Bios Updating Help

[Hoppin]

Can someone write me out steps of how to flash my bios and do i need a bootable usb or just normal and is 8gbs fine?

 

[jr9]

- Doesn't need to be bootable

- You want it to be formatted to FAT32 or large FAT. I use rufus if Windows only wants to do NTFS. This is an issue with larger flash drives. Some BIOS have issue reading anything that isn't FAT32 or large FAT. FAT64 also doesn't work sometimes nor NTFS.

1. Download the latest BIOS file from your motherboard page.

2. Put the file on your flash drive

3. Reboot the PC, get into your BIOS settings

4. Using the BIOS update utility ( name varies from motherboard to motherboard, on ASUS it's called EZ flash), load up the utility and select the BIOS file from the flash drive. Confirm and let it do the update.

5. Do not interrupt the update or it can brick your motherboard. It will tell you when it's done or may restart.

If you cant find the flash tool in BIOS if you give your motherboard name we can look it up.

 

[Hoppin]

- Doesn't need to be bootable

- You want it to be formatted to FAT32 or large FAT. I use rufus if Windows only wants to do NTFS. This is an issue with larger flash drives. Some BIOS have issue reading anything that isn't FAT32 or large FAT. FAT64 also doesn't work sometimes nor NTFS.

1. Download the latest BIOS file from your motherboard page.

2. Put the file on your flash drive

3. Reboot the PC, get into your BIOS settings

4. Using the BIOS update utility ( name varies from motherboard to motherboard), load up the utility and select the BIOS file from the flash drive. Confirm and let it do the update.

5. Do not interrupt the update or it can brick your motherboard. It will tell you when it's done or may restart.

So 8gb is fine? i read something that said if its too big it can screw it up. And also does it matter what usb i plug in?

 

[jr9]

The only reason too big is an issue is because you may not be able to format a 120GB drive to FAT32, thus the BIOS program may not be able to read it or the BIOS file on it. Windows cannot format a volume that size to FAT32, it must use NTFS which BIOS may not be able to read. With an 8GB flash drive you should be able to use Windows explorer to format (right click, format) the flash drive to FAT32 no problem. I have a dedicated cheap FAT32 4GB flash drive at work that is used solely for BIOS updates. The port you choose doesn't matter but back ports near the ports in the back of the PC are ideal.

 

[Hoppin]

The only reason too big is an issue is because you may not be able to format a 120GB drive to FAT32, thus the BIOS program may not be able to read it or the BIOS file on it. Windows cannot format a volume that size to FAT32, it must use NTFS which BIOS may not be able to read. With an 8GB flash drive you should be able to use Windows explorer to format (right click, format) the flash drive to FAT32 no problem. I have a dedicated cheap FAT43 4GB flash drive at work that is used solely for BIOS updates. The port you choose doesn't matter but back ports near the ports in the back of the PC are ideal.

i did a fat32 format. now which usb port do i use? Should i be scared to update it? i have a b350 arctic tomahawk and my new ram isnt working without update so i have to use my old 4gb ram to use rn

 

[jr9]

Any will work but I like back ones because they are faster and more reliable as they are built into the motherboard.

If you are having Ryzen RAM issues BIOS update is step 1 always.

 

[Hoppin]

Any will work but I like back ones because they are faster and more reliable as they are built into the motherboard.

If you are having Ryzen RAM issues BIOS update is step 1 always.

So what happens if i brick it even though i follow steps PERFECTLY? i bought through amazon and i didnt purchase the warrenty

 

[jr9]

If you followed the steps and you have the correct BIOS file (it generally checks first) then it's shouldn't brick unless the motherboard has a serious problem already. You will be using MSI M-Flash inside the BIOS setup program. It's a fairly safe process with these BIOS flash utilities UNLESS it is interrupted. Another reason to use back ports is no chance of bumping the USB drive.

BIOS is found at: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/B350-TOMAHAWK-ARCTIC#down-bios

There's even instructions from MSI on that page in a link.

 

[Hoppin]

If you followed the steps and you have the correct BIOS file (it generally checks first) then it's shouldn't brick unless the motherboard has a serious problem already. You will be using MSI M-Flash inside the BIOS setup program. It's a fairly safe process with these BIOS flash utilities UNLESS it is interrupted. Another reason to use back ports is no chance of bumping the USB drive.

BIOS is found at: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/B350-TOMAHAWK-ARCTIC#down-bios

There's even instructions from MSI on that page in a link.

Would u do it even if u were not havin ram issues? is ryzen bios kinda trash out of box?

 

[jr9]

Generally BIOS is only updated when experiencing issues with hardware, however Ryzen motherboards have many memory compatibility issues and it is strongly recommended updating the BIOS if you are experiencing any sort of issues adding new parts like RAM. Newer BIOS versions fixes problems the board has with new hardware.

 

[Hoppin]

Generally BIOS is only updated when experiencing issues with hardware, however Ryzen motherboards have many memory compatibility issues and it is strongly recommended updating the BIOS if you are experiencing any sort of issues adding new parts like RAM. Newer BIOS versions fixes problems the board has with new hardware.

So i just updated and it went smooth and less scary than i thought. Now i put my 3.8ghz oc back on and it says its on in the bios but not windows.

 

[jr9]

Use OCCT to figure out what your overclocks are. Windows sometimes doesn't show you CPU overclocks. OCCT has lots of other information too such as temps.

 

[Hoppin]

Use OCCT to figure out what your overclocks are. Windows sometimes doesn't show you CPU overclocks. OCCT has lots of other information too such as temps.

So i put it to 3.8ghz in my bios and in this it says 3797.8 in this. im good? Also in cinebench it says 3.2ghz

 

[jr9]

Cinebench, like Windows, can sometimes fail to see overclocked processor speeds. Trust OCCT. I use it professionally a lot.

 

[Hoppin]

Cinebench, like Windows, can sometimes fail to see overclocked processor speeds. Trust OCCT. I use it professionally a lot.

So im good if it says like a tiny tiny bit of from 3.8ghz which is what i set it too?

 

[jr9]

That's fine. It just rounded down a bit. You won't see any kind of performance loss. Just like if you set your RAM to 3000MHz with XMP it will go down to 2933MHz by itself.

 

[Hoppin]

That's fine. It just rounded down a bit. You won't see any kind of performance loss. Just like if you set your RAM to 3000MHz with XMP it will go down to 2933MHz by itself.

ok thank you