P8Z77-V Pro BIOS 1908 Screwed Me!

[IXFINGERZXI]

So I updated my P8Z77-V Pro today, from 1805 to 1908 and now I can no longer overclock my 3570k. The multiplier settings have vanished along with the iGpu settings. I reset the mobo via the cmos jumper and I also tried rolling back the bios several times but the settings are still MIA. Not sure if the following is related but I have had problems with the iGpu being always on regardless of the setting. Also whenever I overclock, the cpu would just sit at 4.5ghz, 1.21v without downclocking/volting like it should since I used offset voltage. It did this no matter how small the oc.

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[bankster55]

The IGPU is always on - its on the CPU die - no way to turn it off
The 1908 bios updates the ME firmware to 8.1.2.1318, so its a two step process, it updates the bios image, reboots, then the ME, and you cant cut it off too soon. Any bios with ME firmware update (not all vers have it) should have a poweroff and unplugged PSU cmos reset so the new ME can register

Buy a new chip for $15 from ASUS E-Store and be done with it. (same unplugged cmos reset should be done after inserting new chip - chip only goes in one way)
http://us.estore.asus.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=3885

 

[tweakboy]

Worst case call Asus and get the BIOS CHIP shipped to you. gl

 

[IXFINGERZXI]

thanks for the quick reply. What I meant by the igpu always being on is that it is always Active rather than Inactive or N/A as it shows in the bios. Is it possible that I didn't cut off the update to soon as I did get into windows with my overclocked settings? Everything seemed to be working fine until I restarted my pc again. Also do I need a new chip? If possible I rather avoid swapping it out. thanks again

 

[bankster55]

download 1805 from ASUS (again)
rename the cap file to bios.bin
Download Intel FTK 0961 flash setup (DOS)
http://forums.overclockers.ru/viewtopic.php?p=9776728#p9776728
Download USB 2 FAT32 Win Millenium DOS maker
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/110640285/USBDCR.7z (need 7Zip!)

Make bootable USB 2.0 FAT32 stick with unzipped tool. Steer browse dots to MSDOS folder created by tool after checking create bootable drive in window.
Steer FTK setup to it
Copy and pase bios.bin to it

Put in stick and boot to it
On boot page go to boot overrides and click on NON UEFI USB callout
(there will be two: MBRDOS and UEFI GPT)

USB will show as C
type reflash
after "successfull" type poweroff and while its powering off, shut down
reboot to bios and reset your config (dont forget RAID if needed)

Note: ASUS Z77 bios have no PDR (ignore message)
If the above doesnt go all the way, try merefl (ME reflash) command. If that doesnt work you will have to first rename 1805 to Z77VPRO.CAP and use flashback port and button with file on FAT32 USB 2.0 stick in white FB USB port, legacy USB 2 enabled in bios.

 

[IXFINGERZXI]

THANK YOU SIR! YOU ARE MY HERO!:thumbsup:

So far so good. I got my settings back, got it clocked back to 4.5 and the iGpu is inactive for once! The cpu still won't down clock but i'm not complaining because at least it works! Now this may be a stupid question but should I even bother with 1908? I would assume no since it doesn't seem to fix the issue i'm having and i have no intention of upgrading hardware for quite a while.

 

[bankster55]

To downclock the CPU you need in bios:
EIST enabled
CIE disabled
CS3 CS6 enabled

Speedstepping is done in windows
in Control panel/power/change plan/advanced
Set min/max processor 2% - 100% and click APPLY
Reboot

If you want 1908, rename it to bios.bin and change the one in USB stick to it instead and do the reflash - poweroff thingy. Its your play.

 

[IXFINGERZXI]

geez i cant believe it was that simple. I forgot that i even changed the minimum processor state when i first overclocked last year. I had a minor problem when changing those bios settings though. i changed exactly what you said but i also switched the primary adapter setting from Auto to PCI-E to prevent the igpu from becoming active like it used to. When I rebooted it failed to post and the led for pci-e(gtx670ftw) was on. Now my overclock is gone. In bios it is still configured for 4.5 but in windows its at the factory 3.6ghz. This has happened in the past. Is there a easy way to fix this? I believe the other times it happened i just did cmos reset.

