Question Problem when using a CH341A Programmer with SOIC Clip on motherboard BIOS ?

z3hir

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Feb 20, 2024
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When I connect my CH341A programmer directly to a BIOS chip on a motherboard using a SOIC clip, the USB connection drops, or if the connection stays, the programmer software freezes when I click "Detect."

At first, I thought the SOIC clip might be faulty, so I desoldered the BIOS chip from the motherboard and connected it directly to the clip. In this setup, the chip was detected successfully with no freezing or connection issues.

This suggests that both the clip and the BIOS chip are working correctly. However, when I soldered the chip back onto the motherboard and tried again using the SOIC clip, the same issues reappeared — either the USB disconnects or the software becomes unresponsive.

I suspected interference from nearby components on the motherboard. So I removed the CMOS battery and tried again — no change. Then I tested with a different motherboard and had exactly the same issue: clip on the chip while soldered — no success; chip desoldered and connected to the clip — works fine.

Has anyone experienced a similar problem?
If you need more details to help diagnose the issue, feel free to ask.

Here’s some additional info about my setup:

Programmer Software: CH341A Programmer v2.2.0.0

Programmer Module: CH341 Mini Programmer
 
You might want to remove the BIOS chip off the motherboard and then try on said clip/module. Another observation might that you would have better luck with another app/software. If that also fails, then the BIOS chip might've conked out entirely.
 
You might want to remove the BIOS chip off the motherboard and then try on said clip/module. Another observation might that you would have better luck with another app/software. If that also fails, then the BIOS chip might've conked out entirely.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Yeah, I already tried removing the BIOS chip from the motherboard and connecting it directly via the clip — it worked perfectly in that case, no freezing or connection issues. So the chip itself seems to be fine.


I’ve also tried using a different software (ASProgrammer), but the issue still happens when the chip is on the board.