ASUS ROG STRIX Z690 BIOS 2305

[arlicht]

Hey guys,

Anyone tried new bios 2305? Any thoughts?

[naulito]

Hello Ryan. I have the same problem as everyone, with the difference that my 2 DDR5 RAM Kits are Kingston Fury model KF556C40BBK2-64, not G.Skill.

[RyanBlakeIT]

Thanks for letting me know, I shared that with the ticket owner in hopes it will help them solve the issue faster.  Maybe there's a commonality between my memory, your memory, and others who are having the same issue.

[likeucare]

Well, this whole BIOS 2305 FIASCO is getting the worst out of me. 

NOTHING WORKED. I mean, the FB + FPT back to 2204 was successful but my MB seems truly messed up. I did this cycle twice, with different ram (from 4x16GB GSKILL 6000 and 6800 and today with 2x32GB Corsair Dominator 5600) and amount of different ram sticks. NO DICE! If I go 2301 or 2401, it is BSOD galore!

Did a clear CMOS after each FB from 2301 to 2305 unlocked to 2204 FPT. I mean, the whole flashing thing do work and I am in 2204 however, no Windows will install at all. As soon as the files are copied from the USB KEY to the NVME M.2, the setup loops around back to choose the country, keyboard language and on and on.

I had opened a ticket to ASUS a week ago and still awaiting their return on this matter.

As of now, I only have two options. Either RMA with ASUS for this ASUS Z690 MAXIMUS FORMULA or maybe a new BIOS version will be out soon so I can maybe be saved.

Thankfully, I have other gaming PC's but I do know I'm quite a minority for that. This whole BIOS saga is truly unacceptable to have been released and cause such a ruckus that nothing is being done on their side. I feel awful for those who only have their sole gaming PC that is now not serviceable. 

Anyone tried contacting Steve Burke at Gamer's Nexus or JayzTwoCents? This is a matter worthy of their attention since they could help out pool down the many tests results they can do and reach from other users.

[likeucare]

Oh and I forgot to point out...

The "remove CMOS battery" technique didn't worked to me. I tried it three times and no luck...

[JohnAb]

You should be able to find 2401 for your board here: Just  remember it's not an official release, but I've read that some people have had better results with 2401. I understand it's not locked, so you can always go back if no better. 

https://www.overclock.net/threads/official-asus-strix-maximus-z690-owners-thread.1794802/page-427#po...

[likeucare]

Hi JohnAb,
I gave both betas a try, the 2301 and the 2401. The 2301 was a tad more stable than 2305 but the 2401 really wasn't.
At this point, Asus is about my last hope (new BIOS version or RMA)... until I give up on their motherboard and get myself something else later.

I just hope this won't take too long now especially that the 2305 was released like... 3 weeks ago...

[JohnAb]

Don't know what motherboard you have, but unlocked 2305 BIOSs are available for the 690 Hero, Apex, A-Gaming WiFi and E-Gaming Wifi. That would provide a downgrade path to 2204 if you have one of those boards?

[MrAgapiGC]

after day one of public bios on the apex z690 12700k and 6000mhz (use the tweak xmp) and small oc on cpu) all look ok to me. Also i am using forums drivers (mei, chipset, IO BT wifi and ethernet), and 16.1.25.2124 Fwfirmware. feels ok. No bsod no slow down no stutering no slowness nothing to report bad. (windows 11 last version using windows creator tool all the way)

[JohnAb]

That's good. I think 6000MHz is about the limit for RAM speed on 2305. Above that speed is where the problems seem to be for many people. I can run 2305 OK as I have slow memory, but I went back to 2204 anyway as I has other issues at the time - which, it turned out, were not BIOS related. 

[likeucare]

Hi JohnAb,

My current problem is installing Windows 11 and even 10. I was successful to rollback to the BIOS 2204 but my stability issues are still persisting. NOTHING I do enables me to install Windows. It just keeps crashing. The setup opens up without issues then copies the files to a NVME M.2 drive and once the files are copied and system rebooted, the Windows setup do launch then keeps crashing and loops back to the country selection. Further I was able to go was the PIN setup.

I tried a 2 different NVME M.2 drives but same symptoms. (Samsung 980 PRO 2TB and Western Digital Black SN850 2TB).

From BIOS 2204, I even rollback to a previous BIOS version, the 2103 and still no luck at all. Always the same symptoms. Even after each BIOS update (either Flashback or EZFlash) I do a clear CMOS to be sure. Then load optimized defaults.

I even removed my GPU PCI-Riser to give me the best compatibility results. No changes.

Ever since I updated to the 2305 BIOS, I just keep having issues. Maybe my Motherboard was already defective (or was going to be) and that BIOS just triggered an early failure?

I take good care of my hardware. I plug my PC to the CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD - PFC Sinewave UPS Systems Series to be sure I have no electricity issues. The wall outlet even have its own breaker to the electric box.

To recapitulate:

Again, the step by step guide I followed to rollback to the 2204 from the 2305.

Rollback to 2301 by FlashBack then "2305 Unlocked" by FlashBack then 2204 by FPT (CMD Prompt from the Windows Installation setup: "FPTW64 -bios -f MZ690F.bin")

Disabled Virtualization for maximum stability.
Loaded Optimized Defaults after each FB and even do clear CMOS.

The FB + FPT back to 2204 was successful but the motherboard still have issues. I did this cycle twice, with different ram speed and brands (from 4x16GB GSKILL 6000 and 6800 and today with 2x32GB Corsair Dominator 5600) and also different amount of ram sticks (1, 2, 3 and 4 sticks). NO DICE!

If I go 2301 BETA or 2401 BETA, I keep getting BSOD's!

As of now, I have three options.

1-RMA with this ASUS Z690 MAXIMUS FORMULA motherboard
2-Wait for a new BIOS version that would be out soon so I can maybe be saved.
3-Get a new motherboard from... probably a different brand and one that has TWO BIOS. Thing is, I love the Formula since it matches my whole white PC build and the other white motherboard options are VERY limited.

Soo... I did plenty of tests since two weeks and it this is very time consuming. As of now, my patience is wearing thin. I am inclined to just buy a new motherboard at this point. But I am willing to give ASUS a chance to see if they can help me soon. Maybe one more week... or two max!