R9 290X completely bricked?

[Baum]

First of all you have to look at the data sheet for the flash chip to see if there is a write protect pin. You can write it with an arduino/rasberry pi/ch34xx from ebay, many universal eeprom burner should be able to flash those...

Do you have any tv electronics repair shop nearby? sometimes they can help with a flash

sometimes the serial number is removed on rma cards from customers that get trashed (within service centers) or if one card is replaced as "goodwill" for a customer. (seen that with ati 9800pro and some 7600Gt cards no serial number after rma service to destroy warranty)


EDIT2: well look at the screw sticker someone removed the cooler...maybe the gpu itself is dead from that :-(

 

[OneMoar]

I would try and get a SOIC8 test clip and a SPI flasher and see if you can clear the ROM it might just be partitioned incorrectly
http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/test-and-measurement/test-clips-ic/2294786
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blackcat-US...181360?hash=item43a37548b0:g:8FkAAOSw9N1VqMpw

 

[WhoIsJOB]

either a bad flash chip or a bad resistor somewhere I don't like that solder-blob you have near R25 either its touching the wire
also the bottom right of the board pic near the screw looks like the board is scratched in serveral places around that area might have damaged a trace

which one? I didn't solder anything as I don't have the tools, but the wires aren't soldered to the chip itself, only looped.
With regards to the scratched area, is it between the two wires? near C2001?

 

[Solaris17]

have you actually tried any of this outside of windows?

 

[OneMoar]

which one? I didn't solder anything as I don't have the tools, but the wires aren't soldered to the chip itself, only looped.
With regards to the scratched area, is it between the two wires? near C2001?

yes can't tell if its the camera or if you have damage
the blob is part of the board but you have wires resting on it which is bad

 

[WhoIsJOB]

First of all you have to look at the data sheet for the flash chip to see if there is a write protect pin. You can write it with an arduino/rasberry pi/ch34xx from ebay, many universal eeprom burner should be able to flash those...

Do you have any tv electronics repair shop nearby? sometimes they can help with a flash

sometimes the serial number is removed on rma cards from customers that get trashed (within service centers) or if one card is replaced as "goodwill" for a customer. (seen that with ati 9800pro and some 7600Gt cards no serial number after rma service to destroy warranty)


EDIT2: well look at the screw sticker someone removed the cooler...maybe the gpu itself is dead from that :-(

We do have a laptop repair center that do component level repairs, but they charge about $50 if they repair the card. And I removed the cooler to check if the thermal paste wasn't the problem, and then cleaned it carefully as it was a gooey mess over everything around the gpu.

I would try and get a SOIC8 test clip and a SPI flasher and see if you can clear the ROM it might just be partitioned incorrectly
http://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/test-and-measurement/test-clips-ic/2294786
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blackcat-US...181360?hash=item43a37548b0:g:8FkAAOSw9N1VqMpw

I don't even know how that works.

have you actually tried any of this outside of windows?

Yes everything tried in DOS, only tried once with ATIWinflash.

yes can't tell if its the camera or if you have damage
the blob is part of the board but you have wires resting on it which is bad

before I started up I positioned the wires so that it wasn't resting on the board and so I could cut them easily once atiflash showed anything under adapter.

 

[OneMoar]

We do have a laptop repair center that do component level repairs, but they charge about $50 if they repair the card. And I removed the cooler to check if the thermal paste wasn't the problem, and then cleaned it carefully as it was a gooey mess over everything around the gpu.


I don't even know how that works.


Yes everything tried in DOS, only tried once with ATIWinflash.

guess you are gonna learn then or give up and toss the card wires are very rarely a reliable way todo write-enable unlock you really need a test clip and a good jumper wire
post the part number for the flash chip everyone is different the write--enable pin isn't always directly opposite pin 1

 

[Baum]

the soic clip goes over the bios chip and connects every pin to the "bios flasher" device, saves alot of time

wow what a price... 30usd on ebay for what?

