ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

[parsec]

I've had my new Z97 Extreme 6 board for about two weeks now, and it has worked fine. I was able to try a M.2 SSD in the M.2 slots this board has, and it worked flawlessly. I've been using the 1.20 UEFI/BIOS version since I started using this board, and it worked fine.

I noticed the new UEFI version 1.30 last night (5/30) and although it seemed to only adds support for the new Intel "Devil's Canyon" processors and also had a VBIOS update, I decided to update to this new version. I don't have a Devil's Canyon (DC) CPU (who does?), but in the past my ASRock Z77 and Z87 boards have all accepted every UEFI update perfectly (using Instant Flash only as the update method), and the version 1.30 update's description did not state the need to have a DC processor to use the 1.30 version.

So I download version 1.30, extracted the file and copied it to a USB flash drive. I had the USB flash drive in a USB 2.0 port, the same one I used to update to 1.20. I started Instant Flash, which recognized the 1.30 version fine (as well as versions 1.00 and 1.20, that are on the flash drive). I selected version 1.30 and started the update. The update seem a bit slower than 1.20, but there may have been more going on with this update than a typical update. The update to 1.30 finished normally, prompted me to press enter to restart, which I did.

That is the point when things went wrong. The PC would start for about one second, then turn off for about two seconds. It would then start again for one second, and again turn off. It continued in this cycle endlessly, the Boot Failure Guard option having no affect. I can't call this behavior a boot loop, since the PC was no where near booting. So this "POST loop" behavior continued over and over, until I switched off the PSU with its power switch. When I switched the PSU on again, and pressed the PC's power button, the one second on, two seconds off behavior started again. I never touched anything on the PC besides the PSU's power switch as I described above. I did not clear the UEFI/BIOS, as that is not the correct procedure when updating the UEFI.

Fortunately, I was able to use the back up UEFI to start the PC, and used the UEFI recovery procedure to restore UEFI version 1.00 to the main CMOS chip. I have since then flashed to UEFI version 1.20, which works fine and the PC is working normally now.

It's possible I had a bad download of the 1.30 UEFI, but the file was not rejected by Instant Flash. No checksums are provided to check the UEFI download, so I can't check the copy of 1.30 I have. The file size is the same as the two other UEFI versions, 8,196KB.

I would be very interested to know if anyone with a Z97 Extreme 6 board has had success using UEFI version 1.30, or if they experienced the same issue that I did. I'm reluctant to try flashing to 1.30 again. I'm using an i5-4670K processor.

[vuldin]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

I was thinking about updating today when I saw version 1.3, but then I read the updates provided in each of the updates since 1.0 and didn't see any compelling reason to do it just yet. It's weird that the update caused issues especially when you've successfully updated to 1.20. Considering this motherboard has two CMOS chips it is relatively safe to try again, but I can understand not wanting to risk any issues. One thing you may try is getting a md5sum from your downloaded file and comparing it to another download of the same file. It's a shame the md5 hash values for each BIOS update aren't included on the website where you download the BIOS files from. This would be a quick and easy way to ensure you are getting the right file (and all of it).

[parsec]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

Thanks, that's a good idea about the checksums, I will try that.

This is my third chipset generation ASRock board (two Z77 (one with i7-2600K, one with i5-3570K), Z87, and Z97) and all of them (except one of the Z77's) have had the original UEFI version in them out of the box. I always update the UEFIs with each version more for a test than anything else, although some of the Z77 updates were useful for my configurations. The Z97's 1.30 version is the first one that I've ever had a problem with, although I obviously don't know yet if it is a good copy of the 1.30 UEFI that is the cause.

I flashed the 1.20 UEFI partially due to the description of "Improve SATA Type M.2 compatibility", since I was testing a Plextor M6e SSD for a colleague (of sorts), and the M6e is really a M.2 SSD with a PCIe adapter board. The M.2 drive is easily removable from the adapter board (voiding warranty, but not an issue in this case), and I wanted to test the Z97 EX 6's M.2 capability. The board and M6e worked perfectly with and without the adapter board.

