system bios;
Monday, November 21, 2005 by kjay528 | Discussion: Motherboards
I have question for the experts in forums. Is it important upgrade your bios, I just did a scan with (SISoftware sandra). It said that my system bios is old and to check for updates. so I checked for updates at the manufatures web site VIA and there is an update avalable. So I guess my question is should I update my system, I have read up on how to do it so I am not afraid of doing, I have never done any thing like this before so any feedback would be very helpful. thanks in advance Kevin P. 
Chris TH
Reply #2 Monday, November 21, 2005 11:28 PM
Reply #2 Monday, November 21, 2005 11:28 PM
If there's a 'readme' or some list of the changes, check it first to see if there's anything fixed that's really going to affect you. Otherwise I wouldn't worry.
Having said that, it's fine as long as you follow the instructions, make sure you're not going to get a power glitch in the middle of it (UPS is good!), and that you're absolutely certain you've got the correct update for your MoBo.
Having said that, it's fine as long as you follow the instructions, make sure you're not going to get a power glitch in the middle of it (UPS is good!), and that you're absolutely certain you've got the correct update for your MoBo.
scorpio-logic
Reply #3 Tuesday, November 22, 2005 12:18 AM
Reply #3 Tuesday, November 22, 2005 12:18 AM
Unless you've installed a CPU upgrade or you are having problems with instablity, I would not mess with the BIOS. You have a VIA bios??
HG_Eliminator
Reply #6 Tuesday, November 22, 2005 10:55 PM
Reply #6 Tuesday, November 22, 2005 10:55 PM
while flashing (updating) BIO's has become "easyer" 
it is still not for the faint at heart...one thing goes wrong and your PC will be renderd useless...in most cases it's better to leave it be unless you are experiencing problems.. the only other time i could justify Flashing the bios would be if you upgraded to a faster cpu and the new bios would update the bios to work with the new CPU..( chip set manufacturers often update BIO's to allow use of newer CPU's on older boards that werent previously capable of supporting the newer faster cpus.)
it is still not for the faint at heart...one thing goes wrong and your PC will be renderd useless...in most cases it's better to leave it be unless you are experiencing problems.. the only other time i could justify Flashing the bios would be if you upgraded to a faster cpu and the new bios would update the bios to work with the new CPU..( chip set manufacturers often update BIO's to allow use of newer CPU's on older boards that werent previously capable of supporting the newer faster cpus.)
Corky_O
Reply #7 Tuesday, November 22, 2005 11:17 PM
Reply #7 Tuesday, November 22, 2005 11:17 PM
| If there's nothing wrong with your system.....leave it be |
Second that.....
kjay528
Reply #8 Tuesday, November 22, 2005 11:36 PM
Reply #8 Tuesday, November 22, 2005 11:36 PM
Thank you all very much for the response's, after a day of thinking about the upgrade (flashing) and reading all the post from the experts I think I will leave it alone, the system is good and stable. If it ain't broke don't fix it??
. That is why I put in the forum. Thank's again all and have a good nite
. That is why I put in the forum. Thank's again all and have a good nite
Jafo
Reply #9 Tuesday, November 22, 2005 11:41 PM
Reply #9 Tuesday, November 22, 2005 11:41 PM
| If there's nothing wrong with your system.....leave it be. |
Listen to yrag on this one....especially.
Getting it wrong can be bad news...
scorpio-logic
Reply #10 Tuesday, November 22, 2005 11:45 PM
Reply #10 Tuesday, November 22, 2005 11:45 PM
Good call kjay!! 
Or we might be helping you troubleshoot some UNKNOWNS...yicchhh! 
Or we might be helping you troubleshoot some UNKNOWNS...yicchhh! 
Chris TH
Reply #13 Thursday, November 24, 2005 1:42 AM
Reply #13 Thursday, November 24, 2005 1:42 AM
On the other hand
My ASUS P4 MoBo lets you change the BIOS bitmap screen (the one that can be displayed in place of the normal BIOS text reporting). I thought that's pretty hardcore (skinning the BIOS)!
I'm fortunate enough to have access to the ultimate BIOS backup mechanism: an EPROM programmer
so I can erase & reprogam the BIOS outside of the MoBo.
My ASUS P4 MoBo lets you change the BIOS bitmap screen (the one that can be displayed in place of the normal BIOS text reporting). I thought that's pretty hardcore (skinning the BIOS)!
I'm fortunate enough to have access to the ultimate BIOS backup mechanism: an EPROM programmer
so I can erase & reprogam the BIOS outside of the MoBo.
Island Dog
Reply #14 Thursday, November 24, 2005 8:21 AM
Reply #14 Thursday, November 24, 2005 8:21 AM
I thought that my system "wasn't broken", but every once in a while I would have randon reboots. After a bios upgrade it fixed the problem. You never know what they fix or update, but it just might help.
Bushman
Reply #15 Thursday, November 24, 2005 8:36 AM
Reply #15 Thursday, November 24, 2005 8:36 AM
I upgraded my bios but not until I fully understood what I was doing. If you have doubts don't do it. If you know what your doing then by all means do so (upgrade).
XX
Reply #16 Thursday, November 24, 2005 1:29 PM
Reply #16 Thursday, November 24, 2005 1:29 PM
Sometimes updating does help, but I would recommend against it unless you have an actual reason, such as random reboots, or update on ram or CPUs supported, etc.
Make sure that you don't update it in middle of weather events too. If it powers down in middle of update, you will have to either send for replacement or order bios chips.
My friend once used wrong model bios and updated his motherboard. He had to wait 3 weeks for new bios chips in order to make his computer work.
In short, Be seriously careful!!
Make sure that you don't update it in middle of weather events too. If it powers down in middle of update, you will have to either send for replacement or order bios chips.
My friend once used wrong model bios and updated his motherboard. He had to wait 3 weeks for new bios chips in order to make his computer work.
In short, Be seriously careful!!
scorpio-logic
Reply #17 Thursday, November 24, 2005 1:39 PM
My giga-byte does this too. 'Cept I can't seem to get the right image format...
Reply #17 Thursday, November 24, 2005 1:39 PM
| My ASUS P4 MoBo lets you change the BIOS bitmap screen |
My giga-byte does this too. 'Cept I can't seem to get the right image format...
Chris TH
Reply #18 Thursday, November 24, 2005 9:58 PM
Hmmm... For the ASUS the image spec is exactly the same as for Bootskin (640x480x4bpp). In fact I extracted the image from here https://www.wincustomize.com/ViewSkin.aspx?SID=1&SkinID=3568&LibID=32 an used it directly as my bios (and Windows) boot screen (without the progress bar).
Reply #18 Thursday, November 24, 2005 9:58 PM
| 'Cept I can't seem to get the right image format... |
Hmmm... For the ASUS the image spec is exactly the same as for Bootskin (640x480x4bpp). In fact I extracted the image from here https://www.wincustomize.com/ViewSkin.aspx?SID=1&SkinID=3568&LibID=32 an used it directly as my bios (and Windows) boot screen (without the progress bar).
BluDrgnBoi
Reply #20 Wednesday, December 28, 2005 9:06 PM
Reply #20 Wednesday, December 28, 2005 9:06 PM
i have also heard that some of the computer vendors if your computer is store bought will void the warranty if you flash the bios.. just a thought
Please login to comment and/or vote for this skin.
Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
- Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums and downloading skins.
- Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
- Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
- It's simple, and FREE!
Reply #1 Monday, November 21, 2005 11:25 PM