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Bios 2.50 with microcode fix for Extreme 7+ out |
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parsec 
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Joined: 04 May 2015 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4996 |
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 Posted: 26 Jan 2016 at 2:16pm |
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Well, I normally do not turn off the PSUs of my PCs, unless I'm working on them or know I won't be using them for a while. But as you say this only happens with UEFI 2.50, I have yet to try it since a UEFI update killed a RAID 0 array of SM951s I used as an OS volume.
I'm now using a RAID 0 volume of 950 Pros, which I fear will suffer the same fate. But since I'll be going back to a single 950 Pro or use an Intel 750, it's not a great loss. Have you ever updated the UEFI or even simply cleared it since you began using your 950s in RAID 0? Either of those corrupted the RAID 0 array beyond recovery. I'm not the only one that experienced this. Our board has a newer Intel RAID Option ROM and EFI driver now, so I hope those will help. I'm also using IRST 14.8 which I hope will possibly help prevent this problem. This never happened with SATA SSDs in RAID 0. It seems to be related to the RST PCIe Remapping option. I think I've seen a change in the behavior of those options recently, but I'm uncertain. I've never experienced the triple POST startup that you described while using this board. POST code 19 is a memory related situation. I wonder if the new UEFI is going through "memory training" with your memory, since it is new firmware which is said to have improved memory compatibility. If turning off the PSU power causes this, you may have a bad battery in your board. |
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squawker
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Joined: 25 Jan 2016 Status: Offline Points: 18 |
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Posted: 26 Jan 2016 at 10:10pm |
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Hi parsec, Very interesting the observations about clearing or updating UEFI and killing the raid array. i changed to ASRock because my previous Z170 board could not provide a booting NVMe raid array and i was very interested in trying this config with a pair of Samsung 950 PRO. My Z170 EX7+ board arrived with UEFI 1.80 and after mounting the raid array, i updated it several times, including to UEFI 2.20 that now is removed from Global Download list. And much against my expectations the raid array survived all UEFI updates, including an update to IRST 14.8.0.1042 driver! Against my expectations because like you said i've seen other people relating the array corruption after updating, and all this thing about IRST remapping. The only precaution i take before updating UEFI is removing
both 950 PRO from its sockets and clearing CMOS, and of course after update reestablishing
the raid configs in UEFI, exactly like i was used to do with SATA drives. Also,
it's possible my prayers had helped a little About the triple attempt to post, i think you're right and it's related to the new UEFI improving memory compatibility and its training during post. BTW, is it possible to revert UEFI to a former version using Instant Flash or i have to use another tool? i will continue trying to discover if there is an error in my configs and also i'll check the 3 V battery state as you pointed out, but i suppose the hours clock and UEFI configs would be messed if it was completely bad. Regards, |
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ASRock E7+|Intel 6700K|EVGA GTX 980 Ti SC+|G.SKILL Trident Z F4-3400C16D-16GTZ|Samsung 950 PRO Raid0|Intel DC P3700|Corsair AX1200|Corsair H105|DELL U2412M|SteelSeries 6G V2|Razer DeathAdder
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parsec
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Posted: 28 Jan 2016 at 1:45pm |
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squawker, the ONLY precaution you took was removing the 950 Pros first?
 I would expect that to work, as you described it, and I'm glad it does. Thanks for verifying that for me, I never heard from anyone if that worked or not.  Alas, I decided to try the 2.50 update without removing the 950 Pros first. The result was the usual failed RAID 0 array. I new it would probably happen again, but I just had hope the different driver and Option ROM update in a recent UEFI update would help. But it didn't, and I'm installing Win 10 again on a single 950 Pro in... I almost can't say it... AHCI mode right now.   Well listen to me! I'm using two NVMe SSDs (I have an Intel 750 on the Z170 EX7+ PC too) and the most "primitive" drive I'm using is an AHCI SM951. I've moved on to the new storage protocol and really don't need RAID anymore.  In case you are wondering why I don't care for a RAID 0 array of 950 Pros, IMO the performance differences using RAID 0 are not worth the potential problems with RAID 0. That's a personal choice of course, and I simply don't like the trade-offs when using RAID 0. Moving on, I have not yet noticed your triple POST cold startup problem... yet. I must say that I cold started the PC after turning off the PSU, when I prepared to install Win 10 again on one 950. I cleared the UEFI before starting the PC, which normally gives me one start - shut off - start cycle, which I saw again. It will take a few days before I can tell you if I experience the same behavior as you have. But, we're not hearing it from others so far...  |
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squawker
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Joined: 25 Jan 2016 Status: Offline Points: 18 |
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Posted: 29 Jan 2016 at 11:47am |
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Hi parsec, Problem solved I simply cleared CMOS by removing the board battery, and measuring it with a DVM the tension was a little on the low side (about 2.9 ~ 3.0 V), and as generally new batteries have about 3.3 V, I changed it for a new one, thanks for your suggestion! Now, no more triple post and again 15/16 s from case power
button to W10 desktop, irrespective of PSU being on or off before booting and
I'm happy again...
