# Need help changing a Asus bios Cap file into a Rom file



## LiveOrDie (Dec 22, 2014)

I need some one good with hex editing i have killed my bios chip trying to flash it onto another chip now i have no working image and i can't use cap bios version of the asus website the programmer software says it to large i need some on to make it into a rom file and remove the cap data.

i know it can be done found this info if it helps.



> So having tried several other BIOS flashing tools on this system to no avail, I decided the BIOS might be so borked that it wasn't going to be able to flash itself and that it needed outside help.
> 
> Unfortunately I imported this board and getting warranty service on it would be a lot of hassle. I was unable to locate a new BIOS chip, so I decided to try to remove it externally.
> 
> ...


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## Aquinus (Dec 22, 2014)

Live OR Die said:


> I need some one good with hex editing i have killed my bios chip trying to flash it onto another chip now i have no working image and i can't use cap bios version of the asus website the programmer software says it to large i need some on to make it into a rom file and remove the cap data.
> 
> i know it can be done found this info if it helps.


You're using the wrong flashing utility then if it's asking for a .ROM and not a .CAP. ASUS updated their stuff after moving to the CAP format. Using CAP files requires you to run another utility that coverts the video card to the CAP format first.

I would flash an old BIOS that still uses .ROM, run the CAP updater, then flash the newest .CAP BIOS to the board.

Are we talking about your ASUS Rampage V Extreme?


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## Ferrum Master (Dec 22, 2014)

uuuh mate... Use UBU and FTK tool to ready a blank bios. Write in your MAC's etc stuff first of all. 

https://github.com/LongSoft/FTK/releases/tag/0.11.1

https://github.com/LongSoft/FD44Editor/releases/tag/0.9.2


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## Aquinus (Dec 22, 2014)

Ferrum Master said:


> uuuh mate... Use UBU and FTK tool to ready a blank bios. Write in your MAC's etc stuff first of all.
> 
> https://github.com/LongSoft/FTK/releases/tag/0.11.1
> 
> https://github.com/LongSoft/FD44Editor/releases/tag/0.9.2


I think we should learn a bit about the problem first before making any real recommendations, even more so if the OP could  find himself bricking his board.

I would like the *entire* story first.


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 22, 2014)

Well story goes i got my rampage v with one dead chip so i brought a EZP2010 programmer to flash the chip i 1st saved the good image off the working chip it saved as a bin file, then i went to copy the bios from one chip to another as the programmer can do that with out the software but i needed up flashing the wrong chip -_- now both don't work i have tired flashing the saved image onto  both chip using the software but that doesnt work ether the save was from the dud chip or some think else i need to re-flash them using the Asus bios file but the programmer software will read it but it says it to long and doesn't work when flashed?


Using that tool this is what i get from both files? also i get data format cant be detected?


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 22, 2014)

I used a tool to remove the cap part of the image bios 1 chip is working again now but bios 2 chip boots to a error code on the board.


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## Ferrum Master (Dec 22, 2014)

Live OR Die said:


> I used a tool to remove the cap part of the image bios 1 chip is working again now but bios 2 chip boots to a error code on the board.



It is the ME firmware I guess... CAP bioses must use ME past 8, ROM firmwares work only with 7.xx ones... I know it because I run a ES Xeon, those are only supported by ROM type of bios. So you can't just cut off the CAP header. It does not work, I tried it too.

There was a cheat... if you reset dozens like times the board it sometimes boots with inappropriate ME region..., well at least for me. But still get an oldest bios you can get with ROM type, fill out your special board ID fields, and flash that rom using SPI programmer...

I did the same, as my board had CAP bios and had this CPU, so I was screwed, as my old system also died the same week.

I had a raspberry PI and booted it and wired up a external board on GPIO heads. And all went smooth as butter. My RPI paid off his 20bucks in a flash, lol, literally.

http://www.win-raid.com/t58f16-Guide-Recover-from-failed-BIOS-flash-using-Raspberry-PI.html

PS.

ME region is a tough nut, it only gets reset after complete power down, as it is fed form PSU stand by 5V

PSS.

By the looks of it, your backup is pretty screwed and blank.


