Having trouble flashing BIOS

hat · Jun 11, 2015

I'm running into trouble flashing my GTX660 Ti BIOS. Traditionally, I use NVFLASH with a DOS usb stick, but it seems I can no longer boot to my USB stick with my UEFI system. I'm not sure how to make a DOS usb stick that works with UEFI... I tried searching a little, but didn't find much help.

Alternatively, I tried using nvflash from within Windows, but the nvflash window simply goes away all the time. For example, if I open up cmd, go to where nvflash is and type nvflash -list it will come up for a split second and vanish before I can see anything. I don't really want to be flashing a BIOS when the window could vanish before I see any important information...

hat · Jun 13, 2015

Any advice? Is there still a way to do BIOS flashing?

Heaven7 · Jun 13, 2015

I don't think using a DOS environment for flashing will work with UEFI settings enabled. Try changing to "Legacy Mode" within the BIOS, flash your card via your USB-stick, then set it back to UEFI. I'm not familiar with Nvidia cards, but perhaps there is some sort of GUI-based tool that enables flashing directly from Windows. Good luck, @hat !

hat · Jun 13, 2015

I prefer DOS, but I'm not totally opposed to flashing within Windows. I would use nvflash in Windows if it weren't for reasons described above (nvflash window disappearing before I see anything).

Solaris17 · Jun 13, 2015

just set your bios to CSM/Legacy boot boot off of USB flash bios go back into bios enable UEFI.

hat · Jun 14, 2015

Well, that's one way. Is that a viable option on even the most modern systems? Will we eventually not be able to use dos anymore? What if I have a card with a uefi bios, can I still use this method?

Is there no way to use dos with uefi?

R-T-B · Jun 14, 2015

Is there no way to use dos with uefi?

UEFI runs at 64-bit mode. Unless you want to rewrite the 8-bit dos kernel to be 64-bit, nope.

As mentioned, all systems have a form of CSM. Use it.

Solaris17 · Jun 14, 2015

hat said:
Well, that's one way. Is that a viable option on even the most modern systems? Will we eventually not be able to use dos anymore? What if I have a card with a uefi bios, can I still use this method?

Is there no way to use dos with uefi?

Nope that is the way.

Yes its viable and IMO and many others the proper way to do it. I do it on my rig and the 4770k is a little newer than a 2400

IDK I don't live in the future or work at microsoft....or IBM...

Considering I flashed my vanilla XFX with a Asus UEFI 290x bios I would say yes.

No.

hat · Jun 15, 2015

I'll ask before forcing anything...

I cannot flash my BIOS without forcing it. What I am trying to do is flash my ASUS GTX660 Ti DirectCU II with another ASUS GTX660 Ti BIOS. It may be a DirectCU II TOP, although it doesn't specifically say that, but it does have the same clocks as the TOP bios, including a higher power target than my card. I'm hoping by flashing the TOP BIOS I can achieve better performance and a higher overclock by starting with better clocks and a higher power target...

R-T-B · Jun 15, 2015

hat said:
I'll ask before forcing anything...

I cannot flash my BIOS without forcing it. What I am trying to do is flash my ASUS GTX660 Ti DirectCU II with another ASUS GTX660 Ti BIOS. It may be a DirectCU II TOP, although it doesn't specifically say that, but it does have the same clocks as the TOP bios, including a higher power target than my card. I'm hoping by flashing the TOP BIOS I can achieve better performance and a higher overclock by starting with better clocks and a higher power target...

Good job asking first.

I'd wait until someone more familiar with that board comes, but on AMD boards at least any time there's even a minor board revision it warns you and requires a force. The short answer is yes it's risky territory, but if you have a backup and another card you should be able to flash the board back if it fails to boot post flash.

Solaris17 · Jun 15, 2015

if there is a difference between the TOP and TI mostly shaders, this is going to end very badly.

Mr.Scott · Jun 15, 2015

Solaris17 said:
if there is a difference between the TOP and TI mostly shaders, this is going to end very badly.

Uh huh, and vram timings.

hat · Jun 15, 2015

Side note: in my boot menu I noticed my USB drive in there twice. One entry said UEFI, one did not. I guess someone thought of something like this and I didn't look long enough to catch that.

What's the difference with the shaders? I haven't flashed yet... because I don't want to brick my card. I suppose though, it still ends badly if I can't flash it.

I suppose there's a pretty good chance my card wouldn't survive a force-flashed TOP BIOS?

Solaris17 · Jun 15, 2015

hat said:
Side note: in my boot menu I noticed my USB drive in there twice. One entry said UEFI, one did not. I guess someone thought of something like this and I didn't look long enough to catch that.

