# Can't update BIOS on AsRock Z97 Pro 4



## kitekrazy (May 19, 2019)

Tried 2 different flash sticks in FAT32 format. It just hangs in the BIOS. This seems to be common in AsRock.

2.6
1.Add NVMe support.
2.Update NTFS module.

I thought this might help my disappearing SSD. 

I've never had trouble updating a BIOS. This is my first AsRock board.


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## JohnG (May 19, 2019)

I've never had a problem updating my AsRock boards, BUT -- with any manufacturer, some updates have to be done at the factory depending on the version of the board you have.


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## GtrString (May 19, 2019)

Doesnt the board have an online update option?


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## kitekrazy (May 19, 2019)

JohnG said:


> I've never had a problem updating my AsRock boards, *BUT -- with any manufacturer, some updates have to be done at the factory depending on the version of the board you have.*



That would be a first.


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## kitekrazy (May 19, 2019)

GtrString said:


> Doesnt the board have an online update option?


 Yes. That doesn't work either. Gotta do it the old school way in the BIOS.


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## JohnG (May 19, 2019)

kitekrazy said:


> That would be a first.



I only did it once; it was a Gigabyte board but it was an odd circumstance. Wanted to use a new i9 chip and still have a PCI slot. Not too many boards do that!


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## kitekrazy (May 19, 2019)

JohnG said:


> I only did it once; it was a Gigabyte board but it was an odd circumstance. Wanted to use a new i9 chip and still have a PCI slot. Not too many boards do that!



Oh I forgot about that. Some people would order boards and they didn't have the updated BIOS. Typical modern Intel platform hopping.


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## kitekrazy (May 20, 2019)

I'd bet my slight broken Intel SSD is causing the problem.


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## whiskers (May 20, 2019)

kitekrazy said:


> I'd bet my slight broken Intel SSD is causing the problem.


I'm also having fits with an Intel 660p and a (gigabyte) z97 -- let me know if you are able to correlate the two please


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## MartinH. (May 20, 2019)

I once bricked a board with a failed BIOS update and back then I ordered a pre-flashed replacement chip on ebay which was reasonably easy to install and that brought my board back to life. What I'm getting at: maybe if you can't update it yourself you can just buy a chip with the right BIOS version on it?


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## kitekrazy (May 20, 2019)

MartinH. said:


> I once bricked a board with a failed BIOS update and back then I ordered a pre-flashed replacement chip on ebay which was reasonably easy to install and that brought my board back to life. What I'm getting at: maybe if you can't update it yourself you can just buy a chip with the right BIOS version on it?



It's the faulty drive. The only reason for the BIOS update was a possible resurrection.


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## chimuelo (May 23, 2019)

I’ve got 4 x Z97m WS rigs, all with 4790k’s.
I updated mine to use the i7 5775C Broadwells.
2.1 IIRC, no new BIOS since 2015 I’m aware of but I also used Instant Flash

First couple of USB Sticks wouldn’t work. Bought a brand new 16GB Stick from Office Depot, formatted to FAT 32 from scratch.
Something finicky about reformatting from NTFS as opposed formatting to FAT32 from the get go.

Been a while since I did that. Took a whole damn day.


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## kitekrazy (May 30, 2019)

With the faulty Intel drive out of the way, the update worked. Unfortunately it removed my onboard sound and had to download the Realtek drivers. After that everything is back to normal.


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## whiskers (Jun 4, 2019)

kitekrazy said:


> With the faulty Intel drive out of the way, the update worked. Unfortunately it removed my onboard sound and had to download the Realtek drivers. After that everything is back to normal.


what model intel did you have? Did SMART diagnostics show errors with the drive?


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## kitekrazy (Jun 4, 2019)

whiskers said:


> what model intel did you have? Did SMART diagnostics show errors with the drive?



This was the older 535 series. No errors on the drive. I don't think SMART is really effective on SSDs.


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## MarcusD (Jun 5, 2019)

Have you tried clearing the CMOS? This has done the trick for me in the past.


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