Z170 Gaming ITX/ac HDMI#2 bricked by firmware

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   I have been unable to get 4k@60Hz from the onboard HDMI
#2. The Win 10 64-bit HTPC was built Dec 2015. Both HDMI ports 1 & 2
initially got 4K@30.  When I would select
60Hz for the display adapter with HDMI port #2, the screen would go blank and
revert back to 30.  I then upgraded to
the latest drivers from Intel most recently last week with the 2/2/2016 Driver
20.19.15.4380.  It made no difference. So
after reading about this HDMI firmware update, I downloaded it and tried to
install from 1.24 to 1.36.  Unfortunately, I only had one 8GB DDR4 DIMM at
the time.  It failed, and then
rebooted.  Apparently it changed
something because the screen now shows densely packed multi-colored vertical
bars across 10% of the screen on the left and blank for the remainder.  I could still bring up the install tool using
the other HDMI port #1 that would say it had 1.24 currently and ready to
install 1.36, but it would always fail in the same way.  So I bought another identical 8GB DDR4 DIMM,
installed it yesterday and now the update utility BobcatAuxISPTool.exe shows
the following:

Firmware updating can't be started!

Please shut down system for a while and restart it!

Of course, doing what it says doesn?�t help.  Here?�s the content of the log file:

DDC2biAddr = 0x6E

RamWriteAddr = 0x1800

RunAtAddr = 0x1800

FlashStartAddr = 0x400000

Gfx Selection = 0

Graphics adapter initialization - NVIDIA: failed! (-2)

Graphics adapter initialization - AMD: Loading DLL
failed!

Graphics adapter initialization - Intel (LS-PCON): done!

  Device ID: 0x0C =
N/A (0x25)

  Device ID: 0x0D =
N/A (0x48)

  Device ID: 0x0E =
N/A (0x25)

  Device ID: 0x0F =
N/A (0x48)

Graphics adapter initialization - Intel: done!

N/A (0xD)

It seems like I have bricked the firmware on HDMI port
#2.  There must be some way to unbrick or
reset it.  Please help.

Jeff Davis

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jeffpdavis Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 10 May 2016 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote jeffpdavis Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Z170 Gaming ITX/ac HDMI#2 bricked by firmware Posted: 12 May 2016 at 12:20am
	I have been unable to get 4k@60Hz from the onboard HDMI #2. The Win 10 64-bit HTPC was built Dec 2015. Both HDMI ports 1 & 2 initially got 4K@30. When I would select 60Hz for the display adapter with HDMI port #2, the screen would go blank and revert back to 30. I then upgraded to the latest drivers from Intel most recently last week with the 2/2/2016 Driver 20.19.15.4380. It made no difference. So after reading about this HDMI firmware update, I downloaded it and tried to install from 1.24 to 1.36. Unfortunately, I only had one 8GB DDR4 DIMM at the time. It failed, and then rebooted. Apparently it changed something because the screen now shows densely packed multi-colored vertical bars across 10% of the screen on the left and blank for the remainder. I could still bring up the install tool using the other HDMI port #1 that would say it had 1.24 currently and ready to install 1.36, but it would always fail in the same way. So I bought another identical 8GB DDR4 DIMM, installed it yesterday and now the update utility BobcatAuxISPTool.exe shows the following: Firmware updating can't be started! Please shut down system for a while and restart it! Of course, doing what it says doesn?�t help. Here?�s the content of the log file: DDC2biAddr = 0x6E RamWriteAddr = 0x1800 RunAtAddr = 0x1800 FlashStartAddr = 0x400000 Gfx Selection = 0 Graphics adapter initialization - NVIDIA: failed! (-2) Graphics adapter initialization - AMD: Loading DLL failed! Graphics adapter initialization - Intel (LS-PCON): done! Device ID: 0x0C = N/A (0x25) Device ID: 0x0D = N/A (0x48) Device ID: 0x0E = N/A (0x25) Device ID: 0x0F = N/A (0x48) Graphics adapter initialization - Intel: done! N/A (0xD) It seems like I have bricked the firmware on HDMI port #2. There must be some way to unbrick or reset it. Please help. Jeff Davis

jeffpdavis Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 10 May 2016 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote jeffpdavis Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 12 May 2016 at 7:51am
	FIXED!! Kudos to ASRock Tech Support. I emailed them at the same time as this posting. John responded very quickly and gave me some things to try. The last one may have worked. Clearing the CMOS had no effect. Here's what I did: I reverted the Intel HD Graphics 530 to the 4300 version. But that wasn?�t enough or perhaps even relevant. It was suggested that I revert to my original BIOS (1.50), but I hadn't gotten to that yet. It was at 2.10 for all this testing below. The Firmware updater gave the same results when the monitor was connected to HDMI#1 after reverting the driver. The issue was the cable needed to be in HDMI#2 and resolution/refresh needed to be set at 4k@30 prior to running anything. Here?�s what I did that finally led to success. I shutdown the computer and then plugged the cable into the HDMI#2, turned it on and noticed that the initial BIOS (F2 or Del) screen showed up momentarily as did the Initial Windows 10 Window screen with pinwheel turning for a moment and then all went blank. I?�m surmising that the same 4k@60Hz setting that I had set up with the DP to HDMI adapter was ALSO being used for HDMI#2 and it couldn?�t do the 60Hz refresh until the firmware got updated. So I again shut it down (from Teamviewer) and connected a DP to HDMI adapter (Club3D model mentioned in other posts designed to work with DP1.2 and HDMI 2.0. It did!) to the DP port and my HDMI cable to the adapter. It booted up fine in 4k@60Hz. I then changed it to 4k@30Hz and shut it down again. Then I reconnected the cable to HDMI#2, turned it on and it booted up fine in 4k@30. I then started the firmware updater, which showed the correct initial screen?�”about to update from 1.24 to 1.36?? So far so good. I clicked Update and everything worked fine. It updated, screen went blank, reset itself and it came back again with success. I then went into the Graphics Display program and changed the refresh from 30 to 60 and it stayed. Yes. My conclusions: I?�m unsure whether reverting to the 4300 version of the Intel HD Graphics 530 drivers had an effect, but maybe. The correct sequence of events for installing the firmware are: 1) Ensure you have the requirements met, like dual channel memory and maybe the 4300 version driver 2) Plug cable into HDMI#2 (not HDMI#1) and boot up in 4k@30Hz 3) Run the firmware updater from there. It should work. 4) Change refresh to 60Hz and apply. I'm just glad it all finally worked.