What's the difference with the shaders? I haven't flashed yet... because I don't want to brick my card. I suppose though, it still ends badly if I can't flash it. I suppose there's a pretty good chance my card wouldn't survive a force-flashed TOP BIOS?

to be honest with you I do have pretty decent experience with nvidia bios flashing but I dont know enough about the cards and im more than a few beers deep. so I am not the best one to help atm. However. @Mr.Scott seems like he might have a grasp? Basically if the card has a different memory amount of the card has a different shader count than the TI its not a great idea. i the memory timings or voltages are off its also bad but the first two will be immediete problems. I unfortunetely can barely read right now. (I love google autoorrect) so forgive me for not looking up the specs. to tell you whether wether? wheather? or not it can be done.

hat · Jun 15, 2015

They're both the 660 Ti BIOS, just one is the TOP (which I want to flash, if I can) and my card is not a TOP edition. Same amount of memory... same amount of shaders too if I'm not mistaken.

Solaris17 · Jun 15, 2015

hat said:
They're both the 660 Ti BIOS, just one is the TOP (which I want to flash, if I can) and my card is not a TOP edition. Same amount of memory... same amount of shaders too if I'm not mistaken.

Do you have a spare pci/pci-e/onboard VGA?

hat · Jun 15, 2015

I do. I'd prefer to use my onboard VGA if possible (Intel graphics) since it doesn't require any hardware swapping. It's enabled, shows up in GPU-Z, and I've even used it for some quicksync encoding... but right now I don't see it appear in nvflash. Maybe because my monitor isn't hooked up to the onboard graphics?

Solaris17 · Jun 15, 2015

its probably disabled in BIOS. some mobos will auto shutoff the onboard or auto delegate to 3rd party if a GPU is added.

As long as you have a backup VGA salvation is possible. worst case scenario if the flash goes fubar. pull the card out pop the bios battery out and try to boot the system without the GPU in after a cmos reset. it should post to onboard VGA and allow you to unfuck teh card. If the card shares everything PHYSICALLY. and you have a BIOS BACKUP named something EASY like ORIG.ROM then I would go ahead and force the flash. they will always ask that you force it 99% of the time anyway. please take note you might need to re-install drivers afte the flash in windows. let us know.

Schmuckley · Jun 15, 2015

GUIDE for Flashing BIOS of NVIDIA GPU | TechPowerUp Forums

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/46707-ms-dos-bootable-flash-drive-create.html

SOME usbs do NOT work..keep that in mind.

..and use the correct nvflash for your card

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/688290-How-to-use-nvflash

You may need the "unlockrom" command or something.Some cards do.

PS:Mr.Scott might know

I still have an install someplace I was flashing a 770 with,should be same nvflash n stuff.

hat · Jun 15, 2015

Well, I went ahead and forced it after some more googling... and it came out fine, so far!

So far, seems stable in Furmark... the lower limits of my speed (flashed, and gaming profile selected in ASUS GPU Tweak for a little additional oomph) are about what my max was before it started throttling itself due to power limit. Still more room to go...

hat · Jun 16, 2015

Having trouble in stalker call of pripyat after the flash. Very unscientific however as stalker is not known for its stability, and I haven't played COP before the flash. What was happening was the game would lock up for a few seconds, then to a black screen. I could still hear things though, and apparently even act in the game, as I could shoot my gun and hear it. Disabling the steam overlay seemed to cure that, but I still get other issues, typically the game just plain crashing (encountered a problem and needs to close). One time it gave me an error about my video card not meeting minimum specs. Oddly enough sometimes the game is crashy, sometimes it plays perfectly normally. I'm apt to blame my low memory capacity for this at this time...

basco · Jun 16, 2015

first save a c opy of your own bios and then its always best to use and change your own bios with the tweakers out there. you just wanted to up the power target-that should be very easy with kepler bios tweaker.
like mr.scott said could be vram timings or even other vram used.

hat · Jun 16, 2015

I do have a copy of my own BIOS, just in case... Learned a lesson about backups the hard way a while ago...

The system passed one run of 3DMARK11. I can't loop it cause I don't have the full version, but I guess if there were any major problems they probably would have come out then...

hat · Jun 28, 2015

Well I've got this all sorted out... The BIOS was clocked too high. Now I'm pondering the feasibility of flashing with a BIOS from a different vendor...

