z170m-itx/ac gaming, bricked after BIOS update?

1. Boot the computer with the good BIOS chip.
2. Once BIOS is loaded, take out the good BIOS chip and insert the "bad" BIOS chip.
3. Flash the "bad" BIOS chip with a fresh clean BIOS.
4. Outcome "should" be two good BIOS chips if the process works as I've read.

I received the new BIOS chip and successfully installed it.
I really appreciate the help and advice.

I was still curious though about the "hot flashing" for the old chip to have a backup/spare.
Any thoughts?

Thank you.

jd49 wrote: I did attempt some more trouble shooting last night with no luck.  I called ASrock and they immediately offered to send me a new BIOS chip.  I wanted to follow-up a bit still, first to possibly help other posters and Google searchers, and second because I'm now a tad worried about updating my BIOS in the future.  I've updated the BIOS on at least 15 motherboards (+ family and friends) multiple times and never had an issue. 1. It is the gaming board, Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac. 2. At 98%, it definitely did something on its own.  I did not have to press any keys.  The keyboard was actually up on my desk while I was sitting on the floor with the PC.  I will say, however, it may have been  a shutdown with a quick startup, as opposed to a restart.  My memory can't differentiate exactly which one, but it was definitely automated and there was no video output ever since.

Again, at the end of an Instant Flash update, you are prompted to press Enter to continue. I have no idea what happened in your case, but it was not normal behavior.

I have many ASRock boards, Z77 (two), Z87 (two), Z97, X99, Z170, and others. As a moderator, I routinely update them to every UEFI update available, including Beta versions. I only use Instant Flash. I have never had an instance of Instant Flash failing, or behaving as you described.

jd49 wrote: 3. Everything would have been running at stock.  I never overclocked or adjusted RAM timings or even profiles.  I did plan on playing with XMP at some point, but whether it defaulted to that or not I didn't even check.  My first phase was getting the PC to post, and since I was (unexpectedly) able to get into Windows and download the BIOS, I decided to knock that out before formatting and installing the fresh OS.  When I was briefly in the OS I did check the system properties and it did see the 16GB RAM and processor, of course. 4. I'm concerned about potentially updating the BIOS in the future and have some questions. 4a. If something like this happened again, how long would I let it run on a black screen before I intervene? 4b. If all else fails after waiting, what should I do? 4c. If I must rely on the Crashless BIOS feature, how do I use it?  All mentions of it point to a USB 2.0 port on the IO panel.  I don't have a USB 2.0 port, only 3.0 and 3.1 (and a "Fatality" USB Mouse port). Also, does the drive really need to be FAT32?  The original drive that I put the BIOS on, looking back, was NTFS and ALSO had the whole Windows install on it (could this have been my issue! UGH!).  The BIOS seemed to find it and use it.  I guess I expected it to stop me, or not even find the drive, if it wasn't formatted properly . I had to find a separate drive (didn't want to lose my fresh made Windows flash) and format it to FAT32 when I was experimenting with the Crashless feature.

The Crashless feature is automatically started when a PC is restarted via the Reset button on the PC, or if it restarts by itself for some reason.

If you get a black screen on a failed update as you did, no need to wait at all. Press Reset after a minute or so, you should have been prompted to enter the UEFI/BIOS after a successful update, when POST completes.

The Instant Flash instruction specify FAT32. That is the default formatting of USB flash drives. USB is a packet based interface, and formatting a USB flash drive as NTFS serves what purpose? SATA and AHCI don't work over USB. If you have one USB flash drive, you need another, they are cheap. I use USB flash drives exclusively to install Windows in UEFI mode, never formatted them other than FAT32.

Since your board is a Z170, you can use the USB 3.0 ports. I always say USB 2.0 to be safe with boards that use third party USB 3.0 controllers, or may have Windows 7 installed, so no native USB 3.0 driver available, unless added to the installation media.

If all else fails after waiting, for some reason it was bricked again. But don't forget you shut off the PC, cleared the BIOS, among other things. As I said earlier, that sealed your fate, sorry to say.

jd49 wrote: 5. I've never replaced a BIOS chip and have some questions. 5a I've watched a few videos online- but are there any recommended ones that are similar to my board's chip type you suggest? 5b. Do you think I should/need to physically remove the board from the case prior to doing this?  (I'm just thinking about all of the components that are plugged/screwed in and saving time re-building).  It looks like I can access the chip fairly well with the video card and RAM removed so I have space to work; but since I've never done this I'm not sure how much leverage will be needed. 5c. Chip pullers, yes or no?  Also, it looks like there are two kinds.  Suggestions? Thank you for your much valued help!

I have no idea what PC case you have, or mounting of components. The BIOS chip is next to the end of the PCIe x16 slot, below the SATA ports, and next to the WiFi module. Your small board is pretty tight, but I can't predict your builds layout.

Regardless, obviously remove power from the PSU, unplug it from AC power. Remove the board's battery, which is next to the HDMI and DisplayPort connectors on the IO panel. Let the board sit for a while without power to let the capacitors discharge. They are low voltage, so does not take long, 10 minutes is plenty.

