Tom's Hardware > Forum > Windows XP > Windows XP General Discussion > Upgrading BIOS?
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Anonymous   08-15-2005 at 02:45:26 PM

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

 

Hi All
Have come accross many articles about the do's and don'ts of upgrading the
BIOS. My question is, do I really need a BIOS upgrading. Have never done so
in the three years I have my computer and have never really had any
problems. Appreciate helpful opinions. Thanks.

OS Winxphome

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Malke   08-15-2005 at 02:55:02 PM
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Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

 

Franktee wrote:

> Hi All
> Have come accross many articles about the do's and don'ts of upgrading
> the BIOS. My question is, do I really need a BIOS upgrading. Have
> never done so
> in the three years I have my computer and have never really had any
> problems. Appreciate helpful opinions. Thanks.
>
> OS Winxphome

If everything is working well, leave it alone. "If it ain't broke, don't
fix it" is the Golden Rule when it comes to updating your BIOS.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Reply to Malke
Anonymous   08-15-2005 at 05:57:10 PM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

 

Franktee wrote:
> Hi All
> Have come accross many articles about the do's and don'ts of
> upgrading the BIOS. My question is, do I really need a BIOS
> upgrading. Have never done so in the three years I have my computer
> and have never really had any problems. Appreciate helpful
> opinions. Thanks.
>
> OS Winxphome

No.

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com/mscommunity
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei"

Reply to Anonymous
Alias   08-15-2005 at 11:55:47 PM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

 

You can kill your motherboard with a BIOS update. The old adage, "If it
ain't broke, don't fix it" seems to apply to you.

Alias

"Franktee" <Franktee@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote

> Hi All
> Have come accross many articles about the do's and don'ts of upgrading the
> BIOS. My question is, do I really need a BIOS upgrading. Have never done
> so
> in the three years I have my computer and have never really had any
> problems. Appreciate helpful opinions. Thanks.
>
> OS Winxphome

Reply to Alias
Ed   08-15-2005 at 06:52:56 PM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

 

On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 08:45:26 -0700, "Franktee"
<Franktee@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>do I really need a BIOS upgrading.

You are the only one that can answer that. Check the info on the
upgrade and see what it has to offer. If there is nothing offered in
the update that you absolutely can’t live without or need, then don’t
do it. Most Bios chips are hard wired (soldered) to the MB so if the
upgrade flash goes wrong, there usually is no way to reverse the
process since killing the Bios usually means killing access to the
drives which you would need to try another flash or try to flash with
the last good working version.

Regards,
Ed

Reply to Ed
Anonymous   08-15-2005 at 10:32:37 PM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

 

Everyone has answered NO. It is really "you" who can answer this. Read up
on the BIOS update in order to see "what" the update is giving you. Since
most updates usually give more processor configuration option or larger disk
size, it depends whether you need it or not.


"Franktee" <Franktee@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:AEE8B38C-6399-4A0C-832C-8A9617B0B5C0@microsoft.com...
> Hi All
> Have come accross many articles about the do's and don'ts of upgrading the
> BIOS. My question is, do I really need a BIOS upgrading. Have never done
> so
> in the three years I have my computer and have never really had any
> problems. Appreciate helpful opinions. Thanks.
>
> OS Winxphome

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   08-16-2005 at 03:20:49 AM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

 

On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 12:52:56 -0400, Ed <fake@fake.com> wrote:

>On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 08:45:26 -0700, "Franktee"
><Franktee@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>
>>do I really need a BIOS upgrading.
>
>You are the only one that can answer that. Check the info on the
>upgrade and see what it has to offer. If there is nothing offered in
>the update that you absolutely can’t live without or need, then don’t
>do it. Most Bios chips are hard wired (soldered) to the MB so if the
>upgrade flash goes wrong, there usually is no way to reverse the
>process since killing the Bios usually means killing access to the
>drives which you would need to try another flash or try to flash with
>the last good working version.
>
>Regards,
>Ed

Although it's true that most BIOS chips are sodered to the mainboard,
a competent shop can extract it and replace it fairly easily. It's
just usually not worth the cost.

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   08-16-2005 at 01:53:43 AM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

 

Franktee wrote:
> Hi All
> Have come accross many articles about the do's and don'ts of upgrading the
> BIOS. My question is, do I really need a BIOS upgrading. Have never done so
> in the three years I have my computer and have never really had any
> problems. Appreciate helpful opinions. Thanks.
>
> OS Winxphome



It's rarely necessary to update a BIOS unless you need the newer
version to fix a specific problem you're experiencing, or to provide
compatibility with new technologies or a newer OS. Given the great
potential that a botched BIOS-flash has for rendering a motherboard
completely and permanently useless, this is not something that should be
considered just so one can have the "newest and shiniest."


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   08-16-2005 at 01:39:01 PM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

 

"NobodyMan" <none@none.net> wrote in message
news:gqf2g1dn66n0jat8su9lis7bh9gdf62pvo@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 12:52:56 -0400, Ed <fake@fake.com> wrote:
>
> >On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 08:45:26 -0700, "Franktee"
> ><Franktee@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> >
> >>do I really need a BIOS upgrading.
> >
> >You are the only one that can answer that. Check the info on the
> >upgrade and see what it has to offer. If there is nothing offered in
> >the update that you absolutely can't live without or need, then don't
> >do it. Most Bios chips are hard wired (soldered) to the MB so if the
> >upgrade flash goes wrong, there usually is no way to reverse the
> >process since killing the Bios usually means killing access to the
> >drives which you would need to try another flash or try to flash with
> >the last good working version.
> >
> >Regards,
> >Ed
>
> Although it's true that most BIOS chips are sodered to the mainboard,
> a competent shop can extract it and replace it fairly easily. It's
> just usually not worth the cost.
>

Most motherboards made in this century use an EEPROM socket for the bios
chip. The bios chip may appear soldered in place by the inexperienced eye.
Some more recent motherboards may have two, one is backup. This is
removable by a manual puller designed for that, not soldered in place.

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   08-16-2005 at 07:59:11 PM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

 

Bruce Chambers <bchambers@cable0ne.n3t> wrote:

> It's rarely necessary to update a BIOS unless you need the newer
>version to fix a specific problem you're experiencing, or to provide
>compatibility with new technologies or a newer OS. Given the great
>potential that a botched BIOS-flash has for rendering a motherboard
>completely and permanently useless, this is not something that should be
>considered just so one can have the "newest and shiniest."


Agreed. However sometimes the documentation for a BIOS upgrade does
not identify everything that has been changed with the new version.

I have encountered several instances where hardware compatibility
issues where resolved by a BIOS upgrade; and I recall from some years
back that with at least one brand of motherboard a BIOS upgrade
overcame a Y2K rollover problem even though the documentation for the
upgrade said nothing about this.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm

Reply to Anonymous
Anonymous   08-16-2005 at 10:10:02 PM
- 0 +

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

 

=?Utf-8?B?RnJhbmt0ZWU=?= wrote:
>
> Have come accross many articles about the do's and don'ts of upgrading the
> BIOS. My question is, do I really need a BIOS upgrading. Have never done so
> in the three years I have my computer and have never really had any
> problems. Appreciate helpful opinions. Thanks.

Then you dont need a bios upgrade. Easy.




--
http://www.bootdisk.com/

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