[Discussion] Firmware for Asmedia Sata 6G Controllers

[biondo79]

@lordkag

I don’t understand your above post. Could you make it clearer, using a definition for each file?

- 106N0951.bin seems to be the same file as found in asmedia_asm106x_0.951.7z from Station-Drivers. This is the OROM for ASM1061, even though it is labelled as firmware. Was this taken from Station-Drivers or by some other way?
- dump.bin is the same as ahci0951.rom from SD, plus padding. I guess this was taken with the programmer. You have found your chip. Is this the image currently on the card?

ok I try to explain what I did to block the card

1) I put the card on the motherboard and then booted from usb dos
2) I tried to flash the firmware taken on station driver called ahci370.rom typing ahci.bat and on video I had a fail
3) without restarting on the USB stick I had the other station driver firmware ahci0951.rom I launched ahci.bat and even here the same Fail
4) at this point I rebooted pc and the card was no longer detected
5) I unsoldered the chip as the photo I posted previously
6) read with a programmer and I called the file dump.bin (file attached in the previous post)
7) flashed the chip with the programmer without errors with files taken from stations driver included in the package called N0951 106N0951.BIN
8) I put the card on the motherboard and at booted the same not detect card



ok so i found the chip

but because the card does not work after it flashed with the programmer with the file 106N0951.BIN?

now on the chip there is 106N0951.BIN of station driver flashed with the programmer.

thanks for your time

best regards

[lordkag]

Do you remember what error you had? A screen would have been nice, but some words could help determine the problem. My guess now is that 3.xx firmware should only be flashed on newer SSD with ASM1061 controller.

Do you remember what firmware you had on the card, before it was broken? Your dump.bin is a valid 0.951 firmware, so either your step 3) worked or your chip has not been flashed at step 2)

It is weird that your card failed with the right firmware. Maybe it needed a full shutdown, maybe even removed from your board for a few minutes, inserted in another slot, inserted in another board, just to reset it.

DON’T flash 106N0951.BIN or any other *.bin on your card. These are only meant for BIOS insertion. For external card always flash idexxx.rom or ahcixxx.rom. Since you have a programmer, you can flash dump.bin back, since it is just ahci0951.rom with padding to fill 0x10000 or 64KB - the size of the chip.

Again, this is my suggestion: flash dump.bin back on the chip. Remove the card from that slot and place it on another slot, place it on another mainboard. If you think the chip can hold other solder/desolder cycles, then try to flash ahci95A1.rom from 0.95 firmware. Just add FF bytes until the file is 0x10000, save it, flash it. If you want, I can also make a 0.954 firmware, but only as a last step, when all the above have failed and you have nothing else to lose. You should always use *.rom files because they have an extra header.

[biondo79]

@tg1

I have a standalone 2 port SATA card using ASmedia Chipset 1061.

tried flashing the firmware provided on this site and then the 3.0.2 from station drivers.
ASMedia-106x_AHCI-ROM_v0.954.7z

Seems to fail erasing SPI rom.
Entire SPI ROM neeed to be re-programmed!!!

Any idea’s?

before card broken i had 0951

I had this same error as user tg

Seems to fail erasing SPI rom.
Entire SPI ROM neeed to be re-programmed!!!

the same error when I tried firmware 370 , the same error when I tried to reflash 0951.rom

do not need to add FF to the file ahci0951.rom them adds programmer, right? if not can you padding for me please and attach here ?

why you write ahci95A1.rom ? on station driver i have found ahci0951.rom. are the same file ?

for 0954.rom I read in previous reply that have a bug? it true ?



thanks

[lordkag]

The error points to a problem in handling SPI chip, not the firmware itself. Have you ever flashed the firmware on this card before the brick, if yes, by what method? Also can you give me the ID of the chip, the one that you desoldered? I want to see if it is supported by 106spi.exe flasher.

I have attached all the firmwares for programmer use. This is what I advise you to do:

- flash ahci0951dump.rom, try to move the card to another slot or another PC. Check for card detection, either during boot or in Windows.
- flash ahci095dump.rom, try to move the card to another slot or another PC. Check for card detection, either during boot or in Windows. If you fear the chip might not resist all the tests, you can skip this one.
- flash ide0951dump.rom, try to move the card to another slot or another PC. Check for card detection, either during boot or in Windows. Your card will be in IDE mode, but if it works, at least you can flash ahci0951.rom from DOS.
- if you think your card is already lost, you can try ahci0954dump-modded.rom, which is a modded 0.954 OROM with header from 0.951 firmware. These two are very similar, even in PnP sections, so they might work with the same boot configuration. Flash at your own risk.

ASMedia 1061 SPI.rar (133 KB)

[biondo79]

i brick card at first flash with SPI

tomorrow I flash with programmer with ahci0951dump.rom and let you know the chip ID

thanks so much

see you

[biondo79]

unfortunately the card is not detected despite having flashed the chip with the programmer with the file ahci0951dump.rom dropping me

the chip is called PM25LD512




i give up


i try to send to the seller for Replacement

thanks for all

[lordkag]

The chip is supported by 106spi.exe, so I don’t know why you had that error. Either the chip itself is faulty or the 3.70 firmware messed with the registers of ASM1061 controller. Sadly, I can’t seem to find a datasheet for it, to see if there is a hardware reset somewhere.

Have you also tried ide0951dump.rom or ahci095dump.rom? Maybe even ahci0954dump-modded.rom?

But if you can get a replacement, go for it. And stay away from any 3.xx firmware.