 

[bankster55]

What O/S?
CSM enabled with defaults?
Multi Monitor OFF?
1805 is crap for some, golden for others
see here:
http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx...id=1&model=P8Z77-V+PRO&page=1&SLanguage=en-us
Your vidcard may have UEFI bios
Try some old crap vidcard
Could try setting card to PCIe 2.0 in bios, dif slots
Any filled PCIe 1X 4X slot with card can wreck things

1504 will work
1616 is almost as good
or, you could try 1908 again
Using the Intel FTK tool and reflash/poweroff - which redoes entire bios

 

[IXFINGERZXI]

I'm on windows 7 x64. CSM enabled. I do have two monitors if that's what you mean. I sold my old gtx 260 so i cant try a different card. I can't really rearrange my pci slots(have a pci-e sound card(1x or 4x not sure which =/) and other crap). I think I'll try 1504 real quick.

 

[IXFINGERZXI]

So after entering the bios I realized you meant iGpu multi monitor and it is off. So I tried 1504 but it was very unstable. I had apps crashing left and right. Also I noticed that even with 1805, 1504 the bios said 1908. Is that normal for this method of flashing? Anyways I switched to 1908 again and everything seems to be working fine(other than the igpu is stuck on active again lol). I'd like to fix it but I can live with it if your sick of me. XD Either way you've been a great help.

Edit: I spoke a little to soon. It seems my system monitoring desktop gadgets like to crash now. Maybe my OC isn't so stable with speedstep on?

Edit: And I just got a win32k.sys BSOD followed by a machine_check_exception bsod.

 

[bankster55]

The red mobo light for the video is on or the vidcard's LED light itself?
Take out the sound card then delete that sound controller from dev manager and try things. Some sound cards just dont fly
http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx..._id=21&model=Xonar+D2X&page=1&SLanguage=en-us
You do not have both the vidcard and IGPU display controllers showing in dev man, correct?
What do you mean 1504 and 1805 show as 1908?
1908 is a screwy bios - ASUS has added another new lock to one of the partitions. You may have to buy the chip, because your first try was corrupted.
You did use mobo flashback module with renamed .cap to go back to 1805, correct?
What does it say as Bios vers top of Main bios page?

You could also try fresh install of win 7 with PC as is, no sound card installed, vidcard sound controller or RT sound only - all others disabled.. The vidcard has sound, Windows has sound and mobo has sound (RT) and the Z77 chipset has sound (Intel)

To test, you are going to have to go basic - no PCIe\PCI cards except a low level vidcard and start from there, and one monitor using DVI-D output

 

[IXFINGERZXI]

It was the VGA_Led on the mobo. So I reflashed once again, this time to 1616 and everything seems stable. Speedstep is working, cpu voltage is adjusting accordingly, iGpu shows inactive, and i have booted up around a half dozen times with no problems. The main bios page still reads 1908 though. As far as sound devices go, the only one enabled is my sound blaster 3drecon pcie card. The onboard sound is disabled in the bios and there are no audio capable displays available according to the vidcard. I have never even installed the audio drivers for either of those.

So do you think it's okay to just leave as is? If I have anymore problems should I just give in and get a new chip? I'd like to try this out for a day or two and do some video editing, gaming, streaming as per usual to see if a problem reoccurs and then report back.

 

[bankster55]

Wow, thats crazy
It seems if 1908 goes in from 1805 flawlessly, then its fine
If it screws up flashing then things get nasty
The only way to break the new protection is to use backflash on mobo with some earlier bios, NOT the FTK tool
The current Intel FTK does not know how to flash FROM ASUS1908
So you didnt answer:
You flashed to 1908 and things went bad, and using FTK brought 1908 back, then it had issues, so you reverted back to 1805. Did you use flashback on mobo to get to 1805 or FTK Tool? Also WHAT ME is showing on bios Main page?

This is kinda interesting really, the descriptor partition is not changing, but the bios image partition is.