About raid, I think you are correct, with NVMe drives,
differences in performance between raid and single device can only be perceived
in benches or very specific duties, but... but... I'm an unashamed raid fanboy ... I've been using raid0 drives since old Seagate SATA2 hdd's (circa 2007), and passing by WD's Velociraptor, Intel SSD X-25M, etc, etc ... And I suppose my love for raid is reciprocal All in all, it seems my issue with UEFI v. 2.50 was caused by not clearing CMOS after updating and/or a low board battery. Thanks for your suggestions regards |
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parsec
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Posted: 29 Jan 2016 at 4:16pm |
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So a new battery fixed your POST problem? Great, thanks for telling us how you fixed it. I had a feeling the battery might be bad. I've had to replace the batteries on two new boards recently.
I think ASRock might have received some poor quality batteries not long ago. At least they are easy and cheap to replace, but can cause crazy problems like yours. We should remember that batteries can cause problems like this. We also see in your case the coincidence of the 2.50 UEFI update and your problem with the battery, causing you to think it was the 2.50 update. I'm sure things like this happen more often then we know. You were smart to check the battery, someone else might think that was not the problem, and would never know the truth. Did I read that right, you removed and replaced the battery, but that did not cause the RAID 0 array to fail? But that did clear the UEFI and set the options to their defaults, right? If that is right, the RAID array failure thing is getting crazier all the time. That does not make sense to me, if what I wrote is true, I need to go back to school... I like RAID too, the first RAID 0 array I ever used was made of two Intel X-25 M SSDs too. Then I used several Samsung 830s, Crucial M4s, Intel 520s... the list is long. I liked the RAID 0 array of 950 Pros, I would still be using it if it wouldn't be destroyed after a simple UEFI clear. I also have not had any failures or corruption... until now. I've taken SATA SSDs in RAID 0 out of one PC and put them in another, cleared the BIOS many times with a RAID 0 volume for Windows in the PC. Just reset to RAID before booting the OS, and no failures of the RAID array. The IRST driver must be the cause, but it also gives us RAID for PCIe SSDs. The IRST driver supports PCIe SSDs only in RAID mode. The RAID driver must give NVMe support, but the mixture of protocols, SATA and NVMe, must create a problem for NVMe SSDs. |
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squawker
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Posted: 01 Feb 2016 at 8:02am |
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Hello parsec, I've done some tests after an unexpectedly return to "triple attempt to post" behavior, after a simple CMOS clearing (without removing board battery). My new tests consisted of several simple CMOS clearing (without removing battery) and 3 complete CMOS clearing (with battery removed during 5 hours, at least, in each clearing). I did not flash again UEFI, keeping the same 2.50 version I upgraded from 2.20 version. After each CMOS clearing I returned to my original UEFI configuration (including raid) and worked on the computer normally, doing my usual tasks for a few hours before making any new changes in UEFI setup. The results I got are the following: 1. Again, against our expectations, the Samsung 950 PRO
raid0 array survived safe and sound, without any little scar, all the UEFI's
clearings and configs I made during my tests (and I did not remove the drives
from sockets)!!!
2. The "triple attempt to post" issue is caused, in my rig,
by changing in "H/W Monitor" the setting "CPU Fan 1 Type" from "Auto" to "4
Pin"!!! This is a very weird and disconcerting conclusion, against all logical reasoning, and I cannot think of a single reason for it happening, but the results are repeatable each time I change that configuration in UEFI. Any input on this is welcomed. At first it passed unknowingly by me, because "CPU Fan 1 Type" setting was not a config I was focused on, instead I was searching something wrong in DRAM or Chipset Configurations. BTW my CPU cooler is a Corsair H105 with the 4 pin fans connector attached to CPU_Fan1, and the 3 pin pump connector to CPU_Fan2.
Summary: in my rig, what I called "triple attempt to post", in the absence of a better name, only occurs in UEFI v. 2.50 when the "CPU Fan 1 Type" is set to "4 Pin" and the PSU is off before booting.
I don't know if this is, or not, a result of a bad UEFI flash or specific of my hardware configuration, and I suppose not many users, if any, would be affected by this. Sorry for the long post and regards, Edited by squawker - 01 Feb 2016 at 8:14am |
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...lol...
because I've
never had a raid failure or corruption!!!, but as all love affairs can
end sometime, 
I always have my backups up to date...