BEFORE YOU REMOVE THE BIOS CHIP, CHECK ITS ORIENTATION IN THE SOCKET!!! It can only go in two ways, but only one is correct! Take a picture first if necessary, to help recall the position of the markings on the chip. The chip has a notch in it on one end, just note where that notch is. DO NOT REMOVE THE OLD CHIP UNTIL YOU HAVE THE NEW ONE TO COMPARE IT WITH THE OLD ONE IN THE SOCKET. Your boards information page has a good top down picture of the board which you can click on to get a larger view.

The BIOS chip is the ultra common eight pin DIP package. A chip puller for that type is perfect. Given how tight things are on that board, I suggest using one. All it does is slip under the chip, and lets you pull it up and off. It's not that difficult to do.

Be sure the pins on the new chip are straight and fit into their locations on the socket. Push the chip down slowly, on the middle of the chip so all the pins go in together. A lot of pressure should not be necessary.

Don't forget to put the battery back when you reassemble the PC.

jd49 wrote: Specs: New build ASrock z170m-itx/ac gaming i3-6100 16GB (2x8) 3000 MHz RAM Seasonic Platinum 660XP2 PSU 500gb Samsung EVO 1TB 3.5" mechanical Built PC last night with a transplanted HD from an old Sandy Bridge build expecting to format and reinstall Windows 10. Started in BIOS fine. Forgot my Windows flash drive and restarted to boot the install drive. It booted my old Windows install fine before I could do anything (to my surprise!). Anyway, I figured I'd grab the new BIOS off the web (mistake!) and put it on a flash drive to install in the BIOS. Within the BIOS, the new BIOS file was found and started the install process. I didn't pay very close attention but know the progress bar filled up perhaps once or twice. On the last progress bar, it stopped at 98% and restarted. When it restarted, the screen was blank, but the fans and LEDs in the case were on. Nothing seemed to be happening. I gave it some time (several minutes) but panicked, gave in and shut the PC down. Since then, nothing has allowed the PC to post. It will start, fans will spin, and LEDs will flash (including those on USB drives). It is currently connected to a known working monitor via HDMI. I also have tested it with a known working GTX 960 which is installed at this point for troubleshooting. It was originally running video from the MOBO when I first set everything up. I'm at work, but here is what I tried so far: Check seating of RAM, power cables, etc. Booting with a FAT32 USB3 drive with only the most current BIOS file, tried multiple ports. If I was supposed to press any keys (F6?), I haven't tried that. Clear CMOS button with power off and cable unplugged. I've also tried clearing it by holding it down. Removed connection to battery for several minutes with CMOS clear and attached USB drive (this caused the PC to start and immediately restart which gave me hope, but after running for 10 minutes did nothing). Of the things I've tried, the symptoms are always the same, black screen saying no input, even as I wait for up to 15 minutes. LEDs on and fans spinning. No sound/beeps. When I left for work I kept the battery unplugged, so when I return I can fully test it with the recommended 4 hours disconnected (pending). I'd like to test it with some items removed, maybe only 1 stick of RAM and remove the VGA card again? I've also seen cases where an older BIOS file might work off USB, even though the newest won't. Any thoughts or am I bricked? Thank you

First, I'm confused about the board you have. You said its a ASrock z170m-itx/ac gaming.

No such board made by ASRock.

There is a Z170M-ITX/ac. Or a Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac. Not that it makes any difference given your problem, but always good to know what we are working with.

Your description of the Instant Flash process was accurate, the two progress bars, one for the Crashless feature, and one for the actual update.

What is different is the automatic restart at 98% progress. You should have been prompted to press Enter to restart the PC, as the update was complete. 

Who knows what happened at the point where the PC restarted. Or did it shutdown first?

No mention of an OC of the CPU or memory being used when you ran Instant Flash. Given your CPU, it would have been a BCLK OC, if you had one at all.

Given what you described, I doubt the problem is related to your hardware. As the Instant Flash instructions state, don't turn off the PC if there is a failure of the update process. Restarting the PC at that point would have started the update process again, or put you back into the UEFI to run it manually again.

Turning it off when you did committed the incomplete flash, resulting in it being corrupted. Or at least that is what normally occurs. Also, clearing the CMOS immediately after a UEFI update is not recommended.

The Crashless feature works by having a USB flash drive in a USB 2.0 port on the IO panel, and starting the PC. If it would work, you would see some activity after a while on the monitor. You could try that, but given all you've done, I'd say your UEFI is bricked.

You can easily replace the UEFI chip, it is not soldered in place. You can get replacement chips from ASRock, pre-loaded with a UEFI, or from places like eBay. The ASRock source can be contacted at the link below. (Sorry but the forum link creation tool is broken, that is the correct URL text for the web page. Just highlight the text, left click on it, and select open link option.)

http://www.asrock.com/support/index.asp?cat=RMA