Adventure: Running 8/9th gen Coffee Lake CPUs on Z170 motherboard (ASUS Maximus VIII Ranger)

[ArisAris]

Solaris17, thats exactly what I was thinking. Now I noticed everything is FF​

 

[Solaris17]

Solaris17, thats exactly what I was thinking. Now I noticed everything is FF​

Well there are a few probable causes. Not to hijack this thread. (Sorry)

I will list them.

- Driver for the programmer isnt or needs to be (re)installed
- Physical connections arent right (loose, incorrect position, incorrect orientation)
- Issue with the software (admin, UAC, some other restriction)
- Chip in protect mode (there is a button to send an unlock)
- Chip is already wiped.
- Chip is damaged (either from point 2 or it is just DoA)

Thats in order from top to bottom of things I would look at first.

 

[ArisAris]

Could my programmer by faulty?

 

[Solaris17]

Could my programmer by faulty?

It’s possible but I doubt it. Here are a few more things you or anyone else can try.

make sure your chip orientation is correct(pin 1)
Make sure the pressure lever is locked down
try different chips that are “close”

im on my phone so I can’t go back and look but if your chip doesn’t match exactly with one on the list try a few that are close. I go over this in the guide specifically I replicate a condition where the chip isn’t in the database.

 

[ArisAris]

Re-install drivers. Double checked admin privil. O rientation and poition look solid.
Protected it looks like it is.
Wow! Motherboard is bricked ! Chip is empty !!!
I try to flash both original Ranger BIOS and the modified one
Message I get "File size larger than IC size"

I try bios flashbak with modified BIOS

Didn't work. Try flashback with original RANGER BIOS

No. Motherboard is still bricked. Project was a failure. We move on.....

 

[Solaris17]

Re-install drivers. Double checked admin privil. O rientation and poition look solid.
Protected it looks like it is.
Wow! Motherboard is bricked ! Chip is empty !!!
I try to flash both original Ranger BIOS and the modified one
Message I get "File size larger than IC size"

I try bios flashbak with modified BIOS

Didn't work. Try flashback with original RANGER BIOS

No. Motherboard is still bricked. Project was a failure. We move on.....

For what it’s worth protection can be symptoms of a fault. You can get new chips off of eBay or really any online retailer really cheap(cents). I keep a spare.

if you are the kind that has dead hardware you can also rip a chip off that as long as it fits the bios

 

[ArisAris]

I was looking for exactly that. A spare BIOS chip. I found this one (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...id=202305071252361096406216874890010572248_14). I believe this one could save the day.....

 

[Solaris17]

I was looking for exactly that. A spare BIOS chip. I found this one (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003033859380.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.59.2f9c776evNhnV7&algo_pvid=feb1671f-127f-45e4-a7e5-022eb31c660b&aem_p4p_detail=202305071252361096406216874890010572248&algo_exp_id=feb1671f-127f-45e4-a7e5-022eb31c660b-29&pdp_npi=3@dis!EUR!1.17!1.17!!!!!@212279a216834891561115820d07dc!12000026881619852!sea!GR!1630484306&curPageLogUid=6kjWj03WaCcG&ad_pvid=202305071252361096406216874890010572248_14&ad_pvid=202305071252361096406216874890010572248_14). I believe this one could save the day.....

Seems fine I generally go by the following rules

- series has to match (x25)
- has to be the same package type (so it fits)
- has to be big enough to fit the rom

bonus points if you look at the flash tool chip list and find one it supports natively

 

[itsakjt]

I was looking for exactly that. A spare BIOS chip. I found this one (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003033859380.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.59.2f9c776evNhnV7&algo_pvid=feb1671f-127f-45e4-a7e5-022eb31c660b&aem_p4p_detail=202305071252361096406216874890010572248&algo_exp_id=feb1671f-127f-45e4-a7e5-022eb31c660b-29&pdp_npi=3@dis!EUR!1.17!1.17!!!!!@212279a216834891561115820d07dc!12000026881619852!sea!GR!1630484306&curPageLogUid=6kjWj03WaCcG&ad_pvid=202305071252361096406216874890010572248_14&ad_pvid=202305071252361096406216874890010572248_14). I believe this one could save the day.....

