 for the OptiPlex 3020.
A25 for the OptiPlex 9020.
Backup your current BIOS.
Add NVMe driver support into the BIOS backup.
Writing the modified BIOS back to the system.
Install the PCIe NVMe SSD and Adapter.
Optimise BIOS settings.
Machine Preparation

Before starting the the physical installation of the NVMe SSD you can do all of the required preparation while the machine is running on your existing drive.

== Upgrade your BIOS ==

The first step, is to upgrade your current BIOS:

A18 for the OptiPlex 7020.
A20 for the OptiPlex 3020.
A25 for the OptiPlex 9020.
Just download the BIOS update from the Dell website and run the update. Before the update runs it will show your current version and the version that you will be updated to:

Dell BIOS Update Utility for Dell Optiplex

Install Intel Management Engine Components

Next install the Intel Management Engine Components from Dell. These management components will allow you to access the BIOS in order to back it up. Reboot once after installation of the management tools.

Download Intel Management Engine Tools

Now download Intel ME System Tools and extract the Zip file to your machine. For the purposes of this blog post I will assume that it has been extracted to: C:\Intel ME System Tools v9.1 r7.

The Intel ME System Tools will be used to backup the BIOS and write the modified image back to the machine.

== Backup your current BIOS ==

Parts of the BIOS are protected and cannot be read to or written from. In order to get a complete backup the machine must be put into service mode.

Switch the machine off completely.
Disconnect it from the mains Power.
Move the jumper from the two pin PSWD connector, to the two PIN SERVICE_MODE connector. It is located between the Power Supply and the PCI Slot closest to it:
Note: If you have a spare jumper you could leave the password jumper in place.

Image of Dell Optiplex 7020 Motherboard Service mode pins.

Service Mode pins for Dell OptiPlex 7020 SFF

Image of Dell Optiplex 3020 Motherboard Service mode pins.

Service Mode Pins for Dell OptiPlex 3020 SFF

Service Mode Pins for Dell OptiPlex 7020/9020 Mini Tower

Once the machine is in service mode, turn it back on, you will receive some warning notifications:

First a warning informing you that the password has been disabled. Don’t worry about this as you will be putting the password jumper back where it should be soon. It will show this message:

Image of Dell Security Manager warning when the password reset jumper has been removed from Dell OptiPlex

Next, you will also receive a message notifying you that service mode is enabled:

Warning from Dell OptiPlex when the service mode jumpers have been set.

Press F1 to continue and continue to boot normally

When your machine is booted up again you can take a backup of your existing firmware. Open a command prompt as administrator:

Showing how to run a command prompt as an administrator

Run the following commands:

cd "\Intel ME System Tools v9.1 r7\Flash Programming Tool\WIN64" fptw64.exe -d backup.bin

Image of output from Intel Flash Programming Tool when taking a backup of a Dell OptiPlex BIOS

The example above is from an OptiPlex 7020, the output from the 3020 will look slightly different as it only has a single flash device and will give output such as:

Platform: Intel(R) H81 Express Chipset Reading HSFSTS register... Flash Descriptor: Valid

--- Flash Devices Found ---
MX25L6405D ID:0xc22017 Size: 8192KB (65535Kb)
Reading Flash [0x800000] 8192KB of 8192KB - 100% complete. Writing flash contents to file "backup.bin"...
Memory Dump Complete FPT Operation Passed

You will now have a file named backup.bin which contains a full backup of your BIOS. Leave the command prompt open as we are going to use it again to write the modified BIOS back.

== Modify the BIOS Image ==

Download and open UEFITool 0.28.0 to modify your BIOS (Direct link to version I used).

Open the backup.bin from the previous step in UEFI Tool and expand it like so:

Image of UEFI Tool with a Dell BIOS Image loaded.

Scroll to the bottom of this section and you should see an area that looks like this:

Image of correct location to insert NVMe driver in Dell OptiPlex BIOS

Now, download this NVMe Express Driver and save it to your machine. Next, right click on the final DXE Driver before the Freeform entries. Specifically these is IDs:

D95D6B4F-92FA-4E78-9C48-C68C0813688E for the OptiPlex 7020 or 9020
6C58FC74-64DA-4D83-8BCD-9FD574C97316 for the OptiPlex 3020
Right click the item and choose Insert After:

Choose the file NvmExpressDxe_Small.ffs that you just downloaded and you will see it appear right after the item that you selected:

Image of NVMe Driver being inserted into Dell Optiplex BIOS

Now go to File -> Save Image File and save the file as nvme.bin.

Write the new BIOS to the machine

You are now ready to write the new file back to the machine. Go back to the command prompt session. Type the following command:

fptw64.exe -bios -f nvme.bin

You should get output like this:

Shut down the machine and take the jumper off the service pins and move it back to the password reset pins if you took it from there.

Install the PCI NVMe SSD

If you have not yet installed your SSD into the machine, you can do it now. For the 7020 use the blue PCI slot, it is approximately twice as fast as the smaller black one.

For the 3020 you need to install it into the PCI Slot closest to the Power Supply.

Optimise BIOS Settings

Now that you have written the new BIOS, restart the machine.

You should be able to see the adapter in the BIOS:

Image of System Information screen from a Dell Optiplex 7020 BIOS.

If you are not going to have any SATA drives connected you need to disable them in the BIOS, here you can see I have disabled all of the ports that do not have a drive connected:

Disabling the un-used ports prevents an error on startup.

Finally, if you want the maximum possible speed from your new drive, consider disabling C-States in the BIOS. This makes it marginally faster, but I doubt you would notice much difference:

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:22, 31 August 2024
Line 65:		Line 65:
	Note: If you have a spare jumper you could leave the password jumper in place.		Note: If you have a spare jumper you could leave the password jumper in place.

