Must be 3.1 issue then! Good luck with the new test BIOS, hope it works this time, if not we try 11.0 ME instead. I have to run for now, but will be back tomorrow night with new BIOS if you need it, just post your update/info once you've tested and checked it out.

Hello,

After further delving into the BIOS following several guides and also educating myself with the new settings (Thanks for unlocking them!), sad to report I am still unable to BCLK past 102.9. :(

So @Lost_N_BIOS, what do you think is the next step then?

Zitat von Lost_N_BIOS im Beitrag #46

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if not we try 11.0 ME instead

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@fust - I don't think we ever tried ME 11.0, it shouldn't matter but we can try it. Which BIOS was you able to bclk OC again?

The only one was the one for the Z170-A from here:

https://overclocking.guide/download/asus...-non-k-oc-bios/

It's listed as version 0050. It will BCLK in UEFI, and the POST screen shows the correct clock. Windows starts to boot, but freezes during the rotating dots screen. Can't boot to other OSes (like Linux live disk) or boot/install media either. Same thing on all of them: starts to boot, then freezes. Doesn't matter if I'm booting to USB or SATA or M.2 (I should mention that my M.2 drive is SATA protocol, not NVME).

@fust - Did you use same exact settings before and now (disable turbo, or enable, C-States, boot performance mode, etc) I'm not sure what needs set, but I know certain things need enabled or disabled for it to work.

SATA vs NVME doesn't matter to me, the boot issue with that BIOS is it's a broken BIOS Mod, as I linked you to the thread about it (Maybe same you linked above, can't remember) many 10+ people said same issue as you so it's not a good mod (Even if Asus made it, it's broken BIOS)

Here is same BIOS mod, but with ME 11 instead, also include one more with 11.6 (please try first, I changed one setting that was missed previously at MW FW side, may be the key)
With Either of these, make sure ME FW is reflashed and then issue FPTw.exe -greset or fully drain power for 1+ minute - http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil...756596539038339

If both these fail, I can put in exact microcode from the other BIOS, instead of one I've been using which was marked by UBU as "Last for Bclk OC"

Yes, same settings. I even went back and tried the 0050 Z170-A BIOS using the guides I followed for testing your modded BIOS (and also using my personal knowledge), but neither BIOS would boot. However, I'll make triple sure I had everything right.

I'll also test both new versions and get back to you.

THANKS!!

Good you double checked on settings, I was reading about it before and remembered it seemed to require some unusual or seemingly abnormal to OC settings

Let me know how those go once you have change to test, if still no luck we can do that original ucode from that messed up BIOS.

Just to keep this thread alive, I'm still doing testing, but it doesn't look good. I havent been able to BCLK with either of the newest BIOS files... :( Still, give me a bit more time to dig deeper...

@fust - OK, will do! If worse comes to worse, we can get you back on that broken BCLK BIOS for the other board, and I can try to resolve the issues it had originally.

HAPPY UPDATE!!!!::

As I continued to beat my head against all BIOS settings, I decided it was time to step back and basically start over. I marked each of my BIOS chips, and burned a different bios version to each one so I could systematically go through them and try the same settings on each.

Stepping backwards through the different BIOSes custom crafted for me by @Lost_N_BIOS (THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!), each refusing to BCLK past the same point (102.9), I decided to go back even further and look at the old BIOS linked in Post 36. I also went back to my previous BCLK info resources, and scoured for anything that I might have missed.

Since I have extremely slow internet (1.3 Mb...and not good cell service either... ouch!), I generally go for text guides, since with videos I have to choose between pixelated or stuttering while buffering. But, I decided to check out some videos anyway. As I watched, I took notes on the steps this time.

That's when it hit me: one of the steps in all the text guides I had been working from WAS INCOMPLETE!! When you turn on the XMP feature, a dialog box pops up asking if you want to apply "all the core enhancements with the XMP setting for improved performance...".

NONE of the guides said that you have to pick NO instead of YES (yes is the default, and to me, makes logical sense), BUT THE VIDEO I WATCHED DID!!!

As it turns out the Z170-A BIOS IS BOOTABLE WHEN BCLKED IF YOU SELECT NO!!!!!

It's just that the ASUS "core enhancements" mess up booting after the OC. Note that none of the Z170-AR BIOSes would clock past 102.9, even with this revelation. I'm not even sure which settings are affected, but by choosing NO (with the Z170-A BIOS), THE BOARD IS STABLE WITH A BCLCK OF 4.62 Ghz (RAM clocked at 3174)! I ran Prime95 for 6 hours without error (although with RAM at around 2600), but I'm doing the final test when I leave for the weekend, so I'll run it for a couple of days straight. If successful, that's a 1.32 Ghz OC, which is a 40% increase, on air cooling! Not too shabby for a lowly Pentium G4400 @ 3.3 Ghz stock!

