bi-os "curios"

[tranka32]

no pun intended but "I'm curious about bios updates. I'm looking to flash a bios,, "my first big job", and I've read up on it quite a bit. On the available flash d/l's they have about 4 or 5 different versions. the one I need is about 2 years old, so I figure that I'm going to flash with that one. It's about 750 kb'd in size, the others that are newer are only say 100-200 kb's in size.
The question is if I flash the bios, with the version that fixes my problem,( pci to usb Irq path or traffic router or something to that effect), "I'm not sure of the exact name,, but I have it written down somewhere on this desk, if I can ever find it". And I install the subsequent fash util.s, Is the eprom actually overwritten or just added to. I mean if I flash with one of the newer versions,, will it just be added to or is it a new flash and the old one is gone,,??????? I don't want the same problems with the usb if I flash again!!!!!!
"pci to irq steering , that's what it was.:t

[deadkenny]

It should completely overwrite, even if the new BIOS is exactly the same as the old for those parts they have in common. Same concept as with a Word document. If you add a few lines to the end and then save, it 'overwrites', it doesn't append to the end of the file you've already saved.

[tranka32]

thanks dead kennedy,,, that's what I thought,, so my pci irq steering prob, should be fixed and then another flash for, say to increase the processor,, should add to the already existing bios, and I won't have my pci to usb irq steering problem again. I guess,, thanks,, :t :t"I mean deadkenney, show my age with the dead kennedy's

[BigBlue66]

Yeah, each BIOS update includes all previous fixes plus whatever fixes are in that particular update, and so on and so on.

[deadkenny]

Originally posted by tranka32
thanks dead kennedy,,, that's what I thought,, so my pci irq steering prob, should be fixed and then another flash for, say to increase the processor,, should add to the already existing bios, and I won't have my pci to usb irq steering problem again. I guess,, thanks,, :t :t"I mean deadkenney, show my age with the dead kennedy's

No, the later versions will completely overwrite. BUT, as Big Blue mentioned, each revision usually includes all previous fixes. When the versions are listed the description only lists the new fix that distinguishes it from the previous versions. But they still include those previous fixes. I said usually, because on occassion a BIOS revision makes a change, adds a feature etc. that turns out not to be an improvement. In that case it might actually be removed from subsequent releases, but not usually.