[Guide] How to flash a modded AMI UEFI BIOS

@whatnameisit : You should ask someone else. I cannot help you.

Awesome thread! I wonder if you can help me.
Iā€™ve read that I would be able to flash Asrock B450M Pro4-F BIOS upto 2.40 to my old AB350M Pro4 board (canā€™t post link since Iā€™m newbieā€¦) but AGESA 1.2.0.0 BIOSes would likely render the board useless. Any clues or ideas how and what should be tampered with in the newer BIOSes?

If this is all but correct thread for my questions then just carry onā€¦

Hi Fernando, my nvme is not being recognized and I suspect the modded bios is not being flashed even though the AMIgui states it is done/verified. I am using Method B under ASUS.

I again re-flashing the motherboard bios as per the directions. I did not do anything differently this time. When I opened the bios my settings were NOT reset to default. This makes me suspect that the flash is not working even though it reads as complete in the command line for the amigui utility.

I then tried to flash using the asus ez flash utility which of course does not work with the modded bios.

I think you are correct when you said in the other thread that the bio has not been updated with the modded version.

@MichaelAngelo :
Why havenā€™t you flashed the modded BIOS by using the USB Flashback feature, which your mainboard is offering? Look >here<.

@Fernando
What is most peculiar is that my motherboard has m5a97 evo2 written all over it - but the layout is nothing like the manuals I have found and I cannot see any Flashback button on the board.
Very confusing. Attached is the image of the board.

asusmotherboard.png

@MichaelAngelo : It is hard to believe, that ASUS has manufactured your mainboard without a Flashback button, although the manual shows it. Which is the Revision number of the board?
My advice: Contact the ASUS Technical Support and ask for the USB Flashback feature for your specific mainboard.
If you should not be able to flash the modded BIOS via USB Flashback, you may have to use another method, which is mentioned within the start post.
Good luck!

Fernando, his board is from an Asus BC series desktop, its not the regular M5A97 EVO(2), indeed has no USB BFB

EDIT: @MichaelAngelo
If all other methods failed then a cheap CH341 will do the job. This task is easy as the the SPI is SOIC8 socked.
Nothing to do with the adapter, u simply werenā€™t able to flash it yet.

Thank-you for the help fernando and meatwar.

I have tried the AI Suite Easy Bios update file swap trick in addition the AMIGUI tool with the /GAN function.

Neither have worked.

Unless there is anything else to try I have moved on to trying to use Clover - also not working (made a new thread in the subforum here: Clover hangs at *** scan entries ***).

Running out of ideas. Maybe I need a different pci adapter (using an m2 to pci adapter) here:https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07GKR9ā€¦1?ie=UTF8&psc=1

@MichaelAngelo : Have you tried the Flashrom method (Annex of the start post)?

Hi!
I got an Asus Z87M-Plus motherboard and I canā€™t flash it to make NVME bootable.
My modified CAP file is not accepted by the BIOS due to the security check. I tried to the AFUWIN64x64.exe but I failed right after ā€œAFUWINx64.EXE Z87M-PLUS-ASUS-1107.CAPā€ command with an "46 - Error: Problem getting flash information."
I tried the BUPDATER.exe in DOS mode to backup the current BIOS to modify that, but again, I couldnā€™t backup due to security reasons.
I tried Asus Flashback option, altough I donā€™t have any BIOS button on my mobo, but it seemed to me that the reset button would do the same. I pressed it, power led started to blink, after 4 blink I released the button, it blinked 4-5 more than become solid light. Nothing happened, I even tried with an older BIOS to check if its doing anything at all, but after the same steps, the BIOS was the same (I donā€™t know if its even possible to downgrade BIOS).
I would appreciate any help that could make the NVME work.
Iā€™m posting the original ā€œZ87M-PLUS-ASUS-1107.CAPā€ and modified ā€œZ87MPLUS.CAPā€ version of BIOS files if it helps figuring out what is wrong

Thanks all!

