BIOS update hung at 86%, what now?
Printed From: ASRock.com
Category: Technical Support
Forum Name: Intel Motherboards
Forum Description: Question about ASRock Intel Motherboards
URL: https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2357
Printed Date: 27 Jul 2025 at 11:59am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.04 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: BIOS update hung at 86%, what now?
Posted By: gearhead
Subject: BIOS update hung at 86%, what now?
Date Posted: 02 Apr 2016 at 3:30pm
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just built a new system with ASRock Z170M Extreme4 mobo. powered up, all looked nice in BIOS. i had heard that it was best to update BIOS asap on a new system. connected ethernet, started internet flash, download of BIOS 1.70 completed, BIOS update began, got up to 86% "Processing crashless feature ..." and it hung there. waited 30 minutes, nothing happening, had no choice (afaik) but to power down. of course no joy on restart, BSOD and now dead in the water. looked on the ASRock site, in the Download section, it says: "If the Flash Memory Writer utility was not able to successfully update a complete BIOS file, your system may not be able to boot up. If this happens, your system will need service." is that really it? there's nothing i can do? please advise. |
Replies:
Posted By: Xaltar
Date Posted: 02 Apr 2016 at 6:08pm
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Clear CMOS using http://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=630&title=how-to-clear-cmos-via-battery-removal" rel="nofollow - this method. If it crashed during the crashless feature portion of the update you should be OK after a BIOS clear. For future reference a few things to note: 1. Never power off the system when updating the BIOS, always use the reset button if there is a crash. 2. Always use the instant flash method with a fat32 formatted flash drive containing the BIOS for your board downloaded from your product page, it is by far the safest flash method. 3. If you encounter a bad flash and the board will no longer post you can purchase a new BIOS chip directly from ASRock http://www.asrock.com/support/index.asp?cat=RMA" rel="nofollow - here preflashed to the version of your choosing. Good luck ------------- 
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Posted By: gearhead
Date Posted: 03 Apr 2016 at 12:17am
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thank you for the reply, good info and a couple things there i'll follow up on. thanks again. as it happens i found another -- more direct -- solution to my problem. poking around i saw it suggested that for recent generation ASRock boards that do not have A/B BIOS control one should __try__ the following (no guarantees): - clear CMOS using the 10-minute time-out + jumper approach . - format a USB key with FAT32. - copy the BIOS of choice to the USB key. - reboot with the USB key in place. - cross fingers and wait, "if you're lucky the firmware will load from the USB key". that's what i tried and it worked exactly as described. there was a considerable delay between the time i powered up and the point at which something came up on screen -- the BIOS loading from the USB -- but it eventually did its thing and i was soon back in business. minutes later my OS was loaded -- fyi, linux -- and i was happily booting from disk like a real person. my other ASRock board is a Z97 Extreme6 and it does have A/B BIOS control which has got me out of trouble a couple times. i guess i just assumed all their recent boards had it and i never checked before getting this new board. one lesson learned today: i'll NEVER again buy a mobo that doesn't have some version of A/B BIOS control, it ain't worth the headaches. |
Posted By: Xaltar
Date Posted: 03 Apr 2016 at 1:04am
Glad to hear you got it up and running  Dual BIOS is a great feature. What I like about ASRock boards is that even when there isn't a dual BIOS setup you can always order a new BIOS chip if everything goes south  The only ASRock boards I have seen that do not have a socketed BIOS ROM are the SoC boards like the N3150 or J1900. Given the cost of those and the fact that they have a CPU built onto them though I can understand why they wouldn't bother, its not like they need frequent BIOS updates to support new CPUs etc. -------------
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Posted By: gearhead
Date Posted: 03 Apr 2016 at 12:42pm
i ran across an interesting post that opened my eyes regarding the issue of BIOS recovery as handled by the different board manufacturers. in http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2377343" rel="nofollow - BIOS recovery options by manufacturer the guy says of ASRock:
he goes on to provide a similar summary for Asus, Gigabyte and MSI. interesting stuff! i'll certainly be limiting my future ASRock purchases to the higher-end, dual BIOS boards. and i'll be taking Gigabyte motherboards a little more seriously:
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Dual BIOS - Only on high end boards, double DIP sockets.Posted By: Mr.D
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2017 at 6:55am
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Hi Gearhead, I was wonder how you went about flashing your BIOS with the USB key: - Did you do the full CMOS documented approach? - Which version of BIOS did you copy to the USB key? Instant Flash version? - How long did you approximately wait? Thanks in advance!  ------------- Thanks Mr.D |