X370 UEFI Drama...

[720p low]

So, I've been slowly collecting various odds'n'ends to cobble together a somewhat more modern system than what I have at present. It won't be what I once had, but money is still an issue for me, and this will be more than enough. I have the following thus far:

ASRock X370 Killer SLI/ac (BIOS version 7.10)
Ryzen 5 1600
XFX RX 480 (8Gb)
2 x 8Gb DDR4 2666MHz
Team PCI 3.0 1Tb NVMe SSD (formatted as GPT)
FSP 80+ Gold 550W PSU
Windows 10 Pro

My understanding is that this particular motherboard doesn't enjoy the greatest reputation, but as I think you can see, I'm not asking all that much of it. It's "been around" for awhile, but every single USB, SATA and PCIe port seems to work properly, and the board has been entirely stable during use. The issue is that, even with BIOS defaults being in use, it *will not* boot unless CSM mode is enabled. Any attempt to start with UEFI will fail completely, and I will then need to discharge the CMOS. I don't even get as far as the "splash" screen. I believe all my hardware should be UEFI-compliant, but I don't have any spare components that are UEFI to substitute as a means of trouble-shooting.

Being confined to CSM isn't the end of the World, but I was hoping to grab a more modern CPU at some point, (which the current BIOS supports), and set myself up to eventually run the horror that is known as Windows 11. At this point, I'm just wondering if anyone has any insight as to why UEFI is a no-go?

 

[wNotyarD]

Is the VBIOS on your RX 480 enabled for UEFI?
If it were only Windows installed on Legacy mode, you would still get the splash screen and be able to access the bios menu, just not boot into the OS when you change to UEFI only.

 

[DR4G00N]

Try updating to the latest bios first and see what happens, could fix it.

With my X370 Taichi I noticed in the past that disabling CSM is a bit weird with gpu's. I had two 780 Ti's and each by themselves worked fine with CSM disabled but having both installed at the same time it failed to post.

 

[720p low]

Is the VBIOS on your RX 480 enabled for UEFI?
If it were only Windows installed on Legacy mode, you would still get the splash screen and be able to access the bios menu, just not boot into the OS when you change to UEFI only.

I'm not aware that there is any ability on this graphics card to choose a legacy vs. UEFI BIOS. I'm assuming that it is UEFI since the reference AMD cards from that era were UEFI. Can't say if I ever recall seeing a 480 with that option, but I suppose there may be such a thing.

Even without the NVMe drive installed, upon boot, I'm not getting a splash screen or, of course, the ability to reach the BIOS setup, if "UEFI" was previously enabled on the motherboard. (Don't ask me why I tried that...)

Try updating to the latest bios first and see what happens, could fix it.

With my X370 Taichi I noticed in the past that disabling CSM is a bit weird with gpu's. I had two 780 Ti's and each by themselves worked fine with CSM disabled but having both installed at the same time it failed to post.

The 7.10 BIOS I'm running, (May 2022), is just one back from the very latest. That one was released to, "Improve GPU compatibility for GeForce RTX 40 series."

 

[wNotyarD]

I'm not aware that there is any ability on this graphics card to choose a legacy vs. UEFI BIOS. I'm assuming that it is UEFI since the reference AMD cards from that era were UEFI. Can't say if I ever recall seeing a 480 with that option, but I suppose there may be such a thing.

It isn't so much an option, but something coded in. I don't know if it is the case with your card, but it is common to disable UEFI support in mining VBIOSes.

 

[DR4G00N]

The 7.10 BIOS I'm running, (May 2022), is just one back from the very latest. That one was released to, "Improve GPU compatibility for GeForce RTX 40 series."

It may also have other small fixes that aren't mentioned which is why I suggested it. Asrock doesn't exactly go into much detail with their bios update notes.

 

[720p low]

It isn't so much an option, but something coded in. I don't know if it is the case with your card, but it is common to disable UEFI support in mining VBIOSes.

I'm trying to convince a friend to bring over a RX 6600XT he has lying around, (but won't part with), to see what happens. He feels I should buy him a case of beer for his trouble. I think he needs to adjust his feelings about that. But, if that happens, I'll post the results.

