Hi mates, I need help/confirmation about the status of my motherboard, this AMD AM3+ motherboard is the heart of my Hyper-V server, two months ago, I purchased a 4 port network server card an I tried to insert the DXE driver on it (don´t ask why, I'm idiot, I know), and after a few tries, modifications and flashing processes, the motherboard is dead (I think).

When I power on the PC, I don't see the POST screen or hear the speaker, this motherboard has 4 leds (CPU, RAM, VGA nad Boot Device), and the RAM led is continously lighting and if I press the mem ok button, nothing change. I'm sure that the CPU (AMD FX-8350), RAM, VGA and Power Supply are OK because I've tested all of them with an Asus Crosshair V Formula Z motherboard and everything is OK (PC boots wothout problems).

I've tried to flash my original BIOS backup (MAC address, UUID and serial number inserted) with the CH314 programmer, flashing the lastest BIOS version from USB flashback, reseting the EEPROM settings with CMOS pins and getting out the battery, and nothing works.

Is there something more that I can try to revive the motherboard, or is it dead for sure???

Regards.

It's probably OK. What is your BIOS chip ID?

Do you have backup from the chip anytime before you did this bad flash, can be with any program or method?
If not, do you have backup from before you started attempting to fix? If yes, please attach or upload

Zitat von Lost_N_BIOS im Beitrag #2

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It's probably OK. What is your BIOS chip ID?

Do you have backup from the chip anytime before you did this bad flash, can be with any program or method?
If not, do you have backup from before you started attempting to fix? If yes, please attach or upload

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I need to know your BIOS Chip ID? That's main issue here possibly, because your linked BIOS above, if known good backup, would be able to revive your board, unless you're using wrong software version to dump and write per your chip ID
Yes, often serial in BIOS may not be what you see on box, especially w/ Asus

So, the above linked BIOS, was a known good working dump with CH341A, before anything happened? If yes, great, if not too badly incorrect due to wrong software used to dump, then it should be OK to use to fix a new BIOS for you (or may even work directly, once correct software is used to write)
Additionally, for this board, the stock BIOS w/ capsule removed (first 2KB or 800h), would be bootable via programmer, but you would loose serial, UUID, MAC etc. But, this way you will see if board works or there is some other issue.

Zitat von Lost_N_BIOS im Beitrag #4

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I need to know your BIOS Chip ID? That's main issue here possibly, because your linked BIOS above, if known good backup, would be able to revive your board, unless you're using wrong software version to dump and write per your chip ID
Yes, often serial in BIOS may not be what you see on box, especially w/ Asus

So, the above linked BIOS, was a known good working dump with CH341A, before anything happened? If yes, great, if not too badly incorrect due to wrong software used to dump, then it should be OK to use to fix a new BIOS for you (or may even work directly, once correct software is used to write)
Additionally, for this board, the stock BIOS w/ capsule removed (first 2KB or 800h), would be bootable via programmer, but you would loose serial, UUID, MAC etc. But, this way you will see if board works or there is some other issue.

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Look at the chip itself to confirm, you may need to use magnifying glass and flashlight.

No, about .cap BIOS, you must extract the BIOS body from capsule first, via hex or with UEFITool, and then yes that would boot. If you want me to do that for you I can, but ideally if the above linked BIOS dump is a dump with CH341A and 1.18 dumped it out OK, then it should boot as well.
Have you tried programming that BIOS in with 1.18? If yes, and if failed, it may be bad dump due to 1.18 used to create it, or it may be that 1.18 just isn't writing properly and giving false verification.
You can verify manually by writing, then without powering on system, dump again and compare that with what you wrote in hex editor, should be 100% match

Here is stock BIOS, removed from capsule, once you can write and boot this let me know and I will use your above linked BIOS to fix a new BIOS for you with all your system specific details back in there
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil...562041626783398

For W25Q64BV use 1.30 or 1.34 - http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil...695330485827902 << This

Hi again @Lost_N_BIOS, bad news, no success with this stock BIOS without capsule, I've tried to flash it with the 1.34 version and nothing has change, the motherboard doesn't boot.

Other thing, with a visual inspection, the REAL chip ID is Winbond W25Q64FVAI6, I don't know if the two lastest characters are I6, 1G or a combiantion of these four characters (I can't be sure).

Maybe other thing or software version that we can try???

EDIT: The BIOS stock version that you've attached below, is edited at 15th Janury, is this right???

For W25Q64FV >> You need to use 1.30 or 1.34, and W25Q64BV ID. Did you use W25Q64BV ID, and did you erase first, then blank check, then open BIOS file and write/verify?

Do it again, using above info, then without trying to start the board, close the program, open it again and do read, then verify, the save the file and send to me to check. This way we manually confirm your write is going in 100% exact

Not sure what you mean about the BIOS date, maybe internal Asus date is January, i didn't look. It's BIOS from 2014, I extracted body in Jan/2020 maybe, that may be why you see that date, it's when I first did NVME Mod on this BIOS

Zitat von Lost_N_BIOS im Beitrag #8

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For W25Q64FV >> You need to use 1.30 or 1.34, and W25Q64BV ID. Did you use W25Q64BV ID, and did you erase first, then blank check, then open BIOS file and write/verify?

Do it again, using above info, then without trying to start the board, close the program, open it again and do read, then verify, the save the file and send to me to check. This way we manually confirm your write is going in 100% exact

Not sure what you mean about the BIOS date, maybe internal Asus date is January, i didn't look. It's BIOS from 2014, I extracted body in Jan/2020 maybe, that may be why you see that date, it's when I first did NVME Mod on this BIOS

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@RaskaipikaFWR - That is 100% match, so your BIOS is not the issue here. Remove all PCI/PCI Cards and leave only one stick of memory, clear CMOS and then try to start it again.
Where did you insert the DXE in your updated BIOS, I don't see it?

