Question Flash Updating BIOS

[Strayer_]

I'm helping my friend build a PC today, and two of his parts include the B550M Pro-VDH WIFI motherboard and a Ryzen 5 5600 CPU. It's possible they're not compatible yet so I have a flash drive prepared to flash update the BIOS. Should I immediately flash update it with just the motherboard before we start building or should I help him build it to see if it works already and if it doesn't then flash the BIOS with everything installed?

 

[Lutfij]

Keep the USB drive handy...don't make it your go-to thing once you've breadboarded the parts before assembly into your chassis. There should be a sticker on the motherboard that should show you what BIOS version the board came shipped with from the factory. You can follow through steps outlined in the motherboard manual, in page 46 in the event that the board doesn't POST.

While you're here, download the latest drivers for your motherboard off of MSI's support page for the board onto a pen drive and use another pen drive to fabricate your bootable USB installer.

 

[Strayer_]

Keep the USB drive handy...don't make it your go-to thing once you've breadboarded the parts before assembly into your chassis. There should be a sticker on the motherboard that should show you what BIOS version the board came shipped with from the factory. You can follow through steps outlined in the motherboard manual, in page 46 in the event that the board doesn't POST.

While you're here, download the latest drivers for your motherboard off of MSI's support page for the board onto a pen drive and use another pen drive to fabricate your bootable USB installer.

Alright, thanks for the advice. If I do need to flash update after the build, is it safe to do so when parts are already installed into the motherboard?

 

[Lutfij]

Updating the BIOS; Do so and only so when the build is breadboarded, that way you don't have to tear down the system if things go South for you. You can also flash the BIOS with bare minimum hardware - as stated in the motherboard's manual.

 

[geofelt]

In you bought new stock, the motherboard will have the most current bios available at time of manufacture.
You can likely boot to bios with a 5600.It is good practice to assemble parts outside of the case for initial testing.
Best advice is to never update a bios unless the update fixes a problem that you are having.
But, on a new build, I would update to currency first thing anyway. Any problems are easier to handle then. For ryzen there are a great many ram related bios updates coming out all the time.

 

[Strayer_]

In you bought new stock, the motherboard will have the most current bios available at time of manufacture.
You can likely boot to bios with a 5600.It is good practice to assemble parts outside of the case for initial testing.
Best advice is to never update a bios unless the update fixes a problem that you are having.
But, on a new build, I would update to currency first thing anyway. Any problems are easier to handle then. For ryzen there are a great many ram related bios updates coming out all the time.

The motherboard was bought off Newegg recently so not too sure how new their stock is, and on the box, it doesn't state anything about Ryzen 5th gen only 3rd. Is it possible that the box is just outdated and the motherboard itself is updated, and is there anywhere to check if the bios is updated on the motherboard? If not do you think it's best just to flash bios immediately either way as updating it will be beneficial no matter what?

 

[geofelt]

Flashing without a display is a very nervous process.
You are never quite certain as to what is going on.
Stopping the process prematurely will lead to a difficult recovery.

Out of the case, go ahead and install the cpu, cooler,ram and psu.
Start the motherboard via shorting the two front panel PWR pins.
If all goes well, you will see a bios display which will tell you that your cpu is compatible and that level of bios you have.
This is a good time to run
Run memtest86 or memtest86+
They boot from a usb stick and do not use windows.
You can download them here:

MemTest86 - Official Site of the x86 Memory Testing Tool

MemTest86 is the original self booting memory testing software for x86 and ARM computers. Supporting both BIOS and UEFI, with options to boot from USB.

www.memtest86.com

Memtest86+ | The Open-Source Memory Testing Tool

Memtest86+ is an advanced, free, open-source, stand-alone memory tester for 32- and 64-bit computers (UEFI & BIOS supported)

www.memtest.org

If you can run a full pass with NO errors, your ram should be ok.

Running several more passes will sometimes uncover an issue, but it takes more time.
Probably not worth it unless you really suspect a ram issue.

 

[BFG-9000]

Unfortunately MSI doesn't put the BIOS rev anywhere on the box sticker or motherboard so you actually have to assemble it and see what that is at POST. Last year though, they added a separate sticker to the box that said "AMD Ryzen 5000 Desktop Ready." It is possible that by now the Ryzen 5000 series (which came out in 2020) is so old that any board would be assumed to have a new enough BIOS, so they didn't bother reprinting more stickers after they ran out.