Dasharo
MSI Pro Z790-P DDR5 (7E06) bricks if power-supply is cut
Component
Dasharo firmware
Device
MSI Pro Z790-P
Dasharo version
v0.9.3
Dasharo Tools Suite version
2.7.0
Test case ID
No response
Brief summary
After flashing Dasharo v0.9.3 (using flashrom or FLASHBIOS button) if AC power is interrupted or power supply is cycled (ie. powered off and on) then motherboard will refuse to power on (at JFP1) and Flash BIOS button will also fail. The power state restore feature after AC power loss obviously does not work in this case.
How reproducible
Always
How to reproduce
-
Flash Dasharo (v0.9.3) using flashrom (motherboard must be using older manufacturer ROM because like 7E06vA0 or it will fail) or with FLASHBIOS feature (tried both methods). Dasharo will boot and work fine including powering off and powering on at JFP1 as long the power-supply is not disconnected or shutoff.
-
Turn off the power supply, wait a few seconds and turn it back on. Try to power on at JFP1.
-
Try using the FLASHBIOS button to recover (will also fail to power-on).
Expected behavior
After AC is reconnected the motherboard is expected to power-on at JFP1 or defined AC Power Loss setting. The FLASHBIOS recovery function also should work normally with Dasharo firmware after an AC power off.
Actual behavior
After turning off the power supply and turning it back on the motherboard FLASHBIOS led will start blinking very weakly and the motherboard will no longer power-up at JFP1. FLASHBIOS button will no longer work and motherboard is soft bricked.
The power state restore after AC power loss setting in Dasharo BIOS does not affect the outcome.
Screenshots
FLASHBIOS button behavior with Dasharo firmware after power-supply is shutdown:
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/2cc6cf10-a064-420a-8a4a-24c53b20b313
Full video: https://youtu.be/5mOPrH23Cx4
Additional context
Workaround: Write original manufacturer BIOS back using external programmer, power on the motherboard at JFP1 and flash Dasharo again but never turn off the power-supply or it will soft brick again....
Motherboard is revision 2.2 and it also has a APTIO 2025 BIOS sticker. I received it with latest 7E06vAI firmware and downgraded to 7E06vA0 before installing Dasharo. The failure to power-up after AC off only occurs with Dasharo.
Solutions you've tried
- FlashBIOS recovery button.
- Different power supply.
- Different memory modules.
- Removing CMOS battery.
- Removing processor.
- Removing memory.
- Removing all cables.
- Recompiling from scratch.
@qsx-dev have you tried removing CMOS battery when the brick happens after AC loss?
@qsx-dev have you tried removing CMOS battery when the brick happens after AC loss?
Yes, forgot mention that in solutions I tried. What caught my attention is that the Flash BIOS led keeps blinking very weakly (see video) when power-supply is activated with Dasharo firmware and that does not happen with manufacturer firmware.
It's almost like the Flash BIOS recovery feature is doing some kind of validation of the firmware when power-supply is activated and that somehow fails with Dasharo or maybe something in Dasharo breaks the Flash BIOS recovery causing it enter a dead loop? With original manufacturer firmware installed everything works fine (including Flash BIOS button).
Motherboard is revision 2.2 and it also has APTIO 2025 BIOS sticker. Here is a close-up picture.
What caught my attention is that the Flash BIOS led keeps blinking very weakly (see video) when power-supply is activated with Dasharo firmware and that does not happen with manufacturer firmware.
That is really suspicious and worrying. This LED should not do that... I hope it is not some problem with the board itself, because it looks like some power management problem.
After testing 3rd and 4th power supply I found it appears to be an incompatibility issue with older power supplies and Dasharo. The +5VSB rail goes berserk in Corsair HX 620W and OCZ600SXS with Dasharo but the same power supplies work fine when using stock firmware from MSI. I wonder what might be causing the +5 VSB to behave in this way with Dasharo.
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/fcfb2c99-fb7b-4cee-a062-f5c1b2a27f01
After testing 3rd and 4th power supply I found it appears to be an incompatibility issue with older power supplies and Dasharo. The +5VSB rail goes berserk in Corsair HX 620W and OCZ600SXS with Dasharo but the same power supplies work fine when using stock firmware from MSI. I wonder what might be causing the +5 VSB to behave in this way with Dasharo.
I was considering asking which PSU you were using. Both models you mentioned have reviews from 2006-2008 so they can be potentially more than 15 years old, albeit PSU models usually have a rather long shelf life before major refreshes so is unlikely yours are that old. So what ones do work? The lab test builds are using modern Seasonics models adquired in 2022.
After testing 3rd and 4th power supply I found it appears to be an incompatibility issue with older power supplies and Dasharo. The +5VSB rail goes berserk in Corsair HX 620W and OCZ600SXS with Dasharo but the same power supplies work fine when using stock firmware from MSI. I wonder what might be causing the +5 VSB to behave in this way with Dasharo.
I was considering asking which PSU you were using. Both models you mentioned have reviews from 2006-2008 so they can be potentially more than 15 years old, albeit PSU models usually have a rather long shelf life before major refreshes so is unlikely yours are that old. So what ones do work? The lab test builds are using modern Seasonics models adquired in 2022.
Dasharo firmware (0.9.3) MSI firmware (A00 and AI)
Corsair HX 620W Fail +5VSB OK
OCZ OCZ600SXS Fail +5VSB OK
Thermaltake Smart 600W (2017) OK OK
Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 850W OK OK
Both the Corsair and OCZ are very old but since they worked with MSI firmware and not using dGPU I thought it would be ok until build was finished. I hope this helps anyone facing the same issue since not even FlashBIOS worked with older power supplies if Dasharo firmware was present. The Corsair also worked fine with a Gigabyte C246WU4 and a Xeon 2226G.