TC-780 Kaby Lake BIOS - Acer BIOS R02-A01 not compatible with existing BIOS ROMID

miklet
miklet Member Posts: 33 Enthusiast WiFi Icon
edited February 2018 in Aspire and Veriton Desktops

TC-780 Windows 10 Home x64 version 1607 OS Build 14393.693 BIOS updated in Oct 2016 to R01-A1

 

Downloaded Kaby Lake BIOS update that was released on 7 February 2017

Process fails when using FLASH.BAT. The command prompt blinks by too fast to see.

I copied the FLASH instruction and made this command that I ran in command prompt as admin.

my_own_cmd.JPG

the following is the error message

TC-780_BIOS_fail.JPG

My guess is the Acer BIOS file provided RO2-A1.cap is not valid for my machine.

 

Can I get a little help?

Maybe a work around?

Best Answer

  • IronFly
    IronFly ACE Posts: 18,413 Trailblazer
    Answer ✓

    R01-xx BIOS can be updated only using R01-xx releases

    R02-xx BIOS can be updated only using R02-xx releases

     

    so the flasher is doing its job, preventing cross flashing.

    I'm not an Acer employee.

Answers

  • IronFly
    IronFly ACE Posts: 18,413 Trailblazer
    Answer ✓

    R01-xx BIOS can be updated only using R01-xx releases

    R02-xx BIOS can be updated only using R02-xx releases

     

    so the flasher is doing its job, preventing cross flashing.

    I'm not an Acer employee.
  • miklet
    miklet Member Posts: 33 Enthusiast WiFi Icon

    thank you for the post and information

    From your response, would I deduce that Acer has placed the incorrect BIOS (an A2, when the TC-780 has been shipped with A1) on the support page?

    If yes, how does the community report such an error?

    furthermore, is there a chance that if Acer Support was aware of this, that Acer would provide an A1 BIOS version to allow Kaby Lake speeds (no chipset 200 series) on the ATC-780 AMZi5 MOBO?

     

    thank you for your time and patience

  • IronFly
    IronFly ACE Posts: 18,413 Trailblazer
    Wait

    R01-A01 can be flashed with R01-A02 but not with R02-A01

    This is normal and it refers to different board revisions, not an error, since there can be different board revisions during the sell period.

    If you have doubt, give Acer support a call.
    I'm not an Acer employee.
  • miklet
    miklet Member Posts: 33 Enthusiast WiFi Icon

    thanks again, for the explanation and I think I have it straight now.

     

    R01's only on my MOBO, the A1...A2, are revisions of the R01

     I will call Acer support and point out that they have placed a R02 BIOS on a Aspire Desktop TC-780 line, that is not correct for the MOBO. But, that's subjective error reporting. My quest for a BIOS for my MOBO that will indeed allow the use of Kaby Lake speeds continues.

     

    I am quite happy that the FLASH.BAT did not allow me to install the wrong BIOS.

     

    Appreciate all your help, KUDO to you.

    Last question from me on this string is; would marking your reply as a solution be appropriate? Afterall I do now know why the FLASH did not work. But it did not solve my BIOS for Kaby Lake issue. Please give your opinion.

  • IronFly
    IronFly ACE Posts: 18,413 Trailblazer

    you welcome.

     

    About the solution is up to you if you found it satisfying or not. Smiley Happy

    it's an half-half situation Smiley Very Happy

    I'm not an Acer employee.
  • ghentj
    ghentj Member Posts: 4 New User
    I also have a R01 BIOS, and am curious if you were able to ever inform Acer about the R02 BIOS being listed.  The R02 BIOS/Firmware is still listed. 

    My concern is if they do release a BIOS patch for Meltdown/Spectre, it might be released as an R02-XX and not an R01-XX, and we won't be able to apply it.

    miklet said:

    thanks again, for the explanation and I think I have it straight now.

     

    R01's only on my MOBO, the A1...A2, are revisions of the R01

     I will call Acer support and point out that they have placed a R02 BIOS on a Aspire Desktop TC-780 line, that is not correct for the MOBO. But, that's subjective error reporting. My quest for a BIOS for my MOBO that will indeed allow the use of Kaby Lake speeds continues.

     

    I am quite happy that the FLASH.BAT did not allow me to install the wrong BIOS.

     

    Appreciate all your help, KUDO to you.

    Last question from me on this string is; would marking your reply as a solution be appropriate? Afterall I do now know why the FLASH did not work. But it did not solve my BIOS for Kaby Lake issue. Please give your opinion.


  • miklet
    miklet Member Posts: 33 Enthusiast WiFi Icon
    ghentj,
    Unfortunately, Acer Support did not respond to three different inquiries. I asked the question each time Acer released a R02.XX BIOS revision. However, I have given up.
    I check the support page every few weeks, no success so far.
    A nice thing would be one new version that address ME, Meltdown, Spectre and enable Kaby Lake speeds.

    HEY ACER???? YOU READING THIS????
  • ghentj
    ghentj Member Posts: 4 New User
    edited February 2018
    It's as if our hardware revision is forgotten by Acer, and this is something only Acer can fix.  Acers are good for the price, but it's times like this when you can't help but feel ripped off.  I sure hope Microsoft can put something in place at the OS level if Acer doesn't.  It's a bad feeling when you don't know if the computer you have is safe to use, and that it may never get a patch that consumers are expecting.

    Just went and checked.  The R02-B0 is out there, but still no R01 versions.
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 31,454 Trailblazer
    There is an R01 BIOS listed for the TC-780A, perhaps the older motherboards were only shipped on the A model?
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • ghentj
    ghentj Member Posts: 4 New User
    billsey said:
    There is an R01 BIOS listed for the TC-780A, perhaps the older motherboards were only shipped on the A model?
    It's worth looking into, but when I put my SNID in it brings up the non-A version.  Hopefully it will refuse to install if it's the wrong version.
  • ghentj
    ghentj Member Posts: 4 New User
    I looked, and the 780A version for the R01 revision is as old as the one for the 780 (from 10/2016), which is too old to have any of those patches in any case.  So it seems that R01 revision 780A machines are going to have the same issue.
  • Pjmcnally
    Pjmcnally Member Posts: 1 New User

    Acer do you ever intend to fix Spectre and Meltdown on this PC?

    I

    have the R01 board, I see Acer have provided new BIOS for the R02 to mitigate the Spectre/Meltdown vulnerabilities.

    I can only flash the R01-A1 bios, none of the R02 ones work.

    Does this mean that Acer don't intend to support the R01 revision boards? I see no Kaby Lake update either.