Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

[wtfh4xx]

Hello,
To start things off I just received my new SSD and so I was performing a clean install and updating all firmwares while I was at it.
Everything was going fine and I had my SSD installed and Win 7 up and running.
Following Sean's SSD Optimization guide I reached the part suggesting Motherboard BIOS upgrade.
I was at BIOS version 1.00 and saw there were many upgrades available.
I proceeded to get the latest BIOS (2.30) directly from Asrock's site.
I placed it on the FAT 32 flash drive I have and proceeded to flash the BIOS. It worked fine and then said operation complete and to restart.
After restarting the board then flashed (d6) error code and and will not boot.
For a split second I can see the BIOS splash screen and if I tap delete I can enter into it but its only displays the top left half of the BIOS screen. You cannot see the bottom half of options or the right 1/3 of normal screen.
I googled the issue and saw many suggesting that the BIOS flash went wrong and to order a new BIOS chip.
I waited 5 days for my new chip ($20 out of my own pocket, and came with Bios 2.30 as well) and put it in today and have the same issue.
I am beyond frustrated! I had a perfectly workign PC and now due to some screwy BIOS have a non working computer.
Reading more I now see many people having this issue while running Sandy Bridge CPU's and saying to buy a BIOS chip with version 1.30.
This is unbelievable that a company would release a BIOS that doesnt support current modern day CPU's when they work PERFECTLY FINE on previous BIOS versions.
Even more so that they wouldnt put up a notice at least WARNING users not to update if they have a Sandy Bridge CPU.

Tinkering around, the board will display (A3) code with everything except the gpu installed.
When the GPU is installed it displays (d6).

So my question is where to go from here?
Will Asrock ship me a BIOS chip with Ver 1.30 on it?
Will that solve the problem?

- A very frustrated consumer

System Specs:
Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3
Intel i5-2500k
16GB Gskill RAM
Samsung 840 250GB SSD
Radeon HD 6970

[parsec]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

IMO, you have analyzed the situation perfectly, and basically answered your own question. I have seen one user of the same or similar ASR board (Z68) that claimed in this forum that the Ivy Bridge compatible UEFI works with a Sandy Bridge CPU, but that is the only one I've seen. No one else has posted that the new UEFI versions works on your board with a SB CPU, so I wonder about that post.

Other users in your situation have fixed their problems with a CMOS chip with an earlier, non-Ivy Bridge UEFI on it. You should be able to get that from ASR, and hopefully for free, since the one they sent you left you in the same state.

Checking your board's download page, the earliest and apparently first UEFI version that supports IB CPUs, is 2.10. You need whatever version was just before 2.10, or an earlier one.

Why ASR did not add a warning about this, I don't understand, as you said. Either they think your issue does not exist, or they don't want to let the owners know that SB CPU users will not be getting any more UEFI updates, which is the underlying reality.

I have seen basically the same thing done with my ASUS P67 board, no more information listed about the new UEFI's except they support IB. I've also seen posts in that boards forum with issues like you are having. I have not been keeping up with it, since I am not using that board now. I did not update to the IB supporting UEFIs, and am glad I didn't.

For my information, will your board boot and run at all with that version of the UEFI? ASR states certain driver updates are required when using that UEFI, but I can't see how that would fix the problem running the UEFI that you have. I have never seen a video card driver that was needed when using different CPUs, so I can't see your problem being related to that.

Did you try doing a hard clear of the CMOS, meaning using the mobo jumper, and removing the battery for several minutes? Just a thought.

[- wardog -]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

Yet click on the US download for BIOS 2.10(and ONLY 2.10, not 2.20 or 2.30!), and you're greeted with a pre-d/l popup that states:

Note:
1. To support Intel's 3rd Generation (Ivy Bridge) CPU, corresponding BIOS, drivers, and AXTU update are required.
2. After updating BIOS, please press any key to restart your system. At this moment, please do not remove the USB flash until Intel ME F/W update is finished.
3. After you finish updating this BIOS, please reboot your system.
4. Please only flash newer versions of BIOS in the future.

From what I've read here in this forum, Step 2 above happens on the reboot after flashing the BIOS. ie: leave the usb flash in while you reboot and the second part will occur, the updating of ME.

[alganonim]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

Same idea here, it was probably partial flash which ended bad, many users made the same mistake - removing usb flash after first reboot. I'm Z68E4G3 user and I always have newest bios, using SB CPU without any problems since it was released.

The only problem I had when upgrading to first new IVY UEFI was corrupted Win7 boot sector or MBR on 2 disks, just after flashing, lucky that it was easy to fix. So some booting methods was changed, some maybe in preparation for win8.

