Asus Z170 Pro Gaming - Bios Flash without CPU

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metallicmaggot

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Guys,

I was in the market for an upgrade from i5 2500K to i7 7700K and made the mistake of taking my very curious 6 year old niece with me. While I was being shown the compatible motherboards for the desired processor, she managed to rip the seal off the box of the motherboard mentioned above, so the shopkeeper forced me to buy it and I did.

Now the processor I had already bought, so I am kind of stuck here. I understand that this motherboard comes with an older BIOS version that might not support the Kaby Lake processors. So my questions are as follows:

1. How do I check what version of BIOS did this come with? I believe the minimum I require is the "3016" update or if possible perhaps the latest "3020" to run the desired processor.
2. Can I flash bios using a pen drive with this motherboard. I know you can do it with the Gigabytes (I had one before this and loved it), but I can't see a BIOS flash button anywhere on this MOBO. Is there another way to do it?

What do you guys think is the best way out. I don't want to buy a cheap SkyLake to update the bios and the last thing I want is to spend on another MOBO considering this one is not cheap at all.

Please help guys, I am desperate and stuck!

Thanks a ton!
 
Solution
Lutfij
Well to be honest, since you paid for the board and technically the instructions I've laid out in this post are more or less what you'll find in your motherboard manual as well. So to corroborate what Asus have said in that link you've provided, you're going to have to do it yourself in spite of us giving you advice.

From the top, download the latest BIOS from support site.
Unpack the files from zip, have the BIOS file in root directory of a FAT32 formatted pen/thumb drive.
Meanwhile build your system with a stick of ram, the PSU to power and the processor itself with your choice of aftermarket cooling(since the i7 ou have doesn't come with a stock cooler).
Plug thumb drive into any USB2.0 port on rear I/O panel and power...
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Lutfij

Lutfij

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Since you're in a predicament, the best course of action would be sell the board off a site like Ebay or to a friend explaining how new t is or bite the bullet and drop in the Kabylake part and see if you can get into BIOS to update/flash the BIOS to the latest revision.

You could also:
Have the latest BIOS file copied onto the root directory of a USB drive, plugged into an available USB2.0 port and then have the system power up, after which you can try and update the BIOS manually. I read through your manual though thus the suggestion to try and update the BIOS with what you have which also means you need to have at least one stick of ram, a PSU and a storage drive to at least get into BIOS. If anything this is a lost cause and selling this board would be a better idea.
 
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metallicmaggot

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Hey Lutfij - thanks a ton for your input. Now here's the deal, i just read this:

https://rog.asus.com/articles/maximus-motherboards/asus-updates-uefi-bios-for-100-series-motherboards-and-intels-7th-generation-series-processors/

This gives me a glimmer of hope. You think I should try and install the processor in the current motherboard and see if it works? It says V1.04 but there no way to tell whether or not this supports the CPU! Any help would be highly appreciated.
 
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Lutfij

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Oct 7, 2009
54,076
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Well to be honest, since you paid for the board and technically the instructions I've laid out in this post are more or less what you'll find in your motherboard manual as well. So to corroborate what Asus have said in that link you've provided, you're going to have to do it yourself in spite of us giving you advice.

From the top, download the latest BIOS from support site.
Unpack the files from zip, have the BIOS file in root directory of a FAT32 formatted pen/thumb drive.
Meanwhile build your system with a stick of ram, the PSU to power and the processor itself with your choice of aftermarket cooling(since the i7 ou have doesn't come with a stock cooler).
Plug thumb drive into any USB2.0 port on rear I/O panel and power up the system.
(If and when)Upon entering BIOS flash using the available utility.

You might also want to read that the USB BIOS Flashback is only available on premium boards. The Pro Gaming doesn't fit in that category per Asus's marketing material.

All this talk and no movement isn't healthy nor is it healthy to not make up your mind. If you're really that doubtful of the path, what's stopping you from selling it off Ebay/Craiglist and just dealing with a pure Kabylake build?
 
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Solution
M

metallicmaggot

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So the issue is that I am in India and here the "used" goods market is not very strong. I will end up losing a lot of money if I try and sell this on a craiglist equivalent. Hence I am trying to gather all the info I can to see if I can do without losing and arm and a leg in terms of money.

Alright can you please answer this last one that if I do end up putting the CPU and try to boot, if the CPU is not supported, nothing will be damaged, right? Considering the socket is the same.
 
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