BIOS.zip (10.1 MB)

Asus USB BiosFlashBack its NOT the ā€œresetā€ā€¦ its a dedicated feature with his own switch on the motherboard or back panel.
Read the guide: [Guide] How to flash a modded AMI UEFI BIOS

EDIT: Seems that u really dont know wot ur doing and following the guideā€¦check again.
Mod bios files cannot be normally flashed by normal methods due to security issues that u found already.
Besides USB BFB (The only that accepts direct mod files) theres 3 other options in the guide, so do us all a favor and use ur brain a bit will uā€¦
The Z87M-Plus has no USB BFB function or marked USB I/O port on the back panel, r u sure its the right model?

Back Panel
Motherboard

Thanks, I read that guide also.
Method A looks like not working for me as altough the Asus compatibility list claims that the Z87M-Plus is capable of USB Flashback, and the I/O shield also marks one USB port as USB Flashback, I cannot find any related button to press for the method to start, if the reset button is not doing what needed.
Method B is failing because of the previously described reason, but again: I ran the command ā€œafuwinx64.exe Z87M-PLUS-ASUS-1107.CAPā€ in CMD running with admin rights, but it returned ā€œ46 - Error: Problem getting flash information.ā€ so I couldnā€™t even flash the modified file as I had no original header.

@LaCorb That is the correct method (the reset button) for that board (make sure you are shutdown when you try). Any BIOS you try to flash must be named correctly and it must be in the root of the usb - no other files on the stick. From what you have described (4 flashes, then solid) the flash is failing and the most common causes are the file has the incorrect name and/or is not in the root of the drive.

@trev.mlt

Please care to explain to us how and where is that described, beside AISuite features on OS environment?
Im sorry to ask this but i never saw any Asus BFB using RESETā€¦ but im opened to learning if u share with us.
Thank you.

EDIT: Im getting old for thisā€¦ damm if this is true, the fkxx RESETā€¦

Seems that ur right sir, never used it like so but thank you.

I have seen a number of boards without a separate button on the back panel work this way. Procedure can be found in the boards manual: Chapter 2, 2 bios update utility | Asus Z87M-PLUS User Manual | Page 55 / 164 (manualsdir.com) at https://www.manualsdir.com/manuals/29722ā€¦us.html?page=55

@LaCorb @MeatWar @trev.mlt
Since your discussion has not much to to with the topic of >this< thread, I have moved it into this better matching thread.
Hoping, that this is ok for you
Dieter

Yes, I have found the reset button solution only in one place. And yes, the I/O panel doesnā€™t show an USB Fallback option, but the shield itself marks one USB port to be a Fallback port.

So far I get the NVME work with DUET until I get figured out how to use my brain or until I find out what did I miss translated in the thread.

Now that I have OS installed, Iā€™ll try the AISuite options, as well trying to get the correct name for the fallback name, however I renamed the modded BIOS with the Recovery name shown in FD44Editor and also it was in the root of the usb (only file)

I have tried to flash my bios but the led wont stop blinking since 1-2 hours.

What should i do? Sometimes it stops blinking for 1-2s and then it starts again.

my Mainboard is an asus p9x79 ws. i have modded the bios for nvme support and in the other thread i uploaded the moded files and they said it looked good.

but how i said, the led wont stop blinkingā€¦ help :smiley: ?

@platos : Take another USB Flash Drive. The FlashBack procedure is very picky regarding the used USB stick. It should be small sized USB 2.0 one.
Did you rename the BIOS file correctly?

So then i can just pull the stick out while its blinking ?

And yes, i let it rename from the asus biosfile renamer ir how ita called.

and ok, is usb 3.0 not backwards compatibel? but ok, i will try another one. i have a 2gb stick here. i gues its usb 2.0.

Edit: ok now it stopped blinking blue after a minute or so, but i see no new disk in the bios or anything new. So i guess id didnt work. Bios settings are resetted, but there is no nvme ssd.

or maybe i try another pcie slot

Edit2: i reconnected the pci-e adapter in the same slot and now there is an pata ss!

cool. worked as it seems