"Security check failed" when updating bios 1.10 on ASRock X299 Killer SLI/ac Motherboard

Question

Using 1.20 ROM downloaded from ASRock website and using instant flash via USB in BIOS I get the following message when it tries to update: "Security check failed".

Then connecting to ethernet cable and using the the internet-flash feature to do the update, I get the same message.

Nothing in ASRock manual or FAQs about this error. Google search results suggest this happens when people try using a modified BIOS ROM -- but I'm using unmodified ones from ASRock. It's even stranger that the internet update fails too.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

I was able to update the 1.10 BIOS to 1.20 and am able to boot from attached hard drives (USB and internal NVMe) and no longer get a black screen after POST. Here were the steps I used in case anyone else runs into this problem:

1. Download the latest BIOS ROM for the MB from ASRock and extract the zip file contents onto a FAT32 formatted USB drive (NTFS did not work for me).
2. Clear CMOS completely (I unplugged power, used the clear CMOS jumpers, AND took out the MB battery. I did not test if unpower+removed batt would have been enough -- please comment if you tried this).
3. After putting the CMOS clear jumpers and the battery back, plug in the USB drive with the new BIOS ROM, power on, and immediately go to the BIOS setup.
4. Under Tools tab, chose Instant Flash, and follow instructions on screen, the ROM check will be fine this time and you'll the see flashing progress.

NOTES: Strangely, this worked only if done on the very first boot after CMOS clearing. If I restarted after first boot, then the "security check fail" message would appear. Similarly, the very first time after CMOS clear, the PC would boot from the attached HDDs, but if I restarted it, on the second boot (or later) it would result in a black screen. Replacing/removing HDDs or video card did not make a difference on second/later boot.

I was able to get into BIOS setup, which suggested that the CPU and RAM were probably ok. I ruled out video card and HDDs by replacing them with known working ones from a different PC.

The breakthrough came when I realized that after initial PC assembly, I was able to run Windows setup. But after the setup restarted the PC, all I got was a blank screen. And I noticed that I could not even boot from the Windows install USB drive -- "that's weird, it JUST worked". After clearing CMOS, I was able to boot from the install drive again. That gave me the idea that something different was happening on the very first boot, than on a later boot. I wondered if the ROM check fail was also different on first boot -- after trying, it was. I suspect there was either some bug with the BIOS in general or maybe the MB interaction with my particular CPU/RAM that caused the issue.

After the BIOS update to 1.20, the black screen problem of booting from HDDs on second or later disappeared.

Please comment if this, or another procedure, helped in your case.