[Guide] Flashing and Updating Renesas/NEC USB 3.0 uPD720200AF1/uPD720200A Firmware

Hi guys.

with this guide you can update your Renesas/NEC USB 3.0 uPD720200AF1/uPD720200A Firmware.

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Needed Softwares:

-AIDA 64 ( For finding your USB 3.0 hardware address ) Download: http://download.aida64.com/aida64extreme450.exe

-Renesas/NEC Firmware Flasher with latest Firmware version 4.0.2.1.0.3: Download from Here: http://och.boxup.ir/fileup/uploads/14029903551.rar

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Finding your USB 3.0 hardware address:

-install AIDA64 and run it
-go to Devices then click on PCI Devices
-click on your NEC usb 3.0

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Note: if you have two USB 3.0 controller you must find secondary USB 3.0 hardware address

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OK in my motherboard Primary USB 3.0 controller hardware address is 3/0/0 and secondary is 4/0/0 ( this is maybe different in your motherboard )

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Lets Flashing:

-download and extract Renesas/NEC Firmware Flasher
-in the free space windows page hold shift and press right click and click on Open coomand window here

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-now in command windows type this commands to flashing your USB 3.0 Firmware:

w200fw35 /srom 0 /address 03-00-00 /write F402003.mem cfg.ini

Note: 03-00-00 is your hardware address you find in AIDA64 and you must translate your usb 3.0 hardware address. for example: if your usb 3.0 hardware address is 3/0/0 you must convert it to 03-00-00

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-after writing coomand in CMD press enter too Flashing/Updateing your USB 3.0

Flashing in progres:

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Flash completed:

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After flashing restart your computer

And here Video Tuturial by me: http://och.boxup.ir/fileup/uploads/13786557971.rar

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good luck

This link has a newer flasher in x86 and x64 flavours. But the cfg.ini is different and anyone should input their true ID of the controller.

I have 2 chipsets on the motherboard but they are uPD720200F1, one says version 4.0.0 while the other one I have shows version 6.0.0 for the firmware, any ideas?

I fixed the problem, didn’t read properly. :slight_smile:

Is this procedure the same for the new firmware released for uPD720201/uPD720202? It was posted on Station Drivers on April 28th, 2015. I tried the new firmware 2026 but it killed my device. When I flashed back to the 2024 firmware it was immediately fixed, yay.

Now I got to figure out why the new firmware did not take.

EDIT: OK, I figured it out. I had to remove the Microsoft installed driver, by simply uninstalling the device. When I scanned system to have it find the device again I just installed the latest Renesas-NEC provided driver. Then I tried the new firmware again and it worked perfectly this time. However, after inspecting the newer firmware it appears it was built just 5 months after the last one. So, its not really that much newer. But newer is newer… lol, after that all I did is search for drivers and it found the new April 24th 2015 driver from Microsoft. So all is well again…




Did you find any differences in performance or any other improvements ?


@ErfanDL

Hello,

Any chance you could help me figure out why my Renesas uPD720201 device will not update please? I know its not the same device but I figure since you figured out your device maybe you already know why mine wont update.

I have firmware 2020 installed (by default), but 2024 and 2026 will not update (everything looks the same too, but the UPDATE.mem file is actually a different size barely). Both updaters act like they are flashing it, and both tell me to restart the PC as if everything went OK. But once I get to the Device Manager again it still shows Firmware 2020 (as seen in the image below). I have tried everything I could think of. Below are the files in question. I assume its OK to bypass firmware 2024 and go straight to 2026? My machine is a Asus P5B Deluxe with a Intel Xeon and running the latest Windows 10 Pro (fresh install as of yesterday). The card is a PCIe 2.0 x1 device and it is in a PCIe 2.0 x1 slot.

Screenshot of the files below. TOP LEFT in the image is supposedly 2024 files, and TOP RIGHT is 2026 files (all obtained from Station Drivers). NOTHING worked, not even flashing from admin cmd prompt. I am now at a loss. This is a new USB card too. Thanks for any help or ideas.
https://i.imgur.com/5p5h0aL.png

Hi

try flashing manually from CMD. don’t use execupdater.


