[SOLVED] Issues updating BIOS on Crosshair VI Hero

[hmmark2022]

I've currently got the Crosshair VI HERO mobo running bios 1501 with a Ryzen 7 1800X, 32GB Ram and a GTX 1080.
I'm upgrading my cpu to a Ryzen 7 3800 for compatibility with Windows 11 and a few other benefits but that means that i need to update the BIOS on my mobo.

I first tried using the AI suite EZ update but that didn't show any new BIOS versions being available even though i'm only on 1501 and there's many newer versions

I ended up needing to update it with the EZupdate option in the BIOS

I attempted to update straight to the most recent BIOS but that just didn't work no matter which method i tried, so i did some research and it seems sometimes you can't make massive leaps in BIOS versions, so i download a few BIOS versions between 1501 and the most recent and planned to do it in order so that everything would be ready for when my new CPU shows up at the end of the week.

The first BIOS version i went to update to was 3501 and everything seemed to go ok however when i tried to start the pc after the update it would just go in a loop only getting as far as the splashscreen and never actually getting into windows.

When i pressed F2 and went into the bios it showed it was on 3501 and i had reset cmos before flashing but nothing i did would get it to actually boot into windows, there were no warning messages that i could see, it just wouldn't get past the splashscreen, it would show it and if i didn't press anything the screen would go blank for a little while then it would go back to the splashscreen. Sometimes it would get past the "press F2 for ..." message and breifly show a "diagnosing your system" message but that wouldn't always show and when it did it was only for maybe 5 seconds before the screen would go black and then go back to the splashscreen with the "press F2 or DEL....." message

I ended up having to use the BIOS Flashback option to get it back to 1501 after which the pc started up and worked as normal.

Can anyone offer any suggestions as obviously i need to get it updated to whatever the most up to date BIOS version that will support the ryzen 3800X is so that i can install my new CPU when it arrives. Does any BIOS version past 1501 not work with the 1st gen Ryzen chips or something, because that seems very weird if true but i'm just not sure why it wouldn't boot on 3501 but when putting it back to 1501 everything worked fine again.

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

The latest BIOS version meant for your motherboard is 8101. If I were you, I'd take some time off and gradually work your way to the latest version, yes updating the BIOS one after the other until you reach the latest BIOS version. There have been instances with people who chose to take the leap of faith only to fall flat on a pavement(aka bricked motherboard).

 

[hmmark2022]

Thanks for the speedy reply!

Yes i was intending to go up in steps or do you literally mean go one by one through all the available versions?

It just threw me that it successfully, or at least according to the bios it was successful, updated to 3501 but then wouldn't boot into Windows, do you think that's because i went from 1501 to 3501?

I'm quite new to updating bios as every time i've updated my CPU in the past it's required a new motherboard anyway and i've always known bios versions to be something you only really update when needed as opposed to making sure you're always on the newest version

 

[Koekieezz]

Thanks for the speedy reply!

Yes i was intending to go up in steps or do you literally mean go one by one through all the available versions?

It just threw me that it successfully, or at least according to the bios it was successful, updated to 3501 but then wouldn't boot into Windows, do you think that's because i went from 1501 to 3501?

I'm quite new to updating bios as every time i've updated my CPU in the past it's required a new motherboard anyway and i've always known bios versions to be something you only really update when needed as opposed to making sure you're always on the newest version

try this to avoid any performance issues before replacing the cpu (read till end):

• Make sure ram is on slot 2 and 4 if you use 2 ram
• Disconnect from internet
• Uninstall gpu driver using DDU (clean and do not restart).
• Uninstall all the processors (is a must, should be 16 on yours, also when it asks for restart, click on no and keep uninstalling all processors) on device manager like this:
  
  
  
  
  and the chipset driver/software in control panel (if there is none just skip)
  
  
• restart the pc to bios, Flash The latest bios using bios flashback.
  
  
• Replace the CPU, go to bios again, then load default or optimized settings, find AMD SVM and IOMMU options, enable them (if the option is only auto and disable, just leave it auto), set your XMP/Manual OC and PBO/XFR back then save and exit.
  
  
• boot up to windows and install the latest Chipset driver (should be 3.10.22), reboot, and then connect to internet.
  
  
• Install the latest gpu driver.
  
  *do this all offline until reboot after installing chipset driver, also you may reboot to bios after all of this to set the XMP (and previous settings you did). Download needed files (highlighted word) before doing step 1, do the step by orders.
  
  
• Run cmd as admin, then do chkdsk /x /f /r, after that do sfc /scannow
  
  
• And check windows update (and optional updates) if there is any and install them (except chipset in optional update).
  
  
• Make sure the psu connected to the gpu is 1 pcie cable per 1 slot (use main cable, not the branches/split) like this:
  
  

 

[hmmark2022]

For anyone who finds this post in the future, having similar issues. I reset windows and that seemed to solve my issues, so i reset windows and then started off going up one BIOS version at a time, using the bios flashback feature and being sure to clear cmos each time and i was loading into windows each time (as that's where my issues were before with it not loading into windows) after i got about 4 bios updates in, i stopped loading into windows every time and after another 3 or 4 updates i started jumping up through the versions, leaving out 2,3 or 4 at a time and all of it worked fine, i'm now on the latest build available, ready for my new CPU.