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AsRock 970 Extreme 4 BIOS upgrade

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datonyb View Drop Down
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    Posted: 28 Apr 2020 at 9:44pm
it would appear the website is now translating my U.K. pounds symbol into some chinese charector ........ ££
[url=https://valid.x86.fr/jpg250][/url]

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote datonyb Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Apr 2020 at 9:42pm
to be honest theres very few advantages of the fx8000 cpus over a very good phenom not just in synthetics but as someone who upgraded a phenom 965 > 8350

and this year is seeing some very very 'silly' prices asked for 8350/8370 etc cpus
last year i could buy the brand new 8350 with wrath coolers for £50 direct from amazon ,,,,,this year only secondhand stock and ebay wants circa £100


for that money next month you can buy a brand new 3300x am4 which in every single aspect can far far out perform any fx cpu
debauer overclocked a fx8350 to 8.1ghz last week and still couldnt match a base level ryzen cpu

what am i saying regarding yourself ?
3300x + say asrock b450m pro4 + 16gb 3200 ram = circa £250 / 250 ish euros

is it worth doing anything now with the old am3 systems ????
[url=https://valid.x86.fr/jpg250][/url]

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dvd_video Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Apr 2020 at 3:30pm
Hello Jake,

The instant flash failed for me big time, tried everything so far including changing the file names not to include ".", renaming extensions to BIN but still nothing. I just invested a bunch of money in a more beefy Noctua NH-D15S that I plan to use for my future AM4/DDR5 AsRock mobo and I overclocked my Phenom to be on the safe site here (see the video below).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny6kvzAt1eI

Marking as solved as I am literally unable to find FX8370 CPU
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jdillipl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Feb 2020 at 12:25am
Instant Flash is the safest. Make sure you put the BIOS update files in the root of the USB flash drive, not in any folder. I have no idea why the earlier versions are no longer on the Web page.

Jake
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dvd_video Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Feb 2020 at 8:23pm
Hello Jake,

Yes, it is indeed very weird. I am also thinking of unplugging the power to all my SATA drives to be on the safe side, so they become inactive. I assume that Instant flash may try to read something from the SATA disks drives that is being "verified and automatically detected".

I did indeed try with the whole 16 Gig USB 2.0 flash before I made the partition, but it gave me the same error and then I decided to shrink the volume to two Gig when assuming it may work with these smaller drives 2-8 Gig, however, I think I did full format because I deleted the partition and created a new one, which will wipe all the data on the accessible volume.

Maybe I should try wiping it forcefully with zeros because that is the way flash drives work to preserve write cycles by only marking it as deleted.

I do remember when I installed 2.50, I did the exact same thing, but used the whole drive. Back then ( about 7 years ago ) my initial BIOS was 1.40 and I was having issues with my USB keyboard and mouse, when I noticed that 2.30 fixes these. Updated to 2.50, which was the newest at the time and the peripherals issue stopped. It was indeed fixed.

I will wipe the entire SanDisk 16 Gig drive and try again:
https://static2.nordic.pictures/27273926-thickbox_default/sandisk-flash-drive-16gb-cruzer-dial-sdcz57-016g-b35.jpg

1. Is there a way to use the free DOS option or instant flash will be safer?
2. If free DOS is used, how come there is only version 2.80, where are the others?
3. How to proceed when the upgrade is stuck at zero percent?
4. How to proceed when the upgrade is stuck in the middle or at 99%?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jdillipl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Feb 2020 at 2:44am
Strange that Instant Flash detects that there is a folder named \temp on the USB flash drive. I would try this:

Save off the two BIOS files.
Delete the partition from the USB flash drive.
Reformat it as one FAT32 drive. Might consider doing a full format instead of a quick format.
Put the BIOS files back on it, and try the Instant Flash again.

Jake
Asrock X370 Killer SLI/ac, Amd Ryzen 7 5700X, GSkill Flare X F4-2400C16D-32GFX, RaidMax Thunder V2 735W PS
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dvd_video Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Feb 2020 at 9:02pm
There are the following topics on the subject:

https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/92tmvl/asrock_instant_flash_points_to_a_random_file_on/

https://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock/57764-uefi-freezing-unable-update-bios-asrock-z87-pro4-bios-1-30-a.html
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dvd_video Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Feb 2020 at 4:00am
I am placing the old and the new BIOS inside:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pHfJagN8sGF1cQYnwMu87luQog3fqwPz/view?usp=sharing
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dvd_video Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Feb 2020 at 4:49pm
Hello,

I decided to upgrade from Phenom II x6 to FX-8350 and I need to upgrade the BIOS from 2.50 to 2.60 because this version is required if I need to install the new CPU. It will gain 30% boost and have 2 cores more and 1866 memory. I need the resource for the VMs I make.

Not so long ago, there were all the versions available and you could download one and get going. On the Mobo page I found only version 2.80:
https://www.asrock.com/MB/AMD/970 Extreme4/index.asp#BIOS

I wiped a USB 2.0 flash drive and created 2 GB partition on it:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1r7CTUBKLjSUaCm9JoYsJQX9X_WPIcsVb/view?usp=sharing

1. ASRock Instant flash utility ( FAILED )
During boot pressing F2 go to Advanced tab, Instant flash option being the same as F6 during boot. Put the BIOS 2.50 (CURRENT) and 2.80 (NEW) to have a failsafe option. Loaded the 2.50 defaults. When I invoke Instant flash it is stuck on "\temp":

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L0F6QRDS0-BHklra4n4OJ4WfsEr04aXS/view?usp=sharing

2. Using Free dos with boot via Rufus (NO ROLLBACK)
Installing the thing in a bootable flash drive, boot DOS and use the
DOS executable to run the update on free DOS. However, I don't have a DOS version of BIOS 2.50 to rollback to since it is not available anymore, I can't use this option.

https://www.asrock.com/support/BIOSIG.asp?cat=DOS6

3. Windows flash utility ( WINDOWS )
I see it only runs on XP/Vista and I avoid updating BIOS under windows:
https://www.asrock.com/support/BIOSIG.asp?cat=Windows5

4. ASRock App-Shop utility ( WINDOWS )
BIOS upgrade option is available in the application for download.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iPZe9pkIv1RjRu-P7tixZKO73p6PDCQ-/view?usp=sharing

I need to have a fail-safe option since this PC is my daily driver.

What will you guys advise? Is it worth the upgrade effort?
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