Hello there, it is really difficult to kill the BIOS chip.
I suggest you download the original BIOS from ASUS site and try to flash it renaming the file as M8R.CAP using BIOS flashback.
As Solaris17 has mentioned as well, check the orientation of the chip, the jumpers on the programmer and lock the lever down.

 

[ArisAris]

Hi my friend. I tried to do both BIOS flashes. One with the modified BIOS and one with original BIOS from ASUS.
Both renamed M8R.CAP
I get code 00 and red led on CPU. On my programmer the lever locks up !!!

as Solaris17 said, the chip might be faulty from the getgo​

 

[itsakjt]

Hi my friend. I tried to do both BIOS flashes. One with the modified BIOS and one with original BIOS from ASUS.
Both renamed M8R.CAP
I get code 00 and red led on CPU. On my programmer the lever locks up !!!

as Solaris17 said, the chip might be faulty from the getgo​

Alright then, yeah.
I hope you can find a spare chip where you live.
AliExpress no longer delivers to India, so I got a W25Q128JVSQ from Amazon. It is the same chip but in a different package and I thought of keeping it as a spare just in case I killed my original chip. It can still be fitted by soldering some legs on to it. I never got to killing my chip and hence it still serves as a spare.

 

[ArisAris]

AliExpress still delivers in my place. until now. I ordered 2+2 chips and a new programmer. I also don't get it. Current kills components. Bios Flashback should work. I wonder if it is a totally different problem and I think it is the BIOS chip. Anyway, this is why I wanted to do this project on a second hand motherboard. No real problem, specially if it can be fixed. If you start the system without BIOS chip, how does it behave?

 

[Solaris17]

Bios Flashback should work.

Why? if the chip is bad it doesnt matter if its on the programmer or not. the mobo is doing the same thing you are doing in bios flashback mode. It is powering the chip up and attempting write.

If you start the system without BIOS chip, how does it behave?

It might turn back off, but some will just sit and consume power, doing nothing.

 

[itsakjt]

AliExpress still delivers in my place. until now. I ordered 2+2 chips and a new programmer. I also don't get it. Current kills components. Bios Flashback should work. I wonder if it is a totally different problem and I think it is the BIOS chip. Anyway, this is why I wanted to do this project on a second hand motherboard. No real problem, specially if it can be fixed. If you start the system without BIOS chip, how does it behave?

A corrupted or bad BIOS chip definitely results in 00 code.
In fact, this is the exact thing that happened with me actually which led me to the courage of modding my BIOS.
When I had the 7600K, I attempted a BIOS update after which I got the 00 error code. I was fairly certain it was the BIOS which was corrupt since the system was rock stable before that. It was then I got the CH341A and was able to revive the board after flashing it and realized that I can mod it too if I wanted.
When the BIOS was corrupted, the board would start with error code 00 and shut off after a second. Then turn on automatically, sit at 00 for a few seconds and then turn off. Then it would turn on again and sit at 00 until it is manually turned off.
Removing the BIOS chip does the exact same thing.
When this happened back on Feb 2021, I checked the board. Everything was receiving power including vCore, RAM, VCCSA, VCCIO and it was supposed to work but it didn't.
After a few months, I tried the mod and then you have this guide now.

 

[ArisAris]

When the BIOS was corrupted, the board would start with error code 00 and shut off after a second. Then turn on automatically, sit at 00 for a few seconds and then turn off. Then it would turn on again and sit at 00 until it is manually turned off.

Exactly how my motherboard reacts .... I also removed the BIOS chip. Same reaction ...

 

[aQi]

Meanwhile casually done the mod over gigabyte Z170X gaming 7

 

[jxdking]

Got 9900k for my asus z170 gene board, but I have not managed to make it work yet.
I use afudos.exe , it seems to work, at least the bios version is updated that I can see, but the ME version remains old.
Tried bios flashback. It didn’t work, even with official bios file. I guess my usb stick is not supported.
Did cpu occupied mod. Just as said, it can stay power on with out cpu installed. I guess it is a success.
Put in the 9900k, and tried to power on. The fan and light turned on, but the board shut off after 1 second, and stayed off. What did I miss?

