!!! Warning: Z490 boards - problem with recent BIOS updates !!!

[suriname199157b02e3]

I recently updated my bios via MSI dragon software and my PC wouldn't boot. All my fan lights, cpu cooler lights, cpu led light, fans turn on but absolutely no post on my screen.

Why is this issue so persistent with this dang board? It really is a hassle to fix this and a waste of time. I had to the my PC to the store and they even couldn't figure it out.

I went into some servers for suggestions and they advised that the new bios only works with 11th gen cpus with the new bios, so they are going g to try and put the new 11th gen cpu from their store and see if they can revert to an older bios to work again with my 10850k.

I already had my PC in the shop for a month. MSI will be crossed of my list forever if this doesn't work. They also send me an RMA to return in which I have to pay for shipping. WTF!

 

[citay]

Please direct them to this topic. The newer BIOS only working with 11th gen CPUs is pure nonsense. The CPU support for 11th gen is added with a certain BIOS version, but support for 10th gen is never removed. It has nothing to do with any missing support. The simple fact is that the BIOS was corrupted during the flashing process.

The one and only way to fix your board (if it's not the Z490 UNIFY, ACE or GODLIKE with the Flash BIOS Button) is to flash it with an external flash programmer, see here.
Ask them if they can do that, or try it yourself, the flash programmers are cheap and there are guides on Youtube etc.

This fault is hard to figure out because they can swap parts all they want, they will never get it to boot unless they flash the BIOS chip again.
Of course MSI can do the same thing for you, they probably know that when a Z490 comes in for this fault, they have to flash the BIOS. But they won't admit anything publically.

Considering the shipping costs and the time they need, i would actually try to flash it myself with such a programming device.

 

[gmh98615c102ea]

Date of failed flashing: 10/08/2022
Affected board model: MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WIFI
CPU: i9-10850K
Flashing method used: Updated through software installer that updates MSI software. It recommended a BIOS update.. pos..
Attempted update to BIOS version: from 7C79v17 to 7C79v1C
Result: black screen. no booting at all

So what can I do to fix this? Any suggestions? I'm desperate. I need my pc back asap!

 

[Doc_Bucket]

Date of failed flashing: 10/08/2022
Affected board model: MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WIFI
CPU: i9-10850K
Flashing method used: Updated through software installer that updates MSI software. It recommended a BIOS update.. pos..
Attempted update to BIOS version: from 7C79v17 to 7C79v1C
Result: black screen. no booting at all

So what can I do to fix this? Any suggestions? I'm desperate. I need my pc back asap!

There is a working suggestion, probably the best so far: Page 24

 

[gmh98615c102ea]

There is a working suggestion, probably the best so far: Page 24

I ordered one of those BIOS programmer boards and another motherboard in case this doesn't work. I've never had an issue with MSI motherboards ever. Maybe the problem is it came from China.. including the CPU.. I won't be updating any MSI BIOS anymore that don't really need it, thats for sure. The thing was running great too. I had just upgraded to Windows 11 and had nearly reinstalled all my software. I was feeling pretty confident with it and decide to update the BIOS because the Dragon software installer suggested it. Maybe its the software thats the problem. Probably should have downloaded the BIOS to a USB drive, then booted up into the BIOS and updated it there from the USB drive.

 

[citay]

No, the MSI/Dragon Center is not the problem, as you can see from the first post. It doesn't matter how you update it, on MSI Z490 (and there alone!), there's this risk involved.

On other MSI boards, it's not only practically risk-free nowadays to update the BIOS (because there is no specific risk like on Z490, plus you got the safety net of the Flash BIOS Button), it's also highly advised, at least when the board is relatively new. The boards these days are released with a very immature BIOS, which then gets fixed and improved over the lifetime of the board. When you never update the BIOS, you will potentially suffer from all sorts of problems and shortcomings.

