Question Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro WiFi; how to use backup BIOS?

[paperfist]

This is actually my nephews system, he has the Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro WiFi MB and I believe he bricked it by flashing BIOS. It's locked at the BIOS launch screen, no KB/Mouse.

The board has 2 BIOS chips, but I can't find anywhere in the manual how to enable the 2nd backup BIOS chip. I read that you can enable it through the power button and also the power button/reset button combo. None of those things worked. Also removed the CMOS battery and tried to clear it by shorting the jumper. Still no go.

So just wondering if anyone else might have this board and know how to trigger the backup BIOS?

Thanks!

 

[EXCellR8]

There a physical toggle switch on the PCB? Some of them can be really small.

 

[paperfist]

There a physical toggle switch on the PCB? Some of them can be really small.

I don't see any in the diagrams listed. My nephew lives in another state. I've read a bunch of trouble shooting links and haven't found anything like that, just the power button/reset mentioned. The only thing I've seen work so far is a guy who desoldered both chips and swapped them.

I guess I'll try calling Gigabyte. Their email tech support seems crappy, it's been a week since I emailed them and no response.

 

[Brainonska511]

I thought the backup bios on that type of board only kicks in if the main one breaks somehow. There may also be an issue if the backup bios is really old and can't run the current configuration, just from what I see browsing around online.

But some other items I saw:
Hold power button until you get a shutdown, them press power button again (do this process 3 times)

Or press and hold power + reset for 10 sec

 

[paperfist]

I thought the backup bios on that type of board only kicks in if the main one breaks somehow. There may also be an issue if the backup bios is really old and can't run the current configuration, just from what I see browsing around online.

But some other items I saw:
Hold power button until you get a shutdown, them press power button again (do this process 3 times)

Or press and hold power + reset for 10 sec

That's what I read too. I know if the BIOS is too old it's not going to support the AMD processor he has. It wasn't clear how the back up BIOS gets updated, like does it update to a previous version when you flash or does it just stay with whatever the factory shipped? Even so it still boots and gets stuck right at the BIOS screen and you can't use the KB. I would think even if it didn't support the processor it would throw up an error?

Thanks, I've had him try the power + reset and then hold the power button, but not 3x. I'll have him do that.

 

[Brainonska511]

If it gets stuck at the BIOS screen, does it have any indicator lights on the board or beep codes to indicate what the problem could be?

 

[paperfist]

If it gets stuck at the BIOS screen, does it have any indicator lights on the board or beep codes to indicate what the problem could be?

He said no, but I'm having him double check.

 

[Brainonska511]

He said no, but I'm having him double check.

For beep codes, he might need a small speaker since they are rarely built-in nowadays (and I guess even if they exist, you might not easily find what they mean thanks to lack of public documentation). Not holding out hope for the B450 board having any sort of LED diagnostic system either...

 

[Brainonska511]

Some other not so random troubleshooting thoughts: he should consider trying to strip it down to the minimal number of components required to boot. Use integrated graphics (if that is an option on his CPU) and keep only 1 stick of RAM in, remove any drives for now....

 

[DAPUNISHER]

What the hell Gigabyte? No diagnostic LEDs or bios flashback on the pro model?

It's been a long time since I've seen a board bricked by a bad bios flash. I thought it was as rare as hen's teeth now? And bricked always meant dead, no display of a splash screen or anything. Seems more likely the CPU is preventing boot. I also thought the backup bios kicks in automatically on the AORUS lineup.

 

[paperfist]

For beep codes, he might need a small speaker since they are rarely built-in nowadays (and I guess even if they exist, you might not easily find what they mean thanks to lack of public documentation). Not holding out hope for the B450 board having any sort of LED diagnostic system either...

Yeah no LED diagnostics, just a power light. No beeps either, but I forgot about the speaker Do they even make those little 2 pin speakers anymore?

 

[paperfist]

Some other not so random troubleshooting thoughts: he should consider trying to strip it down to the minimal number of components required to boot. Use integrated graphics (if that is an option on his CPU) and keep only 1 stick of RAM in, remove any drives for now....

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll have him go bare bones.

 

[paperfist]

What the hell Gigabyte? No diagnostic LEDs or bios flashback on the pro model?

It's been a long time since I've seen a board bricked by a bad bios flash. I thought it was as rare as hen's teeth now? And bricked always meant dead, no display of a splash screen or anything. Seems more likely the CPU is preventing boot. I also thought the backup bios kicks in automatically on the AORUS lineup.

