The "EZ Debug" LEDs flashed about like crazy (first boot with the new BIOS) but thankfully I got a boot screen. successful write! Whoo again! So I plugged the CPU back in, the RAM too, plugged in a monitor, keyboard, and hit the power pins. Loaded the new BIOS, did the obligatory gulp, and hit the red "P" (program) - the Erase cycle took ages, but it finished and began to write the data. Works, you just have to deselect the "check ID" in the Options.
A successful read! Whoo! (At least I have a baseline now I can return to) Notice how the MiniPRO software does not recognise the MX25U12873F, so I selected "closest by" MX25U12835F. Connected up a PSU, hit the power pins, and marvelled a bit as the board powered up, LEDs lit up all without CPU (or RAM, as I pulled those too for safety) REMARK: Pin 9 which is marked "unused" on the board is actually some sort of inhibit line, that has to be grounded, thankfully there is a CPUFAN header next to it, I just jumpered over to it. I disconnected the Vcc lines, and only left the ground reference. I surmised maybe the board has other stuff connected to the 1.8V line which the TL866CS cannot power. So, next up, tools needed: my venerable MiniPro TL866CS programmer, an 1.8V adapter, and some sort of connector that has a 2mm pin pitch (I used an interconnect out of a broken-up LCD TV) First try, got the usual "Overcurrent Protection actions" failure. ( !tabs=1-8V128Mb) Operating voltage is stated as "1.65V-2V", which I confirmed with a multimeter reading of 1.8V on the power pins. I have to declare, most of the idea came from this site, where I was looking for a pinout ( ) What I find amazing is, the Japanese chap had a board that had a 3.3V Winbond BIOS on it, but mine uses a MX25U12873F chip - which is thankfully documented on the Macronix site. Plus, MSI is so nice they provide an undocumented but populated SPI header (JSPI1). Now I realize it would be probably possible to return the board, ask for one with a newer BIOS, but daddy didnt't raise no pussy. Not sure how this is supposed to work, as with these new generation processors, more and more functions are integrated into the CPU (when did we wave goodbye to the Northbridge? 2009? The Southbridge is going away soon, I fear) - nevertheless, if it is possible, then not with this board.
There is info on the net of supposedly copying the new BIOS onto a blank USB stick, doing a BIOS reset, then turning on the MaBo with the USB stick plugged in, and it automatically updates.
But how to update a mainboard that simply lights the "CPU" EZ-Debug LED when you plug it in.
To me this means either BIOS 7A37v1B or newer (it's from Jan 2018, and has this in the release notes: "Update AGESA Code 1.1.0.1 to support Raven Ridge CPU") Of course I wanted to use a Raven Ridge to be able to go without a PCIe GPU.
Hi, just a short one: Amazon in Germany sells this Mainboard with the BIOS version 1.2 (7A37v12 in MSI-speak, from April 2017) Problem is, if you want to use a Raven Ridge APU, you need a fresh BIOS, as Raven Ridge was introduced in October 2017.