B350m Pro4 Flash failure

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

   I have 2 of these motherboards. I flashed one to bridge bios 7, then to 7.4 and it went fine. I went to flash the second one to bridge 7 and it completed to stating press enter to reboot. I clicked OK and when it rebooted it now beeps two short, four short, three short. There is no output. These beep codes are repeated even with all RAM and CPU stripped. Before doing that I cleared CMOS via jumper and battery pull. After that failed I left battery pulled overnight and tried again.

I went ahead and tried a 1200, 1300x and 1700 in it that I had on hand. I tried single stick of ram and even 2400 ram instead of 3200 just to see if that resolved it.

I was updating this so my daughter could upgrade to a 4500. I now have one kid with a computer and one unhappy camper.

How screwed is this board?

Any help or information is helpful. Usually corrupted bios is no beep return and that's why I am wondering if there is hope for this board.

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic
TiredWurm Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 01 Mar 2023 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 50	Post Options Post Reply Quote TiredWurm Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: B350m Pro4 Flash failure Posted: 01 Mar 2023 at 3:06am
	I have 2 of these motherboards. I flashed one to bridge bios 7, then to 7.4 and it went fine. I went to flash the second one to bridge 7 and it completed to stating press enter to reboot. I clicked OK and when it rebooted it now beeps two short, four short, three short. There is no output. These beep codes are repeated even with all RAM and CPU stripped. Before doing that I cleared CMOS via jumper and battery pull. After that failed I left battery pulled overnight and tried again. I went ahead and tried a 1200, 1300x and 1700 in it that I had on hand. I tried single stick of ram and even 2400 ram instead of 3200 just to see if that resolved it. I was updating this so my daughter could upgrade to a 4500. I now have one kid with a computer and one unhappy camper. How screwed is this board? Any help or information is helpful. Usually corrupted bios is no beep return and that's why I am wondering if there is hope for this board.

Xaltar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 2015 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 22793	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xaltar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 Mar 2023 at 4:41am
	Short of unsoldering the BIOS ROM and having it flashed externally then resoldered to the board the only option I can think of is opening a ticket with ASRock: https://tw.asrock.com/events/tsd.asp They are usually really helpful with bad flashes. Another long shot solution is to find a cheap ROM programmer with a clip type setup that is compatible with your BIOS ROM, you could then externally flash the BIOS without unsoldering it. As far as I am aware 300 series boards didn't have a flash recovery option like newer boards do. Hopefully ASRock can help you out. Good luck Edited by Xaltar - 01 Mar 2023 at 4:41am


TiredWurm Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 01 Mar 2023 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 50	Post Options Post Reply Quote TiredWurm Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 Mar 2023 at 5:17am
	Is the SPI header on the Mobo standard pinout. Then I shouldn't have to unsolder at all.

TiredWurm Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 01 Mar 2023 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 50	Post Options Post Reply Quote TiredWurm Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 Mar 2023 at 5:18am
	if I repair it I will make sure and post here. I was hoping I wouldn't have to flash it with external utilities because it was still making noise.

Xaltar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 2015 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 22793	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xaltar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 Mar 2023 at 7:19am
	If you tried it with the same CPU that worked for the other board and there was still no joy, likely something went wrong with the flash, possibly the microcode failed to update. No microcode means no supported CPUs, even if everything else flashed successfully. You already cleared CMOS and tried a battery pull. Otherwise, there isn't much more you can try. I am not sure about the SPI header pinout, it wouldn't make much sense to use a different pinout but it's always a possibility. ASRock should be able to give you an answer on that one. The only other thing I can think of is to try with a single stick of RAM in slot A2 with the same CPU that worked for the other board's updates. If you have already tried that then I'm afraid an external flash is your only option. Hopefully the SPI header is the standard pinout. Good luck, sorry I couldn't be of more help.