BTW vuldin, welcome to the ASRock/TweakTown forum. It's always good to have another savvy PC builder (given what I see in your posts here) among our contributors.

Well, just ran a checksum generating program (fciv) on the original extracted Z97Ex61.30 file (the copy on the USB flash drive) I downloaded about 22 hours ago, and a copy I extracted from a download I did a few minutes ago. The resulting checksum values are identical.



I'll triple check my files, etc, but I don't seem to have used a corrupted download of UEFI 1.30.

[profJim]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

You can search the web to see if there are any bios editors that will work with your bios.
Not that you want to make any bios/UEFI changes, but you should be able to "map" each bios version and at least verify that the boot block is not corrupt and that it is properly addressed. Sending a PM to Stasio might be a good way to start.

I've never worked with bios editors let alone working with any UEFI systems.

[vuldin]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

Thanks, that's a good idea about the checksums, I will try that.

This is my third chipset generation ASRock board (two Z77 (one with i7-2600K, one with i5-3570K), Z87, and Z97) and all of them (except one of the Z77's) have had the original UEFI version in them out of the box. I always update the UEFIs with each version more for a test than anything else, although some of the Z77 updates were useful for my configurations. The Z97's 1.30 version is the first one that I've ever had a problem with, although I obviously don't know yet if it is a good copy of the 1.30 UEFI that is the cause.

I flashed the 1.20 UEFI partially due to the description of "Improve SATA Type M.2 compatibility", since I was testing a Plextor M6e SSD for a colleague (of sorts), and the M6e is really a M.2 SSD with a PCIe adapter board. The M.2 drive is easily removable from the adapter board (voiding warranty, but not an issue in this case), and I wanted to test the Z97 EX 6's M.2 capability. The board and M6e worked perfectly with and without the adapter board.

BTW vuldin, welcome to the ASRock/TweakTown forum. It's always good to have another savvy PC builder (given what I see in your posts here) among our contributors.

Well, just ran a checksum generating program (fciv) on the original extracted Z97Ex61.30 file (the copy on the USB flash drive) I downloaded about 22 hours ago, and a copy I extracted from a download I did a few minutes ago. The resulting checksum values are identical.

[ATTACH]6900[/ATTACH]

I'll triple check my files, etc, but I don't seem to have used a corrupted download of UEFI 1.30.

Thanks for the welcome! This seems to be the best place for support around ASRock builds so I'm sure I'll get (and hopefully give) plenty of help as time goes by. I'm staying away from 1.3, and maybe I'll look into it as a possibility once others post claiming success. I have my hands full at the moment getting btrfs filesystem mdamd RAID, VT-d virtualization all working as planned. I have the first two down and now I'm focused on the virtualization (and setting up my OS environment generally).

[parsec]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

You can search the web to see if there are any bios editors that will work with your bios.
Not that you want to make any bios/UEFI changes, but you should be able to "map" each bios version and at least verify that the boot block is not corrupt and that it is properly addressed. Sending a PM to Stasio might be a good way to start.

I've never worked with bios editors let alone working with any UEFI systems.

Good idea, although not the easiest thing to do, right? I've used the tool from Stasio's RAID website once or twice in the past, and managed to change the Intel RAID option ROM in my ASRock Z87 board's UEFI. I posted a question or two in his forum too, as it took a few tries to get the modified UEFI to be accepted by the ASR Instant Flash program, since each manufactures BIOS/UEFI file is slightly different. But then after each UEFI update you must modify the new version again, and the benefits of the new option ROM are questionable.

It would be fun to debug a UEFI/BIOS file, but will likely be one of two things. Obviously wrong in a basic way, or very complex and far from obvious. But your idea is a good one, a simple comparison of the 1.20 and 1.30 files might reveal the problem.

I just hope this situation is not similar to the Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge UEFI update, which it shouldn't be... famous last words...

