M5A97R20NVMEBIOS < Main

---+ BIOS for Asus !M5A97 R2.0 motherboard with support for NVME !SSDs

---++ Introduction
I use a Asus !M5A97 R2.0 motherboard and recently bought an NVME SSD from !AliExpress.Unfortunately the NVME SSD was not found by the UEFI firmware, and booting from the !SSD was not possible.

After searching the Internet, I found a page where someone was able to modify a BIOS update image to include the NVME driver for the SSD. This UEFI driver can also be included in the BIOS image for the Asus !M5A97 R2.0 motherboard. After including it and flashing I was able to boot from the !SSD.

This page describes the steps to take to update and flash the !BIOS image.

---++ Including the !SSD driver in the !BIOS image (optional, see download in the next section)

You will need:
   * [[https://www.bios-mods.com/tools/index.php?dir=UEFI+BIOS+Updater+%28UBU%29%2F&download=UBU_v1817.rar][UBU_v1817.rar]] (!UEFI !BIOS Updater) package, which includes !MMTool. A tool which lets you include extra driver modules in the existing !UEFI firmware.
   * The NVME UEFI driver found here: https://www.win-unattended.de/Benutzer/Fernando/BIOS-Files/non-Intel/NVMe%20Modules/NvmExpressDxe_4.rar (GUID 5BE3BDF4-53CF-46A3-A6A9-73C34A6E5EE3)
   * The original !BIOS image (!M5A97-R20-ASUS-2603.CAP): https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/M5A97_R20/HelpDesk_BIOS/
   * A USB stick, formatted as !FAT32
   * A Windows PC to run !MMTool (Running in Wine will probably work as well)

First, extract the !UBU rar file and start !MMTool.exe, click on "Load Image" and select the !M5A97-R20-ASUS-2603.CAP file. Next, Click on the Browse option, next to "Module file". Select the !NvmExpressDxe_4.ffs file. In the "Vol. Index" field, enter: 03. Click the Insert button. Save the new !BIOS image file as: !M5A97R20.CAP

---++ Flashing the new !BIOS image

Insert the !FAT32 formatted !USB stick and copy the new !BIOS image, [[%ATTACHURLPATH%/M5A97R20.CAP][M5A97R20.CAP]], to it. Note: the name of the file is important for flashing using the BIOS flashback method.
Insert the !USB stick into the BIOS flashback port (see the motherboard manual, lowest USB port below the network interface for the !M5A97 R2.0).

<img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/Flashback_USB_Port.png" alt="Flashback_USB_Port.png" width="806" height="209" />

Make sure your !PC is turned off and keep pressing the !BIOS flashback button on the motherboard for about 3 seconds. The !BIOS flashback !LED should now start blinking, which means it is being installed. I think it is blinking slow when the BIOS file is being read from !USB and fast when it is being written to the motherboard. When the blinking stops, your new BIOS image has been installed (this can take up to 8 minutes). Turn on your !PC, check the !BIOS settings and see if the !NVME !SSD is recognized by !UEFI.

---++ Notes

Please note it is possible to create a !BIOS update file which contains drivers for both NVME and Samsung !XP941 !SSDs. Insert both !NvmExpressDxe_4.ffs and samsung-m2-dxe into the !BIOS update file and flash it using the flashback method. See also: [[M5A97R20SamsungBIOS]]

Download [[%ATTACHURLPATH%/m5a97r20-both.cap][m5a97r20-both.cap]]. Rename this file to !M5A97R20.CAP before flashing.

---++ More information

See the following links for more information:

   * https://www.win-raid.com/t871f50-Guide-How-to-get-full-NVMe-support-for-all-Systems-with-an-AMI-UEFI-BIOS.html
   * http://www.win-raid.com/t154f16-Tool-Guide-News-quot-UEFI-BIOS-Updater-quot-UBU.html
   * https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1038568/

-- %USERSIG{IvoVanGeel - 03 Nov 2020}%
This topic: Main > WebHome > M5A97R20NVMEBIOS
Topic revision: r4 - 03 Nov 2020 - IvoVanGeel