So, I believe this journey is over for now, and I want to thank everyone who helped along the way, especially Lost_N_BIOS for being so helpful and willing to try things out for me, to educate me, and for the patience! It's great to have support of a community when you are splashing out into rough waters, so THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

After the Prime95 test, I'll post my final results and also the PROPER steps to OC using the Z170-AR BIOS.

SALUDOS!!!

P.S.: I would also like to apologise if anyone felt like they were jumping through hoops when the solution was already there, although hidden behind incorrect info I was working from... :)

OK testing is over! The Z170-A BIOS successfully works and OCs on a Z170-AR motherboard!

I was able to BCLK my G4400 from 3.3 Ghz to 4.6 Ghz, voltage at 1.40, RAM speed set to auto, RAM voltage at 1.38. This was 100% stable and ran Prime 95 all weekend without error!
I then swapped to my i5 6400, BCLK from 2.7 Ghz to 4.3Ghz, voltage 1.42, RAM speed set to auto, RAM voltage at 1.38. Again, 100% stable for 24 hours!

Settings were as follows:

Advanced > CPU Configuration > Boot Performance Mode: Turbo Performance
Advanced > CPU Configuration > CPU Power Management Control > Intel(R) SpeedStep(tm): Disabled
AI Tweaker > Ai Overclock Timer: XMP

(-----> VERY IMPORTANT!! CLICK NO ON THE DIALOG BOX!!! <-----)

AI Tweaker > BCLK Frequency: 133 (a starting point, try increasing after stable)
AI Tweaker > DRAM Frequency: Auto (a starting point, try increasing after stable)
AI Tweaker > DIGI+ VRM CPU > Load-Line Calibration: 7
AI Tweaker > CPU Core/Cache Voltage: Manual
AI Tweaker > CPU Voltage Override: 1.35 (a starting point, try increasing if not stable, but not past 1.45)
AI Tweaker > DRAM Voltage: Auto (a starting point, try increasing if not stable, but not past 1.35 unless you really know what you're doing)

Thank you all again, especially @Lost_N_BIOS

Happy hacking!

Great you finally got this working @fust - and thank you for taking the time to lay out the steps for others!

So, I think from what you say, XMP disabled would also work too, and many would disable XMP anyway to set their own memory speed/timings/voltage etc. But, you'd have to test to confirm this one.

You're welcome, sorry I was not able to directly fix this for you . I'm surprised none of the AR BIOS I made for you work with those steps, must be something Asus blocked or removed, other than the usual stuff.

Hi mate, I am having exactly same problem (MX25L12873F) chip, HP Elitebook 840 G2 model.
I read and dumped successfully, but when tried to write the chip had same error messages as you mentioned in your post. I tried quiet a few times but no luck, used various versions of ch341a, used asprogrammer as well but get a message possible protection is enabled.
But when i read this chip it has almost data at all, and it doesn't match with the original backup. Is it possible that chip is gone?

Second question is can i put any (make) bios chip on board or it has to be same make and model? I will appreciate you guys if you can help me with this.

@RAZA - From past experience with this chip - MX25L12873F use 1.31Free/1.40, ASProgrammer 1.4 or 1.41, or CH341A v1.1.1.32
Inside this package is 1.31Free/1.40 - http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil...695330485827902
ASProgrammer - https://github.com/nofeletru/UsbAsp-flash/releases/ << I'd use this first
I also know from others posting, this one works too - CH341A v1.1.1.32 (Post #12) - [Help] Flashed stock Bios on Aero 15, now it won't post

ASProgrammer always says that, you can click to "remove protection" if you want, but it's not protected. Whenever you read chip, if software isn't compatible you could see anything (valid data, or not), so you can't look into what you see at all (I mean, it means nothing, may not even be what's there)
"Original" backup may not be valid either, could be corrupted data from bad read (even if chip was bricked, what you dumped may be 100% more corrupted than that, if bad read due to incompatible software etc, even if 100% verified during dump/save)
Hopefully you've not erased or wrote anything yet! If you have, then all system specific data may be lost now (serial, UUID, MAC ID etc).. Please give me your "Original backup" so I can check it, and what software and version did you make this dump with?

As to replacement chips that may be more compatible with programming software, I can say from random dumps I found online (unknown BIOS version), the following chips are compatible (there may be more, if you have updated BIOS on board, I'd have to see your dump first)
But, you don';t need to replace the chip, just need to use compatible software I linked above
20BA18 (Micron N25Q128)
C22018 (Macronix MX25L128)
EF4018 (Winbond W25Q128)
1C7018 (EON EN25QH128)
C84018 (GigaDevice GD25x128)