The timing of the release of the 1.30 version might reveal that the Devils Canyon processors might be released very soon. The release date is unknown and controversial.

[lotuspro]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

Thanks for the welcome! This seems to be the best place for support around ASRock builds so I'm sure I'll get (and hopefully give) plenty of help as time goes by. I'm staying away from 1.3, and maybe I'll look into it as a possibility once others post claiming success. I have my hands full at the moment getting btrfs filesystem mdamd RAID, VT-d virtualization all working as planned. I have the first two down and now I'm focused on the virtualization (and setting up my OS environment generally).

For the record, i have been unable to update from 1.20 I to 1.30 either. I have attempted the 'instant flash' mode with the result that the UEFI hangs, although the mouse cursor still moves. After several long anxious minutes, with no change to this state, I shutdown my PC (shock horror). I then restarted, and the PC booted normally??
I contacted Asrock Support, but received no response.

[jaketown]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

I didn't upgrade my board since everything was running fine. Though with the back-up in place it sure is a lot less riskier to try.

[parsec]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

For the record, i have been unable to update from 1.20 I to 1.30 either. I have attempted the 'instant flash' mode with the result that the UEFI hangs, although the mouse cursor still moves. After several long anxious minutes, with no change to this state, I shutdown my PC (shock horror). I then restarted, and the PC booted normally??
I contacted Asrock Support, but received no response.

Thanks for posting your experience with UEFI 1.30. Just noticed your reply, would have replied sooner if I was paying attention...

It sounds like your issue is not quite the same as I have. Your Instant Flash update process hangs, while mine completes, shuts down and starts, but then refuses to POST.

Just to be clear, you used Instant Flash with the UEFI file on a USB Flash drive, right? Or did you use the Internet Flash option? I tried both, with the same end result I described above.

Which USB port did you use for the USB flash drive?

I don't know if you've flashed a BIOS/UEFI on this board before, so I'll ask if you saw the following during the update:

Select Instant Flash on the Tools screen.

Select 1.30 from the display.

"Processing crashless feature" is displayed, with a progress bar, from 0 to 100%.

Next is the actual UEFI update, with the "Don't turn off power to the PC", with a progress bar as above.

When complete, prompted to "Press Enter to restart".

About where in this sequence does the update freeze?

Obviously, you still see version 1.20 displayed on the UEFI main screen.

BTW, I see you have a Samsung XP941 SSD, very nice, cannot get them in the USA yet. It is the M.2 form factor, right? I must ask you a few things about it...

Is that your OS drive? If so, I imagine you are using the Ultra M.2 port, correct? I've read that some Z97 boards cannot boot from the M.2 ports, which seems ridiculous. Hopefully you can clear that up for me, at least for this board.

M.2 SSDs are built to either connect to the board's SATA controller (the Intel on this board), or have their own SATA-like controller, which are the faster SSDs, and I know the XP941 is of that type.

How does this SSD appear in Device Manager, like any other SSD?

Do you get an entry in Device Manager for a storage controller, as if you had an add on SATA card? What driver does it use?

Thanks much for any info. How do you like the XP941?

[lotuspro]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

Thanks for posting your experience with UEFI 1.30. Just noticed your reply, would have replied sooner if I was paying attention...

It sounds like your issue is not quite the same as I have. Your Instant Flash update process hangs, while mine completes, shuts down and starts, but then refuses to POST.

Just to be clear, you used Instant Flash with the UEFI file on a USB Flash drive, right? Or did you use the Internet Flash option? I tried both, with the same end result I described above.

Which USB port did you use for the USB flash drive?

I don't know if you've flashed a BIOS/UEFI on this board before, so I'll ask if you saw the following during the update:

Select Instant Flash on the Tools screen.

Select 1.30 from the display.

"Processing crashless feature" is displayed, with a progress bar, from 0 to 100%.

Next is the actual UEFI update, with the "Don't turn off power to the PC", with a progress bar as above.

When complete, prompted to "Press Enter to restart".

About where in this sequence does the update freeze?