Like I said above, flashing from CMD didn’t work. I tried from both Powershell and admin cmd. Maybe I have to install Windows 7 just to get it to work?

EDIT: Wait, is there a command line I can use to bypass the execupdater? I used the one you said above, and I just edited it to "W201FWUP /srom 0 /address 03-00-00 /write UPDATE.mem cfg.ini"

But that doesn’t work. Yet those are the proper files I have for the 720201. I am again at a loss.

EDIT: That command still doesn’t work. When I type that command and execute it, it then instantly opens the GUI (execupdater?) as if I used the software method. Do I need to delete or rename the "ExecUpdater.exe" file perhaps?

EDIT: OK deleting the ExecUpdater file does nothing, it still opens the GUI only. It does NOT execute any commands inside the command window. Again, at a loss.

OK well, I think these PCIe Renesas uPD720201 cards can’t be updated. I have now tried three different computers and two different Operating Systems. On all three machines and both OS’s I get the exact same thing, it acts like it has updated and then tells me to restart. Even in the CMD prompt it still loads the GUI updated, even though the ExecUpdater file has been deleted or renamed, it just doesn’t matter what so ever. However, the Device Manager still ALWAYS shows Firmware Version 2020. So that’s it. No updating the firmware for me I guess.

The only thing I have not tried is the x86 version of the OS’s. So maybe these only work on the on-board Motherboard Renesas chips? Hmm, I wonder if the uPD720200 firmware flashing files can somehow work on the newer chips? LOL

I give up…

Well I have some news. ONLY the Intel firmware flasher works on my 720201 device. This is a positive sign and is very telling for several reasons.

201_Rear.zip works —> https://downloadcenter.intel.com/downloa…irmware-Updates

1. This tells me that my device is OK and that it is definitely flashable.
2. It also tells me that I have to figure out why the Intel provided flasher works, but all the others do not.

Sadly, the Intel flasher flashes firmware 2020, which was already on the device, lol. But hey at least it successfully flashes it, so now I just have to figure out what settings, addresses etc it is using that the others are not.

-https://en.sharkoon.com/product/1688/09909#download

try the above from sharkoon.



Thanks man, but that is bit for bit identical to the one from Station Drivers, which I have tried a hundred times over the past week, maybe more. The only one that works is the one from Intel that comes with the newer v2.1 flasher (a.k.a W201FW21.exe). The only problem with the Intel provided flasher is it only flashes firmware 2020. And when I rename the newer 2024.mem firmware to 2020.mem, it does not work. This tells me that my 720201 is a newer Revision that the older flashers v2.0 or older do not recognize, apparently… My guess…

I’m still at a loss.

Even the fancy RUN.cmd 2024 setup here does not work as it keeps saying "HW Revision Error", which again tells me the program is expecting Revision 1 or 2, but not 3. Again, that is my best guess. Below is my data so far if anyone has any more ideas.

This is what Madnex’s program tells me when it queries the SROM itself. The data output is clearly wrong. Vendor ID should be 1912 (not FFFF), and SubSystem ID should be "00000000" (not FFFF), AND the Firmware is 2020 currently (NOT 2018), this is according to both Microsoft USB View, and the Device Manager (obviously).

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Bus:0x03 Device:0x00 Function:0x00
This Device is uPD720201(Revision 3).
FW Version : 2.0.1.8
PCI Subsystem Vendor ID : 0xFFFF
PCI Subsystem ID : 0xFFFF
 



But when I type this directly from the admin command prompt I get this:
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C:\fw\2024\x64>w201fw20 /srom ?
Bus:0x03 Device:0x00 Function:0x00
This Device is uPD720201(Revision 3).
W25XxxV series(Winbond), Product ID = 0x00EF3012
 


When I go into my device manager and look at the Hardware Ids, I get this info:
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Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Host Controller
Hardware ID:
PCI\VEN_1912&DEV_0014&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_03
PCI\VEN_1912&DEV_0014&SUBSYS_00000000
PCI\VEN_1912&DEV_0014&REV_03
PCI\VEN_1912&DEV_0014
PCI\VEN_1912&DEV_0014&CC_0C0330
PCI\VEN_1912&DEV_0014&CC_0C03
 
Device instance path:
PCI\VEN_1912&DEV_0014&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_03\4&17A365D1&0&00E2
 


Here is USB Viewer's output from Microsoft for Windows 10.