	[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-Service-Mode.jpg\|~~400px~~]]		[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-Service-Mode.jpg\|700px]]

	Image of Dell Optiplex 7020 Motherboard Service mode pins.		Image of Dell Optiplex 7020 Motherboard Service mode pins.

	[[File:OptiPlex-3020-Service-Mode.jpg\|~~400px~~]]		[[File:OptiPlex-3020-Service-Mode.jpg\|700px]]

	Service Mode pins for Dell OptiPlex 7020 SFF		Service Mode pins for Dell OptiPlex 7020 SFF

	[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-9020-Service-Mode.jpg\|~~400px~~]]		[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-9020-Service-Mode.jpg\|700px]]

	Image of Dell Optiplex 3020 Motherboard Service mode pins.		Image of Dell Optiplex 3020 Motherboard Service mode pins.
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	When your machine is booted up again you can take a backup of your existing firmware. Open a command prompt as administrator:		When your machine is booted up again you can take a backup of your existing firmware. Open a command prompt as administrator:

	[[File:Run-Command-Prompt-Administrator.png\|~~400px~~]]		[[File:Run-Command-Prompt-Administrator.png\|600px]]

	Showing how to run a command prompt as an administrator		Showing how to run a command prompt as an administrator
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	cd "\Intel ME System Tools v9.1 r7\Flash Programming Tool\WIN64" fptw64.exe -d backup.bin		cd "\Intel ME System Tools v9.1 r7\Flash Programming Tool\WIN64" fptw64.exe -d backup.bin

	[[File:Optiplex-7020-3020-Backup-BIOS-Intel-FPT.png\|~~400px~~]]		[[File:Optiplex-7020-3020-Backup-BIOS-Intel-FPT.png\|700px]]

	Image of output from Intel Flash Programming Tool when taking a backup of a Dell OptiPlex BIOS		Image of output from Intel Flash Programming Tool when taking a backup of a Dell OptiPlex BIOS
Line 134:		Line 134:
	Image of UEFI Tool with a Dell BIOS Image loaded.		Image of UEFI Tool with a Dell BIOS Image loaded.

	[[File:Optiplex-7020-UEFITool.png\|~~400px~~]]		[[File:Optiplex-7020-UEFITool.png\|700px]]

	Scroll to the bottom of this section and you should see an area that looks like this:		Scroll to the bottom of this section and you should see an area that looks like this:

	[[File:Insert-NVME-DXE-Location.png\|~~400px~~]]		[[File:Insert-NVME-DXE-Location.png\|700px]]

	Image of correct location to insert NVMe driver in Dell OptiPlex BIOS		Image of correct location to insert NVMe driver in Dell OptiPlex BIOS
Line 148:		Line 148:
	Right click the item and choose Insert After:		Right click the item and choose Insert After:

	[[File:Insert-NVME-DXE-InsertAfter.png\|~~400px~~]]		[[File:Insert-NVME-DXE-InsertAfter.png\|700px]]

	Choose the file NvmExpressDxe_Small.ffs that you just downloaded and you will see it appear right after the item that you selected:		Choose the file NvmExpressDxe_Small.ffs that you just downloaded and you will see it appear right after the item that you selected:

	[[File:Insert-NVME-DXE-Inserted.png\|~~400px~~]]		[[File:Insert-NVME-DXE-Inserted.png\|700px]]

	Image of NVMe Driver being inserted into Dell Optiplex BIOS		Image of NVMe Driver being inserted into Dell Optiplex BIOS
Line 166:		Line 166:
	You should get output like this:		You should get output like this:

	[[File:Optiplex-7020-Write-NVMe-BIOS-1.png\|~~400px~~]]		[[File:Optiplex-7020-Write-NVMe-BIOS-1.png\|500px]]

	Shut down the machine and take the jumper off the service pins and move it back to the password reset pins if you took it from there.		Shut down the machine and take the jumper off the service pins and move it back to the password reset pins if you took it from there.
Line 182:		Line 182:
	You should be able to see the adapter in the BIOS:		You should be able to see the adapter in the BIOS:

	[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-NVMe-Bios-System-Information-1024x576.png\|~~400px~~]]		[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-NVMe-Bios-System-Information-1024x576.png\|600px]]

	Image of System Information screen from a Dell Optiplex 7020 BIOS.		Image of System Information screen from a Dell Optiplex 7020 BIOS.
Line 188:		Line 188:
	If you are not going to have any SATA drives connected you need to disable them in the BIOS, here you can see I have disabled all of the ports that do not have a drive connected:		If you are not going to have any SATA drives connected you need to disable them in the BIOS, here you can see I have disabled all of the ports that do not have a drive connected:

	[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-NVMe-Bios-SATA-Options-1024x576.png\|~~400px~~]]		[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-NVMe-Bios-SATA-Options-1024x576.png\|600px]]

	Disabling the un-used ports prevents an error on startup.		Disabling the un-used ports prevents an error on startup.
Line 194:		Line 194:
	Finally, if you want the maximum possible speed from your new drive, consider disabling C-States in the BIOS. This makes it marginally faster, but I doubt you would notice much difference:		Finally, if you want the maximum possible speed from your new drive, consider disabling C-States in the BIOS. This makes it marginally faster, but I doubt you would notice much difference:

	[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-Disable-C-States-1024x576.png\|~~400px~~]]		[[File:Dell-Optiplex-7020-Disable-C-States-1024x576.png\|600px]]


	Now you should be bale to boot from an NVMe Drive natively using a PCIe adapter!		Now you should be bale to boot from an NVMe Drive natively using a PCIe adapter!