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

[eidairaman1]

The 3.0 (I think there are 8 or 10) on the back are BLUE, the 2.0 are BLACK, so pretty easy to tell

I know that because I read your manual

 

[Sasqui]

I know that because I read your manual

Sad part is, the MB has been awesome and easily takes the devils canyon up to 4.7 with no problem. I also treated it to an SSD recent;y, so booting was fast as hell. More USB 3.0 ports than I've seen on any other MB ...not that I use them, lol. I so want to get it back up and running.

 

[Solaris17]

Sad part is, the MB has been awesome and easily takes the devils canyon up to 4.7 with no problem. I also treated it to an SSD recent;y, so booting was fast as hell. More USB 3.0 ports than I've seen on any other MB ...not that I use them, lol. I so want to get it back up and running.

Well when you get the time man. @silentbogo is pretty well versed in it as well so who ever happens to be on should be able to atleast get you to flash it. Worst case scenario if things are really south and you try to RMA and they tell you to get bent if your willing you can ship the board to me and ill do it. Shoot me a PM.

 

[silentbogo]

Ok. Daddy's here!

So, let's go over it point by point:
0) Hotflashing is a dangerous thing, so don't do it
1) As I mentioned earlier, you don't really need a clip, since you've got access to JTAG header and 2mm jumpers.
2) Hook up everything according to pinouts:

FCUSB | JSPI1
1(GND) | 6 or 7 (they are tied together)
2(VCC) | 1 or 2 (same thing)
4(MOSI) | 4
6(MISO) | 3
8(SCLK) | 6
10(#CS) | 5
-- | 11(#WP), pull-up to VCC
-- | 12 (#HOLD), pull-up to VCC

#HOLD and #WP pins must be pulled up to 3.3V. You can simply put a jumper on pins 11&12,and then hook it up to VCC with a paperclip, thin wire, or any metal object which will not short out other pins.

Alternatively you can use a quad-SPI mode:

FCUSB | JSPI1
1(GND) | 6 or 7 (they are tied together)
2(VCC) | 1 or 2 (same thing)
4(SIO1) | 4
6(SIO0) | 3
8(SCLK) | 6
10(#CS) | 5
3(SIO2) | 11
5(SIO3) | 12

In this case you don't need any jumpers.

When you open an FCUSB tool, you should see the proper device ID: MX25L64xx SPI and you can finally start the process.

P.S. Also, if you ever happen to use a clip again, remember that when you clip it onto the chip, your pin layout becomes mirrored.

 

[Sasqui]

Ok. Daddy's here!

So, let's go over it point by point:
0) Hotflashing is a dangerous thing, so don't do it
1) As I mentioned earlier, you don't really need a clip, since you've got access to JTAG header and 2mm jumpers.
2) Hook up everything according to pinouts:

FCUSB | JSPI1
1(GND) | 6 or 7 (they are tied together)
2(VCC) | 1 or 2 (same thing)
4(MOSI) | 4
6(MISO) | 3
8(SCLK) | 6
10(#CS) | 5
-- | 11(#WP), pull-up to VCC
-- | 12 (#HOLD), pull-up to VCC

#HOLD and #WP pins must be pulled up to 3.3V. You can simply put a jumper on pins 11&12,and then hook it up to VCC with a paperclip, thin wire, or any metal object which will not short out other pins.

Alternatively you can use a quad-SPI mode:

FCUSB | JSPI1
1(GND) | 6 or 7 (they are tied together)
2(VCC) | 1 or 2 (same thing)
4(SIO1) | 4
6(SIO0) | 3
8(SCLK) | 6
10(#CS) | 5
3(SIO2) | 11
5(SIO3) | 12

In this case you don't need any jumpers.

When you open an FCUSB tool, you should see the proper device ID: MX25L64xx SPI and you can finally start the process.

P.S. Also, if you ever happen to use a clip again, remember that when you clip it onto the chip, your pin layout becomes mirrored.

Tried both and each time, I get this when it connects:

Might be sending the board to @Solaris17 ... I'm trying the boot with USB stick and ROM in it a few more times.

 

[silentbogo]

Tried both and each time, I get this when it connects:

View attachment 94299

Might be sending the board to @Solaris17 ... I'm trying the boot with USB stick and ROM in it a few more times.

Maybe it was not a bad flash, but a bad chip initially. Not just a wrong ID, but also a wrong vendor and even device bus....
I hope @Solaris17 can fix it for you, cause shipping to my place will cost almost as much as the motherboard itself

 

[Sasqui]

Maybe it was not a bad flash, but a bad chip initially.