It's a strange pro model, not a lot of bells and whistles. Just like their tech support which I still haven't heard from in over a week! No number to call either that I see, just chat/email. I just got a new ASrock board and asked a pre-sale question and they answered in less that 6 hours.

So if it's bricked you'd just get a black screen?

hmm so you think the BIOS he flashed to was possibly wrong and now his CPU isn't supported?

The only guy I saw fix the same issue by swapping BIOS chips was adamantly sure that he downloaded the correct file and it was Gigabyte that had the wrong one up cause him to have the same boot issues.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

It's a strange pro model, not a lot of bells and whistles. Just like their tech support which I still haven't heard from in over a week! No number to call either that I see, just chat/email. I just got a new ASrock board and asked a pre-sale question and they answered in less that 6 hours.

So if it's bricked you'd just get a black screen?

hmm so you think the BIOS he flashed to was possibly wrong and now his CPU isn't supported?

The only guy I saw fix the same issue by swapping BIOS chips was adamantly sure that he downloaded the correct file and it was Gigabyte that had the wrong one up cause him to have the same boot issues.

Weird. I once derped and downloaded the bios for a rev.1.x for my AUORUS ELITE AX V2 B550 because I had a few beers in me and wasn't on task. Mine is a rev. 2.x, It wouldn't let me run the wrong version from Q-flash. I had my son update his AORUS ELITE B450 multiple times using the windows utility and never had an issue either. Also no issue with updating my AORUS PRO B550i.

My favorite juju magic for not passing POST is unplug the PSU, pop the CMOS battery, push the power button, and let it sit at least an half hour. BTW, did he put the old CPU back in?

 

[Brainonska511]

I guess other questions might be: what CPU is he running and what BIOS version was he flashing from? Depending on the version he was going from, there are some intermediate bioses to flash to first. And the other thought would be if he accidentally went backwards and now has an incompatible CPU (so he could try to rustle up an older CPU).

Also, not finding the lack of diagnostic lights that odd. I feel like that's something that's only spread over the last few years, and a B450 board is going to be kind of an older model design, even if it is a "Pro" model.

Another bit of a stretch:
Put the latest BIOS (fresh download) in the home directory of a flash drive, plug it in, and press "End" as the system is booting. Maybe he can get into the QFlash utility.

 

[paperfist]

Weird. I once derped and downloaded the bios for a rev.1.x for my AUORUS ELITE AX V2 B550 because I had a few beers in me and wasn't on task. Mine is a rev. 2.x, It wouldn't let me run the wrong version from Q-flash. I had my son update his AORUS ELITE B450 multiple times using the windows utility and never had an issue either. Also no issue with updating my AORUS PRO B550i.

My favorite juju magic for not passing POST is unplug the PSU, pop the CMOS battery, push the power button, and let it sit at least an half hour. BTW, did he put the old CPU back in?

Yeah, he didn't take out the CPU. All he did to the system was flash BIOS. I'll see if I can get him to try your juju magic

 

[paperfist]

I guess other questions might be: what CPU is he running and what BIOS version was he flashing from? Depending on the version he was going from, there are some intermediate bioses to flash to first. And the other thought would be if he accidentally went backwards and now has an incompatible CPU (so he could try to rustle up an older CPU).

Also, not finding the lack of diagnostic lights that odd. I feel like that's something that's only spread over the last few years, and a B450 board is going to be kind of an older model design, even if it is a "Pro" model.

Ryzen 5 5600X

I'm not 100% since it's been a few days since I talked to him, but I believe he was running BIOS F62 and attempted to flash to F64e. I don't know why he flashed (or didn't ask for help first, he's 15).

Heard back from Gigabyte and it's a classic:

Dear customer
Thank you for contacting Gigabyte tech support. It is not possible to manually activate it. Typically, if the default BIOS fails, the board will automatically switch over to the backup one.
If you have any further questions or issues, please feel free to contact us again.
Regards
Gigabyte tech support team

 

[Brainonska511]

Ryzen 5 5600X

I'm not 100% since it's been a few days since I talked to him, but I believe he was running BIOS F62 and attempted to flash to F64e. I don't know why he flashed (or didn't ask for help first, he's 15).

Heard back from Gigabyte and it's a classic:

Dear customer
Thank you for contacting Gigabyte tech support. It is not possible to manually activate it. Typically, if the default BIOS fails, the board will automatically switch over to the backup one.
If you have any further questions or issues, please feel free to contact us again.
Regards
Gigabyte tech support team

LoL, classic support.