Obviously, you still see version 1.20 displayed on the UEFI main screen.

BTW, I see you have a Samsung XP941 SSD, very nice, cannot get them in the USA yet. It is the M.2 form factor, right? I must ask you a few things about it...

Is that your OS drive? If so, I imagine you are using the Ultra M.2 port, correct? I've read that some Z97 boards cannot boot from the M.2 ports, which seems ridiculous. Hopefully you can clear that up for me, at least for this board.

M.2 SSDs are built to either connect to the board's SATA controller (the Intel on this board), or have their own SATA-like controller, which are the faster SSDs, and I know the XP941 is of that type.

How does this SSD appear in Device Manager, like any other SSD?

Do you get an entry in Device Manager for a storage controller, as if you had an add on SATA card? What driver does it use?

Thanks much for any info. How do you like the XP941?

Hi parsec,

I was unable to flash from the internet, because I have a wireless connection as opposed to Ethernet. I successfully used instant flash in the UEFI to go from 1.0 to 1.20 and the steps you describe happened for that update, with the difference, that I was then able to boot to my operating system. When I later tried to upgrade to 1.30, the UEFI froze as soon as I clicked on the 1.30 BIOS file which was on my USB drive. So, I did not get any further than that. As I see it, your experience and mine are totally different, but end with the same result, no upgrade to 1.30. Strange.
My USB drive was attached to one of the USB 2 extension ports from the motherboard, not the backplate.
The Samsung XP941 is excellent. It behaves the same as a SSD drive but yes, is connected to the Ultra M2 port. The following is how it appears in Device Manager:


It uses the same drivers as my Samsung SSD 840 PRO. I bought the drive from RAM City in Sydney Computer and Laptop RAM, Memory, SSD Upgrades for Dell, HP, Apple and Mac - RamCity They explain the compatibility issue on their website. I understand that BIOS version 1.20 has partly addressed this issue, although to what extent, I don't know.
The XP941 is my Windows drive C:. I have not benchmarked it, but it got a score of 8.7 in Microsoft's performance score in control panel. The following is a recent review of the drive: AnandTech | Samsung SSD XP941 Review: The PCIe Era Is Here
While we have not furthered our knowledge of the 1.30 BIOS update problem, unless you have any further thoughts based on my experience, but it has been interesting corresponding with you.
Regards
John

[parsec]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

John, thanks for the info about your XP941, and the link to the fix needed for ASUS boards. That may seem like just an interesting side topic, but it is VERY important to me.

That's because of my interest in UEFI booting (CSM set to Disabled, etc), since info about it is not plentiful and I'm looking for more than I already have.

Is your PC with the XP941 configured for UEFI booting? I don't think you need to with our ASRock board, or am I wrong?

My Z97 EX 6 PC is configured for UEFI booting, not that I need it for compatibility with anything. I wonder if the 1.30 update cannot be done with CSM set to Disabled. I've updated UEFIs with CSM set to Disabled many times on other boards, but given the VBIOS update in 1.30, and the apparent success of other users of this board, I wonder about that. An easy thing to test, annoying to recover a failure if necessary, so I've not tested my theory.

If I come up with a fix, I'll post it here.

[lotuspro]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

John, thanks for the info about your XP941, and the link to the fix needed for ASUS boards. That may seem like just an interesting side topic, but it is VERY important to me.

That's because of my interest in UEFI booting (CSM set to Disabled, etc), since info about it is not plentiful and I'm looking for more than I already have.

Is your PC with the XP941 configured for UEFI booting? I don't think you need to with our ASRock board, or am I wrong?

My Z97 EX 6 PC is configured for UEFI booting, not that I need it for compatibility with anything. I wonder if the 1.30 update cannot be done with CSM set to Disabled. I've updated UEFIs with CSM set to Disabled many times on other boards, but given the VBIOS update in 1.30, and the apparent success of other users of this board, I wonder about that. An easy thing to test, annoying to recover a failure if necessary, so I've not tested my theory.

