I just updated my first bios, actually two computer updates

[toomanycanons]

This was in preparation for going to Windows 11. My other two already had what was needed in their bios to qualify

So, first time. I did a bunch of researching and slogged through the endless tales of bricked mobos, user error after user error sprinkled with the occasional "it was easy, no problem". I chose to believe those who had no problems

These were both on MSI desktops using the "M-Flash" utility in the existing bios

And both went smoothly, though not without a lot of angst concerning "am I doing this correctly??" Turns out I did and it was indeed "easy". There are a lot of steps along the way that a guy could mess up but I did my due diligence and it worked

OTOH, now that I do have four computers Windows 11 ready I'm still not going to update from W10 on any of them. Gonna wait till I have to, next year

 

[BobKnDP]

I wonder if you really needed those BIOS updates?

Some of the ones I've seen just changed the default settings to be compatible with 11. The settings could have been applied manually, without the updates.

(I would probably have done the BIOS updates anyway. I had problems with some early EFI motherboards, but that was years ago.)

 

[Billiam29]

Knock on wood, I've never encountered any issues when I have performed a BIOS update. Now, on to my rant.

The UEFI/BIOS implementations that I've seen within the past 10 years or so all have a rather large number of settings. The problem where updates are concerned is that some BIOS/UEFI implementations have a feature to export/import settings choices but some do not.

I'll confess that I have three systems which are due for BIOS updates that I have put off for some time. The reason being that none of the systems have a settings export/import mechanism. The idea of documenting dozens of BIOS settings on three different systems just to see if an update changes anything is...ummm...unattractive to say the least.

 

[toomanycanons]

I wonder if you really needed those BIOS updates?

Some of the ones I've seen just changed the default settings to be compatible with 11. The settings could have been applied manually, without the updates.

(I would probably have done the BIOS updates anyway. I had problems with some early EFI motherboards, but that was years ago.)

I needed the updates. Neither had TPM v.2.0, a W11 requirement. Nor did either have Secure Boot. I never needed those two items before but I have them now. Both bios were around five years old

 

[BobKnDP]

I wonder if you really needed those BIOS updates?

Some of the ones I've seen just changed the default settings to be compatible with 11. The settings could have been applied manually, without the updates.

(I would probably have done the BIOS updates anyway. I had problems with some early EFI motherboards, but that was years ago.)

I needed the updates. Neither had TPM v.2.0, a W11 requirement. Nor did either have Secure Boot. I never needed those two items before but I have them now. Both bios were around five years old

I wonder.

My older systems had Secure Boot and a firmware TPM 2.0.

They were present, but not enabled by default. Newer BIOS versions made them the defaults.

In my ignorance, I'd not expect a BIOS update to add a firmware TPM. (Or support for a hardware TPM header.)

 

[Ken Seals]

I needed the updates. Neither had TPM v.2.0, a W11 requirement. Nor did either have Secure Boot. I never needed those two items before but I have them now. Both bios were around five years old

I had the same issue here when I wanted to upgrade my Win 10 Pro machine to Win 11 Pro. I updated the bios on my 6 year old Asus MB but still could not get Win 11 to install until I changed the partition type for the SSD drive I use as C:. Once I did that, the Win 11 install was a piece of cake and I'm really pleased that I upgraded.

 

[toomanycanons]

I wonder if you really needed those BIOS updates?

Some of the ones I've seen just changed the default settings to be compatible with 11. The settings could have been applied manually, without the updates.

(I would probably have done the BIOS updates anyway. I had problems with some early EFI motherboards, but that was years ago.)

I needed the updates. Neither had TPM v.2.0, a W11 requirement. Nor did either have Secure Boot. I never needed those two items before but I have them now. Both bios were around five years old

I wonder.

My older systems had Secure Boot and a firmware TPM 2.0.

They were present, but not enabled by default. Newer BIOS versions made them the defaults.

In my ignorance, I'd not expect a BIOS update to add a firmware TPM. (Or support for a hardware TPM header.)

Lucky you. Those two items weren't even in my two bios for me to enable. If they had been I'd have just enabled them and avoided all the brain damage the past couple of days

 

[Chris Noble]

This was in preparation for going to Windows 11. My other two already had what was needed in their bios to qualify

So, first time. I did a bunch of researching and slogged through the endless tales of bricked mobos, user error after user error sprinkled with the occasional "it was easy, no problem". I chose to believe those who had no problems

These were both on MSI desktops using the "M-Flash" utility in the existing bios

And both went smoothly, though not without a lot of angst concerning "am I doing this correctly??" Turns out I did and it was indeed "easy". There are a lot of steps along the way that a guy could mess up but I did my due diligence and it worked

OTOH, now that I do have four computers Windows 11 ready I'm still not going to update from W10 on any of them. Gonna wait till I have to, next year

I don't understand any of your concerns -- please explain.