I feel like I remember being that age with my computers, always striving to keep things relatively up-to-date. There were certainly some AGESA and security updates that could make it worth updating.

 

[paperfist]

LoL, classic support.

I feel like I remember being that age with my computers, always striving to keep things relatively up-to-date. There were certainly some AGESA and security updates that could make it worth updating.

lol true. My first build at that age I installed the MB over a standoff and shorted it out

Their BIOS is weird though, the earlier ones you had to install sequentially and that's what I was worried he did wrong, but he was working from a newer one that didn't require that.

 

[Brainonska511]

lol true. My first build at that age I installed the MB over a standoff and shorted it out

Their BIOS is weird though, the earlier ones you had to install sequentially and that's what I was worried he did wrong, but he was working from a newer one that didn't require that.

Yeah... Maybe it's just borked in some other way.

If it's still under warranty, he could try to take it up with Gigabyte. Or if it's just out of warranty, perhaps the credit card, if one was used for the purchase, has some extended warranty type thing to leverage.

Or worst case, pick up a B550 board cheap to reuse the components and get access to PCIe 4.0 to extend the useful life and upgradability for the system, if only by a little bit.
----
Only once did I ever have something go wrong with a BIOS flash - an old MSI Sandy Bridge era build. After a few failed restarts, and maybe an attempt to clear CMOS, the system did let me reflash the BIOS, and all was good after that, but still pretty hectic. After all, the flashing wasn't totally necessary, but there I was doing it anyway, because I just have to keep stuff up to date...

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Also, not finding the lack of diagnostic lights that odd. I feel like that's something that's only spread over the last few years, and a B450 board is going to be kind of an older model design, even if it is a "Pro" model.

It's Gigabyte cheaping out, simple as that. My $130 ASRock X370 Gaming X had the 7 segment diagnostic display. And it's gotten worse, not better. Gamer's Nexus had a rant on the topic. Short 2023 in review clip about it; will start at correct time -

Same with bios flashback, not having it on the pro is inexcusable. That was a fairly expensive board. Heck, I had an Intel board from 2012 with the feature. My speculation is that they dragged their feet on adding premium features to AMD boards, because they were still largely viewed as the budget brand.

It is not possible to manually activate it. Typically, if the default BIOS fails, the board will automatically switch over to the backup one.

That's the proper response though. It should automagically work. No further effort should be required on the user's part.

Anyways, good luck to him. Hopefully it gets sorted without having to throw money at the problem. Please let us know how it turns out.

 

[paperfist]

Yeah... Maybe it's just borked in some other way.

If it's still under warranty, he could try to take it up with Gigabyte. Or if it's just out of warranty, perhaps the credit card, if one was used for the purchase, has some extended warranty type thing to leverage.

Or worst case, pick up a B550 board cheap to reuse the components and get access to PCIe 4.0 to extend the useful life and upgradability for the system, if only by a little bit.
----
Only once did I ever have something go wrong with a BIOS flash - an old MSI Sandy Bridge era build. After a few failed restarts, and maybe an attempt to clear CMOS, the system did let me reflash the BIOS, and all was good after that, but still pretty hectic. After all, the flashing wasn't totally necessary, but there I was doing it anyway, because I just have to keep stuff up to date...

I'm going to walk him through taking it part and trying to boot up with minimal parts. After that, yeah, RMA.

lol nothing wrong with keeping stuff up to date. BIOS though remains a hectic process that can get you into trouble.

 

[paperfist]

It's Gigabyte cheaping out, simple as that. My $130 ASRock X370 Gaming X had the 7 segment diagnostic display. And it's gotten worse, not better. Gamer's Nexus had a rant on the topic. Short 2023 in review clip about it; will start at correct time -

Same with bios flashback, not having it on the pro is inexcusable. That was a fairly expensive board. Heck, I had an Intel board from 2012 with the feature. My speculation is that they dragged their feet on adding premium features to AMD boards, because they were still largely viewed as the budget brand.

That's the proper response though. It should automagically work. No further effort should be required on the user's part.

Anyways, good luck to him. Hopefully it gets sorted without having to throw money at the problem. Please let us know how it turns out.

lol melting CPUs, I missed that! It is amazing these boards are way more expensive than they use to be and yet so unfeature rich.

Haha a backup BIOS with no way to launch other than luck