Solved Should I upgrade my BIOS?

[kathy025]

Hi guys,

I was just checking driver downloads from the ASUS website to see if there were any updates.

Upon running Speccy, I found out I have BIOS 212. There is a BIOS 223 available. Following is the changelog from my current BIOS version to the latest:

BIOS 223
1.Fix system may hang if press power button immediately after plugging AC in.
2.Fix OS led not light after resume from deep S3.

BIOS 219
Support i3-2370

BIOS 218
Firmware Change

BIOS 213
Support new CPU i7-2670

BIOS 212 (CURRENT)
Optimize Asmedia USB3

I have not performed a BIOS update before, because it required floppy disks back in the day and it could be quite the process, so I stayed away from it.

My driver CD came with a "Windows BIOS Flash Utility V2.31.1", which should allow a more convenient updating of the BIOS while in the Windows environment.

So far, things appear to be fine, eventhough my BIOS is quite outdated.

Would you suggest to proceed with the update or should I leave it be? Why so?

Advice is much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[LMiller7]

The BIOS should not be updated unless the update addresses a specific problem you are having. If the update fails, which can happen even if you do everything right, your system may be unbootable. Recovery from that often requires physical replacement of the BIOS chip.

 

[archer]

Hi Kathy,

First thing I will suggest, If you are not sure or comfortable in updating BIOS yourself, DO NOT attempt to do it. Because, if something goes wrong, your PC might not work at all. You might want to contact some professional or ask your buddies who has done this before.

If you are sure, then YES updating BIOS can be very helpful.

Follow this.

download the file to the USB Drive.... save the file to the root of the USB (if it is Zipped.. unZIPit)

Attach the USB to the system before boot...

While Boot goto the BIOS.... on the last option ... there has a Utilities call Asus EZ Flash
or something like that refer to your MB Manuel..

choose use BIOS file in the USB .... and it will update....

 

[Barman58]

My personal criteria when it comes to BIOS updates is " if it ain't broke ...". as you say yourself you do not notice any particular issues with your system that is purported to be fixed by the update concerned.

You could check each of the intermediate BIOS updates between yours and the latest, (if any) and check to see if they contain anything specifically beneficial to your system.

Some updates do provide more than just bug-fixes, such as updates to support new hardware, which should be installed, if you have installed or intend to install this newer hardware, otherwise, again, I would err on the side of caution

Just my personal thoughts but hope they help, in all cases ensure that the upgrade process has some form of "Roll Back" facility so that should you discover issues after update you can return to your current stable system

 

[kathy025]

The BIOS should not be updated unless the update addresses a specific problem you are having. If the update fails, which can happen even if you do everything right, your system may be unbootable. Recovery from that often requires physical replacement of the BIOS chip.

I will surely keep this in mind. Will replacement of the BIOS chip affect the OEM license tied to my mobo? This just got me curios.

download the file to the USB Drive.... save the file to the root of the USB (if it is Zipped.. unZIPit)

Attach the USB to the system before boot...

While Boot goto the BIOS.... on the last option ... there has a Utilities call Asus EZ Flash
or something like that refer to your MB Manuel..

choose use BIOS file in the USB .... and it will update....

I do faintly remember an EZ Flash Ulility when I was tweaking my BIOS settings around a month back. I will double check of its presence shortly and confirm. This is a very useful tip, thanks.

You could check each of the intermediate BIOS updates between yours and the latest, (if any) and check to see if they contain anything specifically beneficial to your system.

I have updated the first post to include changelog from my version to the latest. Do you believe anything is of great significance there?

Meanwhile, I will install the Windows BIOS Flash Utility to see if it has some sort of a rollback feature and report back, that was a good call.

For now, I'm only gathering information. Your responses are much awaited and I will let you know should I ultimately decide to update or not.

 

[Golden]

Will replacement of the BIOS chip affect the OEM license tied to my mobo?

No, it has no effect on that. I updated my BIOS on my ASUS X54C to solve a reboot issue, and my Windows 7 Professional OEM licence wasn't affected in the least.

 

[kathy025]

Thanks, Golden.

<< UPDATE >>
1) There is a Start Easy Flash utility in BIOS.
2) There is no rollback feature in WinFlash. It only pops out a warning about updating and prompts to browse for the BIOS file.

 

[andrew129260]

Also most decent motherboards now a days offer some kind of rollback feature where you can plug a flash drive in with a bios file and roll back to a previous version.

I don't think you should always jump the gun to do a bios update, but for the most part it seems you do not need to worry about doing it as much as before.

My motherboard bios has been updates several times for stability reasons. I have updated it for those, and have noticed slightly better performance and such. So it is worth it sometimes.

 

[badger906]

in my many years as a system builder and well just being a geek who likes to tinker I have only ever updated a bios once.

that was to fix/make something compatible. As back in the day my Asus mobo needed a bios update to suppport core 2 quad.

apart from that its an if it aint broke dont fix it kind of thing in my eyes.

nothing on that list of fixes would be essential unless youre buying an i7 2670 any time soon.

 

[kathy025]

Also most decent motherboards now a days offer some kind of rollback feature where you can plug a flash drive in with a bios file and roll back to a previous version.

