Please dont make the same mistake as me on my Asus Wrx80 threadripper pro and update the bios to 1003.

[Goldmaster]

I have not done many posts here or any help guides or such. So here's a  post to any future users of Unraid or, more likely, to those that do bios updates. Are considering doing bios updates and how I could have avoided three days of feeling mentally bad, a bit sick to the stomach and feeling complete uncertainly.

The first question is, why did I update the bios?

Well, three reasons. The first point is to help improve things in a way, and from my experience, Asus can remove bios files for the transformer pro3 after some time. However, bizarrely, the bios downloads are still available. I am not sure why I did not see them around 2018/2019. It was just a blank page, and even with ublock origin turned off and tried viewing in incognito. So, I assumed the bios downloads had gone for good. It turns out they are available. Not sure if ASUS was doing a server migration or quite what?

The second point for me is it adds value when it comes to selling, as you can advertise with the latest bios. But with what I had gone through, not.

The third point is that I had updated the bios from version 0405 to 0504 without any issues to see if there is a fix for GPU pass-through issues I was getting. It turns out that I had to dump the bios from the GPU using @SpaceInvaderOne userscript.

I updated the bios by downloading the bios (version 1003) and then following the instructions. All went well until Unraid booted up, and I was greeted with a bond0 error message and tried every option, even flashing a new stable copy onto another USB and trying the latest RC version. However, I found that I could get Unraid to boot by plugging into the back of the motherboard, but the parity and data drives did not show up.

Windows 11, which I have installed on an m.2, can see all drives and works fine. So, I knew it looked like an Unraid issue.

I knew that the bios update was the cause. I downloaded version 0504 as that was the last version to work and tried to downgrade using Asus Ez Flash 3, and I got the error of invalid bios file. So as far as I could tell, I could not seem to downgrade.

I felt utterly stuck and mentally bad, as the issue was on my mind. However, the critical thing to do was do other things, such as volunteering to get between me and the problem. I knew that the motherboard could use bios flashback, where a user plugs in a USB stick with the bios cap file and read it by pressing and holding down a button on the back, with no CPU, ram, or anything needed. There is also the feature that if the bios get corrupted, the motherboard can read the bios file from the USB stick and reload the bios.

The risk was if the asmedia controller for the SATA ports got updated during the bios update, then Unraid would not be able to read the drives plugged into the four lefthand SATA ports, which was the only place I could plug my drives in without being blocked.

 

However, I did not know if the bios flashback feature would revert the bios by simply plugging in a USB stick or if it was for upgrade only. No information says in the manual that it can do this. Only more or less hints at it is possible.

I used a SanDisk fit USB stick and moved any files and folders off the USB stick and put only the bios cap file. I made sure I shut the computer down and disconnected parity and data drives. Plugged into the bios USB port on the back of the motherboard and pressed and held the bios flashback button until the button started flashing blue. I went away and came back, and the button was off. So, it looked like it had done it.

However, I did not want to try powering up if the worst-case scenario happened, and the computer did not want to start or if it made no difference. I would be thinking about it while volunteering for hospital radio.

I thought I would power up once I reconnected the SATA cables for the parity and data drives. The computer booted, and I noticed the slightly older American megatrends logo and to press f1 for defaults. I also saw the bios says 0504, so I thought that is a good sign. Windows wanted to start, but I just had to turn off fast boot and set Unraid USB as the first boot option, which is now back in the USB header slot thanks to a USB two header to USB port adapter I have. Once Unraid started, all drives showed, so the array started up fine.
So, I am back in business, and I can summarise up.

DO NOT JUST UPDATE YOUR BIOS JUST FOR NOTHING. ASK WHY DO I NEED TO UPDATE

If you have a new CPU that needs new bios, go for it. Wait for Unraid to confirm more recent updates with support for the latest bios. In the case of version 1003, which adds support for the newer threadripper pro CPUs, but, as I have found out, does not work with Unraid. So, it may be worth waiting a while before getting a CPU upgrade, and downloading the latest bios to support it, if Unraid will not work correctly.

If you plan on selling the motherboard in a few years, do not bother updating the bios. It's not your problem, and the owner might not want to update the bios due to using Linux or Unraid. If you are worried about the bios vanishing from the web, then save the bios file, just in case. It is unlikely but could happen.

It's also important to know what options are if a bios update goes wrong. It's far less risky than it used to be back in the 2000s. If there are windows crashes while running the bios updater tool, that is it. There are three safeguards for the Asus WRX80 to ensure you don't brick the motherboard. If the power does go out, it's not the end of the road. At least I now know that if you have an ASUS motherboard with bios flashback or something similar, you can roll back the bios rather than trying to follow a risky video. Use official methods and don't stay up late trying to fix something, as you would be tired and more likely to make a mistake that could make a bad situation worse.

 

I will also add that if you have ipmi on your motherboard like mine, then id strongly advice to keep that part up to date, as it is browser accessible which should be local only. You don't want a security flaw to appear where a malicious person gains access to "the control room" of your server. I updated to the latest bmc without issue.

I may make edits and changes to this post where needed. I hope this helps anyone else with the Asus wrx80 or an ASUS motherboard with bios rollback. If you do not have an Asus motherboard, there may be something similar that you should thoroughly research before updating the bios, which I could only describe as "the starter motor" of your computer.

 

Just want to thank a few people on the unraid discord for helping with a simple solution to a complex illogical issue. @Fuggin, @DiscoverIt, @AgentXXL, @Offlined and @own. I will be much more hesitant in doing a bios update from now on and I hope this helps and enlightens others out there.

Edited April 16, 2022 by Goldmaster
added ipmi info

[ConnerVT]

Glad to hear you got things back up and running.  It can be frustrating and scary when things run off the track like this.

 

I agree with you on the BIOS updates, especially when it comes to Ryzen motherboards.  It is great that AMD has stayed with one socket (AM4/TR4) through several generations of Ryzen, unlike Intel that basically requires you to buy both a processor and motherboard every time you wish to upgrade.  But there is a downside to this as well.

 

Many early motherboards were built with limited NVRAM for the BIOS.  As new features appeared in later generation processors, there wasn't enough room to fit the growing AGESA as well as the other BIOS features.  So some trimming of the code is done by the board manufacturer to support the new series of processors.  This sometimes impacts the earlier CPUs, sometimes the BIOS feature/setting you may rely on disappears.

 

I have found the sweet spot to be using the latest BIOS release *before* the release of next generation of the CPU you are using is the safest.  Unless you really believe a later version has the cure for an issue you have been troubleshooting,  It is best not to update.

 

tl;dr -

 

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.