GTX 980 Ti - BIOS unknown + code 43

[Noks]

Hello all,
I encountered a code 43 bug today, second time this week. It came up after a Nvidia driver update + windows update, so I don't know which one is the true cause (but I read it was mostly due to Nvidia drivers).
Please note that before this, everything was working perfectly in 4+ years of intense gaming. Even yesterday, everything was fine, and apart from the updates, I did not touch anything hardware-related.

So today I spent almost 5 hours on google trying multiple solutions, but no one worked yet: still code 43. I tried like 10+ different drivers from Nvidia, from 2016 to the latest one, with no success.
But now, I'm even more worried because when I checked my GPU-Z, I noticed my 980 Ti BIOS was "unknown".

Some info on my config :
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6600 CPU @ 3.30 GHz
Windows 10 64-bits
Motherboard ASUS Z-170 PRO GAMING

I'm very worried about the unknow BIOS, and even if that was not an issue, i'm still stuck with code 43. Last solution I can think by myself is windows reinstall but I'm almost sure this will be useless.
Could someone please advise me on this?

Thanks!
//Maxime

 

[dark2099]

Look on the back of the card, there should be a sticker with a part number and model number. That way we can figure out what card you really do have and perhaps help you flash a correct bios. I also feel like I've read about clearing a windows update cache or something, that might help you solve your issue.

Windows Update Reset

 

[Noks]

Hello,
I'm a complete rookie, but by any chance might these be the stickers you are looking for?
Or are they on the other side? (Fan side)

 

[Fouquin]

Hello,
I'm a complete rookie, but by any chance might these be the stickers you are looking for?
Or are they on the other side? (Fan side)
View attachment 187241

Yep that's good. Tells us you have a Galax/KFA2 GTX 980 Ti Hall of Fame. Code 43 could be sign of a dead or mostly dead card, but as you probably saw from your google searches the reasons for the error are numerous. Missing a lot of info in there like the vendor ID (1B4C for Galax) and UEFI table. SPI bus error maybe? If so maybe start looking for your warranty information, there's likely some internal failure.

But if you're keen to keep poking; try getting another GPU in there to boot from and disconnect all display outputs from the 980 Ti. See if it can load the ROM when it's not the primary display adapter.

 

[Noks]

Hello,
So yes! It is a KFA2,
98IRH5DHF7XH vendor reference
And 3 years warranty... but it's from 2016 so warranty is over

Actually, the GPU-Z screenshot that I provided was such as the primary display adapter was NOT the 980 ti.
Indeed, since the code 43 error, my main display comes from my CPU
I'm all open to any analysis, mostly because I'm not sure that I could find any good CGU on the market right now..!

 

[dark2099]

So you do not get any signal from the 980ti when using it, or just using the display from CPU while trying to see if you could get the error 43 solved?

 

[Caring1]

Card sounds like it died of old age.

 

[Noks]

Hello!
I cannot use my 980 at all. The display is automatically switched to CPU. In the device manager, the 980 is well recognized by my computer but code 43 makes it inoperable. I can also install / desinstall drivers, so I guess it is still recognized by computer.
It is probable it died from old age, but as I noticed the incident already happened one week ago - right after drivers and Windows update - and I successfully managed to get it working by uninstalling last Windows updates, reinstalling drivers and rebooting. I also blocked windows updates for 1 week.
And yesterday, my computer automatically installed the windows updates - and my 980 got code 43 again right after this. Thats why I tend to think it might be only driver or windows related!
What do you guys think? Is there any test I can do to see if my 980 is dead?
And if it is indeed out of service, I will accept that with peace, it already did a great job for me

Thanks!
//Maxime

 

[Grom0X]

Try GTX 980 in the other computer.

 

[Micko]

Error 43 happened to me as well long time ago on my 980ti when i upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10. Turned out that new NVidia drivers didn't like modified bios on the card. I had to revert to stock bios in order to make drivers work with the card. There is a tutorial on overclock.net to edit a bios in a way it won't trigger the error 43 in newer drivers but it is more complicated and not recommended to those without some bios editing experience under the belt.

https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/387-92-driver-error-43-caused-by-a-modified-vbios.417267/
https://www.overclock.net/threads/n...-now-supported.1467851/page-113#post-23897936

 

[Noks]

Hello,
I assume I cannot follow the procedure on overclock.net because my 980 is not operable... "Test your card at stock and stock bios and establish what its default max. boost clock is" --> i cannot do this

I cannot try on another computer (yet) because I only have one at home (I'm a casual ) but I'll try to get in touch with an IT shop as soon as possible (not until monday) to test the 980 on another computer.

In parallel I'll start looking for a new GPU - but I'm still definitely open to any operation including trying to flash my 980 BIOS!

 

[agent_x007]

After vBIOS reload, try using non-DCH driver (DDU old driver is recommended) :
Download : LINK (pick "Standard" as driver type)

 

[Noks]

Hello,
I'm not sure about what is "vBIOS reload", but I did DDU my current driver, and then replaced it with proper, non-DCH driver (multiple versions: either last one, or also previous ones) with no success.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Flash vbios.

 

[Micko]

Did you buy your card new or used ? If new, have you flashed modified bios on it ? To clarify, you should flash original bios on your card. If it works, you don't need to do anything else. Link i provided is there in case you want to do a proper bios edit which won't clash with new nvidia drivers.

 

[Noks]

Hi,
Flash vbios.

Hello! where can I find my .rom file that I need to flash? That's the confusing part for me right now..!

Did you buy your card new or used ? If new, have you flashed modified bios on it ? To clarify, you should flash original bios on your card. If it works, you don't need to do anything else. Link i provided is there in case you want to do a proper bios edit which won't clash with new nvidia drivers.

I bought my card new, 4-5 years ago. I never ever modified anything on it, not even OC. I think I understand what I need to do: flash my original bios. But I don't know where to find it ? (sorry for simpel questions, I'm trying my best )

Update: I found some BIOS which I think are correct but nvflash doesnt find any nvidia display adapter on my system... Any thoughts?

 

[Frogger]

Why don't you reset /restore Windows again to get the card to run ...then if it runs...... you can pull a copy of the bios from card... & run some test on the card...

 

[Noks]

Hello,
I did not find how to restore a previous version of Windows without uninstalling all my stuff (1,5 To of games / softwares) - if you have a solution to get back to a previous version of Windows without resetting the whole system, i'm all open!!

 

[Frogger]

SYSTEM RESTORE works best