It may also have other small fixes that aren't mentioned which is why I suggested it. Asrock doesn't exactly go into much detail with their bios update notes.

I did give that some thought, but it just seemed to me that as fundamental as booting into a UEFI environment should have been something well-resolved for this board long ago. If the above-mentioned event doesn't happen, I'll give it a try. It's that statement, "User will not able to flash previous BIOS once upgrading to this BIOS version." that ASRock seems fond of including in their BIOS descriptions that gets me just a bit apprehensive.

 

[Solaris17]

I’m willing to bet it’s the GPU. There are even issues with some AMD 5xx series cards having broken UEFI I think @Mussels knows more.

 

[720p low]

I’m willing to bet it’s the GPU. There are even issues with some AMD 5xx series cards having broken UEFI I think @Mussels knows more.

Well, you appear to be correct. Looks like the XFX RX 480 is a bit sketchy with regard to having a UEFI BIOS. (Even though GPU-Z gave it a pass in that regard.)

Or, it might be perfectly fine in most cases, but just not care to dance with this particular motherboard. Anyway, my friend finally caved and brought his 6600XT over, and that solved the problem. We even managed to get resizable bar enabled. Managed a 20298 on Fire Strike. Clearly not World-class, but probably decent for what we were working with. So, seeing what is needed to fix this issue, I'm a happy girl now. Like most things in life, you just need to keep throwing money at it.

(He did not leave here with a case of beer. However, he did leave with the 6600XT.)

Thanks to wNotyarD, DR4G00N, and Solaris17 for offering assistance.

​

 

[eidairaman1]

I’m willing to bet it’s the GPU. There are even issues with some AMD 5xx series cards having broken UEFI I think @Mussels knows more.

Sometimes Reinstalling the same vbios has resolved issues.

I typically try to find the latest version that matches the ram on the card

 

[Solaris17]

Sometimes Reinstalling the same vbios has resolved issues.

I typically try to find the latest version that matches the ram on the card

Thats what I figured. A new version is probably devoid. @720p low if you are comfy working with @eidairaman1 he might be able to link you a newer vbios that will work with the card that will play nice with uefi.

 

[eidairaman1]

Thats what I figured. A new version is probably devoid. @720p low if you are comfy working with @eidairaman1 he might be able to link you a newer vbios that will work with the card that will play nice with uefi.

Yup if its working in csm then Data can be obtained without ripping the heatsink off, but a sticker pic is still required to know the core clock speeds

 

[720p low]

Very kind of you to offer help. But, I'm afraid you are about to witness some of the worst photomacrographs in human history...

I really butchered that label on the backplate. For some additional clarity, (?), here is what it appears to contain using a magnifying glass:

RX-480PBL VZ.0
RADEON RX 480 RS 8GB D5 XXX HS BP 3xDP
HDMI DVI

You know, no one would blame you if you took the rest of the month off after having witnessed this mess.

 

[eidairaman1]

Very kind of you to offer help. But, I'm afraid you are about to witness some of the worst photomacrographs in human history...

I really butchered that label on the backplate. For some additional clarity, (?), here is what it appears to contain using a magnifying glass:

RX-480PBL VZ.0
RADEON RX 480 RS 8GB D5 XXX HS BP 3xDP
HDMI DVI

You know, no one would blame you if you took the rest of the month off after having witnessed this mess.

Ok i will get on it and see what can be done

Go back into gpu-z and click the advanced tab, change the word General to Memory Timings and post screenshot here

It is
RX-480P8L VZ.0

Do not flash anything till I say so.

XFX RX 480 VBIOS

8 GB GDDR5, 1288 MHz GPU, 2000 MHz Memory

www.techpowerup.com

AMD RX 480 VBIOS

8 GB GDDR5, 1288 MHz GPU, 2000 MHz Memory

www.techpowerup.com

XFX RX 480 VBIOS

8 GB GDDR5, 1288 MHz GPU, 2000 MHz Memory

www.techpowerup.com

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

Subbing for interest

A lot of VBIOS have been recovered from much worse photographs, yours is quite readable.