As i see it, your best bet:
1. Put the card a side for a couple of weeks
2. hit ebay and buy CH34xx USB Programmer and a clip (desoldering kills the bios chip maybe?)
3. force flash x290 bios the hard way later


Just an example from ebay.com (i am NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE SELLER)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SOIC8-SOP8-...529123?hash=item28146f4823:g:M18AAOSwyjBW78RZ
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Program...211030?hash=item2ca0ac5ad6:g:p8wAAOSw3ydVkT51

 

[OneMoar]

cheap

the soic clip goes over the bios chip and connects every pin to the "bios flasher" device, saves alot of time

wow what a price... 30usd on ebay for what?

As i see it, your best bet:
1. Put the card a side for a couple of weeks
2. hit ebay and buy CH34xx USB Programmer and a clip (desoldering kills the bios chip maybe?)
3. force flash x290 bios the hard way later

cheap chinese programmers are garbage and worthless it doesn't get any easier then the black-cat , connect wires plug it in point it to the .rom image you wanna flash and done

 

[Solaris17]

cheap

cheap chinese programmers are garbage and worthless it doesn't get any easier then the black-cat , connect wires plug it in point it to the .rom image you wanna flash and done

^ 100% that.

it also supports win 10 which is another huge disadvantage to some other flashers and there respective software.

 

[WhoIsJOB]

guess you are gonna learn then or give up and toss the card wires are very rarely a reliable way todo write-enable unlock you really need a test clip and a good jumper wire
post the part number for the flash chip everyone is different the write--enable pin isn't always directly opposite pin 1

will do. gonna take the card out for now as it's only drawing power for nothing.

the soic clip goes over the bios chip and connects every pin to the "bios flasher" device, saves alot of time

wow what a price... 30usd on ebay for what?

As i see it, your best bet:
1. Put the card a side for a couple of weeks
2. hit ebay and buy CH34xx USB Programmer and a clip (desoldering kills the bios chip maybe?)
3. force flash x290 bios the hard way later

yup, when I saw that my mouse suddenly closed the tab..don't know how it happened

cheap

cheap chinese programmers are garbage and worthless it doesn't get any easier then the black-cat , connect wires plug it in point it to the .rom image you wanna flash and done

will take it to the laptop repair center and see what they can do. If they can't fix it I'll buy the black cat. Gonna cost me the same if it gets fixed either way.

 

[Solaris17]

Honestly id buy the flasher and learn a skill its a good tool to have. Hell you might even have fun buying cards off fleabay with known bios issues and flashing them. could take a tidy profit that will pay for the flasher in the long run and make your GPU upgrades less stressful on your wallet. As it stands the card is dead.

give a man a fish or teach him.

 

[WhoIsJOB]

Honestly id buy the flasher and learn a skill its a good tool to have. Hell you might even have fun buying cards off fleabay with known bios issues and flashing them. could take a tidy profit that will pay for the flasher in the long run and make your GPU upgrades less stressful on your wallet. As it stands the card is dead.

give a man a fish or teach him.

was actually thinking about this now...

 

[OneMoar]

if the flash chip does turn out to be toast you can buy a blank for pennies and have somebody solder it in
boom your 50 dollar card is now a 300 dollar card

 

[Solaris17]

if the flash chip does turn out to be toast you can buy a blank for pennies and have somebody solder it in
boom your 50 dollar card is now a 300 dollar card

This as well. there is a local TV repair place I have him do solder work on my motherboards and he will do it for $25

 

[Baum]

@Solaris17 well you are right there is no subsitute for good tools... i do buy only quality tools but a "flash chip burner" is quite nice devices and just because there's only one broken card *maybe*...

it is better to buy a willem eeprom burner or any quality tool to reprogramm those but a chinese cheap tool is a good start as a one off

 

[Ferrum Master]

Can you retake pic of area containing blank R2005 R2006 and C200 it looks like a crack there.

cheap

cheap chinese programmers are garbage and worthless it doesn't get any easier then the black-cat , connect wires plug it in point it to the .rom image you wanna flash and done

Don't moan, this one works fine, I have one of those. It works... SPI flash ain't a rocket science.