If I come up with a fix, I'll post it here.

Hi parsec,
Until you raised the issue of UEFI booting as opposed to CSM, I was not actually aware of the difference. What little reading I have done since suggests that the operating system will set up the boot mode at the time of installation. The UEFI boot order in my system is 'Windows boot manager' first then the hard disks/BD Rom drive. If I change this order to boot directly to the Samsung XP941, the system won't boot. So, I may be wrong, but I don't appear to have a CSM boot option other than say when booting to an external device such as the BD Rom or say a bootable USB device?. I read up, on the following, which eventually talks more about Linux, but you may find this of interest: https://www.happyassassin.net/2014/0...lly-work-then/
I am wondering why Asrock are not picking up on the BIOS update situation, as I assume others are being confronted with the same issue. Given that our systems are a fair bit different, the update problem is presumably not specific to my system or yours?
Anyway, as my system seems quite stable on V1.20, I think I will stick with it until some clarification comes along.
Thanks for your comments.

[parsec]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

Hi parsec,
Until you raised the issue of UEFI booting as opposed to CSM, I was not actually aware of the difference. What little reading I have done since suggests that the operating system will set up the boot mode at the time of installation. The UEFI boot order in my system is 'Windows boot manager' first then the hard disks/BD Rom drive. If I change this order to boot directly to the Samsung XP941, the system won't boot. So, I may be wrong, but I don't appear to have a CSM boot option other than say when booting to an external device such as the BD Rom or say a bootable USB device?. I read up, on the following, which eventually talks more about Linux, but you may find this of interest: https://www.happyassassin.net/2014/0...lly-work-then/
I am wondering why Asrock are not picking up on the BIOS update situation, as I assume others are being confronted with the same issue. Given that our systems are a fair bit different, the update problem is presumably not specific to my system or yours?
Anyway, as my system seems quite stable on V1.20, I think I will stick with it until some clarification comes along.
Thanks for your comments.

If your OS drive is identified in the boot order as "Windows Boot Manager", then that tells me you are either UEFI booting, or Legacy booting but using the EFI storage Option ROM.

CSM is the main switch between UEFI and Legacy booting. CSM is set to Enabled by default, to cause standard BIOS/Legacy emulated booting when using UEFI firmware. Setting CSM to disabled allows a UEFI booting OS installation to boot. Secure Boot, when enabled, automatically sets CSM to disabled.

The CSM option on our board is at the bottom of the Boot screen. There are options available when CSM is Enabled that allow different EFI Option ROMs to be used in Legacy mode, instead of the Legacy Option ROMs (we have both now in our UEFI images.) Do you have CSM Enabled, but the Storage Option ROM policy set to UEFI? Please check that for me when you can.

The problems we have with 1.30 on our board are but two complaints, and I know of one user of our board that updated to 1.30 fine. We are but drops in a bucket, and I may see why now. Your issue with 1.30, and the use of the XP941 SSD, that requires a UEFI type storage Option ROM, which is also what I use by default when UEFI booting. We share the use of the EFI Storage Option ROM on our systems, and both have issues updating to 1.30.

Just coincidence? Maybe not, UEFI booting is not common yet, or is using an EFI Option ROM for compatibility with an OS drive. That is necessary to boot from the XP941.

My theory of UEFI booting (or simply using the EFI storage Option ROM) causing the problem is looking more likely, given your PC's configuration and what you've told me. I can boot my installation in Legacy/MBR mode, and then can try to update to 1.30 again. That is really the next test I must do.

[lotuspro]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

If your OS drive is identified in the boot order as "Windows Boot Manager", then that tells me you are either UEFI booting, or Legacy booting but using the EFI storage Option ROM.

CSM is the main switch between UEFI and Legacy booting. CSM is set to Enabled by default, to cause standard BIOS/Legacy emulated booting when using UEFI firmware. Setting CSM to disabled allows a UEFI booting OS installation to boot. Secure Boot, when enabled, automatically sets CSM to disabled.