What I read it's only the beginning of problems, suspect that SB CPU with IVY UEFI + GOP on Intel 6 series could be a problem too.

MSI GTX 670 PE ships with compatibility issues

[kick]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

Hello
I havent posted much here in awhile.
While checking around for cmas upgrades for my system(which there arent a lot of.. :0

I decided to try the gen 3 bios for my p67 ext 6.
Im not really sure why , just because it was there really.
The only bios listed at all for the mbrd now is the 2.10 gen 3 one. The z68 issues from new were very similar and d6 was a common error.

Anyway I dloaded the bios and utilities and had the same message as posted above.
The reflash itself went without any problems..so far and it still works away at 4.8..I set the memory back to 888 timings after ward and left it at 1333.

My mbrd is one of the "free replacement" ones after the early problem that we dont mention with all SB!.
It was all free and there was an extra years guarantee included so went for the "fixed"board.
To cut it short, I kept the original bios chip from my first board , just in case so reflashing isnt a big concern and I have most of the earlier bioses stored.

All very interesting (yawn).
MO:
The old axtu certainly wont work with the IB bios ,I confirmed that myself and had to use the new one.
The rest of the drivers etc(I think) are just necessary If you do actually have an IB chip.

Did you set bios to default before reflashing?..allways advisable and also to have a written record of settings you use.. in case you have to totally clear after flashing.

Practical advice :
Try it on the reflashed chip first.
Since you cant get to the bios screen display at all,legibly.. (btw you can do screenshots of the bios screen displays and store them on a usb stick,perhaps even 1/4 screen displays would store, for posting)

1.Leave only one stick of memory in.
I say this because the asrock bios doesnt or at least didnt give an exact read of published /or jedec timings and voltages on my gskill memory at least.
The original bioses came up with 1.59v for 999 timings and the memory doesnt actually need v that hi for 999 with 2 sticks, altho it does for 888 and higher to run at 1600.
Some ofthe "lesser" timings are also pushed out slightly more than needed.
It could be the IB bios timings are closer to spec on default(I dont know because I changed mine almost as soon as I rebooted/reposted and I forget) .
I stick will make things easier for the default bios initially and you can play around with v after.

2.Many of the d6 errors posted .,12-18 months ago came down to gx card recognition and display problems.
Mine(I didnt have sli at the time):
When I put the pc together with the original B2 board..everything fired up first time,well except for the IDE default weirdness in the bios ,then again all manufacturers had/have that.
The B3 board showed(with a slightly newer bios) but otherwise exactly the same..it didnt work.
It took me awhile ,like 2days to get rid of the errors.
This consisted of 1. above for a start but mainly reseating the gx card , + some cmos resets,using the onboard button,the i/o button and shorting!,and getting it recognised properly to get at the bios.
Make sure you give a nice long delay from the initial asrock screen to get into the bios,once you can adjust it..

3.Get a ps2 mouse and keyboard for initial access , you dont want to be messing around with legacy 2 and legacy 3 enabled (which they are by default) if you cant even get at the bios screen.

4. A partial screen on the bios sounds like a phase problem,on the display to monitor read).. if you have a dirt cheap gx card lying around try it out or z68 output.

If the IB bios works direct on mine ,it should work on yours..tho I must admit Im reluctant to try resetting to defaults now that its loaded!

[JPP]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

I'm Z68E4G3 user and I always have newest bios, using SB CPU without any problems since it was released.

I'm with Alganonim here - except that my board is the E3G3, like the OP's. CPU is a 2500K.

Updated every time a new BIOS has been released, never had any issues.

[parsec]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

Thanks kick and JPP, important information about this situation. That is, confirming that the SB CPU + SB mobo + IB compatible UEFI = No problems.

Do you both believe that the key here is simply performing the UEFI update correctly? This update is a bit different than usual, but really not complicated.

I wonder if the version of IME that results after this update is the same if the user has a SB CPU, or an IB CPU? That is what ASR's information states.

It seems now that the issues some users have is varying degrees of UEFI corruption, due to an incomplete update process. Would you agree?

[JPP]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

I'm pretty sure that "following the instructions" is very important.

Other than that I don't really have any idea why the 2.XX upgrades have been so troublesome for many people, it seems to be pretty "temperamental".

I consider myself lucky to have had no problems, given the considerable amount of failure reports.

One thing to note is that if you look at the failures, they cover a wide ground, from not being able to update at all, through IME problems, and all the way to people reporting some timings being different in the 2.XX, causing their previous stable overclocks to suddenly fail.

Could very well be a case of "creeping UEFI corruption" as you hint at Parsec.

