Asus Rampage III Extreme ZioMod Bios (Latest: 1601_S17)

[ZioGTS]

UPDATE 22/06/13: Released ZioMod 1601_S11 with new Intel SATA/Raid module v12.7.0.1936 and Intel Gigabit Network module v1.5.13! (Thanks Fernando for posting the modules on win-raid.com!)

Download link is on the first post as always. I'm currently using this bios on my mobo and everything works smoothly, but please report any issue!

[jtarm]

Dear Zio,

A rather long time has passed since my last message, due to me being away.

Now that I'm back, let the [censored] begin!

Shortly after the message below, the same problem resurfaced, even worsened. Exact same symptoms and I realised that the PCB thing was not the source. Just luck.

After checking and rechecking again and again, it does seem like the problem is caused by the PCIE SSD - the OCZ Revodrive X3, no matter in which PCIE it resides, even with all other cards taken off the PC. I removed it, installed Windows on SATA-connected SSD and all was good. Boot order ok, BIOS ok.

This time I stayed like this for a week to test, with countless reboots. No problem at all.

In short : if the PCIE SSD is on (boot or slave drive) the boot order is messed.

Why is this happening?! Do you have any idea if the BIOS boot has any incompatibility with PCIE SSDs?

I apologize for bothering you again but ASUS support has been as incompetent as ever. 4 months now and not a single proper reply...

Thank you.

Well, what do you know! I have discovered (and fixed) the issue!!! Huray!

After getting a proper email from (the real) Asus Tech Department, mentioning insuficient power, again, as a potential source and requesting detailed info about firmware, config etc. I gave it another thought. This time, the fellow that sent the email seemed to know what he was writing about. I spent almost 3 days checking each individual component. From PSU, controllers to HDDs, etc. All seemed perfectly normal.

Just when I was ready to give up, I remembered that CM's HAF X case features, by default, a hot swap PCB (in attachment), to which two HDDs were connected. This PCB was powered by one molex. I removed it, and connected the two HDDs directly. Voila! Magic was done and everything started working properly. PC boots normally with ALL 11 HDDs (internal & eSATA) connected.

Your modded 1502 BIOS is absolutely perfectly stable with excellent transfer speeds. Been using it ever since you posted and I didn't notice a single bug at all.

Thank you for everything : patience, advices & all. Without you, I'd have probably gone insane over this issue. Cheers!

[SkOrPn]

Something strange happened to my mobo. Weeks after sucessfully flashing 16.01_S10 (and a few earlier versions before) I had to press the ClearCMOS-Button in the I/O shield. After restarting I got the message - the 1st time ever - that the SATA bios will be updated and I shouldnt turn off the system. About 30 secs later I got the message the update was successful.
Restarting was no problem and I used the PC for writing eMails. After ending that the system went into S3-standby. Reactivating the system was working perfectly.
But after I shut the system down the sytem didnt start any more. A black screen with no POST and no beep. I even changed the BIOS chip using the mobo-button for that. The LED changed sucessfully to the new chip. But the system didnt start at all - still a black screen. I changed the graphics card and the powersupply. No change. Even my PC technician didnt find anything. So I had to change the mobo to another X58 mobo (a cheap Gigabyte) and everything was working again.
I dont know what happened. Has anyone seen the message that the SATA BIOS is updated in POST-screen before? Any ideas what happened?

I had that exact same thing happen to my first R3E but an RMA fixed it. Second board has been flawless ever since.

Sent from my Nexus 7

[ZioGTS]

Dear Zio,

A rather long time has passed since my last message, due to me being away.

Now that I'm back, let the [censored] begin!

Shortly after the message below, the same problem resurfaced, even worsened. Exact same symptoms and I realised that the PCB thing was not the source. Just luck.

After checking and rechecking again and again, it does seem like the problem is caused by the PCIE SSD - the OCZ Revodrive X3, no matter in which PCIE it resides, even with all other cards taken off the PC. I removed it, installed Windows on SATA-connected SSD and all was good. Boot order ok, BIOS ok.

This time I stayed like this for a week to test, with countless reboots. No problem at all.

In short : if the PCIE SSD is on (boot or slave drive) the boot order is messed.

Why is this happening?! Do you have any idea if the BIOS boot has any incompatibility with PCIE SSDs?

I apologize for bothering you again but ASUS support has been as incompetent as ever. 4 months now and not a single proper reply...

Thank you.

I don't have a clue, sorry. I can tell you that I didn't mess up with the PCIE module in my bios, it's still the same as in the original ASUS bios. I would try a different PCIE SSD and see how it goes, maybe it's just incompatible with our board.

[GTi-6]

ZioGTS, thanks for your all effort on giving us a updated bios for our R3E.

I recently updated by BIOS to your ZioMod 1601_S11. It went perfect without any problems. But now I have strange problem with it. Whenever I want to turn on the computer, it resets itself within 3 seconds of start, then does it again and on the 3rd time it works flawlessly. I have an Intel Core i7 990x CPU with 6 GB of Corsair Ram and Raidon ir2420-2s-s2 (with Crucial C300 128 GBs in R0 setup) connected to Intel Controller with 2 more HDDs. Do you have any idea about this problem?

Thanks.

[ZioGTS]

Did you overclock your system? If not, there could be a compatibility issue with your Raidon interface. Why don't you build a raid plugging your ssd drives directly in Intel controller ports? Additional HDs could be connected to Marvell controller. Let me have your thoughts!

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[GTi-6]

At the moment, system is stock settings but I figured out the problem with the system. I believe I have a faulty RAM stick. When I enable "Memory ReCheck" function from the BIOS, it detects 6136 MB of RAM but if I disable it, it only read as 4088 MB of RAM. I don't have a spare ram to test it again but I believe RAMs are causing the problem.

[ZioGTS]

Some ram modules require more power than others. If you have 3 identical ram modules you could try increasing voltage a bit. I had similar issues and solved this way.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[Gurgulio]

can´t flash latest release 1601_S11

bootblock error with ez-flash
i have downloaded 2 times but same error
any solution for this?

[DarkFox]

can´t flash latest release 1601_S11

bootblock error with ez-flash
i have downloaded 2 times but same error
any solution for this?

Use ASUS Update 7.18.03.