Could be... also, the memory size of 2,048 is wayyy off, not to mention the option to erase the chip was disabled in all cases where I got the flashcat connected, I've been using this board for over 2 years now, it's been rock solid even with a 4.7 OC. Initially used if for crunching till I got the x58 boards.

Looked on eBay for a replacement, 2 sold earlier this month for $40, and now the only one there is $131 from China, no thanks. Saved the search, maybe something will pop up.

While checking if it will "self-recover" from USB, I noticed the blue LED flashes 16 times when I shutdown holding the power button. The weird thing is, it only flashes like that every 2-6 power down cycles, doesn't seem to be any pattern to it. Also, while the LED is flashing, I can't power it back on, only after it stops blinking.

What a waste of time, but can't fault me for not being persistent. Thanks for your help!

 

[silentbogo]

What a waste of time, but can't fault me for not being persistent. Thanks for your help!

It was worth trying. As someone once said (or maybe I just made it up) "there is no bad experience".

If you have no use for that flashcat, lemme know. I might scrape some cash on my PP and get it off your hands. At least it'll help a bit with financial trauma, though I'm not sure what to do with psychological distress caused by this wretched motherboard

 

[Solaris17]

Yeah @Sasqui the story doesnt need to end here. If you ship it to me I'll ship it back to you. I can cover my shipping. Just include the CPU cooler and a stick of ram since I dont have any DDR3 at home RN. I'll flash it for you if the CMOS chip isnt baked and ship it back.

 

[Sasqui]

Yeah @Sasqui the story doesnt need to end here. If you ship it to me I'll ship it back to you. I can cover my shipping. Just include the CPU cooler and a stick of ram since I dont have any DDR3 at home RN. I'll flash it for you if the CMOS chip isnt baked and ship it back.

Thx, I'll PM you. I still want to try the power on method you suggested. Contacted EC.net about chip compatibility, they say 12 hour s

 

[Sasqui]

@Solaris17 @silentbogo ...here's what they said and it's promising. I know that SPI EEPROM was the default mode, I never changed it assuming it was auto-selected. Hope I have time tonight to try it!

Hi, in your settings, you need to have SPI Normal mode selected. I think you are using SPI EEPROM mode.
EC

My note to them...

Hi, I purchased a Flashcat USB classic (from Amazon), PCB version 2.1 . Trying to flash the BIOS on an MSI Z97 U3 Plus (failed BIOS update using MSI M-flash), BIOS chip is Macronix 25L6473E . Updated the firmware to 4.29, but I'm not having any luck. Flashcat Classic software shows the chip as "Microchip 25AA160A (2,048 bytes). Erase chip button is disabled and attempting to flash yields a failed to flash / write. I guess the first question is if that chip is supported? It's not in the list of supported chips in the manual or your website. I'm using an 8-pin SO-8 clip, connected to the flashcat header via jumpers. Hope you can help or point me in the right direction. Thanks

 

[Solaris17]

....did you look in the software and have it set to SPI Normal in the drop down at the top?

I cant read.


Yes it is the default I never thought to tell you sorry!!

 

[Sasqui]

....did you look in the software and have it set to SPI Normal in the drop down at the top?

Was that somewhere in this thread? I sure missed it

I don't see "SPI Normal" in the settings menu:

I tried selecting each one before connecting the USB cable. Only SPI EEPROM recognizes any device, it's the same "25AA160A (2,048 bytes)" device as before.

 

[sneekypeet]

Was that somewhere in this thread? I sure missed it

I don't see "SPI Normal" in the settings menu:

View attachment 94364


I tried selecting each one before connecting the USB cable. Only SPI EEPROM recognizes any device, it's the same "25AA160A (2,048 bytes)" device as before.

Would not assume I have to remind a seasoned member on how to post. Public warning. More multiple posts will result is the lost of ability to post.

 

[Solaris17]

Was that somewhere in this thread? I sure missed it

I don't see "SPI Normal" in the settings menu:

View attachment 94364


I tried selecting each one before connecting the USB cable. Only SPI EEPROM recognizes any device, it's the same "25AA160A (2,048 bytes)" device as before.

There has to be some sort of connection problem. Or that simply is not the actual BIOS chip.

EDIT: Looks to be it. 64mb ROM.