 

[Doc_Bucket]

I ordered one of those BIOS programmer boards and another motherboard in case this doesn't work. I've never had an issue with MSI motherboards ever. Maybe the problem is it came from China.. including the CPU.. I won't be updating any MSI BIOS anymore that don't really need it, thats for sure. The thing was running great too. I had just upgraded to Windows 11 and had nearly reinstalled all my software. I was feeling pretty confident with it and decide to update the BIOS because the Dragon software installer suggested it. Maybe its the software thats the problem. Probably should have downloaded the BIOS to a USB drive, then booted up into the BIOS and updated it there from the USB drive.

I feel for you, absolutely. I myself only came upon this thread I already do not know by what accident in May, before buying a Z490 motherboard. If you have time to spare read through it and you will see this is a very specific problem, as citay points out. I updated BIOS through MSI Center on my previous B460 MB as easily as possible. As regards Z490 MSI motherboards, every single one is not afflicted, far from that, although I do not know exact figures, of course, it's a guess. These boards are sort of Schroedinger's cat: you do not know until you give it a try. Some are lucky, others aren't. There are examples of users, even in this thread, who went for the update quite intentionally, knowing all about the risk, and it turned out well for them.

 

[gmh98615c102ea]

I feel for you, absolutely. I myself only came upon this thread I already do not know by what accident in May, before buying a Z490 motherboard. If you have time to spare read through it and you will see this is a very specific problem, as citay points out. I updated BIOS through MSI Center on my previous B460 MB as easily as possible. As regards Z490 MSI motherboards, every single one is not afflicted, far from that, although I do not know exact figures, of course, it's a guess. These boards are sort of Schroedinger's cat: you do not know until you give it a try. Some are lucky, others aren't. There are examples of users, even in this thread, who went for the update quite intentionally, knowing all about the risk, and it turned out well for them.

To tell you how my month has been going. The good news, I contacted MSI tech support. The motherboard is under warranty so Im sending it back for them to reflash the BIOS. The bad news: I ordered a replacement board from Amazon. I got the z590 board, basically the upgrade to my z490 board. I put in the CPU, all the RAM, plugged in all the peripherals. Double checked everything (been doing this kind of stuff for nearly 40 yrs, so I'm experienced). Power it on, nothing happens then 3 seconds later, POW, something blows! It looked like the board shorted out or my power supply blew. I don't know what it was but from then on, nothing. I'm hoping it was the power supply. I'm also hoping my CPU and RAM is ok too. I tell you what, there's a negative energy in the neighborhood lately or something. I was going to just use the old board in another build when I got it back. Hopefully I can still do that since I ordered another CPU and RAM for it . I may have to use those for current machine. I swear... lol..

 

[citay]

Power it on, nothing happens then 3 seconds later, POW, something blows! It looked like the board shorted out or my power supply blew.

Which PSU model was it and how old? But yeah, time to take out the board and the PSU. For the PSU, first try to look inside with a flashlight shining in from the exhaust grill, and you looking through the fan blades onto the PCB. Maybe you can already see some component that blew. If not, look at the motherboard, front and rear. Pay special attention to the VRM section around the CPU, and the 24-pin ATX and 8-pin CPU_PWR headers, see if you spot any charring or other signs of damage. If the board looks all good, it's back to the PSU, take the PSU's metal cover off (but don't touch anything inside) and see if you see any evidence of damage now. You can also make some photos and link them here.

 

[gmh98615c102ea]

Which PSU model was it and how old? But yeah, time to take out the board and the PSU. For the PSU, first try to look inside with a flashlight shining in from the exhaust grill, and you looking through the fan blades onto the PCB. Maybe you can already see some component that blew. If not, look at the motherboard, front and rear. Pay special attention to the VRM section around the CPU, and the 24-pin ATX and 8-pin CPU_PWR headers, see if you spot any charring or other signs of damage. If the board looks all good, it's back to the PSU, take the PSU's metal cover off (but don't touch anything inside) and see if you see any evidence of damage now. You can also make some photos and link them here.

