Flashing BIOS????

[CausticNylon]

Whats the big deal about flashing your BIOS, doesnt it have inherent risks??? is it really worth all the trouble???

[Midknyte]

if you screw up a biosflash you can totally ruin a motherboard. As long as you're not stupid and power off the computer during the biosflash, you should be fine.

You need to look at what is exactly fixed for each bios update. The best rule is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Unless you think the bios update will solve a problem, it's best to just leave it alone.

[Sterling_Aug]

BIOS flashing is only scary the first few times you do it.

I have flashed several hundred systems, routers, video cards, modems, handheld PDA's, and laptops without any problems.

If you read and verify that you have the EXACT match and the correct BIOS, then you won't have a problem.

You can NOT ruin a system by doing a bad flash. You just make more work for yourself to recover the system with a second flash.

[ComPooTer]

well the first time i did a bios flash it worked correctly

i think the only way you can mess up is if your floppy disk is retarded or a person uses the wrong bios version for the wrong motherboard.

like sterling_aug said as long as u verify the right one you'll be ok

[Midknyte]

I guess "ruin" was a bit harsh of a word to use, but it's a pain in the **** to fix.

[Sterling_Aug]

Definitely a pain, but fixable none the less.

Even a wrong BIOS on the wrong mobo can be fixed. I know, I did it using a "hot flash" technique. This is NOT for the light hearted techies. Moving the BIOS chip in and out of a turned on PC can be dangerous to both the chip and you if you touch the wrong pins in the wrong places.

If you have any doubts, ask for help.

[CausticNylon]

Thanx guys. As it stands now, I am not getting any errors that would warrant flashing the BIOS, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

again thanx for your help

[itismike]

Originally posted by Sterling_Aug
[snip]Moving the BIOS chip in and out of a turned on PC ...
Now that's my kind of computing. Keeping safety in mind, I enjoy tinkering with things with the power on...is the above a legitimate practice? I want to try it!

-Mike

[Sterling_Aug]

Yes, hot flashing is done. I did it only once when I absolutely had to do it. It was scary because putting the BIOS chip in backwards will fry it instanly because the 12 volt pins are on the other end of the chip. Match up pin 1 to pin 1 of the socket and mark it with a dot of white paint. You may need to reboot if the keyboard loses the connection when taking out the working BIOS. Keep trying it until you are successful.