Prime X299-A issues after BIOS upgrade

[Desertum_0]

Hello,

I've got some issues with my Asus Prime X299-A motherboard.
I purchased it in 2018.
A couple of days ago I decided to upgrade the BIOS to Version 3105.
This was my first ever BIOS upgrade for this motherboard.
I followed the instructions carefully as I know it's very important when upgrading.

The BIOS upgrade seemed to work fine. The system booted up just fine.
I installed the Intel ME driver and software.

But now, it seems like there is only one PCI-slot which is working.
I've got a WLAN-card installed into the second PCI-slot and a Audio-card installed in the PCI-Express slot below.

I've tried installing the drivers again but it doesnt make any difference.
I've also tried swapping the slots, but it does not make any difference.

It seems like there is no connection between the hardware and the operating system.
When I touch the cards, they appear to be hot and thus receiving power input.

I'm kind of tired of this and probably spent 20h trying to fix it.

Could this be a setting in the BIOS?
Do you think it could be worth downgrading the BIOS?
Do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks!
Kind regards

Hey,

which method you used to upgrade your board?
For some people the 3105 bios has created unknown issues.

Could you try using Asus flasback and flash the bios before the 3105?

[Desertum_0]

Thanks for your reply.
For the upgrade I located the BIOS firmware via the Ezflash tool in BIOS.

I've now used the flashback tool. But I've still got the same issues.
I've also reinstalled the drivers for both of the PCI-units.

It feels like something in the BIOS is disabling all the PCI-slots except for the top one which hold the GPU.
Or that the INTEL Chipset driver have disabled the connection between the OS and the slots.

Hi,
Can you please tell us what CPU are you using the the ME version you have installed?
If your PCIe devices are not recognized on windows it may be a signed of a board failure or a bad flashing of bios (Never use EzFlash)

Tell us more about what have you installed in every single PCIe and please check your ram (load default settings and try again)

Good luck

[Super Gnome]

My CPU: Intel Core i7 7800X.
The ME version is 11.12.77.1664.

That's what I suspect. The sad thing is that it was working perfectly fine just before the BIOS upgrade.
It feels like a software issue rather than a mechanical failure. But I tried for many hours now to restore normal operation.
But I cannot get the hardware to be recognized at the OS-side.

The items installed in the PCI-slots are the following items:
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Dual-OC
Soundblaster AE-5
ASUS PCE-AC88

I've tried reloading default settings in BIOS.
I've also reinstalled Windows 10 completely, just to isolate the problem.
But it seems like a driver issue with the motherboard or a setting in the BIOS which I'm mssing.

I'm about the RMA the motherboard which is sad because it's been working pretty damn good up to the BIOS upgrade.
It's such a shame and not a good first experience upgrading the BIOS on a ASUS motherboard.

Sounds like a software issue for sure to me. Asus software and Bioses are often problematic, and I think it has to do with how the software works with Windows and other software and because there are so many possible setups. I have had these kinds of problems with Asus motherboards for years, and in my experience it has always been the software (mind you I once had a low budget GPU die). Anyhow, these companies are not always on the same page. That the case, before RMAing I'd try reverting to the previous Bios by reinstalling it. If your functionality is restored you will have saved yourself a HUGE headache and you will have ruled out that it is a hardware issue. Using an older Bios is far better than your other options. Another thing I'd try before reverting is contacting Microsoft--sometimes they have a fix for you and can implement it via remote assistance or by guiding you through a set of steps you need to take. A third option is posting on Tom's Hardware forums. Loads of people check those forums all the time--a lot more than here--and you could also find a fix that way via food for thought or other avenues.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Aysberg]

bad flashing of bios (Never use EzFlash)

I have a problem with the replacement of standard procedures more and more by occult rituals in the IT world. And "never" is good pointer for such direction.

I personally have used EZ Flash from the day it started to appear in the BIOS and never had any problems. This includes currently an Rampage Extreme Omega using the current BIOS 3105.

I have no means of generalizing my experience, but using EZ Flash, when you have no problems is absolute Ok! All other methods should be an option, when something goes wrong and not the other way around. There are lots of people reading here, don't make their life more difficult as it has to be.

Do the devices show up in the Device Manger at all? Are there any unknown devices market with a question mark?

There are not many settings in the BIOS, which should mess with your PCIe cards, especially when loading the default setting. You can look into the BIOS, if you accidentally activated bifurcation (but in case of your cards, this shouldn't even have an effect on the functionality).

Maybe going back to your old BIOS version, is the easy way here. At least, to see if this fixes your problems.

[Aysberg]

This is a really strange problem. If you would have changed something like the CPU cooler, I would say, try to reseat the CPU, but I guess this can be ruled out.

Seems CPU-Z even sees the slots. I have no clue. Here in Germany I had a good experience directly contacting the ASUS support.