Got my new z-690 Classified yesterday and unpacked it.  Have read through all the manual about flashing without a CPU (picking up a new 13700K later today) and downloaded the 2.04 BIOS from the website, renamed it EVGAE698.bin, copied it to the included USB stick, inserted it in the socket on the board (was really tight but thought I had it inserted all the way), connected the 24 pin power cord, turned on the power supply and held the BIOS button down for 2.5 seconds while it counted down. 
 
BIOS button flashed, the right number cycled for a few seconds, then got the E8 message and nothing else.  
 
Retraced the steps again after removing the USB stick and reinserted it and tried again with the same results.  BIOS switch is in position 1 but not sure what to try next. 
Thought I would ask here first before going any further so any suggestions would be appreciated.  By the way, what does the E8 mean?
 Thanks.... 

Sajin
E8 is memory related…

Both boards use ami bios.

 
Ssjin:
Thanks for the info on what E8 means.
The instructions for flashing without CPU do NOT mention that memory modules are needed to flash; only that the 24 pin power cable and the USB drive with BIOS are inserted before pressing power button on power supply.
If the modules are needed in order to get by the error code, I would think it would be mentioned in the instructions....
Not sure what to do now....any suggestions?
Thanks...
 

Sajin
Try flashing with cpu and ram installed. I had my cpu & ram installed when flashing to 2.03 on my z690 kingpin.

Thanks for the quick reply...will not get my ram until tomorrow.  
I ordered a 12900K for the same price as the 13700K I had ordered and it will be here Saturday as I did not want to have to RMA the board since the BIOS update failed so will see what when I get the memory.  Strange, the instructions do not mention installing ram...
Will give update when I get all parts and see what can be done.  
Thanks again....

The latest bios is recommended unless you’re having some issues with it.

No problem.

Dsfyu

Sajin
E8 is memory related… https://forums.evga.com/FindPost/7801

Both boards use ami bios.

E8 isn't memory related when it presents while flashing a BIOS from USB. As far as I can tell, error codes with an E followed by a number when flashing BIOS from USB are related to the flash drive being used to flash or something else in the flash process. For example E1 means the drive isn't being read correctly or E4 means the file wasn't found by the motherboard. Source: https://forums.evga.com/FindPost/3583482

I have two Z690 Classified boards and attempted to flash both with no memory/CPU installed. One returned the E8 error with or without CPU/memory installed, while the other flashed just fine in the exact same configuration. It appears to be a board related issue of some sort, since a few others have flashed the BIOS with 12th gen CPUs on one position, upgraded CPUs to 13th gen, then been unable to flash the other two positions in a similar fashion while using the 13th gen CPU.

EVGA support doesn't even know what E8 is... https://forums.evga.com/FindPost/3589504
 
Your guess is as good as mine. E1 & E4 are for USB yes, but E8 is clearly not related to USB, or support would have said so I would think.

Looks like I did link you to your own post. 
 
Yeah, I guess it could be something to do with the older versions of the bios that are already on the board.

Barrd123: After you successfully installed the bios using the 12900K, did you simply replace it with the 13700K and it worked? Or was there something else that needed to be done in order for the 13th gen chip to work?

Hey @barrd123. Just checking in, I'm thinking about rolling with a 13700k and the Z690 classified like you - wanted to see if you were happy with your decision? Also, what RAM speeds are you running?