Failed BIOS update using flashrom with a raspberry pi on a Motherboard fonction Flashback doesn't work

[Alox]

First I want to say that English is not my main language so sorry for the errors that I've migh have made.
Hello I've bought an Asrock A620M Pro RS motherboard on eBay that had bent pins on the socket to make a PC cheaper (I've already done it on my build and really enjoy doing it). So I bend them back in their correct place and try to boot into the motherboard BIOS it doesn't boot so I tried clearing CMOS and every basic things and it still doesn't boot my CPU is a Ryzen 5 8400f so the problem can be a BIOS update but I have to use the BIOS flashback but it also doesn't work. I have a Raspberry Pi 4 and heard that it can be use to reprogramm a chip so I wanted to try it so I located the BIOS chip it is a "winbond W25Q256JWEQ"

There is a header on the motherboard juste above the chip and in the manual it says that it is the SPI_TPM header

So I install flashrom on my PI and connect every corresponding pins and type the command "sudo flashrom -p linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev0.0" and the chip is detected and says it is detected as "W25Q256JW"
The wiring is like this
Raspberry Pi 4 GPIO ------------------------- ASRock A620M Pro RS SPI TPM Header
GPIO 11 (Pin 23 - SCLK) ------------------------- CLK (Pin 7 on header)
GPIO 10 (Pin 19 - MOSI) ------------------------- SPI_MOSI (Pin 3 on header)
GPIO 9 (Pin 21 - MISO) -------------------------- SPI_MISO (Pin 5 on header)
GPIO 8 (Pin 24 - CE0) --------------------------- Main BIOS SPI_CS#
GND (e.g., Pi Pin 6) ---------------------------- GND (Pin 11 on header) (Also connected to GND from an external power supply)
[External Ruzizao 3.3V Power Supply] (3.3V Output) ---------------------------------------------------------------- SPI_PWR (Pin 9 on header) (This is the 3.3V supply for the BIOS chip)

After the command to make a backup BIOS nexte erase and write the BIOS but in the command erease there is the line "Block protection could not be disable" but it ends saying "DONE" the command I did is this "sudo flashrom -p linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev0.0 -c "W25Q256JW" --erase" and then the command "sudo flashrom -p linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev0.0 -c "W25Q256JW" -w A62MPRS3.20.ROM" (A62MPRS3.20.ROM is the latest BIOS on Asrock.com) with this command there's still the message "Block protection could not be disable" and it block on the line "Erasing and writing flash chip" it as run for more than 8hours so I've stopped it and tried with lower SPI communication but still stuck on the same "Erasing and writing flash chip".
If there is no solution for this erron I will buy the chip (https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005001287617721.html)
Thank for the help in advance and also sorry for the errors that I made while writing this

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

Sounds to me like there is something else wrong with the board. It sounds like you are a capable tech, but if they bent pins in the lga socket, there is no telling what all could be wrong with it.

 

[Alox]

Sounds to me like there is something else wrong with the board. It sounds like you are a capable tech, but if they bent pins in the lga socket, there is no telling what all could be wrong with it.

What could be the problem maybe you want pictures ? But it seems fine to me other than the bent pin that I have put in the right place there is no scratch or rip off components. And this is a AM5 Socket

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

What could be the problem maybe you want pictures ? But it seems fine to me other than the bent pin that I have put in the right place there is no scratch or rip off components. And this is a AM5 Socket

yeah, some good pictures of that socket.....with better light than that one you took of the chip. Might be good to get shots of whole board too. Always a good idea to eliminate the physical first. You could probably buy a donor motherboard from ebay just a cheap and easy as buying that bios chip from aliexpress.

 

[LittleBro]

Borrow some older Zen 4 CPU and flash it normally using BIOS.
It's a pity that ASRock's flashback function does not work. I only used this function on ASUS boards so far and worked flawlessly.
Did you follow ASRock's instructions? ASUS, for example, requires to rename BIOS file to specific filename, otherwise flashback will fail.

When someone sells mobo with bent chips, it's always risky to buy it. There's high chance that also other parts of mobo are damaged as well.

 

[_roman_]

The TPM header for the external TPM2 module is wired to the Flash rom?

Did you found a guide which worked which stated to use the tpm header for bios flashes?

 

[GerKNG]

you renamed the bios file CREATIVE.ROM on an exFAT USB Drive before trying to use flashback?

 

[Alox]

yeah, some good pictures of that socket.....with better light than that one you took of the chip. Might be good to get shots of whole board too. Always a good idea to eliminate the physical first. You could probably buy a donor motherboard from ebay just a cheap and easy as buying that bios chip from aliexpress.