[parsec]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

I agree JPP, with all you wrote. I also wonder if the update technique matters, such as Instant Flash, instead of the Windows or DOS options. Which method did you use?

[JPP]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

I used Instant Flash all 3 times.

Also, the system was never overclocked while flashing (better safe than sorry).

[wtfh4xx]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

Parsec - The board will only flash a split moment of the UEFI splash screen which I had explained before. If I quit without saving changes it will attempt to boot windows which then crashes and again d6 error.
Also yes I did Clear Cmos, every way possible in addition to hard reset with jumper set, battery removed, and power cord unplugged and left it that way overnight. Didnt make any difference.

I feel the biggest part of the problem everyone is experiencing is lack of clear instructions.
You do not have a prompt say "UPDATE COMPLETE PLEASE RESTART" when the updates ARE NOT COMPLETE!
This implies everything is finished and the USB stick may be removed.
Admittedly I did remove the USB stick at this point after I hit the restart button, not wanting it to initialize another flash sequence.
If they had a proper prompt stating "Firmware flash complete. Please restart to finish critical driver updates, do not remove the flash drive at this time" it would save countless people many hours of time and frustration and reduce the costs of their CS department.

However, as things stand I still feel Asrock is at fault and not the end users. After all I did follow their instructions accordingly, they failed to specify not to remove the drive and implied the update operations were complete.
Luckily the Ebay seller I bought the bios chip from understood my situation and allowed me to exchange for a second BIOS chip with V1.30 which I am still waiting to receive and see if it fixes the situation.

I would still like Asrock to send me a v1.30 BIOS chip so that I may attempt to update to v2.30 again but not be without a pc (for what is now going on 2 weeks!) should it fail.

[parsec]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

wtfh4xx, I certainly agree these important (no, how about absolutely critical) instructions should have been much more obvious. Also, as wardog pointed out in post #3, the warning does not appear with any BIOS version greater than 2.10, which is a major oversight on ASR's part IMO. Removing the USB flash drive when you did is not an unheard of procedure, such as when you install Windows from a USB flash drive, or even from a disk. If you don't, the installation can start over again.

Some feedback as you mentioned would be useful too, but adding that takes extra work, etc... just saying why it might not be done, not that it doesn't matter.

I just had a distressing thought... why would the following versions of the 2.10 BIOS, 2.20 and 2.30, not include the instructions, if that was not a mistake? How about if 2.20 and 2.30 do not include the IME firmware update, and whatever else is done in the major transitional update that 2.10 apparently is? Which would mean that 2.10 must be flashed, before anything beyond it can be, it is essential for any future BIOS updates. So, skipping 2.10 to 2.30, for example, will cause the issues you and others have.

That is just a theory, I do not know if that is correct whatsoever!

@JPP, and kick: Did you flash to 2.10 from whatever you had earlier, or did you flash directly to 2.20 or 2.30, skipping 2.10? Hopefully your answer will give us some insight into this.

PLEASE feel free to shoot my theory down, I don't really want it to be right, but if true it would kinda explain a few things. It would also be a major communication error, we take for granted that no language barrier exists, but it can happen, no offense to anyone, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more.

[JPP]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

It's a good theory Parsec, and you may be on to something!

I flashed to 2.10 when it was released, then 2.20 on release, and again the same with 2.30.

[kick]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

bios progression:
1.30 ,variations of 1.4x betas,1.60,1.80 then 2.10. I havent tried 2.2 or 2.3 as its not listed for my board.
procedure was the from a usb stick.
2.10 came as an application tho with seperate folders for the new axtu and win7 64 intel engine management components for later installation

[wtfh4xx]

Re: Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 BIOS Ver. 2.30 killed my PC (error d6)

Interesting that the ones who are successfully running 2.30 seem to all have installed 2.10 first.

My new BIOS chip came with v1.30 and thankfully restored my pc to working condition. However in addition to losing all my overclocked settings and saves, it seems the event also corrupted the boot sequence of windows platform.
Windows couldn't repair itself when i gave it the chance to and so I ended up doing a clean install.

If Asrock ends up replying to this thread when they get back to work on the 1'st, we can see if they'll send me a v1.30 bios chip so I can attempt to update directly to 2.30 while having a clean 1.30 to fall back on in case of failure.
Id be more than happy to run this test to see if its possible to go directly from 1.30 to 2.30

Kinda sucks being stuck on version 1.xx BIOS knowing there's a nice EUFI and new features to have.
However, it certainly doesn't suck as much as having a broken pc!

Also thanks to everyone for the replies to this thread, I am pleasantly surprised at the level of intellect and thought behind the posts here.