Overclocking Options Gone WIth Bios Update ?

Acumen wrote: Greetings - In an effort to fix a botched Windows 1o I installed a BIOS update which was P.150 8/3/2015. It seems I cannot find my overclock options anymore. Am I losing my mind or are they gone ? Somehow the system is operating in UEFI mode, could that be the issue? Or am I simply overlooking the options? I am running an H81m-VG4 with an I5 4670K. Thanks for any help.

Well, it looks like you just killed your "Non-Z OC" feature, by installing the 1.50 UEFI/BIOS version. That would explain the loss of your OC features. You are not losing your mind, they were removed.

Don't forget that Intel only allows over clocking on their 'Z' chipset boards. ASRock included the Non-Z OC feature on some of the other chipset boards, like your H81 chipset. You were lucky to be able to OC a CPU on your board, that feature is now long gone. Intel was not happy about that, and forced ASRock to remove that feature.

Guess which UEFI/BIOS update included the Non-Z OC killing CPU microcode? Yes, it is version 1.50, sorry to say. The "Update Microcode 19" in the description of UEFI version 1.50 is what removed your Non-Z OC feature. You were lucky to have that feature, it is long gone now for any other boards.

I don't know what you mean by your system is now running in "UEFI mode", unless you installed Windows 10 that way. You may have done that without knowing it. That is caused by booting the Windows 10 installation media with the entry in the boot order, "UEFI: <device name>", which seems to have been the default/first entry in the boot order when you installed Windows 10. That is quite likely what happened.

Regardless, your PC running in UEFI mode has nothing at all to do with losing your Non-Z OC feature, I can assure you of that.

We can TRY to get your Non-OC feature back, but since I don't have your board I can only tell you what should work. The main thing is we need to get rid of the 19 microcode you now have. CPU microcode updates do not happen in all UEFI/BIOS updates. I see a potential UEFI/BIOS version that you can install that might change the 19 microcode you have now.

If that fails, your only other option is replacing the BIOS chip in your board. It is in a socket, so not soldered to the board, and can be replaced (carefully) by the user. You can buy them with a UEFI/BIOS version already installed, version 1.40 is the last version before the removal of the Non-Z OC feature.

You can buy a BIOS chip from ASRock, or from eBay, with the BIOS version of your choice installed on the chip. If you need to do that.

On the page in the link below, you'll find a Beta UEFI/BIOS version, 1.33, which is the one you need to install first:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H81M-VG4/?cat=Beta

Do you know how to use the Instant Flash BIOS update method? That's the only (and best) method available for 1.33.

Update your UEFI/BIOS to version 1.33, and check for the Non-Z OC feature. If it's back, great.

If not, try updating to version 1.40, which added support for several Haswell Refresh processors. That may have been a full CPU microcode update, but I cannot be sure. If the 1.33 update gave you the Non-Z OC feature back, you can still update to 1.40 if you want to, and not lose the Non-Z OC feature.

If that fails, your only chance is replacing the BIOS chip.

