• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

What do I do now guys? CPU Swap but I think it needs a BIOS update? but why can I not access the BIOS?

hobib_ali

hobib_ali

hobib_ali

Associate
Joined
26 Jan 2010
Posts
2,007
So I have a secondary machine. a decent one.

Had a i7-7800x CPU in it, so I changed it to a i9 10940x CPU

As soon as I insert the CPU on the X299 Asus Prime motherboard I get a red CPU error light and it doesnt boot, on the digital code it shows as 31 which relates to CPU, sometimes it shows code 55 which is ram, i suspect its the new cpu i installed

The i9 10940x is deffo supported on this motherboard, so Im thinking the board needs a BIOS update? on the Asus site it states to update the intel ME update which is Intel® Management Engine Firmware update, its advising to update this then do the BIOS

But you can only update the ME update on OS level

The motherboard has a BIOS flash button so do I just prepare a USB drive and format it to fat32 and download the latest BIOS and then wack it in the update BIOPS USB port and hit the button?

As I cant access the bios with this chip installed.

Its juts the Asus website is stating to update the ME firmware and then do the BIOS flashback update

it should have accepted the newer CPU but when I start the CPU it doesnt boot.
 
Where did you get the CPU from? are you 100% sure its not faulty? as I assume its going to be 2nd hand

Could you not put the 7800x back in and do the required updates?

Any bent pins on the processor at all?
 
Last edited:
Tetras said:
For avoidance of doubt, can you clarify: did you update the BIOS to the minimum (or later) Asus state is required for this CPU, prior to installing it?
Click to expand...
I think the CPU is newer than when the motherboard was released

This is the 1st generation of the LGA2066 X299 motherboards

i7-7800x is also a 2017 CPU

i9-10940x is a 2020 release CPU

So the motherboard didnt recognise the CPU? so I downloaded the latest BIOS 4201, old BIOS was 2002

Bingo PC has now booted up perfectly after the successful BIOS flashback process, and it recognises the CPU and windows 11 still has an activated license

The question is now do I still update the intel ME update which is Intel® Management Engine Firmware update??
 
ED209 said:
Where did you get the CPU from? are you 100% sure its not faulty? as I assume its going to be 2nd hand

Could you not put the 7800x back in and do the required updates?

Any bent pins on the processor at all?
Click to expand...
Hi

No I have obtained a few of these CPU's 100% working, from dismantled workstations, thought might as well get rid of the i7s as its a tad slower

yes as soon as I put in the i7 it worked so I knew it was a recognition issue
 
hobib_ali said:
The question is now do I still update the intel ME update
Click to expand...
What version are you running now? You may find it already did it.

hobib_ali said:
So the motherboard didnt recognise the CPU? so I downloaded the latest BIOS 4201, old BIOS was 2002

Bingo PC has now booted up perfectly after the successful BIOS flashback process
Click to expand...
Yes, you should always update the BIOS prior to installing the new CPU. In ye olden days you could often get away with it, but unlikely now. Asus state the minimum BIOS on their CPU compatibility page.
 
I’ve seen similarly issues with X99/299 boards. It seems to be a bug related to various board revisions. RAM choice seems to also be factor. I did manage to get a couple of boards functional on older BIOS versions by updating to each consecutive BIOS in order. Others simply refused to boot or run super flaky.
 
Tetras said:
What version are you running now? You may find it already did it.


Yes, you should always update the BIOS prior to installing the new CPU. In ye olden days you could often get away with it, but unlikely now. Asus state the minimum BIOS on their CPU compatibility page.
Click to expand...
Well I checked the BIOS and as of right now the ME version is 11.11.55.1509

The current latest version is 11.12.97.2614

Now Asus basically say to update the ME before updating the BIOS, I updated the BIOS 1st because I could not get into the OS level to update it in the 1st place

Note: Intel releases potentially affected platforms are at risk of security issues, please update your Intel ME Firmware using the Intel ME tool.