I do all the BIOS updates that are suggested by my PC manufacturer. A good opportunity to get a cup of coffee downstairs. What's the big deal?

I also bring my car in for servicing when the manufacturer suggests.

Maybe I just like a simple life without causing myself unnecessary problems.

 

[toomanycanons]

This was in preparation for going to Windows 11. My other two already had what was needed in their bios to qualify

So, first time. I did a bunch of researching and slogged through the endless tales of bricked mobos, user error after user error sprinkled with the occasional "it was easy, no problem". I chose to believe those who had no problems

These were both on MSI desktops using the "M-Flash" utility in the existing bios

And both went smoothly, though not without a lot of angst concerning "am I doing this correctly??" Turns out I did and it was indeed "easy". There are a lot of steps along the way that a guy could mess up but I did my due diligence and it worked

OTOH, now that I do have four computers Windows 11 ready I'm still not going to update from W10 on any of them. Gonna wait till I have to, next year

I don't understand any of your concerns -- please explain.

I do all the BIOS updates that are suggested by my PC manufacturer. A good opportunity to get a cup of coffee downstairs. What's the big deal?

I also bring my car in for servicing when the manufacturer suggests.

Maybe I just like a simple life without causing myself unnecessary problems.

as spoken by a person who's done bios updates all his computer life :-|

 

[BobKnDP]

I wonder if you really needed those BIOS updates?

Some of the ones I've seen just changed the default settings to be compatible with 11. The settings could have been applied manually, without the updates.

(I would probably have done the BIOS updates anyway. I had problems with some early EFI motherboards, but that was years ago.)

I needed the updates. Neither had TPM v.2.0, a W11 requirement. Nor did either have Secure Boot. I never needed those two items before but I have them now. Both bios were around five years old

I wonder.

My older systems had Secure Boot and a firmware TPM 2.0.

They were present, but not enabled by default. Newer BIOS versions made them the defaults.

In my ignorance, I'd not expect a BIOS update to add a firmware TPM. (Or support for a hardware TPM header.)

Lucky you. Those two items weren't even in my two bios for me to enable. If they had been I'd have just enabled them and avoided all the brain damage the past couple of days

Absent any mention of the make/model of the boards, I'll have to leave it there.

Not accusing you of any mistakes. Just curious.

 

[Eric Carlson]

Great! BIOS update is one of the first things I do when setting up or updating a computer. And I check for updates occasionally (maybe once a year or so). I've done hundreds. Never an issue.

 

[Eric Carlson]

I don't understand any of your concerns -- please explain.

I do all the BIOS updates that are suggested by my PC manufacturer. A good opportunity to get a cup of coffee downstairs. What's the big deal?

I also bring my car in for servicing when the manufacturer suggests.

Maybe I just like a simple life without causing myself unnecessary problems.

Exactly. Some people are afraid of updates. You should see the Wyze camera forums regarding firmware and app updates. My answer is always: Update. Maybe not immediately, but soon after seeing no reported issues.

 

[BobKnDP]

I don't understand any of your concerns -- please explain.

I do all the BIOS updates that are suggested by my PC manufacturer. A good opportunity to get a cup of coffee downstairs. What's the big deal?

I also bring my car in for servicing when the manufacturer suggests.

Maybe I just like a simple life without causing myself unnecessary problems.

Exactly. Some people are afraid of updates. You should see the Wyze camera forums regarding firmware and app updates. My answer is always: Update. Maybe not immediately, but soon after seeing no reported issues.

I had two boards with P67 chipsets bricked by BIOS flashes back in 2011. (Asus P8P67 Pro, MSI P67A-GD65.)

The flashes seemed to proceed normally, but I couldn't get into the BIOS settings after. If memory serves, neither board had a BIOS recovery mode.

The MSI board had a nominal "dual BIOS". The switch to the backup BIOS was automatic. (There was no physical switch.) Didn't work.

Never had a problem before, or since. I tend to do BIOS updates as a matter of course.

 

[New Wrycuda]

This was in preparation for going to Windows 11. My other two already had what was needed in their bios to qualify

[Snip]

I [now] have four computers Windows 11 ready I'm still not going to update from W10 on any of them. Gonna wait till I have to, next year.

Go on, be a devil and upgrade at least one of them; you won't regret doing so. I thought that next year we'd be contemplating an upgrade to Win12. :-D

I upgraded two Dell desktops as soon as Win11 became available, and it was a very smooth operation. The two other users in the office hardly noticed the slight cosmetic changes. Sure, some of the controls have gone wandering, but there's a handy search function in most control dialogues.

BTW, Dell offers BIOS updates every now and then. Some of them are provided by Intel, such as the recent fix for Gen. 13/14 CPUs. Never an issue.

 

[Austinian]

This was in preparation for going to Windows 11. My other two already had what was needed in their bios to qualify

[Snip]

I [now] have four computers Windows 11 ready I'm still not going to update from W10 on any of them. Gonna wait till I have to, next year.

Go on, be a devil and upgrade at least one of them; you won't regret doing so. I thought that next year we'd be contemplating an upgrade to Win12. :-D

Heh, some rumors have it that the 24H2 update was originally going to be Windows 12. What seems to be true is that its build number got a major update, from 22xxx to 26xxx, so the rumors may have some credibility.

I upgraded two Dell desktops as soon as Win11 became available, and it was a very smooth operation. The two other users in the office hardly noticed the slight cosmetic changes. Sure, some of the controls have gone wandering, but there's a handy search function in most control dialogues.

Same here.

BTW, Dell offers BIOS updates every now and then. Some of them are provided by Intel, such as the recent fix for Gen. 13/14 CPUs. Never an issue.

Sometimes Dell BIOS updates come through Windows Update. IDK if that's common practice for other manufacturers.

 

[New Wrycuda]

I thought that next year we'd be contemplating an upgrade to Win12.

Heh, some rumors have it that the 24H2 update was originally going to be Windows 12. What seems to be true is that its build number got a major update, from 22xxx to 26xxx, so the rumors may have some credibility.

My Dell 8940 Desktop has been giving good service for the last four years until it refused to start a couple of days ago, with an apparently dead PS. After confirming that it wasn’t a simple fix, I transferred the SATA SSD carrying my Photo Archive to a spare computer. That Dell i5 3020 Desktop has now become the new Photo Server.

Rather than fixing the 8940, I’ve decided to just keep it for spares, as most components would be suitable for a similar Dell of the same vintage.

I’m electing to delay a major hardware upgrade until Win12 is through the teething stage.

In the meantime, I’m still wrangling my Lenovo Chromebook Plus which is surprisingly flexible, and meets my needs for basic office work and travel. There’s many options for data storage…

• Internal SSD
• External SSD
• Local network
• Google Cloud
• Micro SD slot (I just had to get a 128G card to test this ridiculously tiny medium!)

 

[toomanycanons]

I read that if your computer is running OK, there aren't any issues that need to be dealt with with a bios update...don't update your bios.

And up until now I haven't "needed" to update any bios and that's after many many computer builds

Turns out most of you update your bios almost weekly, it's just standard practice. Different ways to live a computer life right?

BTW, before these two bios updates Windows Update told me I couldn't update to W11. After the two bios updates now Windows Update says I qualify for Windows 11, which was the whole point of me doing this, not to fix something else that needed a bios update

 

[BobKnDP]

(snip)

Turns out most of you update your bios almost weekly, it's just standard practice. Different ways to live a computer life right?

(snip)

A little exaggeration for clarity, maybe? ;-)

 

[Austinian]

(snip)

Turns out most of you update your bios almost weekly, it's just standard practice. Different ways to live a computer life right?

(snip)

A little exaggeration for clarity, maybe? ;-)

Early in the life of a newly-introduced model, new BIOS updates can be pretty frequent, maybe every few weeks as problems are discovered, but that should taper off as time goes on.

It's been a long time since a BIOS update caused me any problems, so I generally take any non-beta BIOSes offered.

 

[GodSpeaks]

I don't understand any of your concerns -- please explain.

I do all the BIOS updates that are suggested by my PC manufacturer. A good opportunity to get a cup of coffee downstairs. What's the big deal?

I also bring my car in for servicing when the manufacturer suggests.

Maybe I just like a simple life without causing myself unnecessary problems.

I only do BIOS updates if absolutely necessary. Over the years, I have had 2 updates go south on me.

The first was a brand new HP laptop. I hadn't even installed anything on the computer yet. The BIOS update appeared to run smoothly. No hickups or any errors reported. The final stage after the "successful" update was to let the machine reboot. So I allowed the laptop to reboot as the final stage of the update. Then the machine would NOT reboot. All I had was a blank screen.

After many hours of trying everything I gave up and took it in for service. There I explained the lack of booting was due to a failed BIOS update. The service people latched onto the lack of display and tried to tell me that the LCD display was bad and not covered by warranty.

Long story short, I told them to just fix it. A few days later when I went to pick it up, I was told it was fixed under warranty. That laptop is still running fine.

The second was a few months ago. I was doing a new build and the ASUS motherboard was a goodly number of BIOS updates behind. So I proceeded to update to the latest BIOS. This time the update stalled. No idea why.

I couldn't get the USB stick to auto update (as it was supposed to). So I tried a trick, I removed the backup battery and shorted the BIOS reset pins. Then the USB auto update worked and completed successfully.

Even though I do know what I am doing, I still ran into unforeseen problems.

As the kids say "Sh!t happens".