And here is AIDA64's output for the Renesas controller.




And the Madnex provided Renesas flashing program (which has been very successful by others) gives me this result:
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Die Datei CFG.INI wurde erstellt.
 
Das Update wird gestartet...
 
[Target Device]Bus:0x03 Device:0x00 Function:0x00
This Device is uPD720201(Revision 3).
HW Revision error
 




Any more ideas anyone??? Please

@SkOrPn

Try this one that i modified a little for you:

Firmware flasher for uPD720201/uPD720202 with firmware K2024 and K2020090 included

You will have to try to flash the K2024.mem file with one of the 2 configuration file included (.ini), cfg201v3.ini (prefered, try this one first) or W201FWup.ini.

Always best to use the flasher in command prompt. Type W201FW21.exe /? for all the command. Don’t use the .bat file, i didn’t modified it for you. Use /srom ? to get some usefull info

Also, if it works, don’t forget to use the /verify command after to be sure all is fine (i assume this command still exist in this flasher). You must use it in a format similar to this: “W201FW21.exe /srom 0 /verify K2024.mem cfg201v3.ini”. Most people forget to add the cfg.ini file after the firmware file in the command and wonder why the verification fail.

Last advice, before flashing, don’t forget to use the /dump backup.mem command to make a backup file in case anything go wrong.

As for the revision rules that i warned you about. I know for sure that they apply to uPD720200AF1/uPD720200A. But if a 2020 firmware is in your revision 3 chip, then it means the rules are different for uPD720201/uPD720202. Unless the 3 is implied and simply not written everywhere. (meaning K2024 is in fact K32024 by the old conventions).

Yeah, WOW, thanks for all the great information. I had to do a lot of reading from docs found at Renesas, and as far as I can tell the 201/202 chip got up to rev 6 before they finished it. I found much help days ago, for example here at this LINK. BUT, the site is VERY difficult for me since its in Russian, and when I post replies the websites software greatly damages my englishe structured writing and whole sections of what I was trying to say are just missing, so I simply gave up trying to find help from there. Even his Russian language Renesas flashing software I have to translate for every question it asks me. However that guy Madnex knows his stuff with making flashers, but it just isn’t working for me for some reason. It keeps spitting out what I perceive to be incorrect data, such as my firmware being at 2018, when device manager clearly shows it at 2020. Also his flasher tells me my VEN ID is FFFF and Subsystem ID is FFFF. This simply can’t be right when I already know the vendor ID is 1912. And no matter what I edit with Notepad++ it ALWAYS tells me “HW Revision Error” in the end, even when I am 100% sure I entered the correct information.

So thank you VERY much for this info. It is greatly appreciated. And yes I agree I ALWAYS prefer flashing from command prompt or even from DOS (freedos) for that matter. All the Station Drivers Renesas firmware files REFUSE to run from the CMD even when I launch them from an admin CMD prompt and I can’t figure out why. Those ALWAYS launch the windows GUI flasher program, so those aren’t really command prompt files I assume. I like the older flashers that could run from DOS such as W200FW20.exe.

Anyway, thanks again I will give this another go soon now that I am armed with more info. Even if the Rev of my chip is somehow newer, that doesn’t really matter as they should still take the newer firmware so long the srom is the correct ones. Right? you would think anyway, lol.

Thanks again bud. I will let you know what I figure out. Oh, and I assume if I am successful with 2024, I can then try 2026 firmware, correct? Thanks

1 Like

@Phoenix48

Quick question, shouldn’t I edit the ini first though? I mean shouldn’t I include the proper vendor ID number and device ID in question? Or will that be overwritten anyway after flashing occurs?

EDIT: OK, to answer my own question, YES I must edit the ini file with the correct info, otherwise it does NOT write the firmware.

