Flashed BIOS but now PC won't start

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M

moggel

Commendable
Nov 29, 2016
18
0
1,510
Dear experts,

I am trying to re-vitalize my PC by swapping the GPU to a GeForce GTX 1070. Having done that I got some pesky little "B2" error message at the bottom right of the screen and some googling came up with the advice to update the BIOS. My MB is a MSI X79A-GD45 (MS-7735) and I tried MSI's "Live Updater 6" to flash to 1.7. That, however, made it impossible to boot from the system drive so I had to restore the BIOS back to 1.5.

Now, I was using an dual-boot system that was some remnant from earlier days when I wanted to separate play and work but nowadays I only use the PC for leisure anyway so I went ahead and re-installed everything: Formatted the sys-drive, re-installed W10 Pro and then tried the 1.7 BIOS again but, alas, the result was exactly the same so I did some more research.

I found a more recent version on MSI's web site and put it on my USB thumbdrive. Next I booted up the PC and started the flash tool directly in Windows 10, clicked OK and waited until the PC restarted.

When Windows went down and the screen went black the PC just stood there for ~5-6 minutes, fans running, without coming back up so I manually shut it off. I removed the USB drive and restarted and was greeted with some text explaining that BIOS was being updated and that I should not remove the USB drive so I quickly plugged it in again. The update process claimed it was successful and the PC was then being auto-rebooted.

What happens now is that the power comes on, fans start running, and then after a second or two everything just shuts down again only to repeat the process indefinitely. I don't even get to POST and have no idea how to move ahead.

Any hints would be appreciated!

Thanks
 
Solution
gokul36
1)Download the executable file .exe from the MSI website.
2)Extract it.
3)Close other apps.
4)Execute the update package.
5)Press "OK" to Install the update package.
6)BIOS will be update. Take some time(Don't remove pendrive untill it's done)
7)You will recieve message On-Screen "BIOS Updated Successfully" Then you can remove pendrive.

If possible upload the Motherboard picture and Box came along with Motherboard. I want to Verify.
Or Use CPU-Z to Find out the Motherboard Revision Model.
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M

Malik 722

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Dec 9, 2010
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M

Malik 722

Distinguished
Dec 9, 2010
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re flash it again with the previous bios version than check the card,if system works fine than ignore the post code sometimes they are just false alarms.also had the same problem with my ivy bridge z77x ud5h system due to bios update. did the same thing written above worked fine till i sold it.
 
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gokul36

gokul36

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Nov 7, 2013
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Try Removing CMOS Battery. Leave it for 10 - 15 mins CMOS to lose Settings.

Your Motherboard has Dual BIOS "MULTI BIOS SWITCH"
You can download the manual from MSI Site and follow the instructions.

BIOS recovery using the M-flash utility:
1. Ensure that the system is switched off.
2. Boot up the system with the operational BIOS ROM by switching the Multi-BIOS
switch.
3. Enter the BIOS setup → Utilities → M-Flash → Save BIOS to storage and then save
the file to a bootable USB pen drive (root folder).
4. Switch back to the BIOS ROM that needs to be recovered.
5. Choose “Select one file to update BIOS” and recover the BIOS ROM with the file
saved in the USB pen drive.
 
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M

moggel

Commendable
Nov 29, 2016
18
0
1,510
I went ahead and removed the CMOS battery and left it out for ~20 minutes. As I understood your instructions there was no need to switch back to the other BIOS because I had already prepared my USB stick with the old (v1.5) BIOS (I have restored a few times already). I then plugged in the USB stick and turned on the PC but the same behavior remains: Fans starts spinning but within a second everything gets turned off again. The system sits silent for a few seconds and then the behavior repeats until unplug the power cord.

I guess I could switch to BIOS "B" but is there some way to restore BIOS "A"?

Also, what went wrong? I was careful to use a BIOS provider from MSI for the exact MB model. Did I not flash it correctly?
 
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M

moggel

Commendable
Nov 29, 2016
18
0
1,510
I fgured as much but where did I mess up? Should I have waited longer while the PC what busy doing nothing (apparently; the screen was black and there where no life signs from any LEDs)? Did I choose the wrong BIOS (2.8, got it here: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/X79A-GD45.html#down-bios)? Should I have used the tools from the MSI setup screen (the one you get from pressing DEL while booting) rather than initiating it from the Windows 10 desktop (if so: why do MSI offer that option)? Thanks for any info. I don't do this very often ... :)

The end goal here is to install a new GPU (GTX 1070) so I guess I still need to upgrade the BIOS. Would hate to botch BIOS "B" as well ...
 
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M

moggel

Commendable
Nov 29, 2016
18
0
1,510
Maybe I misunderstand but, yes, I flipped the multi BIOS switch from "A" to "B". The PC boots ok now but the BIOS (in "B") is still too old to support the GTX 1070 GPU so I assume I need to flash the "B" BIOS as well, right? or is there some other "multi BIOS switch" I should try?
 
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M

moggel

Commendable
Nov 29, 2016
18
0
1,510
So, just to be clear: I should use M-flash in the MSI settings screen at boot to flash, rather than the Windows 10 updater I used before? But how do I know I'm not flashing the wrong version? is it safe to flash the one I downloaded (v2.8) from the MSI web site?
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/X79A-GD45.html#down-bios

I really don't wanna mess up the "B" BIOS as well. That would likely mean I need a new MB.
 
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gokul36

gokul36

Distinguished
Nov 7, 2013
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19,860
1)Download the executable file .exe from the MSI website.
2)Extract it.
3)Close other apps.
4)Execute the update package.
5)Press "OK" to Install the update package.
6)BIOS will be update. Take some time(Don't remove pendrive untill it's done)
7)You will recieve message On-Screen "BIOS Updated Successfully" Then you can remove pendrive.

If possible upload the Motherboard picture and Box came along with Motherboard. I want to Verify.
Or Use CPU-Z to Find out the Motherboard Revision Model.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Solution
M

moggel

Commendable
Nov 29, 2016
18
0
1,510
The text on the MB reads: "MS-7735 VER: 1.2". The MSI "Live update 6" UI reads: "Motherboard model / X79A-GD45 (MS-7735)". Is that the info you're asking for?

About your instructions: Should I do the flashing from the Windows desktop, like I did before, not using the "M-flash" tool from MSI's boot setup? If so, and the PC doesn't appear to come back up after the reboot, should I just leave it (I turned it off manually after ~5 minutes). How long should I expect for this process to complete and the PC coming back up again? Sorry for asking but I *really* don't wanna mess up that other BIOS slot.

Thanks for helping out! :)
 
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M

moggel

Commendable
Nov 29, 2016
18
0
1,510
Is this what you need?
HQDCHlP.png
 
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M

moggel

Commendable
Nov 29, 2016
18
0
1,510
It's done! Just like the first time, after the installer shut down the PC I waited a full ten minutes without anything happened. I finally gave up and manually rebooted it but this time it worked. I guess it would have worked the first time as well if I hadn't removed the USB stick.

Thanks alot for helping out gokul36!

Cheers!
 
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