 

[eidairaman1]

Subbing for interest

A lot of VBIOS have been recovered from much worse photographs, yours is quite readable.

All that is needed is the specific ram, then a bios from 2017 can be looked for or existing 1 can be modded with latest GOP update

1002 67DF 1682 9480

Sometimes the 480 can be crossflashed to the 580

There is 1002 67DF 1682 9580 even...

 

[720p low]

Ok i will get on it and see what can be done

Go back into gpu-z and click the advanced tab, change the word General to Memory Timings and post screenshot here

It is
RX-480P8L VZ.0

Do not flash anything till I say so.

XFX RX 480 VBIOS

8 GB GDDR5, 1288 MHz GPU, 2000 MHz Memory

www.techpowerup.com

AMD RX 480 VBIOS

8 GB GDDR5, 1288 MHz GPU, 2000 MHz Memory

www.techpowerup.com

XFX RX 480 VBIOS

8 GB GDDR5, 1288 MHz GPU, 2000 MHz Memory

www.techpowerup.com

It occurred to me after posting Friday that this thread is now almost certainly in the wrong forum; I beg everyone's indulgence.

Thank you, eidairaman1, for your time and interest. It is greatly appreciated.

​

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

It looks like all three of the VBIOS that eidairaman1 posted are compatible with your GPU.

I assume the card is fully stable under load? (On CSM of course)

 

[720p low]

It looks like all three of the VBIOS that eidairaman1 posted are compatible with your GPU.

I assume the card is fully stable under load? (On CSM of course)

It has been thus far. It seems to hit 1288Mhz and stay there without needing to touch the power limit, although I don't have a habit of constantly monitoring what's happening down in Engineering on a moment-to-moment basis. The previous owner told me that this was a "Best Buy exclusive." (???)

But, the previous owner is often intoxicated and given to moments of creative recollection.

 

[eidairaman1]

It has been thus far. It seems to hit 1288Mhz and stay there without needing to touch the power limit, although I don't have a habit of constantly monitoring what's happening down in Engineering on a moment-to-moment basis. The previous owner told me that this was a "Best Buy exclusive." (???)

But, the previous owner is often intoxicated and given to moments of creative recollection.

There were some xfx 400 series and 500 series that were sold at best buy only, tbh it really makes no difference other than the colors

It looks like all three of the VBIOS that eidairaman1 posted are compatible with your GPU.

I assume the card is fully stable under load? (On CSM of course)

Yeah they are, just sad to say they are all from 2016, would need to see which is the latest of those

Ok we will use the 480 bios first

XFX RX 480 VBIOS

8 GB GDDR5, 1288 MHz GPU, 2000 MHz Memory

www.techpowerup.com

Download atiflash/amdvbflash 2.93
Go here https://www.techpowerup.com/download/ati-atiflash/

Then look for Version 4.68, underneath 4.68 you will see a link to show older version, click that and you should see version 2.93

Then

Follow these steps carefully:

1. Open your "C:" drive in Windows, create a new folder, call it atiflash.

2. Extract the contents of atiflash_293.zip to the "C:\atiflash" folder

3. Find the bios file you downloaded and rename the bios file to r480x.rom

4. Move r480x.rom to the "C:\atiflash" folder

5. Open the start menu, type cmd, when cmd.exe appears right click it and hit "Run as administrator"

6. At the command prompt type in cd\ and press enter until only C:\> is on the screen.

7. Type in cd/atiflash and press enter, you should see C:\atiflash>

7a. At C:\atiflash> type in amdvbflash.exe -i to identify your card with a 0, 1, or 2

8. At the C:\atiflash> prompt type in
amdvbflash.exe -unlockrom 0 (or 1, 2)
(there is a space between the e and -unlockrom and 0)(0 is the number zero)
press enter and you will be prompted that the "ROM Unlocked"

9. At the C:\atiflash> prompt type in
amdvbflash.exe -f -p 0 r480x.rom
(there is a space between the .exe and -f, and a space between -f and -p and 0)press enter.