Here's some pictures the chip on aliexpress is 2.14 € → 2.46$
The top half of the socket :

and the bottom half :

and the whole socket with the phone

And I've made a video when bending back the pins but it doesn't want to be upoad (even in a zip file)
Some pictures of the board itself :

Borrow some older Zen 4 CPU and flash it normally using BIOS.
It's a pity that ASRock's flashback function does not work. I only used this function on ASUS boards so far and worked flawlessly.
Did you follow ASRock's instructions? ASUS, for example, requires to rename BIOS file to specific filename, otherwise flashback will fail.

When someone sells mobo with bent chips, it's always risky to buy it. There's high chance that also other parts of mobo are damaged as well.

View attachment 403472

On my board it is also an Asus a B650 Aorus Elite AX on it has work flawlessly but with this on the led light does not flash with the correct name Creative.ROM I've tried in uppercase letter and small one, it does not work. That was exactly the same problem with the bent pins on the socket and now it works perfectly fine.

The TPM header for the external TPM2 module is wired to the Flash rom?

Did you found a guide which worked which stated to use the tpm header for bios flashes?

There was no guide so I've tried and it detect the chip righ under named BIOS_A1, BIOS_WSON_A1. I tought it does tpm and Bios chip

you renamed the bios file CREATIVE.ROM on an exFAT USB Drive before trying to use flashback?

I've tried the name CREATIVE.ROM and creative.ROM with partition on FAT32, NTFS, and exFAT that's why I swith with a Raspberry pi to try to reprogramm the chip

 

[_roman_]

Can you please list all pc parts when your mainboard did not boot, please.

Which graphic card did you use, which cable and which monitor?

post #1 -> https://www.amd.com/en/products/processors/desktops/ryzen/8000-series/amd-ryzen-5-8400f.html

 

[Alox]

Can you please list all pc parts when your mainboard did not boot, please.

CPU : Ryzen 5 8400F
RAM : Crucial Pro 6000MT/s Cl36 32Go
No disck drive (I wanted to boot into the BIOS)
GPU : MSI N285GTX-T2D1G-OC (Very old card cause I don't have another card but it works on my others PC I used the DVI cable on my second monitor witch is an old HKC but i don't know the refrences
PSU : Tacens Radix VII AG 600M 600W

 

[_roman_]

May I ask you to check this first please?


Some graphic cards do not work with AMD AM5.

e.g. my just paid MSI X670E ... mainboard clearly states that some graphic cards can not be used.

Do not ask me if named the file or the internet

X670EGAMINGPLUSWIFI_EN.pdf

page 54 of 68. File was downloaded this week.

Incompatible UEFI cases
●
●
32-bit Windows operating system - this motherboard supports only Windows 10/
Windows 11 64-bit operating system.
Older graphics card - the system will detect your graphics card. If you use older
graphics cards, it may display a warning message There is no GOP (Graphics
Output protocol) support detected in this graphics card.
⚠ Important
We recommend that you replace it with a graphics card supporting GOP/UEFI or use
CPU with integrated graphics for having normal function.


-- igorslab wrote some clusmy text in german ages ago. Some graphic cards do not work - they are much newer as yours.

-- you use a cheap cpu without graphics with maybe a graphic card which is incompatible.


I highly doubt this graphic card has gop

GeForce GTX 285

https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Card/N285GTXT2D1GOC/Specification

--

I personally would test first with a proper graphic card like radeon 6600XT / 6800 non xt / 7800xt for testing first or use a proper processor for am5 like ryzen 7600x

my asus x670 mainboards with some old firmware needs up to 10 minutes to boot

--

For uefi you do not need a data storage. You are correct

 

[Alox]

May I ask you to check this first please?


Some graphic cards do not work with AMD AM5.

e.g. my just paid MSI X670E ... mainboard clearly states that some graphic cards can not be used.

Do not ask me if named the file or the internet

X670EGAMINGPLUSWIFI_EN.pdf

page 54 of 68. File was downloaded this week.

Incompatible UEFI cases
●
●
32-bit Windows operating system - this motherboard supports only Windows 10/
Windows 11 64-bit operating system.
Older graphics card - the system will detect your graphics card. If you use older
graphics cards, it may display a warning message There is no GOP (Graphics
Output protocol) support detected in this graphics card.
⚠ Important
We recommend that you replace it with a graphics card supporting GOP/UEFI or use
CPU with integrated graphics for having normal function.


-- igorslab wrote some clusmy text in german ages ago. Some graphic cards do not work - they are much newer as yours.

-- you use a cheap cpu without graphics with maybe a graphic card which is incompatible.


I highly doubt this graphic card has gop

GeForce GTX 285

https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Card/N285GTXT2D1GOC/Specification

--

I personally would test first with a proper graphic card like radeon 6600XT / 6800 non xt / 7800xt for testing first or use a proper processor for am5 like ryzen 7600x

my asus x670 mainboards with some old firmware needs up to 10 minutes to boot

--

For uefi you do not need a data storage. You are correct

It's strange cause the same graphics card with every component the exact same exept the motherboard works. I'm not saying that you are wrong but it is strange the board is the b650 aorus elite ax. If it is the problem I was gonna buy the Intel Arc B580.

