ASRock quietly rolls out new firmware after disastrous previous update killed Radeon RX 7900-series GPUs
Asrock's VBIOS 1.0.6 update follows reports of Radeon RX 7900 XT and XTX graphics cards failing to boot after installing the previous firmware.
ASRock has released a new VBIOS update for its Radeon RX 7000-series graphics cards. This update, version 1.0.6, is seen as a follow-up to the previous 1.0.5 release. Community reports suggest that the older version may have bricked certain Radeon RX 7900 XT and RX 7900 XTX graphics cards. The new update has appeared on ASRock's official website, though the company has not offered any details on the changes it contains.
Last month, AMD issued a VBIOS patch for the Radeon RX 7000-series cards to tackle potential security issues, but they did not disclose specifics about the vulnerabilities or any reports of them being exploited. ASRock's update rationale, as stated in their statement to ComputerBase, revolves around addressing security concerns, with the patches being made available beforehand to allow customers time to update their firmware.
It's advised that users update their graphics card firmware promptly after receiving updates from GPU manufacturers. ASRock listed the 1.0.5 VBIOS update for 10 different Radeon RX 7000-series models, including the RX 7600 XT, RX 7700 XT, RX 7800 XT, RX 7900 XT, and RX 7900 XTX families. However, numerous Radeon RX 7900 XT and RX 7900 XTX users encountered boot issues after installing the firmware.
Some fortunate users managed to recover their cards using external EEPROM programmers. Despite ASRock removing the problematic 1.0.5 update from their website, they have yet to clarify the reasons behind the failures or confirm if the new VBIOS resolves the issue. Questions also linger on how ASRock intends to assist customers who have been impacted.
Reports indicate that a user in Japan received a warranty claim confirmation from ASRock, while an owner in Europe was directed to seek warranty service even though their graphics card was out of warranty. This situation leaves affected users in the dark about whether they'll receive free repairs or replacements. Furthermore, the absence of a changelog or official statement, coupled with the new firmware version, makes it challenging for users to decide whether installing the replacement firmware is safe.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Hardware's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
