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Post by alexham36 on Nov 10, 2013 20:41:58 GMT
Hi, Guys,
I spent several hours trying to update my BIOS, but without even coming close. I have an ASUS motherboard, but I could not find anything on ASUS website about downloading the latest copy of BIOS. My motherboard is probably considered long obsolete (2007). The bios is from American Megatrends and there was nothing on their website either.
I fould something that might be what I wanted on BiosAgentPlus, but that was at a price, so I did not go ahead.
There is nothing wrong with the BIOS I have, so is there a way to make a copy of it for recovery if the need ever arises?
I am running Win7 and WinXP and dabble in Linux.
Many thanks,
Alex
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Post by vikingken on Nov 10, 2013 21:06:24 GMT
As all is working, dont touch the buggers. Updating a modern board isn't quite so dangerous, but you can still finish up with a dead board. The older ones where you have to put the update on a floppy or CD and go into BIOS and flash, your getting into dangerous waters. You can undo a mistake if the computer will boot and allow you to get into BIOS. You cant undo a mistake, if the computer is dead as a door nail. Sometimes on a modern board, you might not be able to go bigger than a quad without flashing the BIOS. For anything else leave well enough alone. Anyway if you want to play with the big boys, its better to buy the right board in the first place.
You dont need a copy of your BIOS, if the board quits buy another one.
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Post by mikkh on Nov 11, 2013 0:34:33 GMT
As Ken says, unless it's for a specific need not covered by your existing BIOS, then leave it alone usually. Having said that, I always update mine and have never fried one yet - but I always double and treble check it's the right one first. List your EXACT motherboard including (as important as model number) the revision number which should be printed on the board itself and I'll research it for you. A lot of Asus boards from that era had a dual BIOS in case of accidents, so it's probably not as potentially fatal as it used to be. It's unlikely to have a very new BIOS anyway and you could have been lucky and bought it with the latest version on already. pcsupport.about.com/od/tipstricks/ht/biosversysinfo.htmfollow those steps to find out what you existing version is
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Post by alexham36 on Nov 11, 2013 17:15:00 GMT
Who says that there is no value in organized rummage! I found the original Support CD and on it was the file M2N-MX.ROM, which I immediately copied onto a floppy. I think that I now have 2 copies of the BIOS and in case anything happens I can restore it.<br><br>I had a look at the motherboard and it is M2N-MX Rev. 1.06G - that is printed on the printed circuit board.<br>I have also installed the update utility from the support CD and that gave me the information about the BIOS.<br>BIOS image M2N-MX V.0701<br>Type AMI <br>Chipset MCP61<br><br>The same Update Utility gives me options to update from Asus or from Internet, but in view of Vikingken's "encouraging" advice I didn't dare go any further. I may be asking a stupid question now, but what do you think will happen if I try to update. Will it ask me to save the update onto a floppy or will it just plough on without asking and install the new version? And if it is all buggered, will I be able to re-install the present version or will the system refuse to overwrite. In other words, how long is a piece of string!!<br><br>Many thanks,<br><br>Alex
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Post by vikingken on Nov 11, 2013 17:43:11 GMT
I cant say I have ever known anything go wrong with the BIOS without anyone messing with them. If you use the Asus updater, it will make a copy of the BIOS and so it can roll back if the new ones dont suit. Its safer to use the updater than to do it the old way, but you could still finish up with a dead board. You cant lose much with an old board, but you might think twice if you have just paid 200 + quid for one. The only time I blew a board, was when I had to flash to upgrade my processor. Never had anything go wrong when doing it for minor improvements.
You can always roll back as long as the computer will boot, you wont get anywhere with a dead computer.
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