[SOLVED] BIOS bricked

[Mxmo]

During BIOS update power got cut via circuit breaker to my room (pesky brothers) was on about 48% and upon rebooting i find all power going to fans as well as GPU fans + leds turning on. no POST tho or BIOS flash, which was quite upsetting. CPU is 2600X and purchased motherboard: B450 Steel Legend on May 28 2020, so around 1 year and one month of usage. (not sure if warranty covers that) but i did purchase from amazon, so idk how that will play into things. any suggestions on what i should do?

1. try and see if asrock can let me RMA it
2. purchase tool that clamps onto the bios chip of the motherboard and try to update it/flash through their with an arduino/pi
3. purchase new motherboard

 

[lvt]

I'd say sell it as is(*) and buy another motherboard, unless you have a lot of time to play around with it.


(*) some folks will replace the Bios chip and sell it for higher price.

 

[Mxmo]

I'd say sell it as is(*) and buy another motherboard, unless you have a lot of time to play around with it.


(*) some folks will replace the Bios chip and sell it for higher price.

how would I go about replacing the BIOS chip myself? would I need a soldering station? how low do you think the motherboard would sell for with the bios bricked? Thank you for the reply

 

[lvt]

how would I go about replacing the BIOS chip myself? would I need a soldering station? how low do you think the motherboard would sell for with the bios bricked? Thank you for the reply

You have to see the actual Bios chip to know how it's soldered to the PCB, it could be a regular IC with legs, but it could be a BGA chip as well.

I think it's not worth spending time and money on a single operation with uncertain outcome.

If you want to sell it, you should mentioning the date of purchase and the issue (for example "need new Bios chip", a professional repairman will understand what it means). Start with 2/3 the purchased price ans let the buyers make offers.

 

[CountMike]

Just because BIOS is "Bricked" and not burnt or physically damaged, doesn't mean it has to be replaced. There are ways to reprogram it using appropriate apparatus which any serious PC service should have,takes just few minutes.
https://www.amazon.com/bios-programmer/s?k=bios+programmer

 

[Mxmo]

Just because BIOS is "Bricked" and not burnt or physically damaged, doesn't mean it has to be replaced. There are ways to reprogram it using appropriate apparatus which any serious PC service should have,takes just few minutes.
https://www.amazon.com/bios-programmer/s?k=bios+programmer

yea i was looking into this, saw a lot of tutorials on the CH341A abs was quite interested in it and how i could utilize it. just seemed like a replacement was easier no?

 

[Mxmo]

You have to see the actual Bios chip to know how it's soldered to the PCB, it could be a regular IC with legs, but it could be a BGA chip as well.

I think it's not worth spending time and money on a single operation with uncertain outcome.

If you want to sell it, you should mentioning the date of purchase and the issue (for example "need new Bios chip", a professional repairman will understand what it means). Start with 2/3 the purchased price ans let the buyers make offers.

you don’t reckon the IC is socketed do ya kekw, would save me some soldering . maybe i’ll hit up a local tech store

 

[CountMike]

you don’t reckon the IC is socketed do ya kekw, would save me some soldering . maybe i’ll hit up a local tech store

BIOS chips are quite standard from each manufacturer of those chips but finding one already programmed for your particular MB and setup would most probably available only from your MB's manufacturer so even if you changed it, it would have to be programmed first which brings you back to the beginning.

 

[Mxmo]

BIOS chips are quite standard from each manufacturer of those chips but finding one already programmed for your particular MB and setup would most probably available only from your MB's manufacturer so even if you changed it, it would have to be programmed first which brings you back to the beginning.

ah crap you’re right, maybe i’ll just sell it if the RMA doesn’t go through and pickup a b550 aorus elite. thanks

 

[lvt]

you don’t reckon the IC is socketed do ya kekw, would save me some soldering . maybe i’ll hit up a local tech store

I never see that motherboard in person.

New motherboards are likely to have abandoned the removable Bios chips to save the production cost.

 

[Mxmo]

I never see that motherboard in person.

New motherboards are likely to have abandoned the removable Bios chips to save the production cost.

found the chip, had a little piece of note on top of it reading the bios version upon leaving the manufacturing facility. also found the mac address if i do decide to go with the reprogrammable route and a CH341A.