I think I killed my MSI Z97 U3 PLUS Motherboard!!!

Sasqui · Nov 21, 2017

Working on installing a brand new Vega 64, and 34" monitor to complete my dream machine.

First step, hook up the 34" to the on board graphics. PC will boot into windows, but won't show the UEFI Bios screen. I plug my 24" Dell monitor and it works fine. I noticed that the BIOS on my MSI Z97 was way old (first version).

I download the BIOS, put it on a USB thumb drive and run M-Flash. Goes through the BIOS ME update, then 100% through the BIOS update itself. Says success and says I can wait 5 seconds or reboot myself.

I wait 5 second and let it reboot on it's own... fans spin up, no beep, no nothing. No signal on the screen.

Take out battery, unplug, reset CMOS, wait 15 minutes, same thing. Fans spin up, but no beep and absolutely no signal to the monitor. Tried 3 different times.

This board has a soldered on BIOS chip and no second BIOS. I'm sooooo pissed. My new toys (over $1,000 worth) are sitting next to a dead box.

jsfitz54 · Nov 21, 2017

What monitor is connected, Dell or newest?

look at this: https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=180978.0

Sasqui · Nov 21, 2017

jsfitz54 said:
What monitor is connected, Dell or newest?

Tried both, Dell with DVI and LG with HDMI. No signal. They were working before the flash.

steen · Nov 21, 2017

Typical Asus behavior. Remove all USB, PCIe devices. Use igpu & Dell display. Boot with a single RAM module. Try different slots. When clearing CMOS via jumper, remove battery & short out battery terminals too - belt & braces...

jsfitz54 · Nov 21, 2017

See edit LINK above and https://www.bing.com/search?q=MSI+Z97+Bios+recovery&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=IESR4A&pc=EUPP_

Says to wait 30 min for bios recovery.

Sasqui · Nov 21, 2017

jsfitz54 said:
See edit LINK above and https://www.bing.com/search?q=MSI+Z97+Bios+recovery&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=IESR4A&pc=EUPP_

Says to wait 30 min for bios recovery.

Worth a shot, put the USB stick back in the 2.0 slot, turned it on. No monitor signal same as before, guess I'll check in the AM

Jetster · Nov 21, 2017

That sucks

Solaris17 · Nov 21, 2017

do you have a eeprom flasher?

jsfitz54 · Nov 21, 2017

steen said:
Typical Asus behavior. Remove all USB, PCIe devices. Use igpu & Dell display. Boot with a single RAM module. Try different slots. When clearing CMOS via jumper, remove battery & short out battery terminals too - belt & braces...

Make sure to use the iGPU and Dell. I read somewhere that the new monitors can have an issue if not on Windows 10 and I see your on W7 per specs.

That MSI Flash said something about hitting F2, https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=180978.0

Sasqui · Nov 21, 2017

jsfitz54 said:
Make sure to use the iGPU and Dell. I read somewhere that the new monitors can have an issue if not on Windows 10 and I see your on W7 per specs.

That MSI Flash said something about hitting F2, https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=180978.0

The keyboard and mouse isn't initializing, no lights. Tried letting it sit, it even turned itself off after a while (no idea how long).

@Solaris17 pointed me to an eprom device that specifically works on MIS boards. Going that route next.

jsfitz54 · Nov 21, 2017

There are some other links/ resolutions in the second search that might be useful.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=MSI+Z97+Bios+recovery&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=IESR4A&pc=EUPP_

Did you disconnect SSD's, VEGA and other non essentials?

Hope you have success.

Perhaps a different flash utility from MSI, https://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/printer/user-guide-for-msi-hq-forum-flash-tool

Sasqui · Nov 21, 2017

jsfitz54 said:
There are some other links/ resolutions in the second search that might be useful.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=MSI+Z97+Bios+recovery&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=IESR4A&pc=EUPP_

Did you disconnect SSD's, VEGA and other non essentials?

Hope you have success.

While I wait for the gadget to arrive, I'm going to try those. I wanna play games over the holiday weekend! :cry:

jsfitz54 · Nov 21, 2017

jsfitz54 said:
Perhaps a different flash utility from MSI, https://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/printer/user-guide-for-msi-hq-forum-flash-tool

I made an edit above: https://forum-en.msi.com/faq/article/printer/user-guide-for-msi-hq-forum-flash-tool

I used this flash tool on a MSI Z68A-GD65 (G3) had to search MSI Forums for updated Bios due to B3 error when trying an external GTX1050, it only wanted to use the iGPU. It would not boot at all with the gtx1050 as primary, Black screen with small B3 in upper left corner. After I found the correct bios and it worked, I also had to change a bios setting that was obscurely explained for the gtx1050 to work, due to the iGPU.

