[SOLVED] Confusing BIOS update mechanic in Gigabyte GA-AX370M Gaming 3

[howtobeironic]

So, I bought this GA-AX370M Gaming 3 (rev 1.x) a year ago. Paired with a Ryzen 5 2600 it obviously did not work in the first assemble since Ryzen 2xxx support comes with F20. It had F1 on it, so sent it to service to have it updated to F23. Went okay, rig working for a year from now. Experienced screen tearing and the people who helped me advised me to update the BIOS. The page is: https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-AX370M-Gaming-3-rev-1x/support#support-dl-bios and it's damn confusing. The target update is F41. Dropped a ticket through the support and they followed:

*Update to F31, boot to OS
*Run the EC FW Update tool, boot to OS
*Update to F40, boot to OS
*Update to F41, boot to OS

Kind of clear from here but I have questions left, and I bet you can answer them.

1)I can't see what version my DualBIOS backup chip is on. In any case I get a brick and this kicks in, and if it's in F1, I'll have to go through the trouble of RMA'ing it again. Tried doing F9 in the BIOS menu, can only see the normal BIOS version. No backup version mentioned (I am sure there is a backup BIOS though, it's on the motherboard) Is there any way for me to see which version is in? And can I flash my current BIOS (F23) to it? How?

2)As such, I need to have CSM setting disabled to be able to boot into Windows but when I load optimized defaults (which is a step before and after each update) it reverts back to enabled, blocking me from booting to Windows. Do I need to be able to boot into Windows to finalize the update? What should I do with it?

3)I have seen the option "Face Wizard" in GB APP center on Windows (it lets you replace the boot splash with a preferred image) and I want to try it up after I go through the update. Thoughts on this?

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

01) with this type of feature there is usually an option included in the BIOS that will allow you to save the existing BIOS as the backup, in this case the DualBIOS.
there's not usually much, if any information about what is already stored there.

you would have to search through the BIOS pages/menus to find this option, search online for someone offering the information, or contact product support and ask them how to accomplish it.

02) booting into Windows shouldn't inhibit your flashing the BIOS. you should be able to bypass Windows totally by loading the BIOS revisions onto a flash drive and updating from within the BIOS. hopefully they have included this feature.

if using Gigabyte software from within Windows to update it shouldn't really make a difference. run the update, let it reboot, when it's finished re-enter the BIOS and disable CSM again. i believe they are just inferring that you should reboot and load Windows fully one time before using the Gigabyte software to move on to another BIOS version.

odd that this board would set CSM enabled as default. this should only be for older legacy OSs that don't support UEFI so should be disabled by default in any newer motherboards.

03) some of the motherboard software i've used will only allow to change the boot screen image when you are updating the BIOS. so just go ahead and do it as you are running the next update.


just make sure you follow the incremental path Gigabyte has laid out for you in regards to BIOS updates; F31, F40, etc.