 

[OneMoar]

Can you retake pic of area containing blank R2005 R2006 and C200 it looks like a crack there.



Don't moan, this one works fine, I have one of those. It works... SPI flash ain't a rocket science.

it may work find but the black cat is easier to use
it's 35 bucks it will pay for itself the first or second time he uses it

 

[Ferrum Master]

black cat is easier to use

I am allergic to cats

 

[OneMoar]

I am allergic to cats

soft kitty warm kitty .... pretty ball of furr ...

 

[Frogger]

Have you tried other flash commands
-t <NUM> Test ROM access of adapter <NUM>

-v <NUM> <FILE> Compare ROM content of adapter <NUM> to <FILE>

-f Force flashing regardless of security checking BIOS file info check OR boot-up card

-fa Force flashing bypassing already-programmed check

-fm Forec flashing bypassing BIOS memory config check

-fs Force flashing bypassing BIOS SSID check

-fp Force flashing bypassing BIOS P/N check

Confirm your wire has a GOOD connection

 

[WhoIsJOB]

Can you retake pic of area containing blank R2005 R2006 and C200 it looks like a crack there.



Don't moan, this one works fine, I have one of those. It works... SPI flash ain't a rocket science.

I checked that spot specifically for a crack to see what it is, but doesn't seem like a crack as I very softly ran the tiny screwdriver point over the "gap" to feel if it gets that kinda stuck feeling when there's a crack, but it was fine.

Have you tried other flash commands
-t <NUM> Test ROM access of adapter <NUM>

-v <NUM> <FILE> Compare ROM content of adapter <NUM> to <FILE>

-f Force flashing regardless of security checking BIOS file info check OR boot-up card

-fa Force flashing bypassing already-programmed check

-fm Forec flashing bypassing BIOS memory config check

-fs Force flashing bypassing BIOS SSID check

-fp Force flashing bypassing BIOS P/N check

Confirm your wire has a GOOD connection

I'll test all these commands tomorrow night again when I have keyboard that works in DOS (borrowed one yesterday when I was trying the flash again) and post if there's any results. For now I've started looking for the Blackcat and gonna give the laptop repair center a call during the week, as tomorrow is public holiday

Here are pics of the Pm chip:


Pm25LD020
CEI352
H0NF9XG
(If I'm reading correctly, was difficult to get a angle where the letters reflected good in the flash)

 

[OneMoar]

I checked that spot specifically for a crack to see what it is, but doesn't seem like a crack as I very softly ran the tiny screwdriver point over the "gap" to feel if it gets that kinda stuck feeling when there's a crack, but it was fine.


I'll test all these commands tomorrow night again when I have keyboard that works in DOS (borrowed one yesterday when I was trying the flash again) and post if there's any results. For now I've started looking for the Blackcat and gonna give the laptop repair center a call during the week, as tomorrow is public holiday

Here are pics of the Pm chip:


Pm25LD020
CEI352
H0NF9XG
(If I'm reading correctly, was difficult to get a angle where the letters reflected good in the flash)

as I suspected it looks like you have your wires wrong according to your picutures you had CE to VCC which MAY have damaged the chip

http://www.chingistek.com/img/Product_Files/Pm25LD010020datasheet v04.pdf
CE needs to be brought LOW aka to ground for writing
connect CE to ground and that should remove the write protect on the chip
I just hope you didn't smoke the chip by connecting CE to VCC like you had it
if its totally bonked you will likely need to connect WP to VCC and attempt flashing it with a programer

 

[Caring1]

Compare where you have the wires and the wires shown here in post #2
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/t...-wrong-adapter-not-found.189737/#post-2968937
in this link I posted early in the thread.

 

[WhoIsJOB]

Have done those things, but starting to wonder if something is amiss with the .rom files as atiflash says "Failed to read rom" and "couldn't find P/N in 1.rom" (1 is the name I gave the original BIOS file) Says the same with TV307MS.103 and TV307MH.101 files.
Cause it doesn't look like the wiring worked, both CE to ground and CE to input as the oke did in pics of the post above