So yeah go ahead and try it for a few days. If things go south, you can try merefl (ME Reflash) command in FTK with 1616 as bios.bin. If still no luck, use flashback to go to 1616 IF it will do it. This is to try to break the new protection. As a last alternative you can buy a chip and it will come with 1908 UNLESS you specify something else and they are machine programmed off mobo from blanks.

Reminder to self: do not get involved in bad 1908 flashes. ASUS has created a real nightmare here. I am told the haswell bios will be even worse.

 

[IXFINGERZXI]

Ok I'll try to recap this. play by play :hmm:

• updated to 1908 from 1805 using EZ Flash
• it didn't flash properly for whatever reason and I was missing some bios options
• then went back to 1805 using FTK (tried 'reflash' but got 'Error 280: Failed to disable write protection for the BIOS space!' then used 'merefl' command and that seemed to do the trick every time (BIOS main page still read v1908
• had issues with 1805 so I used FTK to go back to 1504, had stability issues
• FTK'ed to 1908 once again but bios settings weren't applying correctly
• used FTK merefl again(only way it would work) to go to 1616 and everything seems to be working as intended bios still shows v1908 me v8.1.0.1248

UPDATE: iGpu just magically returned to Active for no apparent reason(also shows in dev man). I know from previous experience that if I were to install the HD Graphics 4000 drivers windows would boot to a black screen. I can't have both Nvidia and Intel graphics drivers installed at the same time.

Note to Self: If you see haswell, turn and run like you just saw slenderman!

 

[bankster55]

1908 ME should be 8.1.2.1318, so you do have 1616 ME
Time for a new chip
(Be sure and come back and let me know what happens)
Takes 5 working days to arrive
The 8 pins come splayed out - have to carefully straighten them to verticle
Notch on plastic top end only goes one way
Must be all the way down both sides
PC off and PSU unplugged
After insert, reinitialize power, start a boot, then shut down and cmos reset.
Since you have issues with all but 1616, I would buy one chip 1908 and one 1616, but thats just me - heh

UPDATE:
After reading this mess again, I'm now thinking of possibility that you could have bad mobo/vidcard/PSU - maybe nothing wrong with bios (now). Boot cant do vidcard successfully and defaults to IGPU instead, then corrupts bios settings. (you had several mobo video red led)
This would explain why "Auto" works and PCIe doesnt - auto is either IGPU or PCIe, PCIe leaves no other option.
After booting a few times vidcard boot fails (cold boot) and bios falls back to IGPU..
Vidcard might be crapping out (2 monitors), power to card not sufficient, or card not all the way down due to case geometry, or bad slot.
Make sense?
You have GOT TO try another low level card with ONE monitor!
I am also not discounting the possibility of your PCIe soundcard wrecking things. Z77 mobo only like a few brands - with later bios. I had a list but I cant find it now.

So you actually had a two part problem:
Flakey vidcard causing IGPU default ("active") - thats why you wanted to try 1908
Bad bios flash made everything much worse.
However, a new chip will settle this part of the question once and for all.

 

[IXFINGERZXI]

Well I placed an order for a 1908 chip. F**king Fedex $9 for 5 day ground on a envelope and it will probably be late knowing them. lol After installing the chip you say "start a boot then shut down" do you mean boot into bios then power off?

I think you may be on to something with that bad mobo/vidcard comment. But to clarify the vidcard does "work" when it's set to pcie. Unless when it fails with red vga_led it reverts to auto while still showing pcie in the bios. Maybe that's what you meant, I dunno. What exactly do you mean by a low level card? I MIGHT be able to get a hold of my old gtx 260 but that's really my only option(minus buying one).

Just for the sake of clarity here is my system(mostly).
CPU
RAM
MOBO
PSU
GPU
AUDIO
FIREWIRE
SSD
HDD

 

[bankster55]

yeah, boot into bios briefly, then shut down, clear cmos
if you boot into new chip, prob wont boot thru to Win 7
Because of +5VSB always on, I wouldnt insert chip with PSU plugged

Low level card means not a fancy high power card like 7970 - just an old crap card that you know works

 

[IXFINGERZXI]

So you actually had a two part problem:
Flakey vidcard causing IGPU default ("active") - thats why you wanted to try 1908
Bad bios flash made everything much worse.
However, a new chip will settle this part of the question once and for all.