So I had to install the Intel MEI driver 1st because it wouldn't allow me to update it
Then I updated the MEI to the latest version

(15 Mins later)

Now the ME Firmware is updated to the latest, as well as the latest BIOS 11.12.97.2614

Note that I didnt really have to update the Intel® Management Engine Firmware Update, I just did it to be on point, a bit of a process I suppose so I can do this all over again next time.
 
guys any other way to update the BIOS?

Ive got a 2nd i9 10940X and another Asus X299 Prime motherboard

The CPU is perfect, pulled from a working PC, motherboard was also pulled from a working system, had an older i7-7800x

So as per usual I pulled out the 7800 and put in the 10940x

then I fired up the machine and got hit with the red CPU light on the mobo, so I flashed the BIOS to the latest, did it 3 times, with different FAT32 USBs,

I insert the USB in the BIOS flashback slot and hit the button for 3 seconds, the BIOS then flashes, after a few mins the flashing stops, this indicates the flashback is complete

But when I fire up the build its still glowing red on the CPU error LED light

If the BIOS is failing flashing Im thinking theres other ways to update BIOS?>

Or I need to get back the original 7800 and wack it in then update the BIOS from the GUI????

theres no other way to update BIOS on an Asus board right?
 
I would put back in the working CPU and check the bios is being updated successfully by going in to the bios and checking the version.

Looking on the Asus site that processor has been supported since version 2002.

Did you do the Intel ME update first before trying the bios update?

Are you running the bios renamer exe as well before trying to update the bios?

Version 4201
9.86 MB
2025/01/06
SHA-256 ：C817F0E7688E92D7ADD28634D13D53CCED1F8364CA4758D206637F66E22331A0
"1.Intel ME FW updated to 11.12.97.2614.
2.Enhance system stability and compatibility.

“Before BIOS update, please download Intel ME update tool from ASUS support site, and update ME firmware to Version 11.12.97.2614 to ensure optimized system settings.”
Before running the USB BIOS Flashback tool, please rename the BIOS file (X299A.CAP) using BIOSRenamer."
 
ED209 said:
I would put back in the working CPU and check the bios is being updated successfully by going in to the bios and checking the version.

Looking on the Asus site that processor has been supported since version 2002.

Did you do the Intel ME update first before trying the bios update?

Are you running the bios renamer exe as well before trying to update the bios?

Version 4201
9.86 MB
2025/01/06
SHA-256 ：C817F0E7688E92D7ADD28634D13D53CCED1F8364CA4758D206637F66E22331A0
"1.Intel ME FW updated to 11.12.97.2614.
2.Enhance system stability and compatibility.

“Before BIOS update, please download Intel ME update tool from ASUS support site, and update ME firmware to Version 11.12.97.2614 to ensure optimized system settings.”
Before running the USB BIOS Flashback tool, please rename the BIOS file (X299A.CAP) using BIOSRenamer."
Click to expand...
Hi This is really weird

BIOS flashback has worked successfully, confirmed via BIOS visually, I put the older 7800 CPU in, booted fine, so as a back up I updated the BIOS again through the Asus BIOS online facility.

I also updated the Intel ME, so both versions are the latest.

So I then remove the 7800 and put back in the 10940x and straight away I get red CPU error light, no boot, black screen

I then test this same CPU on another machine and the PC boots perfectly, even done a few benches and ran a couple of games

So now I know the 10940x is NOT faulty or no malfunction.

For some reason this particular X299 Prime mobo doesn't accept this particular 10940x

As a last measure I then obtain a 3rd 10940x from a working machine and install in the X299 mobo, this time the motherboard boots fine, to BIOS and on W11 desktop

So Ive given up, Ive left the 3rd 10940X in the X299 mobo, thats fixed, I then take the red light 10940X and insert it to the donor 3rd machine and that boots fine working

its only that specific CPU does not like that specific motherboard, when they are literally identical, just doesn't make sense.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom