Guest Justin Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 What are the possible consequences of changing BIOS? Can it stuff up Windows?
Guest RJK Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Re: What are the possible Consequences of changing BIOS? First off, if you're not looking to fix something that's specifically "fixed" and included in a particular bios update, don't do it ! It's always wise to have the PC connected to a UPS, in case the mains power disappears whilst the new bios binary file is in the middle of being written to your eeprom, that can really muck things up. regards, Richard "Justin" <Justin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:19B5E324-F326-4A92-8E1A-D69E4AAD47E4@microsoft.com... > What are the possible consequences of changing BIOS? Can it stuff up > Windows?
Guest M.I.5¾ Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Re: What are the possible Consequences of changing BIOS? "RJK" <notatospam@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:uqAjJoi6HHA.5160@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > First off, if you're not looking to fix something that's specifically > "fixed" and included in a particular bios update, don't do it ! > > It's always wise to have the PC connected to a UPS, in case the mains > power disappears whilst the new bios binary file is in the middle of being > written to your eeprom, that can really muck things up. > That shouldn't happen with any modern motherboard because the BIOS FLASH chip (hasn't been an EEPROM for yonks) has, or should have, a protected boot block that will always allow you to update the actual BIOS image.
Guest RJK Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Re: What are the possible Consequences of changing BIOS? .... there's lots of yonks old PC's out there :-) regards, Richard "M.I.5¾" <no.one@no.where.NO_SPAM.co.uk> wrote in message news:46d555a6$1_1@glkas0286.greenlnk.net... > > "RJK" <notatospam@hotmail.com> wrote in message > news:uqAjJoi6HHA.5160@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... >> First off, if you're not looking to fix something that's specifically >> "fixed" and included in a particular bios update, don't do it ! >> >> It's always wise to have the PC connected to a UPS, in case the mains >> power disappears whilst the new bios binary file is in the middle of >> being written to your eeprom, that can really muck things up. >> > > That shouldn't happen with any modern motherboard because the BIOS FLASH > chip (hasn't been an EEPROM for yonks) has, or should have, a protected > boot block that will always allow you to update the actual BIOS image. > > >
Guest Poprivet Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Re: What are the possible Consequences of changing BIOS? Justin wrote: > What are the possible consequences of changing BIOS? Can it stuff up > Windows? Not as long as it's the right BIOS and done properly, following instructions. If you're talking about flashing an update, why? I wouldn't bother with it unless I had a specific reason to need it. HTH Pop`
Guest Jim Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Re: What are the possible Consequences of changing BIOS? "Justin" <Justin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:19B5E324-F326-4A92-8E1A-D69E4AAD47E4@microsoft.com... > What are the possible consequences of changing BIOS? Can it stuff up > Windows? You can render the computer unbootable if you make the slightest error during a flash upgrade. One could say that this stuffs up Windows (or any other operating system for that matter). Making a few changes by hand is usually safe. Jim
Guest JockoBailey Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Re: What are the possible Consequences of changing BIOS? "Justin" <Justin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:19B5E324-F326-4A92-8E1A-D69E4AAD47E4@microsoft.com... > What are the possible consequences of changing BIOS? Can it stuff up Windows? Updating a Bios by flashing is one thing but changing the BIOS settings is another. If you're talking about the later then you can usually get back to the default settings if you screw things up. Jocko
Guest Ken Blake Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Re: What are the possible Consequences of changing BIOS? "Justin" <Justin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:19B5E324-F326-4A92-8E1A-D69E4AAD47E4@microsoft.com... > What are the possible consequences of changing BIOS? Do you flasing the BIOS (updating the version of the BIOS) rather than just changing asetting there? > Can it stuff up Windows? No it has nothing to do directly with Windows. But, if you use the wrong version, or if something goes wrong while you're doing it, you can destroy the entire computer. Do not upgrade your BIOS just because it's X years old and there are upgrades available. Although a BIOS upgrade normally goes well, it is not without danger. If something goes wrong while the upgrade is an progress (for example, a lapse in power) you can be left with no BIOS at all, and an unbootable computer. Do a BIOS upgrade if you need to--because you are having a problem that the new version is known to fix--not just because one is available. -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup
Guest dobey Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Re: What are the possible Consequences of changing BIOS? "Justin" <Justin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:19B5E324-F326-4A92-8E1A-D69E4AAD47E4@microsoft.com... > What are the possible consequences of changing BIOS? Can it stuff up > Windows? Worst case scenario is a dead motherboard. Occasionally things get broken and need to be tweaked in the BIOS. It shouldn't affect the files on the disk, unless you are using some kind of RAID setup that uses an onboard controller, then I wouldn't do anything without backing up the disks first. Many motherboards now have a dual BIOS solution, so if the main BIOS is corrupt it uses a backup one. Check your board, as many also have a BIOS capable of flashing, that is you simply put the new BIOS on a disk, boot the PC, enter the BIOS, and there will be a listing to update the BIOS. In earlier times you needed to use a bootable disk and boot to a basic DOS environment, then run the BIOS update program. If you loaded some other program in the config.sys or autoexec.bat files it could interfere with the update. As others have said, unless you want to fix a problem or add a function, new CPU codes for example, then there is no point. If you want to go further, read your mobo manual, or download it from the manufacturers website. Read the manufacturers instructions on flashing the BIOS. My latest motherboards have 3 different ways to flash the BIOS. (some offer BIOS upgrades through Windows. Could be perfectly fine, but I wouldn't use that method). If you use a floppy disk, make sure you run chkdsk over the floppy before and after you copy the files onto it. Do it in the drive that you will use to update the BIOS. Fortunately I've never had a problem flashing a BIOS, but I have had quite a bit of trouble over the years with corrupted files on floppy disks. Do a search on your motherboard and the BIOS revision you intend to use. If there is a known problem, then hopefully it will be documented - You will always find a handful of pratts who think the BIOS has busted their PC with no good reason, usually they are trying to overclock to warp factor five, or use some memory timings that are way out of spec in the first place. Provided you take a bit of care, there should be no problem. Many of us have done it dozens if not hundreds of times with no ill effects.
Guest Plato Posted August 30, 2007 Posted August 30, 2007 Re: What are the possible Consequences of changing BIOS? =?Utf-8?B?SnVzdGlu?= wrote: > > What are the possible consequences of changing BIOS? Can it stuff up Windows? Yes. -- http://www.bootdisk.com/
Guest Justin Posted August 30, 2007 Posted August 30, 2007 Re: What are the possible Consequences of changing BIOS? What I'm hoping to do is turn off the high pitched beep that the laptop makes when you press the HP quickplay buttons (pause, play, volume, etc.). I don't have the instructions to do this. QUESTION: If your BIOS is messed up, can you still insert the windows xp cd and reinstall or reformat the hard drive to fix the stuffed up BIOS, i.e. is messing up the BIOS the end?
Guest Tom Willett Posted August 30, 2007 Posted August 30, 2007 Re: What are the possible Consequences of changing BIOS? The BIOS is not related to Windows XP. It's a hardware issue with the computer. "Justin" <Justin@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:EF3DCE39-93FF-45C2-B8A3-1D937A6DE09F@microsoft.com... | What I'm hoping to do is turn off the high pitched beep that the laptop makes | when you press the HP quickplay buttons (pause, play, volume, etc.). I don't | have the instructions to do this. | | QUESTION: | If your BIOS is messed up, can you still insert the windows xp cd and | reinstall or reformat the hard drive to fix the stuffed up BIOS, i.e. is | messing up the BIOS the end?
Guest Bob I Posted August 30, 2007 Posted August 30, 2007 Re: What are the possible Consequences of changing BIOS? Try asking HP for the instructions? Justin wrote: > What I'm hoping to do is turn off the high pitched beep that the laptop makes > when you press the HP quickplay buttons (pause, play, volume, etc.). I don't > have the instructions to do this. > > QUESTION: > If your BIOS is messed up, can you still insert the windows xp cd and > reinstall or reformat the hard drive to fix the stuffed up BIOS, i.e. is > messing up the BIOS the end?
Recommended Posts