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 22, 2014)

i fixed both chips now i had to erase the 2nd chip which was dead when i got the board then program it again and it started working like normal it was sitting on that Q code for around 2 minutes then it posted but all working now thanks.


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## Ferrum Master (Dec 22, 2014)

Live OR Die said:


> i fixed both chips now i had to erase the 2nd chip which was dead when i got the board then program it again and it started working like normal it was sitting on that Q code for around 2 minutes then it posted but all working now thanks.



yes but your MAC is and other stuff is default, ain't it?

This is like I have.


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 22, 2014)

I'm not sure i downloaded the bios off Asus website then used a UEFI tool to pull the intel image from the CAP file then flashed it and its working fine now, Your images isn't working.


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## Ferrum Master (Dec 22, 2014)

Live OR Die said:


> I'm not sure i downloaded the bios off Asus website then used a UEFI tool to pull the intel image from the CAP file then flashed it and its working fine now, Your images isn't working.



Yes that's the way... except adding your original board info from bios Backup, you have to fill out those fields manually now(read from stickers attached to the board). Stock bios from ASUS is blank and uses default MAC. Well I guess it doesn't matter much if you are behind a router much.

And the image must work.


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 22, 2014)

Image does work now was TPU server problem which i get a lot.


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## Ferrum Master (Dec 22, 2014)

Live OR Die said:


> Image does work now was TPU server problem which i get a lot.



@W1zzard  well then, he would like to hear about that


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## LiveOrDie (Jan 11, 2015)

Ferrum Master said:


> @W1zzard  well then, he would like to hear about that



I forgot to back up my Mac address and UUID and MB S/N is just the serial for your board right? Is each Mac address different ? from what i read theres one for each network controller so i should be able find one for my NC? and the UUID was reset i had to call up Microsoft to active windows again so i don't think the UUID is a problem its just the Mac address i worrying about?


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## Ferrum Master (Jan 12, 2015)

Live OR Die said:


> I forgot to back up my Mac address and UUID and MB S/N is just the serial for your board right? Is each Mac address different ? from what i read theres one for each network controller so i should be able find one for my NC? and the UUID was reset i had to call up Microsoft to active windows again so i don't think the UUID is a problem its just the Mac address i worrying about?



All number should be located on your motherboard as stickers on the backside or the lan port itself. Serial is just for warranty and ASUS specific things. But MAC can cause troubles, as the default one may be blacklisted, and yes it is present with the hard drive serial and Sata driver in the M$ activation token generation.


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## LiveOrDie (Jan 13, 2015)

Ferrum Master said:


> All number should be located on your motherboard as stickers on the backside or the lan port itself. Serial is just for warranty and ASUS specific things. But MAC can cause troubles, as the default one may be blacklisted, and yes it is present with the hard drive serial and Sata driver in the M$ activation token generation.



Ok thanks ill see if i can find it. i think my UUID has been set to a default one as well after running "wmic csproduct get name,identifyingnumber,uuid" both seem to be the same on both BIOS chips which would mean this number is default of the bios i downloaded? should i change this number as i have no idea where to find the original one? under name in CMD it says "all series" doesn't say the board im using.

Is there a way i can get the boards UUID with in windows so i can re-enter it into the bios file the above command brings back a longer number ill be using this info to help people flash there bios chips thanks .


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## Ferrum Master (Jan 13, 2015)

Nope. You downloaded just a blank empty bios file. It contains nothing specific, during ASUS bios setup, it doesn't touch those fields with those numbers usually. You had a blank memory IC and those fields had to be filled with nothing.

You must use FTK and prepare your specific image and using those tools repair the fields. There are no ways of recovering and seeing them software wise anymore, they are gone, the only solution is to screw out the board and write down the numbers from labels.


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## LiveOrDie (Jan 13, 2015)

i see the mac address on the back of the board but not any UUID as i wiped both chips and showed above the info wasn't saved in the bios image i extracted from the chip where do i go from here? The bios file must of had some info needed as i havent had one problem with my system.


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## Ferrum Master (Jan 13, 2015)

Here is a good guide... I can't rememeber correctly where was my sticker... it seems UUID must be composed by hand.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1726429

Code Rush is an awesome guy btw... I've encountered him in may areas. N900/N9 maemo/nitdroid, many driver threads at driver station, also UBU development and here, I wonder why he ain't coming here.