Follow directions on screen and if flash is successful exit the command prompt and restart, windows should show up on

 

[720p low]

Sorry about dropping off the radar.

OK, VBIOS flashed.

Re-booted as directed by atiflash to complete the process, and was gratified to see that the rig went straight into Windows with no apparent issues. Then, I thought, "Well, people are going to not simply want to know if the operation was completed, but if the operation was a success." So, I re-started the system, and disabled "CSM" in the BIOS, saved and re-started.

No boot. I thought to myself, "Well, OK. It was worth a shot." So, I shut down, killed the AC power, popped the CMOS battery and made a pot of coffee. After about 15 minutes or so, I tried to start the system confident it would have reverted to it's default CSM-enabled state. But, no boot. I let it churn and burn for quite awhile knowing that some Ryzen-based systems can take awhile to get out of bed. Nope.

Just to see if yours truly had managed to bend something, I swapped the RX480 into my older system. That necessitated swapping PSUs, since the Cooler Master in my AM3+ rig is about 60 years old and only has two six-pin PCIe plugs instead of the 8-pin the RX480 required. I also needed to take a moment to DDU the ancient HD7850 drivers and replace them with something the RX480 recognized, else GPU-Z was just going to report nonsense.

So, here is what I have...

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

Sorry about dropping off the radar.

OK, VBIOS flashed.

Re-booted as directed by atiflash to complete the process, and was gratified to see that the rig went straight into Windows with no apparent issues. Then, I thought, "Well, people are going to not simply want to know if the operation was completed, but if the operation was a success." So, I re-started the system, and disabled "CSM" in the BIOS, saved and re-started.

No boot. I thought to myself, "Well, OK. It was worth a shot." So, I shut down, killed the AC power, popped the CMOS battery and made a pot of coffee. After about 15 minutes or so, I tried to start the system confident it would have reverted to it's default CSM-enabled state. But, no boot. I let it churn and burn for quite awhile knowing that some Ryzen-based systems can take awhile to get out of bed. Nope.

Just to see if yours truly had managed to bend something, I swapped the RX480 into my older system. That necessitated swapping PSUs, since the Cooler Master in my AM3+ rig is about 60 years old and only has two six-pin PCIe plugs instead of the 8-pin the RX480 required. I also needed to take a moment to DDU the ancient HD7850 drivers and replace them with something the RX480 recognized, else GPU-Z was just going to report nonsense.

So, here is what I have...

I would try some of the other VBIOS files, sometimes the first one doesn't work. Yours doesn't have a dual BIOS switch, does it?

 

[720p low]

I would try some of the other VBIOS files, sometimes the first one doesn't work. Yours doesn't have a dual BIOS switch, does it?

No, just a single BIOS on this particular card. As for pressing forward on further flashing, I believe I'm going to put that on 'pause' for a bit. I don't want to short-circuit any observations or guidance that eidairaman1 might wish to offer. My middle name is patience. Well, actually, it's Joan, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

Worse case scenario, I'll leave the 480 in this system, stop eating for the next ten weeks or so, and that will give me enough in the budget to grab one of those $180 USD RX 6600 cards from Newegg. (Which won't be in stock.) After all, what girl doesn't want to drop from a 23-inch (58cm) waist down to 13 inches (33cm)?

 

[eidairaman1]

No, just a single BIOS on this particular card. As for pressing forward on further flashing, I believe I'm going to put that on 'pause' for a bit. I don't want to short-circuit any observations or guidance that eidairaman1 might wish to offer. My middle name is patience. Well, actually, it's Joan, but I'm sure you know what I mean.

Worse case scenario, I'll leave the 480 in this system, stop eating for the next ten weeks or so, and that will give me enough in the budget to grab one of those $180 USD RX 6600 cards from Newegg. (Which won't be in stock.) After all, what girl doesn't want to drop from a 23-inch (58cm) waist down to 13 inches (33cm)?

Ok just As I thought, the 2016 bios files need a GOP update

 

[Shrek]

Your boot drive has GPT (GUID Partition Table)?