Motherboard with replacement BIOS

[mjf]

I'm in the process of trying to select a motherboard for another PC.
Is it possible to have a mobo which allows for a replacement BIOS so that if the BIOS ever needs flashing and it fails, I can plug a backup BIOS in?

 

[Bill2]

Yes, most mobos will let you replace the bios chip. You can get more info at these sites.

BIOSCHIP.COM :: BIOS UPDATE

Replacing your BIOS chip - how to update your system BIOS - PCTechGuide.Com

PC BIOS reprogramming, replacement, recovery

having said that, I've flashed bios innumerable times with a 100 % success rate. You just have to be careful and follow instructions to the T.

 

[mjf]

Thanks Billl2
It puzzles me why so many Motherboards end up as "bricks" due to a bad flash.

 

[Bill2]

That happened mostly becusae people either flashed with the wrong bios file or there was a power cut during the process. Also flashing inside windows used to be risky earlier because of poorly built tools (thats why I still advise flashing in pure DOS) but thats no longer the case- most mobo manufacturers and oems offer utilities (winphlash and such like) to safely flash inside windows.

 

[bobkn]

I never bricked a board with a BIOS update from 1997 to this year.

I had a couple of P67 boards from different manufacturers fall into the same situation: the flash appeared to proceed to completion, but the board would never again boot. One of the boards was a dual BIOS MSI one.

Maybe there's something a bit different about the UEFI boards. (MSI uses a hybrid BIOS/EFI system.)

 

[mjf]

I'm not really getting it. Maybe I'm stuck in the old days of EPROM BIOSs.
I'm assuming the flashing writes to the removable chip. If the worst happens why can't you simply replace the chip and keep using the motherboard?
I'm interpreting "brick" to mean the motherboard needs replacing.

 

[alphanumeric]

I'm not really getting it. Maybe I'm stuck in the old days of EPROM BIOSs.
I'm assuming the flashing writes to the removable chip. If the worst happens why can't you simply replace the chip and keep using the motherboard?
I'm interpreting "brick" to mean the motherboard needs replacing.

You can if the BIOS chip is in a socket. I know one or two people that wanted to go that route after a failed BIOS flash, but it ended up being cheaper to just to buy a new motherboard. Thats what they told me anyway. I've done a half dozen or more BIOS updates and haven't had a problem as of yet. With Boot Block, dual bios, and bios recovery features built into todays motherboards it becomes less problematic. With my two Asus motherboards I can flash from windows, from dos, and the BIOS itself has the flash utility built into it. All I have to do is put the BIOS file on a thumb drive, it doesn't even have to be bootable.
Yes, bricked usually refers to some thing that is now "as useful as". The failed flash has turned it into a brick, paperweight, etc.

 

[Mark Phelps]

I'm not really getting it. Maybe I'm stuck in the old days of EPROM BIOSs.
I'm assuming the flashing writes to the removable chip. If the worst happens why can't you simply replace the chip and keep using the motherboard?
I'm interpreting "brick" to mean the motherboard needs replacing.

I remember those days, too ... when you could "upgrade" your BIOS chip by purchasing an improved version from some third-party provider.

But ... all the recent motherboards I've seen have had the chip firmly soldered to the board. Although, at the same time, they typically had dual-BIOS so, if you did trash one chip, you could switch and use the other.