Acumen wrote: parsec wrote: Acumen wrote: Greetings - In an effort to fix a botched Windows 1o I installed a BIOS update which was P.150 8/3/2015. It seems I cannot find my overclock options anymore. Am I losing my mind or are they gone ? Somehow the system is operating in UEFI mode, could that be the issue? Or am I simply overlooking the options? I am running an H81m-VG4 with an I5 4670K. Thanks for any help. Well, it looks like you just killed your "Non-Z OC" feature, by installing the 1.50 UEFI/BIOS version. That would explain the loss of your OC features. You are not losing your mind, they were removed. Don't forget that Intel only allows over clocking on their 'Z' chipset boards. ASRock included the Non-Z OC feature on some of the other chipset boards, like your H81 chipset. You were lucky to be able to OC a CPU on your board, that feature is now long gone. Intel was not happy about that, and forced ASRock to remove that feature. Guess which UEFI/BIOS update included the Non-Z OC killing CPU microcode? Yes, it is version 1.50, sorry to say. The "Update Microcode 19" in the description of UEFI version 1.50 is what removed your Non-Z OC feature. You were lucky to have that feature, it is long gone now for any other boards. I don't know what you mean by your system is now running in "UEFI mode", unless you installed Windows 10 that way. You may have done that without knowing it. That is caused by booting the Windows 10 installation media with the entry in the boot order, "UEFI: <device name>", which seems to have been the default/first entry in the boot order when you installed Windows 10. That is quite likely what happened. Regardless, your PC running in UEFI mode has nothing at all to do with losing your Non-Z OC feature, I can assure you of that. We can TRY to get your Non-OC feature back, but since I don't have your board I can only tell you what should work. The main thing is we need to get rid of the 19 microcode you now have. CPU microcode updates do not happen in all UEFI/BIOS updates. I see a potential UEFI/BIOS version that you can install that might change the 19 microcode you have now. If that fails, your only other option is replacing the BIOS chip in your board. It is in a socket, so not soldered to the board, and can be replaced (carefully) by the user. You can buy them with a UEFI/BIOS version already installed, version 1.40 is the last version before the removal of the Non-Z OC feature. You can buy a BIOS chip from ASRock, or from eBay, with the BIOS version of your choice installed on the chip. If you need to do that. On the page in the link below, you'll find a Beta UEFI/BIOS version, 1.33, which is the one you need to install first: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H81M-VG4/?cat=Beta Do you know how to use the Instant Flash BIOS update method? That's the only (and best) method available for 1.33. Update your UEFI/BIOS to version 1.33, and check for the Non-Z OC feature. If it's back, great. If not, try updating to version 1.40, which added support for several Haswell Refresh processors. That may have been a full CPU microcode update, but I cannot be sure. If the 1.33 update gave you the Non-Z OC feature back, you can still update to 1.40 if you want to, and not lose the Non-Z OC feature. If that fails, your only chance is replacing the BIOS chip. Wow - thanks. I need some time to digest all of that and select a course of action. I am really frustrated at this point. This problem, and literally 2 dozen others have stemmed from a simple video card upgrade. I have had monitor problems, disk problems, cable problems, hard drive problems, and now BIOS problems. My experience could be a Netflix drama. In the coming days as I can figure things I will give things a try. This UEFI experience is new, and I deduced the EUFI was a BIOS thing and not a Windows issue. I just have had so many problems I could not be sure. Again, I am exceptionally appreciative of the time and energy you invested to help me. I will follow up when I get a chance to take a plan of action.

I downloaded the v1.40 BIOS to a FAT 32 formatted  USB drive. The Instant Flash utility will not recognized the ROM from the USB. It is formatted FAT 32 and I event tried setting the USB as the boot device. It says no file to load. I am guessing it does not want me to roll back the BIOS? I downloaded v1.40 from here:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H81M-VG4/?cat=Download&os=BIOS

Any ideas?

parsec wrote: Acumen wrote: I downloaded the v1.40 BIOS to a FAT 32 formatted  USB drive. The Instant Flash utility will not recognized the ROM from the USB. It is formatted FAT 32 and I event tried setting the USB as the boot device. It says no file to load. I am guessing it does not want me to roll back the BIOS? I downloaded v1.40 from here: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H81M-VG4/?cat=Download&os=BIOS Any ideas? Sorry but I must ask, did you unzip/extract the file you downloaded? The name of the file on the USB flash drive should be H81MVG41.40 The USB flash drive must be put in a USB 2.0 port on the board's IO panel. Sometimes large capacity USB flash drive (32GB+) are not recognized correctly. Setting it as the boot device is not necessary. I've never heard of a UEFI update being blocked, even in this situation.

BAM! After a few more tries it worked!

Now, my next problem, can you offer any help?

Windows still wants to format my second hard to make it accessible. Is this an effect of UEFI? From what I understand the space is allocated slightly different when UEFI is used to boot. Is that correct? If so, can I change back to using BIOS without having to reinstall Windows?