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

cpu is supported since version 2.10 of bios.....i would try that one rather than the latest. If it is version 1.24 like the sticker says, going to version 3.25 is quite a leap.

going to need a gpu or cpu with igpu that supports uefi.

I'll admit, board looks ok, but i've a hard time trusting motherboards sold as is on ebay for scrap. Entirely possible for an lga pin to be bent back into proper place and still not quite make proper contact or be elsewise damaged. it is not a reflection on you or your skills, just the nature of the beast.

 

[_roman_]

It's strange cause the same graphics card with every component the exact same exept the motherboard works. I'm not saying that you are wrong but it is strange the board is the b650 aorus elite ax. If it is the problem I was gonna buy the Intel Arc B580.

Did you research the points i have given? yes?

If possible i would try to lend a graphic card from someone to test it first. Personally I would test only with ryzen 7600x or similar cheap 7000 series cpu. But not with 7500f. not with 7400f.

With my electronic backgrounds I would have first formated with gnu userspace tools an usb pendrive with vfat. not with microsoft windows 10 pro or 11 pro. I would have used the mainboard button to update the uefi with the power supply unit. If flash i would have gotten special clip after reading the datasheets and programming instructions. this is out of scope. rasp pi is nasty hack. can work. i would also have taken into account that a a620 mainbaord used is worth only max 25 €. money and time spend vs new cheap am5 mainboard.

 

[Alox]

Did you research the points i have given? yes?

If possible i would try to lend a graphic card from someone to test it first. Personally I would test only with ryzen 7600x or similar cheap 7000 series cpu. But not with 7500f. not with 7400f.

With my electronic backgrounds I would have first formated with gnu userspace tools an usb pendrive with vfat. not with microsoft windows 10 pro or 11 pro. I would have used the mainboard button to update the uefi with the power supply unit. If flash i would have gotten special clip after reading the datasheets and programming instructions. this is out of scope. rasp pi is nasty hack. can work. i would also have taken into account that a a620 mainbaord used is worth only max 25 €. money and time spend vs new cheap am5 mainboard.

I understand your point with the graphics card but it works with the other pc fine with the thame hardware I could try with a 3060 that I have but for an other processor I can't affort one now. For formatting I've used AOMEI partition assistant don't know If it is a good software. With the BIOS flashback that doesn't work the only thing that I had without spending was the Raspberry Pi. I can still try to buy the clip SOP8 programmator.

cpu is supported since version 2.10 of bios.....i would try that one rather than the latest. If it is version 1.24 like the sticker says, going to version 3.25 is quite a leap.

going to need a gpu or cpu with igpu that supports uefi.

I'll admit, board looks ok, but i've a hard time trusting motherboards sold as is on ebay for scrap. Entirely possible for an lga pin to be bent back into proper place and still not quite make proper contact or be elsewise damaged. it is not a reflection on you or your skills, just the nature of the beast.

Should I try with the Flashback fonction or directly with the Raspberry Pi ?

 

[_roman_]

off topic:

Windows 10 pro -> usb stick bigger as 4gb-> windows explorer format with fat 32 -> not vfat according to gnu userspace -> wrong formated with exfat = incompatible

I'm just saying to verify the file system with a proper tool and not windows 10 or 11 pro.
This is the reason why the LG made Media Nav Evolution 3 radio in my Dacia Dokker manual says only 4GB USB sticks are supported. Same radio was used in may Renault Cars. There is a software switch to switch from renault to dacia logo. Any bigger usb stick was wrongly formated in windows 10 pro / 11 pro here. (16Gb kingston usb 2.0 stick work fine when formated with e.g. mkfs.vfat or when lazy with gparted. several different usb sticks)

Fat 32 + extension is vfat. In my point of view those uefi mainboards needs vfat to boot from and need vfat to make an uefi update.

--

Back to topic. I want to ask you to verify if the usb pen drive you will use for flashback is really vfat. Not with windows. e.g. systemrescue live-cd with gparted or similar software.
I want to ask you to read the manboard manual first. I think usually you have to connect the power supply unit to the mainboard, plug in the usb stick to the correct port and than press the "mainboard flash button". You may need to rename the file first.

