Flashed BIOS and now got a major issue, please help!

ne0

ne0

ne0

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So I flashed my BIOS last night to the latest version.

It's an MSI z370i ac carbon motherboard.

Downloaded the latest onto my usb drive, went into BIOS and entered the m-flash utility. Everything went fine, the BIOS updated successfully. But then upon rebooting, Windows would no longer load and my monitor went to sleep.

I've discovered that the only way I can get into Windows is by resetting my CMOS every time. By resetting my CMOS I can get into the BIOS and see that it's the latest version which I flashed, etc. But, if I turn off the PC completely then the same issue will occur, ie, the computer will fail to load Windows and I'm forced to reset the CMOS battery again.

I've tried to revert to an earlier version of the BIOS but the m-flash utility will no longer work! I go into the BIOS, enter m-flash, it says "system will now go into flash mode, etc" and then when it reboots it's back to the same problem with just a blank screen (no monitor output) and again I'm forced to reset the CMOS.
At this stage I have no idea what to do next. The motherboard isn't bricked as I can get into Windows if I reset the CMOS and as long as I don't switch off the PC completely. But the m-flash utility won't allow me to flash the BIOS again either so now I'm stuck in this situation.

Anyone got any ideas of how I can get out of this? I have a bootable usb with my bios version and Windows files on it.

I can't see any way of flashing the bios from within Windows which I know is risky but at this stage I don't know what else there is?!

I found this guide online which coincidently is exactly what I originally did to flash the BIOS. https://www.wepc.com/how-to/update-msi-bios/

Any help greatly appreciated as I'm completely stuck now... cheers.
 
Hey

So I checked that and it's set correctly as you describe. I noticed that by default the bios is set to 'legacy', so I've switched everything to UEFI, including the boot mode, etc.

If I go into Windows and then restart, I can go back into the BIOS and see all the changes I made are retained. Problem is if I switch off completely and go from a cold boot then I can't even get into the BIOS. Only way forward after a cold boot is pulling the CMOS again. Something is being lost when the computer shuts off completely but I don't understand what it could be!
 
Ok so I went into the BIOS and messed around with some more settings related to boot options and for now it seems to be working, even from a cold boot. I am seeing different behaviour that before when booting, though; I get white text with some system info and options to enter boot menu, then I get a brief windows logo and then the OS loads. None of this used to happen previously but I guess it's not a concern?!
 
Is fast startup enabled in Windows? Maybe disable that....

After you flashed the BIOS I presume you went about setting up XMP and restoring your settings? Or is this all at defaults?

Edit:..ok just seen your last post. So it must be some combination of boot settings. Just go through boot menu catefully...there should be options for displaying text or logo only...boot delay times etc
 
Arne Saknussemm said:
Is fast startup enabled in Windows? Maybe disable that....

After you flashed the BIOS I presume you went about setting up XMP and restoring your settings? Or is this all at defaults?

Edit:..ok just seen your last post. So it must be some combination of boot settings. Just go through boot menu catefully...there should be options for displaying text or logo only...boot delay times etc
Click to expand...

I disabled fast start ups both MSI and Windows. I think I read once it's not necessary if you have a fast SSD or something like that.

It's currently working with memory try it! enabled which is what I used before.

So yeah I think maybe I'm seeing the white text because I disabled the boot screen logo but tbh it's weird because I had that option set before I updated the bios and never saw it before. I also never saw the Windows logo before so not sure why I am now. Not a big deal but hey.
 
Arne Saknussemm said:
Sometimes new BIOSes do behave differently like that...just to keep us on our toes.

Weird results from a BIOS flash wake you up quicker of a morning than a couple of coffees...:)
Click to expand...

Hah, yeah you think you've got it all sussed and then something like that happens and makes you feel clueless lol.

I was up until 2am trying to fix it last night....even started thinking about what mobo to replace it with lol.

It's all a learning experience I guess! Thanks very much for your help :)
 
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