[SOLVED] Success or failure of a BIOS update seems to depend on the USB drive ?

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Sheikh Tashdeed Ahmed

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Jul 2, 2016
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Hello everyone. I am using the MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC.
I have read MANY forum replies of different users expressing their concerns over failed BIOS updates even though they followed the motherboard vendors' suggested process to the book.

Many have even said that when they retried the BIOS update using different USB sticks, the results were different. While one 'perfectly functioning' USB drive didn't allow the BIOS update to be successful, another 'perfectly functioning' USB drive got the job done.

Now, my question is, why is it, that one USB drive which performs completely alright doesn't allow the BIOS update to be installed properly while another USB drive does?
The usual complaint is, that the compatible CPU LED is on after an update.
 
Solution
Ahh, well then there's a difference there. MBR/GPT is how the drives are Organized, format Fat32/ntfs etc is how the files are Organized

Windows is ntfs. That's the filing system it uses. Prior to WinXP, windows was DOS based, not ntfs based. Floppy drives used Fat32 file system. Ntfs is New Technology File System, first used in Win NT server, and basically replaced File Allocation Table 32bit (FAT32) in standard windows based on 64bit (x64) processing.

Floppies, USB, other portable media still uses Fat32 because it's simple, small and universal. Just like most hdd and Sata ssd under 2TB still use MBR instead of using GPT.

It's like how a book is written. Most smaller books have an index page, lists all the Chapters. That's MBR. GPT...

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
Explanation of terms:

UEFI - Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
If your PC is less than 11 years old, you have a UEFI bios now

In 2006 or so Intel decided the bios as it was at time was too limited and needed to be replaced so that it supported newer technologies as they were invented
By about 2009 a consortium of hardware makers had combined to create UEFI standard

Old bios were limited, they didn't know what a mouse was for, so everything was keyboard driven
they weren't expandable, everything had to fit in a small amount of memory (16mb)
they only supported Master Boot Record (MBR)
  1. which can only have 4 partitions per drive (there are tricks to get around this)
  2. and max drive size is 2.2 tb
UEFI bios overcame all the limitations of legacy bios (as it came to be called)
it supports mouse, it has a GUI so it looks better than previous bios could
Its expandable, it can be added to to grow as new hardware is created.
UEFI supports MBR & GPT Drives

GPT = GUID Partition Table
GUID = Global Unique ID = Every GPT drive on earth has a unique ID
  1. GPT drives can have a max of 255 partitions on them
  2. Max size of a GPT drive/partition is 18.8 million TB
 

Karadjgne

Titan
Ambassador
Learning is always a good thing. But you'll need to apply limits for your own sanity when it comes to pc's. Each subject is a rabbit hole, leads to many other tunnels, each another rabbit hole. Nobody understands the entire Warren exactly, but many understand more specific and specialized rabbit holes. But as is, pc's are basically a bottomless pit of info.

Just delving into MBR/GPT will lead to file systems, differences in Sata and hdd drives, which lead to different kinds of nand, which leads to controllers, which leads to differences in internal and external drives, which leads to Sata and USB interconnects, which leads to Sata and pcie differences, which leads to types of pcie...............

The list is endless 😉
 

Sheikh Tashdeed Ahmed

Distinguished
Jul 2, 2016
69
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18,535
Ahh, well then there's a difference there. MBR/GPT is how the drives are Organized, format Fat32/ntfs etc is how the files are Organized

Windows is ntfs. That's the filing system it uses. Prior to WinXP, windows was DOS based, not ntfs based. Floppy drives used Fat32 file system. Ntfs is New Technology File System, first used in Win NT server, and basically replaced File Allocation Table 32bit (FAT32) in standard windows based on 64bit (x64) processing.

Floppies, USB, other portable media still uses Fat32 because it's simple, small and universal. Just like most hdd and Sata ssd under 2TB still use MBR instead of using GPT.

It's like how a book is written. Most smaller books have an index page, lists all the Chapters. That's MBR. GPT is built for bigger books, so would just have an index page listing all the Parts. At each Part has its own index page listing all the contained Chapters.

Fat32 would be like those Chapters listed in Bullet Point, double spaced, NTFS would be numbered, single space instead. Fat32 bullet point, double spaced is very simple and easy to read, but can contain only so many Chapters listed on a page. NTFS being single spaced and numbered is a little more complex, but can contain far more Chapters listed per page.

About as simple as I can break it down lol.
I wish I could hug you and thank you for being THE HELPFUL techie on the internet.
These analogies should help me get started to know more about them in future. For the time being, I am much clearer than when I posted the main post.
Anybody would agree that this is the best answer. It's actually more than that.
Thank you again! I will keep this info in mind next time if I format something.