The CSM option on our board is at the bottom of the Boot screen. There are options available when CSM is Enabled that allow different EFI Option ROMs to be used in Legacy mode, instead of the Legacy Option ROMs (we have both now in our UEFI images.) Do you have CSM Enabled, but the Storage Option ROM policy set to UEFI? Please check that for me when you can.

The problems we have with 1.30 on our board are but two complaints, and I know of one user of our board that updated to 1.30 fine. We are but drops in a bucket, and I may see why now. Your issue with 1.30, and the use of the XP941 SSD, that requires a UEFI type storage Option ROM, which is also what I use by default when UEFI booting. We share the use of the EFI Storage Option ROM on our systems, and both have issues updating to 1.30.

Just coincidence? Maybe not, UEFI booting is not common yet, or is using an EFI Option ROM for compatibility with an OS drive. That is necessary to boot from the XP941.

My theory of UEFI booting (or simply using the EFI storage Option ROM) causing the problem is looking more likely, given your PC's configuration and what you've told me. I can boot my installation in Legacy/MBR mode, and then can try to update to 1.30 again. That is really the next test I must do.

I was wondering about my UEFI screens until I found that enabling 'Fast boot' removes the CSM switch. I disabled 'fast boot' and it is back. I was using 'secure boot' so by default had disabled CSM anyway.
With CSM enabled, I find it will boot ok with the Storage Option ROM policy set to either Legacy or UEFI, although subjectively, I think it is a little slower in the latter mode. I am on a steep learning curve here, so don't plan to do any pioneering at this stage although, I must admit this is not my usual mindset.
Will look forawrd to your further comments.

[parsec]

Re: ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 New UEFI/BIOS Version 1.30 Not Working For Me

I was wondering about my UEFI screens until I found that enabling 'Fast boot' removes the CSM switch. I disabled 'fast boot' and it is back. I was using 'secure boot' so by default had disabled CSM anyway.
With CSM enabled, I find it will boot ok with the Storage Option ROM policy set to either Legacy or UEFI, although subjectively, I think it is a little slower in the latter mode. I am on a steep learning curve here, so don't plan to do any pioneering at this stage although, I must admit this is not my usual mindset.
Will look forawrd to your further comments.

Thanks for the reply and info, I figured it had to be something like that. Yes, Secure Boot sets CSM to disabled, it must be for Secure Boot to work. Also yes, setting Fast Boot to Ultra Fast (and possibly Fast) will cause the CSM option to disappear. That is done so you can't enable CSM with Fast Boot enabled, but there are better ways all that could be done IMO.

You seem to have confirmed that the ASRock Z97 Extreme 6 board can boot from an XP941 SSD, even when Legacy/BIOS booting. With the storage OROM policy set to Legacy, other boards should fail booting an XP941. I have not identified the Legacy storage OROM (Intel of course) yet, the UEFI OROM is 13.0.0.2075.

Lessons for the day:

* You don't need to use Secure Boot to enable UEFI booting, given you have access to the CSM option. My secure boot is set to disabled.

* A Windows UEFI booting installation (which uses the EFI boot loader) with a GPT partition table, also contains a MBR partition table (and has the MBR boot loader available), just like a standard "Legacy", "BIOS booting" installation. That means you can boot that installation either way, BIOS or UEFI, just by changing CSM. You've done that already. It should be slower with the Legacy OROM, BIOS booting. Windows 8 makes a big difference.

We are spoiled by UEFI booting Windows 8 with a SSD OS drive. I did a standard (Legacy booting) Windows 7 installation on a SanDisk Extreme II SSD (same as I use in my Z97 board, Win 8, UEFI booting) and the boot time is soooooo slow in comparison. I've used Win 8 for so long now that I forgot what Win 7 is like, plus Legacy booting.

Question for you, what did you use for your Windows 8 or 8.1 installation media? Meaning a Win 8 disk, or ISO, etc, on a USB flash drive? Just trying to confirm something about that, and need your data point.