--

i do not bother with firmware flashes

15 years ago you needed something like that with proper programmer. read the datasheet, read the programmer and so on. out of scope of this topic

 

[Alox]

off topic:

Windows 10 pro -> usb stick bigger as 4gb-> windows explorer format with fat 32 -> not vfat according to gnu userspace -> wrong formated with exfat = incompatible

I'm just saying to verify the file system with a proper tool and not windows 10 or 11 pro.
This is the reason why the LG made Media Nav Evolution 3 radio in my Dacia Dokker manual says only 4GB USB sticks are supported. Same radio was used in may Renault Cars. There is a software switch to switch from renault to dacia logo. Any bigger usb stick was wrongly formated in windows 10 pro / 11 pro here. (16Gb kingston usb 2.0 stick work fine when formated with e.g. mkfs.vfat or when lazy with gparted. several different usb sticks)

Fat 32 + extension is vfat. In my point of view those uefi mainboards needs vfat to boot from and need vfat to make an uefi update.

--

Back to topic. I want to ask you to verify if the usb pen drive you will use for flashback is really vfat. Not with windows. e.g. systemrescue live-cd with gparted or similar software.
I want to ask you to read the manboard manual first. I think usually you have to connect the power supply unit to the mainboard, plug in the usb stick to the correct port and than press the "mainboard flash button". You may need to rename the file first.

--

i do not bother with firmware flashes

15 years ago you needed something like that with proper programmer. read the datasheet, read the programmer and so on. out of scope of this topic

View attachment 403540

Ok thank you I will verify that tomorrow and give you updates

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

I understand your point with the graphics card but it works with the other pc fine with the thame hardware I could try with a 3060 that I have but for an other processor I can't affort one now. For formatting I've used AOMEI partition assistant don't know If it is a good software. With the BIOS flashback that doesn't work the only thing that I had without spending was the Raspberry Pi. I can still try to buy the clip SOP8 programmator.

Should I try with the Flashback fonction or directly with the Raspberry Pi ?

I'd try flashback first.

 

[Alox]

off topic:

Windows 10 pro -> usb stick bigger as 4gb-> windows explorer format with fat 32 -> not vfat according to gnu userspace -> wrong formated with exfat = incompatible

I'm just saying to verify the file system with a proper tool and not windows 10 or 11 pro.
This is the reason why the LG made Media Nav Evolution 3 radio in my Dacia Dokker manual says only 4GB USB sticks are supported. Same radio was used in may Renault Cars. There is a software switch to switch from renault to dacia logo. Any bigger usb stick was wrongly formated in windows 10 pro / 11 pro here. (16Gb kingston usb 2.0 stick work fine when formated with e.g. mkfs.vfat or when lazy with gparted. several different usb sticks)

Fat 32 + extension is vfat. In my point of view those uefi mainboards needs vfat to boot from and need vfat to make an uefi update.

--

Back to topic. I want to ask you to verify if the usb pen drive you will use for flashback is really vfat. Not with windows. e.g. systemrescue live-cd with gparted or similar software.
I want to ask you to read the manboard manual first. I think usually you have to connect the power supply unit to the mainboard, plug in the usb stick to the correct port and than press the "mainboard flash button". You may need to rename the file first.

--

i do not bother with firmware flashes

15 years ago you needed something like that with proper programmer. read the datasheet, read the programmer and so on. out of scope of this topic

View attachment 403540

So with Gparted I have this :

Tell me if this isn't what you've ask

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

just for grins, use a smaller flash drive or limit the partition size to 16 gigs or less. Doesn't need to be a boot partition......should not matter, but no point adding unnecessary things

be sure you are using one of the usb 2.0 ports

https://www.asrock.com/support/QA/FlashbackSOP.pdf

for reference.

be sure you use that port.

 

[Alox]

I'd try flashback first.

So I've download the BIOS 2.10, extract the zip file then put the file on my FAT32 USB stick and rename it "creative.rom", then plug the 24 pin power connector and turn on the PSU, put the USB stick in the BIOS Flashback port and after press the BIOS flashback switch for 3s but the green LED does't blink. There is no CMOS battery, the only thing that happend is the RGB light on the board light up when I've turn on the PSU

Maybe there is somethig like the warnig thays but there is no indication if this is the case exept the non flashing green LED

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

make sure flash drive is mbr not gpt

might be worth trying a different power supply too if you have one......again, shouldn't matter, but a quick thing to try.

also, try it with the cmos battery in it rather than out.

 

[Alox]

might be worth trying a different power supply too if you have one......again, shouldn't matter, but a quick thing to try.

I've retry with 16go partition but no blinks again and I don't have another PSU. The usb Stick is also 2.0 on a 2.0 port.

It also does not work with ce CMOS battery

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

past that, man idk, sounds like a busted board.

If you feel like screwing with it, sure, try another bios chip......it's cheap enough.

I'd be looking for a different board.

 

[Alox]

past that, man idk, sounds like a busted board.

If you feel like screwing with it, sure, try another bios chip......it's cheap enough.

I'd be looking for a different board.

For me the last thing I could try is either try with the Raspberry Pi or if this does not work either buy the chip (https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/1005001287617721.html), desolder the bricked one and resolder the new. I have hot air station, flux desoldering wick