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## LiveOrDie (Jan 13, 2015)

He does say the below i do have a DTS sticker i can see some of it on the ATX port ill need to get a mirror to see it, The Mac address not sure on this one the R5E comes with a cover over all the OI ports.



> Only *System UUID* can't be fully restored from stickers, but it can be reconstructed using this rules:
> 1. If your board has DTS key sticker, then bytes 3 - 10 of UUID are same.
> 2. It can be any random bytes except 00 and FF.




EDIT that could be the Mac address on the side of the ATX port.


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## LiveOrDie (Jan 14, 2015)

Ferrum Master said:


> Here is a good guide... I can't rememeber correctly where was my sticker... it seems UUID must be composed by hand.
> 
> http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1726429
> 
> Code Rush is an awesome guy btw... I've encountered him in may areas. N900/N9 maemo/nitdroid, many driver threads at driver station, also UBU development and here, I wonder why he ain't coming here.



Im not sure how to reconstruct a UUID off the sicker it seems to be 4 numbers to short i have a sticker on a old Asus board thats dead i want to use this *DTS* number ? Also my MB/SN is only 11 numbers long its way to short.

The MB/SN on the box matches the one on the back of the board so many this code should be used? its 12 spaces long.


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## LiveOrDie (Jan 16, 2015)

Just a update i got my mac address entered i had a small problem i entered my mac address wrong to start with and my NC would fail to load its drivers, i got stuck on this problem for a few hours until i went and had another look at the address as i was using a small mirror to view it as i didn't want to remove my board i had 1 number wrong after fixing the number i entered my MB/SN and a random UUID and flashed both chips so they match and windows didn't even ask me to active it again not sure why.


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## RyzenKing (Dec 6, 2016)

Hi everyone. Firstly I'm sorry to bring back such an old thread but I'm having the same problem with a bricked asus chip. I've already copied the mac info into a bios file and have the .bin but when I try to use fpt or ftk I get error 25: The host cpu does not have write access. Only afudos seems to flash it I can use /p /b /k /n /x and it says successful but it still doesn't boot afterwards and uefi tool shows invalid uefi image when I dump the chip again and open the dumped image. Only part of the bios is there. It's an OEM P8H61-M PRO. I'm using a hotswap to flash the chip on my brothers board which also has h61 chipset.

Anybody know if there's any way to save the chip?

Thanks


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## silentbogo (Dec 9, 2016)

steocullen91 said:


> Hi everyone. Firstly I'm sorry to bring back such an old thread but I'm having the same problem with a bricked asus chip. I've already copied the mac info into a bios file and have the .bin but when I try to use fpt or ftk I get error 25: The host cpu does not have write access. Only afudos seems to flash it I can use /p /b /k /n /x and it says successful but it still doesn't boot afterwards and uefi tool shows invalid uefi image when I dump the chip again and open the dumped image. Only part of the bios is there. It's an OEM P8H61-M PRO. I'm using a hotswap to flash the chip on my brothers board which also has h61 chipset.
> 
> Anybody know if there's any way to save the chip?
> 
> Thanks


The best way around is to find someone with an SPI flash programmer, like FlashcatUSB or any variation of Serprog, and simply write the binary to your chip.
Usually you get Error 25 if the ME section is locked. On most ECS boards there is a jumper (ME_UNLOCK), which needs to be set before flashing the whole firmware, but some other boards may only have a placeholder for this jumper, or nothing at all... Which makes manual flashing very-very hard.


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## Bones (Dec 25, 2016)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NANO-BIOS-P...537456?hash=item4159260270:g:jBkAAOSwo3pWcZX9

To those with an issue like the above - Grab one of these and try it.
Just yesterday I updated the BIOS to my benching CHV-Z with mine and the program it uses didn't have an issue flashing the chip at all. These things are NICE to have when dealing with issues and the like. Works whether the file is a .bin or cap file, no need to convert it to a .bin file. It will also let you know if the chip itself is bad or OK and can erase a chip no prob.
The program and driver it uses is on the same page, just scroll down and you'll see the link for it.


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