You can try and email EC with this link to the spec sheet.

http://www.macronix.com/Lists/Datasheet/Attachments/6207/MX25L6473E, 3V, 64Mb, v1.4.pdf

and ask them if it has support (just because it isnt on the "list" doesnt mean its not supported since literal thousands of diff models can interface the same way) just incase it uses some different mode or something.

Technically the flash cat is programmable. one of the tabs is the SPI block space where you can program the values of any chip using the info in the spec sheet. Its a very powerful device but unfortunately I dont know how to read the sheets so I cant give you the values.

 

[Sasqui]

There has to be some sort of connection problem. Or that simply is not the actual BIOS chip.

EDIT: Looks to be it. 64mb ROM.

You can try and email EC with this link to the spec sheet.

http://www.macronix.com/Lists/Datasheet/Attachments/6207/MX25L6473E, 3V, 64Mb, v1.4.pdf

and ask them if it has support (just because it isnt on the "list" doesnt mean its not supported since literal thousands of diff models can interface the same way) just incase it uses some different mode or something.

Technically the flash cat is programmable. one of the tabs is the SPI block space where you can program the values of any chip using the info in the spec sheet. Its a very powerful device but unfortunately I dont know how to read the sheets so I cant give you the values.

Well I emailed them again with the same info as I wrote above... I hope to keep the dialog going with them and press the chip support, I'm suspecting that's it.

@sneekypeet ...those posts were many hours apart ... like 6-8 hours and edit posts don't allow rich text edits to paste pics. Well aware of the forum "rules" , so my deepest apoligies for sullying the walls of TPU

 

[Solaris17]

Well I emailed them again with the same info as I wrote above... I hope to keep the dialog going with them and press the chip support, I'm suspecting that's it.

@sneekypeet ...those posts were many hours apart ... like 6-8 hours and edit posts don't allow rich text edits to paste pics. Well aware of the forum "rules" , so my deepest apoligies for sullying the walls of TPU

They were pretty good about it for me. they programmed in an IC I had on some hitachi drive I was combing through like 2 years ago.

 

[Sasqui]

They were pretty good about it for me. they programmed in an IC I had on some hitachi drive I was combing through like 2 years ago.

Here's the reply, they are suggesting the same as you:

You only want to use "SPI NOR FLASH".

Connect it to the Flash, dont connect VCC, apply power with the PSU and then try and see if it connects.

On 11/28/2017 5:46 PM, wrote:
Hi, I looked and don't see "SPI Normal" mode in the settings menu. Only modes available are below (Items in parenthesis are results/message):

SPI NOR FLASH (Unable to connect to compatible SPI device)
SPI EEPROM (the only mode that recognizes any sort of chip, but what didn't work in the first place)
SPI NAND FLASH (Unable to connect to compatible SPI NAND Flash device)
I2C EEPROM ("Firmware features supported: SPI, I2C, EXTIO" - no actions are available, only Status and Console tabs present)
EXTENSION I/O (Unable to connect o EXT I/O board over SPI)
JTAG Mode (This is disabled, can't select it)

Any suggestions? I have photos and jumper diagrams if it helps.

...so I'll be trying the live PSU flash tonight if I have a free moment.

 

[Solaris17]

Here's the reply, they are suggesting the same as you:



...so I'll be trying the live PSU flash tonight if I have a free moment.

yup. just re-read what I posted.

 

[Sasqui]

yup. just re-read what I posted.

Here's the message when connecting with power ON:

• Successfully opened device in SQI mode

• Connected to Flash (RDID:0xEEEEEE)

• For read write support email contact@embeddedcomputers.net with the CHIP ID

Wrote them another email an included the link to the Macronix spec sheet you posted. Wish me luck

 

[Solaris17]

Here's the message when connecting with power ON:

• Successfully opened device in SQI mode

• Connected to Flash (RDID:0xEEEEEE)

• For read write support email contact@embeddedcomputers.net with the CHIP ID

Wrote them another email an included the link to the Macronix spec sheet you posted. Wish me luck

Good luck!

 

[Sasqui]

Good luck!

Here we go... more work on this tonight:

The chip is supported, you are just not connecting it correctly some how. Send me a picture of how you are connecting to it.
Regards Michael

 

[Solaris17]

Yessssss I KNEW IT try powering the board first.

 

[Sasqui]

try powering the board first.

What do you mean by that?

 

[Solaris17]

What do you mean by that?

.... use the board to power itself while you just connect the data pins and leave VCC off.