I hope your wrong but I think your right. But I read a few posts where multiple people were having a similar issue with igpu being stuck on active.
Post #23 here
Post #11 here

 

[bankster55]

Yeah, know about those posts (I am a mod on VIP), I just didnt know what they meant about IGPU being "active". Didnt make any sense to me. That is until this thread - lol

I had trouble with 1805 with CPU voltages (never used 1708) - couldnt use auto and/or offset without getting crazy high numbers. Had to change my routine to manual mode and typed in voltage. With IvyBridge, 1.260 no issues at 44/45X, 1.352 @ 47X with DIGI+ LLC at high for both. Of course this is fixed voltage, no change at idle - tho .008 higher without droop (1.256/1.264). Once i got it figured out its been very stable indeed.
With all the issues others have had tho, I would say 1805 was a loser, to be avoided. With Haswell out in June I would guess 1908 is last Z77 bios except for high end boards.

I am waiting to see if next versions of Intel FTK (Flash Tool Kit 0962, 0963) ) will deal with the new bios config

I have my own programmer and just saw that a new software is avail now. If a newer than 1908 bios comes out, should be interesting to see if it will clean a 1908 chip fully or error out. Same questions now about flashrom (Linux) and AFUDOS.
http://www.sofi-tech.com/en/down_view.asp?id=12

http://www.ebay.com/itm/6000-chips-...092?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item232a0bfcfc

Edit: Do you have one or two kits of that 8GB Corsair?

 

[IXFINGERZXI]

I have two kits. I managed to get rock solid @ 45x with llc at very high and offset minus 0.005. voltage stays between 0.95(idle) - 1.22(full load). I think i lucked out with this cpu. XD

 

[santilmo]

1805 is a wicked BIOS... and yes, that version will make your iGPU always enabled for some reason along with few more unpredictable issues...

i reverted to my trusted 1406, and all of my issues with 1805 went away...

probably will not update my BIOS till i encounter obvious BIOS related issues...

i switched to micro ATX (P8Z77-M Pro) from ATX (P8Z77-V) and honestly, i wish i could have just bought a gigabyte instead of another asus...

 

[samboy]

I was on 1805 and had occasional wake from sleep issues where the fans would spin up but nothing else.

Upgraded to 1908 at the end of the weekend and so far it has been rock stable.
I don't use the iGPU so not even sure how to tell if it is on or off?
Anyway, doesn't seem to impact the 45x overclock for a 2600k processor.

Only cautiously optimistic at this point about the wake from sleep being solved......... time will tell.

 

[IXFINGERZXI]

Alright so I got the new 1908 chip today. Seems the pins were already straightened. (WIN!):awe: As I'm not in the mood today; I will throw the new one in tomorrow, test it out a bit and let ya know. :Fingers Crossed:

 

[bankster55]

yeah, one of my least favorite things to do is straighten those 8 super fragile chip legs. There is a funny video on youtube that shows a chip with horribly mangled feet that came from ASUS in a bag stuck into some soft foam. How would you like to fix this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLEQoWRq41k;
Asus now sticks them into hard white foam

I just buy in bulk from ebay ($2 - $4)
Then you can program them offline or hot flash them in AI Suite or flashback them.
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...WINBOND-PDIP8-64M-FLASH/109132_713238175.html
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/W25Q64BVAIG-DIP-8-MXIC-25Q64BVAIG-64MBIT/503973_441878133.html

At this point, one of two things will happen -
>The new chip will fix everything, since its flashed 1908 from a blank - no previous corruption, and has no1805 vidcard/IGPU issues any more.
>Problem will remain after a few boots, caused by PCIe 3.0 vidcard unable to function properly with new bios default options (with Ivy Bridge CPU) or possibly card itself has HYBRID Legacy/UEFI bios - which seriously complicates things. I am wondering also if those running SB CPU (which has no PCIE 3.0 support) might have free sailing with 1805.

Curious to see what happens