I'm crying with you, what a PITA.

jboydgolfer · Nov 21, 2017

What does Dr. debug say when you power on?

I only buy asrock motherboards (so excuse me) is it not common for all motherboards to come with Dr. debug nowadays?

Sasqui · Nov 21, 2017

jboydgolfer said:
What does Dr. debug say when you power on?

I only buy asrock motherboards (so excuse me) is it not common for all motherboards to come with Dr. debug nowadays?

From all the googling and whats on my board, most mid range MSIs come with a blue LED that give a clue. If I power down with a power button hold down, sometimes the LED will flash about 10 time or so (I didn't count)... That's all I can find for any kind of diagnostics.

jboydgolfer · Nov 21, 2017

Sasqui said:
From all the googling and whats on my board, most mid range MSIs come with a blue LED that give a clue. If I power down with a power button hold down, sometimes the LED will flash about 10 time or so (I didn't count)... That's all I can find for any kind of diagnostics.

Maybe see if there is something in the manual?

http://download.msi.com/archive/mnu_exe/7922v1.0_ASIA.zip

Sasqui · Nov 21, 2017

jboydgolfer said:
Maybe see if there is something in the manual?

http://download.msi.com/archive/mnu_exe/7922v1.0_ASIA.zip

I didn't see anything last night, I'll check again

jboydgolfer · Nov 21, 2017

it seems like theres nothing. i read the manual, i saw NOTHING regarding any diagnostic info.....thats another reason im glad i buy asrock.....i suggest you do the same from now on....DrDebug is a must have. rarely you need it, but when you do, like a sweater its invaluable.

it just sucks when this shit happens....after SO much preperation, and purchasing.....im sorry man, i hope it gets worked out Quickly

Vario · Nov 21, 2017

Its probably not permanently bricked, EEPROM flasher should get it or buy another bios chip, flash it, then solder that on. Will probably be a hassle though.

EarthDog · Nov 21, 2017

Just a side note, asrock has plenty of boards without a debug led display. Its more about the tier of board than it is brand.

To the op, a "msi z97" in your system specs tells us a little above nothing since they had around half dozen plus boards (it is in teh title though, I see now).

silentbogo · Nov 21, 2017

No need to solder anything. There is an SPI breakout right on the motherboard for easy servicing( JSPI1, right below the front panel USB3.0 connector).
If @Solaris17 suggested our favorite Flashcat as a tool for the task, then you should get some 2mm dupoint jumpers in the bundle instead of the normal 10-pin ribbon cable.

Haven't found the pinout in the manual, so just in case:

I have a few broken MSI boards in the office. Wait a few hours, and I will confirm the proper pinout for JSPI1

Sasqui · Nov 21, 2017

silentbogo said:
No need to solder anything. There is an SPI breakout right on the motherboard for easy servicing( JSPI1, right below the front panel USB3.0 connector).
If @Solaris17 suggested our favorite Flashcat as a tool for the task, then you should get some 2mm dupoint jumpers in the bundle instead of the normal 10-pin ribbon cable.

Haven't found the pinout in the manual, so just in case:

I have a few broken MSI boards in the office. Wait a few hours, and I will confirm the proper pinout for JSPI1

Bingo... MSI does have a backdoor into the EEPROM chip! I just ordered this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F2P9AS6/?tag=tec06d-20

and this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015W4PKR6/?tag=tec06d-20

ShiBDiB · Nov 21, 2017

Why not just RMA the board and get a new one before you go down roads that could void any future RMA requests.

https://service.msicomputer.com/msi_user/support/rma_form.aspx

EarthDog · Nov 21, 2017

He 'wants to play games' this weekend...

silentbogo · Nov 21, 2017

Well, your kit does include 2mm jumpers, so you don't really need a clip.
I've checked the pinout on Z97 MPOWER board and it seems to be exactly the same (of course, except the ChipSelect switch for dual BIOS).
Good luck flashing! Let us know how it goes.