However, even though it clearly appears to write the firmware and Verifies it, when I do a Verify it says its a mismatch. And when I reboot it still shows 2020 in the device manager. I am wondering if the Device Manager is telling me the truth? QUESTION, is there a command that will tell me the current firmware version? Below is the output I just got

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C:\fw>W201FW21.exe /srom 0 /log /write K2024.mem cfg201v3.ini
[Target Device]Bus:0x03 Device:0x00 Function:0x00
This Device is uPD720201(Revision 3).
Erase Serial ROM.... 100%
Erase complete
Write Serial ROM.... 100%
Write complete
Verify Serial ROM.... 100%
Verify complete
 
C:\fw>W201FW21.exe /srom 0 /verify K2024.mem cfg201v3.ini
[Target Device]Bus:0x03 Device:0x00 Function:0x00
This Device is uPD720201(Revision 3).
Verify Serial ROM.... 100%
ERROR::Verify mismatch!
 
C:\fw>
 

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I checked the “backup.mem” file and it is TWICE the physical size of the K2024.mem file. Not sure what to make of that. And it makes me want to try flashing the backup.mem just to see what happens. lol



EDIT: Oh Boy, what the heck does this mean? I have TWO firmwares on my device, 2018 AND 2020? LOL, and what is with the FFFF ??? What the FFFF is going on? haha

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C:\fw>w201fw21.exe /srom 0
Bus:0x03 Device:0x00 Function:0x00
This Device is uPD720201(Revision 3).
FW Version : 2.0.1.8
PCI Subsystem Vendor ID : 0xFFFF
PCI Subsystem ID : 0xFFFF
 
FW Version : 2.0.2.0
PCI Subsystem Vendor ID : 0xFFFF
PCI Subsystem ID : 0xFFFF
 
C:\fw>
 

This is interesting. The last few paragraphs seem to suggest that a tool with SSID and SVID can be set to not flash on target systems it was not designed for. I found this txt file on the IBM servers.

https://delivery04.dhe.ibm.com/sar/CMA/X…in2k8_32-64.txt

Please try another pcie in your motherboard. I am bet that your card don’t make a good contact with all the pins.

@SkOrPn

Now i think i know exactly what is your problem. You new file is not for the same type of chip, or at least its the firmware code only and was not adapted in size for a specific type of chip and must be modified accordingly to fit your type 3 chip (the space on it). You can try the following:

- Donwnload my flasher for uPD720200AF1(uPD720200)/uPD720200A. Don’t flash it, it is not for your chip. But it contains some elements that you will use with the first flasher i gave you.
- First element: Read ALL in the instructions file i wrote in it. It gives ALL the usefull infos for flashing the right way with the first flasher. But don’t flash yet, you must first modify something.
- Use your first flasher with the /srom ? command to know your “Type : x” chip. I think your chip is a type 3 = Winbond.
- Use the /? command to get all the descriptions of all the commands. You should see in the description of the SROM type (probably Winbound) that it requires a file of x Kb in size. (each type of chip has a different size of space available in it and requires a file in the same size)
Note: Your problem is somewhat related to what i said in the first place. Your 2024 file has a size for a different type of chip and you must convert it in a size for a type 3 chip.
Edited: Forget that last part. Contrary to the uPD720200AF1(uPD720200)/uPD720200A, the new flasher for 201 is not telling the size of the file required. So we will use a work around:

- Open a known working file with HxD editor (your backup.mem will be perfect) and the new update file too (2024). Now you simply should have to add FF everywhere after the end of the codes (usually ending with 00 00) untill it gets to the same size as the known working file and modify the two last ones in the end to be “AA 55” instead of FF. (In the flasher you just downloaded, you can take a look at my backup.mem and the F303408.mem as a reference to give you an idea of what it should look like.)

(All that is the prefered way to do it because you have your (precious) backup.mem file. If you would not have it, then i would have recommended the use of the /erase command before trying to flash again the new firmware.)

It may also help to flash it with /srom 3 instead of just /srom 0. This will tell the flasher specifically that it is a type 3 chip instead of relying on the autodetect. You do the same with the /srom 3 /verify command.

With the file being the right size, this should also overwrite your old remaining codes from your old firmware that are still on your chip. This is why your system is reporting 2 firmwares on it. You should have only one reported after this. Same for the mismatch problem, the verify process must have detected the old remaining codes still on the chip. Now it should pass the verify process.