It had a 700 watt power supply, I can't remember the model since I'm not there at the moment, but I went ahead and order a new one that's 750 watts. I'm getting this one Phanteks (PH-P750G_US01) AMP Series 750W 80PLUS Gold. I'm also returning the board back to Amazon and they're replacing it with the same model. It sounded like the pop came from around the power supply but looking at the board, it looked slightly burnt where you plug in the audio connectors which is next to the power supply. Whatever was there I rubbed off with my finger. It might have had something on the board. It looked ok after I rubbed it off. Nothing powered up except a case fan when I turned it on. Nothing around the CPU looked burnt or bad. I'm hoping the CPU is ok. I should have the new board tomorrow and the new power supply. I'll try this again. If it fails this time, well, lets hope that doesn't happen. Its been frustrating to say the least.. Its like I hit a streak of bad luck this month.

 

[citay]

Chances are only one of the components was damaged and the rest survived. Of course it's also possible that two or more components got damage. But first i would've tried to find the fault. Burnt where you plug in the audio connectors? Maybe you connected some cables the wrong way and caused a short? It would need further investigation. But anyway, if you want, you can make a new thread about it, as it's not anymore about Z490 flashing problems and we want to keep this thread somewhat on topic

 

[drianuz]

I updated with a special utility AFUWINx64 from under windows. Everything went fine, everything was stitched. I can post it if you're interested.

 

[Doc_Bucket]

I updated with a special utility AFUWINx64 from under windows. Everything went fine, everything was stitched. I can post it if you're interested.

I'd be interested, please. Even if it does not prove anything else.

 

[drianuz]

BIOS.zip

drive.google.com

Unpack to disk C or D. Start the BIOS.bat from the administrator.
There's the latest bios for the Z490 Tomahawk inside 7C80v1C.
You can also sew other bios from MSI z490 by editing the .bat file and replacing the bios file in folder.

 

[Doc_Bucket]

BIOS.zip

drive.google.com

Unpack to disk C or D. Start the BIOS.bat from the administrator.
There's the latest bios for the Z490 Tomahawk inside 7C80v1C.
You can also sew other bios from MSI z490 by editing the .bat file and replacing the bios file in folder.

Thank you. I've saved it as an option for the future.

 

[Kederai]

BIOS.zip

drive.google.com

Descomprima en el disco C o D. Inicie BIOS.bat desde el administrador.
Hay la última biografía del Z490 Tomahawk dentro de 7C80v1C.
También puede coser otras bios de MSI z490 editando el archivo .bat y reemplazando el archivo de bios en la carpeta.
Hola, tengo MSI MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WIFI
BIOS 7C79v1C
¿Cómo editar el archivo bat y reemplazar el archivo bios?

 

[Kederai]

Hola, tengo MSI MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WIFI
BIOS 7C79v1C
Cómo edito el archivo bat y reemplazo el archivo bios?

 

[Kederai]

Hola, tengo MSI MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WIFI
BIOS 7C79v1C ¿
¿Cómo editar el archivo bat y reemplazar el archivo bios?

 

[Svet]

@Kederai
Please use English only
>>Please read and comply with the Forum Rules.<<

 

[tomfanti0157d02df]

Date of failed flashing: 23/09/22
Affected board model: z490 gaming carbon wifi
CPU: i7-10700K
Flashing method used: dragon center
Attempted update to BIOS version: 7C73v17 or 7C73v18 (i don't remember) to 7C73v1C
Result: Stuck at EZ Debug LED "CPU" after update.
i opened a ticket with MSI and, after suggesting me to clear cmos, an action i have already try, they say the only solution is to ask for assistence/RMA, but they didn't do it directly in my country. so i just asked the reseller for rma and i'm now waiting to know if it will do it. i bought the mb about a year and half ago, so i'm not sure it will accept. i report my case for entry in the statistic, maybe it will help.

update on my case, i have obtained refound for my motherbord, fortunately warranty period wasn't expired . i have already bought a new one, always msi but a z590 type. hoping there will be no more problems in the future.