bad bios flash? no post - GA170N Gaming 5

[vexingv]

i normally don't use the Windows utilities to flash my bios, but i had been unable to access the bios due to the Ultra Fastboot option and so used the Gigabyte App Center earlier to disable it. using the Gigabyte App Center, i was notified that there was a new F5 BIOS revision listed for my motherboard, which is the ITX GA170N Gaming 5. i didn't see a F5 revision listed on the online support/downloads page, but figured that the Gigabyte site might be outdated as it only list an F4 bios.

anyway, through the Gigabyte App Center, the F5 BIOS was downloaded and flashed automatically. However, after the PC rebooted, my computer will not POST at all. the lights come on and i hear the fans spin when i hit the power button, but there is a blank screen and no beep codes. i now suspect that the wrong BIOS was flashed as the micro-ATX-sized GA170X Gaming 5 does have a F5 bios revision. i'm a bit frustrated as i'm not sure how that could happen as one would imagine there would be checks and safeguards to prevent an incorrect BIOS from being flashed.

suspecting a bad bios flash, i believe my mobo has dual bios and i tried to recover using methods 1 and 2 here (https://www.gigabytenordic.com/gigabyte-tips-tricks-rma/), but was unable to do so.

1. is my only solution at this time an RMA?
2. would Gigabyte simply replace the BIOS chip or replace the whole motherboard?
3. how would a replacement (either BIOS chip or entirely new motherboard) effect Windows 10's bitlocker feature as it was paired with the secure element/TPM of the motherboard? (I have both the OS boot drive and a storage drive encrypted with bitlocker; am i screwed and permanently locked out of my data?)

Thanks.

System specs
i7-6700
GA170N Gaming 5
16gb DDR4
Asus 970 GTX ITX
Samsung 950 Pro
Silverstone Milo ML08

solved: i manually cleared the CMOS by shorting the clear CMOS jumper. afterwards, i was fortunately able to boot and POST. F5 bios revision was listed, but to be safe i reverted back to F4 which is the latest version for my particular motherboard revision.. thanks for the help.

 

[LTC8K6]

I see an F5 bios for Rev1.1

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5901#bios

 

[vexingv]

I see an F5 bios for Rev1.1

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5901#bios

i didn't catch that. but my motherboard is definitely rev 1.0.

 

[LTC8K6]

If Gigabyte's App center did it, then contact Gigabyte. That would clearly be their fault. I would expect them to make it good.

 

[Kenmitch]

While the rig is running....as in lights are on and nobody is home....do a taboo move.

Hold the cmos reset button or short the cmos reset pins....You must do it till it reboots!

Sounds crazy but I revived two Gigabyte MB's from the dead this way in the past....Including the one I'm currently typing on.

 

[vexingv]

thanks for the advice. it was late last night so i haven't had a chance to open up my case yet (it's a cramped itx case so didn't want to open it up so late). but i'll probably try to reset the CMOS or use method #3 above in the tutorial above to get the backup bios to load. it's kind of useless to have a dual bios mobo if it's not easy to restore.

also,and of course frustrating how their App Center software allowed an incorrect bios revision to be flashed onto the motherboard.

 

[vexingv]

thanks Kenmitch. i was able to boot by clearing the cmos.

this motherboard has the battery glued onto a separate battery terminal connector. i couldn't loosen the connector due to tight space i'm working in so i manually cleared the CMOS by shorting the clear CMOS jumper as mentioned above. afterwards, i was fortunately able to boot and POST. F5 bios revision was listed, but to be safe i reverted back to F4 which is the latest version for my particular motherboard revision. thanks for all the help. saved me from the misery of motherboard rma's.

 

[LTC8K6]

:thumbsup:

 

[nerp]

Glad you got it going right. Looks like that BIOS was usable for your board despite the hiccup.

Nothing quite like the relief of reviving a machine you thought was dead, isn't it?

 

[vexingv]

Glad you got it going right. Looks like that BIOS was usable for your board despite the hiccup.

Nothing quite like the relief of reviving a machine you thought was dead, isn't it?

Yes, i was quite elated that I didn't have to disassemble the entire system and deal with shipping, waiting, and reinstalling. And of course it was satisfying to solve a problem.

I suspect that the default settings for the f5 revision may not have allowed the systemto boot/post

 

[nerp]

Yes, i was quite elated that I didn't have to disassemble the entire system and deal with shipping, waiting, and reinstalling. And of course it was satisfying to solve a problem.

I suspect that the default settings for the f5 revision may not have allowed the systemto boot/post

That's likely it. I feel like I've been in this position before and had to clear the CMOS after a flash. I think some newer boards sorta do this automatically. My ASUS board right now, after a recent flash, needed a few hard resets after rebooting after flashing. Then it went into a brief on/off on/off cycle by itself. Suddenly, it was booting and happy. For a second I thought I nuked it.

 

[vailr]

Might be a good idea to re-set the bios to "optimized default" settings (and then re-boot) prior to a bios flash update. Gigabyte's dual bios feature should take over the function of a faulty bios, after several unsuccessful system boots. On some Gigabyte boards, there's a tiny slide switch for manually selecting the secondary bios.

 

[nerp]

Might be a good idea to re-set the bios to "optimized default" settings (and then re-boot) prior to a bios flash update. Gigabyte's dual bios feature should take over the function of a faulty bios, after several unsuccessful system boots. On some Gigabyte boards, there's a tiny slide switch for manually selecting the secondary bios.

Sage advice.