System Name	Starlifter :: Dragonfly
Processor	i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400
Motherboard	ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus
Cooling	Cryorig M9 :: Stock
Memory	4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630
Storage	Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5
Display(s)	Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p
Case	Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None
Power Supply	FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550
Software	Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly
Benchmark Scores	>9000

System Name	Starlifter :: Dragonfly
Processor	i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400
Motherboard	ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus
Cooling	Cryorig M9 :: Stock
Memory	4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630
Storage	Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5
Display(s)	Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p
Case	Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None
Power Supply	FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550
Software	Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly
Benchmark Scores	>9000

System Name	Starlifter :: Dragonfly
Processor	i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400
Motherboard	ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus
Cooling	Cryorig M9 :: Stock
Memory	4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630
Storage	Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5
Display(s)	Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p
Case	Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None
Power Supply	FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550
Software	Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly
Benchmark Scores	>9000

System Name	Rocinante
Processor	I9 14900KS
Motherboard	EVGA z690 Dark KINGPIN (modded BIOS)
Cooling	EK-AIO Elite 360 D-RGB
Memory	64GB Gskill Trident Z5 DDR5 6000 @6400
Video Card(s)	MSI SUPRIM Liquid X 4090
Storage	1x 500GB 980 Pro \| 1x 1TB 980 Pro \| 1x 8TB Corsair MP400
Display(s)	Philips Evnia 49M2C8900
Case	Lian Li o11 Evo Dynamic White
Audio Device(s)	Moondrop S8's on Schiit Hel 2e
Power Supply	Bequiet! Power Pro 12 1500w
Mouse	Lamzu Atlantis mini (White)
Keyboard	Monsgeek M3 Lavender, Akko Crystal Blues
VR HMD	Quest 3
Software	Windows 11
Benchmark Scores	I dont have time for that.

System Name	Starlifter :: Dragonfly
Processor	i7 2600k 4.4GHz :: i5 10400
Motherboard	ASUS P8P67 Pro :: ASUS Prime H570-Plus
Cooling	Cryorig M9 :: Stock
Memory	4x4GB DDR3 2133 :: 2x8GB DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	PNY GTX1070 :: Integrated UHD 630
Storage	Crucial MX500 1TB, 2x1TB Seagate RAID 0 :: Mushkin Enhanced 60GB SSD, 3x4TB Seagate HDD RAID5
Display(s)	Onn 165hz 1080p :: Acer 1080p
Case	Antec SOHO 1030B :: Old White Full Tower
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro - Bose Companion 2 Series III :: None
Power Supply	FSP Hydro GE 550w :: EVGA Supernova 550
Software	Windows 10 Pro - Plex Server on Dragonfly
Benchmark Scores	>9000

System Name	Pioneer
Processor	Ryzen R9 7950X
Motherboard	GIGABYTE Aorus Elite X670 AX
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15 + A whole lotta Sunon and Corsair Maglev blower fans...
Memory	64GB (4x 16GB) G.Skill Flare X5 @ DDR5-6000 CL30
Video Card(s)	XFX RX 7900 XTX Speedster Merc 310
Storage	2x Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
Display(s)	55" LG 55" B9 OLED 4K Display
Case	Thermaltake Core X31
Audio Device(s)	TOSLINK->Schiit Modi MB->Asgard 2 DAC Amp->AKG Pro K712 Headphones or HDMI->B9 OLED
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti Pro 850W
Mouse	Logitech G305 Lightspeed Wireless
Keyboard	WASD Code v3 with Cherry Green keyswitches + PBT DS keycaps
Software	Gentoo Linux x64 / Windows 11

System Name	Master
Processor	Pair of Xeon X5675's @ 4.3
Motherboard	SR-2 Classified
Memory	12 GB of Corsair Dominator GT's @ 2000 7-7-7-21
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX680
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova 750

System Name	Some computer stuff
Processor	Mostly Intel or AMD
Motherboard	ATX or mATX
Cooling	Bong Cooler
Memory	DDR2-4
Video Card(s)	A few
Storage	Plenty Platters or SSDs or USBs
Display(s)	Samsung 23"
Case	5 on the floor
Audio Device(s)	There's one for my M7 Gene, Oh I have 3-4 PCI 5.1 ones.Sabrent! lol
Power Supply	750-1000W
Mouse	cheap
Keyboard	Used ps2 from garage sales
Software	Yeah
Benchmark Scores	http://hwbot.org/user/schmuckley/#Hardware_Library http://valid.canardpc.com/rbjpbg

System Name	ibuytheusedstuff
Processor	5960x
Motherboard	x99 sabertooth
Cooling	old socket775 cooler
Memory	32 Viper
Video Card(s)	1080ti on morpheus 1
Storage	raptors+ssd
Display(s)	acer 120hz
Case	open bench
Audio Device(s)	onb
Power Supply	antec 1200 moar power
Mouse	mx 518
Keyboard	roccat arvo

Having trouble flashing BIOS

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Super Dainty Moderator

Enthusiast

Super Dainty Moderator

Enthusiast

Super Dainty Moderator

Enthusiast

Super Dainty Moderator

Enthusiast

Super Dainty Moderator

Enthusiast

Super Dainty Moderator

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast

Enthusiast