[biondo79]

@lordkag

The chip is supported by 106spi.exe, so I don’t know why you had that error. Either the chip itself is faulty or the 3.70 firmware messed with the registers of ASM1061 controller. Sadly, I can’t seem to find a datasheet for it, to see if there is a hardware reset somewhere.

Have you also tried ide0951dump.rom or ahci095dump.rom? Maybe even ahci0954dump-modded.rom?

But if you can get a replacement, go for it. And stay away from any 3.xx firmware.

i tried only ahci0951dump.rom but at this point I prefer to send card to RMA.

see you

[biondo79]

the shipping costs are too high for the RMA

any suggestions to revive it?

[lordkag]

You now have the original firmware, so the problem is in the controller itself or the chip is faulty. A reset would be needed. Have you done what I suggested, to move the card to another PC and test it there?

Since the card is already lost, you can try the hard way:

- flash ide0951dump.rom, try to move the card to another slot or another PC. Check for card detection, either during boot or in Windows. Your card will be in IDE mode, but if it works, at least you can flash ahci0951.rom from DOS.
- flash ahci370dump.rom, try to move the card to another slot or another PC. Check for card detection, either during boot or in Windows. This might force the controller to work with the new firmware. If failed, you can then flash back to ahci0951dump.rom to see if it was revived.
- replace the flashing chip, get a backup from this list: Atmel AT25F512B, EON EN25F05, MXIC MX25L512C,MX25L5121E, Pflash Pm25LD512C, Pm25V512A, Numonyx M25P05A, SST SST25V512A, AMIC A25L5120.

Other than that, I can only think of shorting some pins in the controller, but without a datasheet, the damage could be permanent.

[biondo79]

hi guys

my friend who helps me with the programmer asked me if the files are dump with a programmer

he claims that the file .rom is not suitable for the programmer

says it’s used a .bin file dumped with the programmer

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

[biondo79]

I sent an email to the support we await answers…

stay tuned

[lordkag]

@biondo79

I remember you did the same at the Marvell firmware, going every other way but mine. This time you are right to question, because Asus made it confusing. Usually you find BIOS modules with a .rom extension and dumps with .bin, but this is not a standard. Besides, ASMedia clearly states in the readme of older firmwares:

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File List:
1. 106Nxxx.bin - OPROM file for packeting into System BIOS
2. xxx\idexxx.rom  - ASM106x SPI ROM file for IDE mode
3. xxx\ahcixxx.rom - ASM106x SPI ROM file for AHCI mode
4. xxx\IDE.bat     - batch file to update idexxx.rom to ASM106x SPI ROM
5. xxx\AHCI.bat    - batch file to update ahcixxx.rom to ASM106x SPI ROM
6. xxx\106spi.exe  - ASM106x SPI ROM flash tool
7. xxx\dos4ge.exe  - system file for SPI ROM flash tool
 

So, I provided you with the right files and the right method of testing. The rest...

[biondo79]

yes you remember well, with asus and marvel chip I had the same problem, that I solved thanks to your tips programming the EPROM with a programmer with a *.bin file

I already have flashing the chip PM25LD512 with ‘ahcixxx.rom’ file unsoldering and programming it with a programmer.

so now I wonder if I program the chip with ‘ahcixxx.rom’ with a programmer, the chip unsoldering PM25LD512 is correct

you wrote

3. xxx\ahcixxx.rom - ASM106x SPI ROM file for AHCI mode
   

then the *.rom file is only good for spi flasher not for the programmer, I understand you correctly?

it would take a dump of chip performed with a programmer


ps assistance DeLOCK was not yet responded

happy new year

[lordkag]

At first I thought that the *.rom file is for the flasher, with a header just for that. But it seems that for ASMedia 106x, the *.rom files are for direct chip writing, either with the flasher or a programmer. That little header is the autoload and/or bootloader.

This is also supported by the fact that you already uploaded a file named dump.bin, which is 64KB (the size of the chip) and was taken with the programmer. This dump.bin is the same as ahci0951.rom, just with extra padding for size filling.

So for your external card you need *.rom files, the ones that have a header before ROM starts. But again, I already provided you with files and method, you haven’t provided a full and valid feedback. Read back my messages and reply for each test, only then can we have a constructive discussion.

[biondo79]

here she answer assistance

Dear Delock customer,

If our card after an update cannot be initialized,is the memory area damaged and can no longer be used.
For this reason, it makes no sense to try, the firmware install.

In this case contacted please your trader for the regulation of your claims.

Yours sincerely
Delock Support

I should look for a new card

thanks to all for the support
best regards

[Hakkern]

Hello.

I got an asus iv extreme latest bios use asmedia 106x sata controller on my evo drive.

is it possible to flash the controller whit new firmware ? i sayes Ver 0.93.1 Ahci mode (i run ahci)

i gos issues whit evo drive like the rest of the world.

[plutomaniac]

@Hakkern

i gos issues whit evo drive like the rest of the world.

This has nothing to do with the controller’s firmware (Asmedia) but with the SSD’s controller firmware (Samsung). Update that.

[Hakkern]

Thank you but ive allrady updatet my drive before chrismas i think! they had the issue whit the read write preformance.
but i still think my controller is ore have som issues with the evo drive. i dont know really thaths why i ask.

[drapos]

Hi.

I have one of those clone PCIe card with USB 3.0 and SATA6G support, 2 ports each, that I found collecting dust.

I have already updated USB 1040 chip firmware, but I’m having problems with 1061 part (DEV_0611). I was trying to check firmware version with the tool provided with 0951 firm, since there is no .rom for 0954, but it tells me that SPI is not found. Running AHCI.bat reports the same error and do nothing.

Is there anything I can do?

Thanks for your findings.