Ps: the cpu boots on z390 just fine. Thus is not cpu issue.

 

[itsakjt]

Got 9900k for my asus z170 gene board, but I have not managed to make it work yet.
I use afudos.exe , it seems to work, at least the bios version is updated that I can see, but the ME version remains old.
Tried bios flashback. It didn’t work, even with official bios file. I guess my usb stick is not supported.
Did cpu occupied mod. Just as said, it can stay power on with out cpu installed. I guess it is a success.
Put in the 9900k, and tried to power on. The fan and light turned on, but the board shut off after 1 second, and stayed off. What did I miss?

Ps: the cpu boots on z390 just fine. Thus is not cpu issue.

You need to downgrade Intel ME version to 11.7.0.1229 which is only possible by flashing the BIOS with an external programmer. USB BIOS flashback and AFUDOS will not flash Intel ME region and hence you are having that issue.
That board should have a removable BIOS chip. Get a CH341A programmer for cheap and that should do the trick.

 

[jxdking]

You need to downgrade Intel ME version to 11.7.0.1229 which is only possible by flashing the BIOS with an external programmer. USB BIOS flashback and AFUDOS will not flash Intel ME region and hence you are having that issue.
That board should have a removable BIOS chip. Get a CH341A programmer for cheap and that should do the trick.

Yeah, I went though couple pages of this thread. Ordered the programmer. Will try that in couple of days. Thank you.

Just to verify whether I did some mistake.

The programmer should arrive tomorrow....

 

[itsakjt]

Yeah, I went though couple pages of this thread. Ordered the programmer. Will try that in couple of days. Thank you.

Just to verify whether I did some mistake.

The programmer should arive tomorrow....

View attachment 303044
View attachment 303045

Yeah your settings look fine.
One thing to look out for is the board data like MAC and UUID. You can take a dump of the original BIOS and open it using Coffee Time, then copy and paste the data here under Personal Data.

 

[jxdking]

Yeah your settings look fine.
One thing to look out for is the board data like MAC and UUID. You can take a dump of the original BIOS and open it using Coffee Time, then copy and paste the data here under Personal Data.

I just got the programmer, burn the bios chip with AsProgrammer.
Put the chip back on the board and try to boot. Right now, it got stuck at 00 code with 100% fan speed, even with the 6600K.

Tried to flash it with bios flashback, same symtom. What could be wrong?

PS: I recall someone mentioned it needs to be erased before burning. Trying that now.

 

[itsakjt]

I just got the programmer, burn the bios chip with AsProgrammer.
Put the chip back on the board and try to boot. Right now, it got stuck at 00 code with 100% fan speed, even with the 6600K.

Tried to flash it with bios flashback, same symtom. What could be wrong?

PS: I recall someone mentioned it needs to be erased before burning. Trying that now.

Use this version of ASPROGRAMMER to flash.

AsProgrammer_V2.1.0.13_XiTongZhiJia.zip

drive.google.com

Make sure to do a full erase of the chip first.
Also make sure you select the correct chip from the list and make sure the orientation of the chip both on the programmer and on the board is proper.

 

[jxdking]

Use this version of ASPROGRAMMER to flash.

AsProgrammer_V2.1.0.13_XiTongZhiJia.zip

drive.google.com

Make sure to do a full erase of the chip first.
Also make sure you select the correct chip from the list and make sure the orientation of the chip both on the programmer and on the board is proper.

Thanks man. It is working now. Really appreciate it.
The key is to erase before flashing.

 

[itsakjt]

Thanks man. It is working now. Really appreciate it.
The key is to erase before flashing.

View attachment 303108

Awesome. Another happy modder.

Congrats on the upgrade and enjoy.

 

[jxdking]

9900K on ASUS Z170 Gene, air cooled.
5.2G sync all cores. It runs way cooler than I thought.
Tried 5.3G, bios falsely complains CPU over temperature during the post. I don't know why.