Here, try this BIOS instead, write same as as noted above in post #8, and if you want to manually verify you can dump chip again same way.
This has your original NVRAM and sys info back in place, original NVRAM may be needed, but that would be rare.
http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fil...532106326827190

Well @Lost_N_BIOS, again, no success with this last BIOS file that you send me today, obviously, the motherboard is dead, I don't know why, but is dead.

I've tried all that you've said me, but not luck mate, one thing that is strange is that if I try to use the ASUS flashback cahracteristic, the flashbac utility works reading and flashing but, when it finishes, in place of turn off the light, the light remains turned on. (15 seconds more or less is the time that the process takes).

The results are the same ever, I want to say that if I try to boot with or without PCI/PCI-e cards inserted, with one or two DDR RAM modules inserted in different slots (I've tested every possibility, A2 and B2, only A2, only B2, A1 and B1, only A1, only B1...), the motherboard stops in RAM ever (RAM red led turned on), and if I press the MemOK button, the RAM red led begins to turn on and turn off but nothing more happens.

Like a last possibility, I've tried too try again with a different RAM modules (Corsair 1600 MHz), but nothing changes, and with an old tester PCI card, the code that it shows is C5 ever, but in its manual there is nothing related with that code for AMI BIOS (but ey, the card is for BIOS MB, not for UEFI MB).

I'm out of ideas to try recover the motherboard, anyways, thank you so much for your efforts, time and help.

EDIT: The BIOS file that I linked at the 3rd post, it was the previous BIOS MOD that I made when I updated only the CPU microcodes, OPROMS and DXE drivers, all of them already presents in the BIOS MB, not inserted or removed from it.

@RaskaipikaFWR Sorry to hear it! - Connect case speaker, does it beep if you try to start it with no memory installed? C5 is call chipset to read BIOS, so chipset could be shorted out somehow, or something going to/from BIOS, so it can't pass that step when it tries. Do you see any blown or lifted traces near BIOS?

On the BIOS, I was asking where is your mod BIOS where you tried to insert whatever DXE for this PCIE card, that caused the initial issue. And on that, do you see any burn marks on the card or slot, does the card still work on other systems?
If this new/different DXE is in that BIOS, which exact module was it? I just wanted to look to see what you did, if it would have obviously caused a bricked BIOS or not etc.

Zitat von Lost_N_BIOS im Beitrag #12

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@RaskaipikaFWR Sorry to hear it! - Connect case speaker, does it beep if you try to start it with no memory installed? C5 is call chipset to read BIOS, so chipset could be shorted out somehow, or something going to/from BIOS, so it can't pass that step when it tries. Do you see any blown or lifted traces near BIOS?

On the BIOS, I was asking where is your mod BIOS where you tried to insert whatever DXE for this PCIE card, that caused the initial issue. And on that, do you see any burn marks on the card or slot, does the card still work on other systems?
If this new/different DXE is in that BIOS, which exact module was it? I just wanted to look to see what you did, if it would have obviously caused a bricked BIOS or not etc.

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Case speaker should beep immediately if no memory present, this is what I wanted you to test when I mentioned case speaker. If this does not happen there is some physical issue, possibly SB is shorted or bad (This means SB is not powering on), or some overvoltage or surge protector blew out etc.

PCI Cards work on UEFI BIOS too, and many codes are same for either. Thanks for the BIOS links, I will check it out. I doubt anything there would cause physical damage, I only wanted to check the BIOS to see what you did since I assumed it was one of the BIOS you had posted in this thread already.
Looking at your image of the inserted files, I see immediate issue, possibly what caused that BIOS to not work for you, however it's not clear that BIOS bricked your board or failed, since it looks like you booted to BIOS with it?????? Anyway, I see PEI module inserted into DXE volume, that should go into PEI volume only

Anyway, now that I see this thread you linked, where you did this mod, it's clear that BIOS was booting and working for you, so not the cause of the brick here. What caused the bricked BIOS here?

@Lost_N_BIOS, the only thing that I can tell you about the failure of the motherboard is that I can remember than one week or two before this happened, I had to reflash an original stock from USB Flashback (no CPU Microcodes updated, OPRMOS and DXE drivers updated, removed or inserted) because when I used a usb flash drive to different things, the entry of that USB flashdrive remains at the boot override section on "BOOT" tab (where you can select a different boot device than the boot device established).

Then, I made and flashed the BIOS MOD to the BIOS Chip with the C341-A programmer, which you've could check in the thread that I linked in the above post, this was did the same day or the next day, I can't remember well.

After this, two or three days, the PC come to freeze and I had to shutdown pressing the power on button until the system poweroff, this is way I though that the BIOS MOD was the cause the problems on the motherboard, but as you said in your last post, there are more possibilites that it isa physical problem in place of a firmware problem.

I don´t know if I can try to repair or do something to repair/restore the motherboard, because if this is not a posibility, I will have to purchase a second hand replace from e-Bay or similar, thing that is a ...., the warranty period finished two years ago (in Spain the warranty period is two years) because of that, a RMA is not a possibility.

P.S.: About the southbridge and a possible hardware failure, the USB Flashback feature is working on, it flashing as it is expect but at the end of the process (12-15 seconds reading from USB and writting to the BIOS chip), the light is lighting continuosly, it doesn´t turn off as is expect, can it help to find the root of the problem???