In my previous experience with flashing firmware on mobile phones, there was what was called a "sticky firmware", wherein you cannot downgrade once that firmware was flashed. You cannot flash a lower version firmware and you can only flash higher version firmware from that point on.

Just to confirm, is there such a "sticky" condition with laptop/PC mobos?
Or can we always safely flash lower to higher back and forth?

nothing on that list of fixes would be essential unless youre buying an i7 2670 any time soon.

Thank you for your input.

 

[andrew129260]

Also most decent motherboards now a days offer some kind of rollback feature where you can plug a flash drive in with a bios file and roll back to a previous version.

In my previous experience with flashing firmware on mobile phones, there was what was called a "sticky firmware", wherein you cannot downgrade once that firmware was flashed. You cannot flash a lower version firmware and you can only flash higher version firmware from that point on.

Just to confirm, is there such a "sticky" condition with laptop/PC mobos?
Or can we always safely flash lower to higher back and forth?

I have went from old to new and new to old. (As well as on Android smartphones) So for myself I can say its possible. Keep in mind though the normal way of flashing a bios will block it, (to protect users from installing a older version accidentally) but the emergency bios flash from USB drive won't. There is a chip that monitors that port for a button push and whatever is in there it will flash, regardless of what the real bios chip says. Otherwise it would not be a good backup solution would it?

There is 2 chips-the actual bios chip and the bios emergency flashback chip that has the capability to flash the normal read only chip(unless a upgrade in initialized). This allows it so that even when the chip cannot even function, the emergency one can flash it, no matter what state the other chip is in. From my understanding anyway.

This is my board:

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/SABERTOOTH_990FXGEN3_R20/

Scroll down to the USB BIOS Flashback section.

 

[Layback Bear]

My thoughts by example.
My installation date 5/16/2010
Had a problem with multiple boot problem with BIOS 501.
BIOS 502 was designed to repair that problem.
Updated to BIOS 502 11/16/2010
Problem solved and I'm still using BIOS 502 dated 11/16/2010 because I'm not having any problems.

Updating BIOS isn't like trying different drives for a video card.
If making a mistake with such drivers no big deal. It can be corrected with not much effort and no harm.
In some cases updated BIOS can cause a very big mess like those that have already been mentioned.

 

[kathy025]

I have went from old to new and new to old. (As well as on Android smartphones) So for myself I can say its possible. Keep in mind though the normal way of flashing a bios will block it, (to protect users from installing a older version accidentally) but the emergency bios flash from USB drive won't. There is a chip that monitors that port for a button push and whatever is in there it will flash, regardless of what the real bios chip says.

Thank you for your confirmation. This was very good to know.

I am more inclined to NOT update my BIOS for now, seeing I am currently not encountering any problems.
But, I am sure these info will be of vital help when the time comes.

Reading the ASUS USB BIOS Flashback:

USB BIOS Flashback
Simple Plug & Press - Hardware-based BIOS Flashback

A truly revolutionary hardware-based update solution. USB BIOS Flashback offers the most convenient way ever to update the BIOS! It allows users to update new UEFI BIOS versions even without hardware such as a CPU or DRAM installed into the motherboard. Just plug in a USB flash drive containing the BIOS file, and press the BIOS Flashback button for 3 seconds with the power supply connected. The UEFI BIOS will then automatically update without requiring further interaction. With its new, complementary Windows application, users can regularly check for UEFI BIOS updates and download the latest BIOS automatically. Hassle-free updating for the ultimate convenience!

Is the "flashback button" one of the function keys or others like DEL, backspace, etc.?
Is there a way to verify if my N45SF Notebook PC mobo supports this feature?

 

[andrew129260]

The flashback button is a dedicated button on the back of my PC near the USB port that you physically push that will flash the bios. It's not anything to do with the keyboard.

 

[kathy025]

I see. My Notebook PC doesn't seem to support the BIOS Flashback feature as it doesn't have a dedicated button, but good to know for desktop mobos.

Thanks everyone for your input. As mentioned, I'm holding off my BIOS update. The "don't fix if it ain't broke" did save me many times back, so I'll just leave it be until the actual need arises.

I'll be posting this video tutorial using Easy Flash for myself, just to have something to go back to if needed:



Thread marked solved.

 

[Layback Bear]

My Flash Back port is on the I/O panel on the back of the computer.
It's white in color with a little square button next to it.

 

[matts6887]

My personal criteria when it comes to BIOS updates is " if it ain't broke ...". as you say yourself you do not notice any particular issues with your system that is purported to be fixed by the update concerned.

You could check each of the intermediate BIOS updates between yours and the latest, (if any) and check to see if they contain anything specifically beneficial to your system.

Some updates do provide more than just bug-fixes, such as updates to support new hardware, which should be installed, if you have installed or intend to install this newer hardware, otherwise, again, I would err on the side of caution

Just my personal thoughts but hope they help, in all cases ensure that the upgrade process has some form of "Roll Back" facility so that should you discover issues after update you can return to your current stable system

I totally agree here with Barman. As far as the bios goes; if it aint broke; dont fix it. Because as barman and the others mentioned; if you somehow mess up the bios; the only way to fix that is to take the system board to someone that has the knowledge on how to replace bios chips which probably will cost a arm and a leg(or nearly anyways) to replace.