I was upgrading my CPU and installed the newer chip before updating the BIOS. I removed it and accidentally dropped the old CPU, bending roughly 12 pins that I can't straighten. My MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX has a physical BIOS Flashback button, so I'm trying to update the BIOS without relying on the damaged CPU. I formatted a USB drive as FAT32, used MBR instead of GPT, renamed the BIOS file to MSI.ROM, and left nothing else on the drive. However, when I insert it into the dedicated Flash BIOS USB port, the indicator blinks about three times and then stops. What should I try next?
2 Answers
The damaged pins on the old CPU won’t prevent BIOS Flashback, since the update can be performed with no CPU installed. Three quick blinks usually means the board did not recognize the file or USB drive. Double-check that the download is the correct BIOS for the exact B450 Tomahawk MAX model, that the file is extracted rather than still inside a ZIP archive, and that it is renamed exactly MSI.ROM with file extensions visible. Reformat the drive as FAT32 and try a different USB stick if it still stops immediately.
The Flash BIOS feature is designed to work without a CPU installed. Clear the CMOS first, then try the process again with the motherboard connected to the power supply. Use a rear USB 2.0 port—the dedicated Flash BIOS port rather than a front-panel or USB 3.x port—and try another small USB drive, ideally 16 GB or less. Some drives are simply incompatible with the flashback utility. Once it starts properly, the light may blink for several minutes and the board should restart by itself, so don’t interrupt it.
So I should remove the CPU from the motherboard while doing the flashback update?