System Name	Senile
Processor	I7-4790K@4.8 GHz 24/7
Motherboard	MSI Z97-G45 Gaming
Cooling	Be Quiet Pure Rock Air
Memory	16GB 4x4 G.Skill CAS9 2133 Sniper
Video Card(s)	GIGABYTE Vega 64
Storage	Samsung EVO 500GB / 8 Different WDs / QNAP TS-253 8GB NAS with 2x10Tb WD Blue
Display(s)	34" LG 34CB88-P 21:9 Curved UltraWide QHD (34401440) FREE_SYNC*
Case	Rosewill
Audio Device(s)	Onboard + HD HDMI
Power Supply	Corsair HX750
Mouse	Logitech G5
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe RGB & G610 Orion Red
Software	Win 10

Processor	Intel i7 970 // Intel i7 2600K
Motherboard	Asus Rampage III Formula // Asus P8P67 Deluxe
Cooling	Zalman CNPS9900MaxB // Zalman CNPS11X
Memory	GSkill 2133 12GB // Corsair V 2400 32GB
Video Card(s)	ASUS GTX1080 // MSI GTX1070
Storage	Samsung 870EVO // Samsung 840P
Display(s)	HP w2207h
Case	CoolerMaster Stacker 830se // Lian Li PC-9F
Audio Device(s)	onboard
Power Supply	Seasonic X 850w Gold // EVGA 850w G2
Mouse	Logitech G502SE HERO, G9
Keyboard	Dell
Software	W10 Pro 22H2

System Name	Senile
Processor	I7-4790K@4.8 GHz 24/7
Motherboard	MSI Z97-G45 Gaming
Cooling	Be Quiet Pure Rock Air
Memory	16GB 4x4 G.Skill CAS9 2133 Sniper
Video Card(s)	GIGABYTE Vega 64
Storage	Samsung EVO 500GB / 8 Different WDs / QNAP TS-253 8GB NAS with 2x10Tb WD Blue
Display(s)	34" LG 34CB88-P 21:9 Curved UltraWide QHD (34401440) FREE_SYNC*
Case	Rosewill
Audio Device(s)	Onboard + HD HDMI
Power Supply	Corsair HX750
Mouse	Logitech G5
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe RGB & G610 Orion Red
Software	Win 10

Processor	Intel i7 970 // Intel i7 2600K
Motherboard	Asus Rampage III Formula // Asus P8P67 Deluxe
Cooling	Zalman CNPS9900MaxB // Zalman CNPS11X
Memory	GSkill 2133 12GB // Corsair V 2400 32GB
Video Card(s)	ASUS GTX1080 // MSI GTX1070
Storage	Samsung 870EVO // Samsung 840P
Display(s)	HP w2207h
Case	CoolerMaster Stacker 830se // Lian Li PC-9F
Audio Device(s)	onboard
Power Supply	Seasonic X 850w Gold // EVGA 850w G2
Mouse	Logitech G502SE HERO, G9
Keyboard	Dell
Software	W10 Pro 22H2

System Name	Senile
Processor	I7-4790K@4.8 GHz 24/7
Motherboard	MSI Z97-G45 Gaming
Cooling	Be Quiet Pure Rock Air
Memory	16GB 4x4 G.Skill CAS9 2133 Sniper
Video Card(s)	GIGABYTE Vega 64
Storage	Samsung EVO 500GB / 8 Different WDs / QNAP TS-253 8GB NAS with 2x10Tb WD Blue
Display(s)	34" LG 34CB88-P 21:9 Curved UltraWide QHD (34401440) FREE_SYNC*
Case	Rosewill
Audio Device(s)	Onboard + HD HDMI
Power Supply	Corsair HX750
Mouse	Logitech G5
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe RGB & G610 Orion Red
Software	Win 10

I think I killed my MSI Z97 U3 PLUS Motherboard!!!

Sasqui

jsfitz54

Sasqui

steen

jsfitz54

Sasqui

Jetster

Solaris17

Super Dainty Moderator

jsfitz54

Sasqui

jsfitz54

Sasqui

jsfitz54

jboydgolfer

Sasqui

jboydgolfer

Sasqui

jboydgolfer

Vario

EarthDog

silentbogo

Moderator

Sasqui

Attachments

ShiBDiB

EarthDog

silentbogo

Moderator

System Name	Juliette // HTPC
Processor	Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard	ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock
Memory	Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600
Video Card(s)	ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD
Display(s)	ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series
Case	Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05
Audio Device(s)	Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar
Power Supply	Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M
Mouse	Cooler Master MM710 53G
Keyboard	Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE
Software	Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro

System Name	RogueOne
Processor	Xeon W9-3495x
Motherboard	ASUS w790E Sage SE
Cooling	SilverStone XE360-4677
Memory	128gb Gskill Zeta R5 DDR5 RDIMMs
Video Card(s)	MSI SUPRIM Liquid X 4090
Storage	1x 2TB WD SN850X \| 2x 8TB GAMMIX S70
Display(s)	49" Philips Evnia OLED (49M2C8900)
Case	Thermaltake Core P3 Pro Snow
Audio Device(s)	Moondrop S8's on schitt Gunnr
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime TX-1600
Mouse	Lamzu Atlantis mini (White)
Keyboard	Monsgeek M3 Lavender, Moondrop Luna lights
VR HMD	Quest 3
Software	Windows 11 Pro Workstation
Benchmark Scores	I dont have time for that.

System Name	Americas cure is the death of Social Justice & Political Correctness
Processor	i7-11700K
Motherboard	Asrock Z590 Extreme wifi 6E
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A
Memory	32GB Corsair RGB fancy boi 5000
Video Card(s)	RTX 3090 Reference
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 1Tb + Samsung 970 Evo 500Gb
Display(s)	Dell - 27" LED QHD G-SYNC x2
Case	Fractal Design Meshify-C
Audio Device(s)	on board
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus+ Gold 1000 Watt
Mouse	Logitech G502 spectrum
Keyboard	AZIO MGK-1 RGB (Kaith Blue)
Software	Win 10 Professional 64 bit
Benchmark Scores	the MLGeesiest

System Name	Computer of Theseus
Processor	Intel i9-12900KS: 50x Pcore multi @ 1.18Vcore (target 1.275V -100mv offset)
Motherboard	EVGA Z690 Classified
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15S, 2xThermalRight TY-143, 4xNoctua NF-A12x25,3xNF-A12x15, 2xAquacomputer Splitty9Active
Memory	G-Skill Trident Z5 (32GB) DDR5-6000 C36 F5-6000J3636F16GX2-TZ5RK
Video Card(s)	ASUS PROART RTX 4070 Ti-Super OC 16GB, 2670MHz, 0.93V
Storage	1x Samsung 970 Pro 512GB NVMe (OS), 2x Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB (data), ASUS BW-16D1HT (BluRay)
Display(s)	Dell S3220DGF 32" 2560x1440 165Hz Primary, Dell P2017H 19.5" 1600x900 Secondary, Ergotron LX arms.
Case	Lian Li O11 Air Mini
Audio Device(s)	Audiotechnica ATR2100X-USB, El Gato Wave XLR Mic Preamp, ATH M50X Headphones, Behringer 302USB Mixer
Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex Platinum SE 1000W 80+ Platinum White, MODDIY 12VHPWR Cable
Mouse	Zowie EC3-C
Keyboard	Vortex Multix 87 Winter TKL (Gateron G Pro Yellow)
Software	Win 10 LTSC 21H2

System Name	WS#1337
Processor	Ryzen 7 5700X3D
Motherboard	ASUS X570-PLUS TUF Gaming
Cooling	Xigmatek Scylla 240mm AIO
Memory	4x8GB Samsung DDR4 ECC UDIMM
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 3070 Gaming X Trio
Storage	ADATA Legend 2TB + ADATA SX8200 Pro 1TB
Display(s)	Samsung U24E590D (4K/UHD)
Case	ghetto CM Cosmos RC-1000
Audio Device(s)	ALC1220
Power Supply	SeaSonic SSR-550FX (80+ GOLD)
Mouse	Logitech G603
Keyboard	Modecom Volcano Blade (Kailh choc LP)
VR HMD	Google dreamview headset(aka fancy cardboard)
Software	Windows 11, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

System Name	[Daily Driver]
Processor	[Ryzen 7 5800X3D]
Motherboard	[MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK]
Cooling	[be quiet! Dark Rock Slim]
Memory	[64GB Crucial Pro 3200MHz (32GBx2)]
Video Card(s)	[PNY RTX 3070Ti XLR8]
Storage	[1TB SN850 NVMe, 4TB 990 Pro NVMe, 2TB 870 EVO SSD, 2TB SA510 SSD]
Display(s)	[2x 27" HP X27q at 1440p]
Case	[Fractal Meshify-C]
Audio Device(s)	[Fanmusic TRUTHEAR IEM, HyperX Duocast]
Power Supply	[CORSAIR RMx 1000]
Mouse	[Logitech G Pro Wireless]
Keyboard	[Logitech G512 Carbon (GX-Brown)]
Software	[Windows 11 64-Bit]