Question Motherboard BIOS update compatibility question

[hefen]

I bought a new Radeon RX 570 that doesn't appear to work with my motherboard. (System starts without beeping, GPU fans spin, but monitor says no HDMI output.) It appears to be a BIOS issue, so I want to update my BIOS. However I've run into an interesting problem.

HP shows no BIOS updates for my system model (h8-1100z). However, it does show a BIOS update for another system model with the exact same motherboard and chipset as mine (h8-1212).

I know flashing the wrong BIOS will brick my machine, so I want to be extra sure I'm not making a mistake. I don't have the hardware expertise to judge whether this is worth trying or not. Can anyone tell me if this would be safe to try?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I could be wrong regarding a RX570 but I know newer video cards typically need a UFEI bios (web page like bios) not the old school dumb terminal type bios.

 

[hefen]

I could be wrong regarding a RX570 but I know newer video cards typically need a UFEI bios (web page like bios) not the old school dumb terminal type bios.

Yes I'm aware of that. My motherboard is UEFI capable. (HP documentation, CPU-Z, HWiNFO and other tools confirm this.) But my current BIOS version (v7.16) doesn't offer UEFI settings. According to this reference page for my motherboard only v8 offers UEFI settings: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03092621
That is why I want to update it. But HP doesn't offer that version for my specific system model, and I don't know if that means the BIOS has to be specific to my system (not only motherboard) or not.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Yes I'm aware of that. My motherboard is UEFI capable. (HP documentation, CPU-Z, HWiNFO and other tools confirm this.) But my current BIOS version (v7.16) doesn't offer UEFI settings. According to this reference page for my motherboard only v8 offers UEFI settings: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03092621
That is why I want to update it. But HP doesn't offer that version for my specific system model, and I don't know if that means the BIOS has to be specific to my system (not only motherboard) or not.

Hmmm, maybe you want to be selective about the video driver?
Try the oldest video driver for the card you can find.
I’m not so good with the trouble shooting stuff, above is all I have.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Can you return the card? Per this thread appears someone had a similar problem.

[Problem] UEFI card on a legacy BIOS Mobo!

Hi, Guys! I've just bought an used Rx460 4GB but it acts very strange! the BIOS became choppy as if it's running @

www.techpowerup.com

This card or something like it that is certified to work with an old bios might be a safer bet.

Gigabyte WindForce GTX 1660 ti 6GB GDDR6 GPU $239.99 (after $20 MIR) + $3.99 ship @ Newegg

GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1660 Ti OC 6G Graphics Card, 2 x WINDFORCE Fans, 6GB 192-Bit GDDR6, GV-N166TOC-6GD Video Card https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1660-ti-gv-n166toc-6gd/p/N82E16814932131?Item=N82E16814932131 Pretty close to the pricing of a GTX 1660 Super, and still...

forums.anandtech.com

 

[hefen]

Hmmm, maybe you want to be selective about the video driver?
Try the oldest video driver for the card you can find.
I’m not so good with the trouble shooting stuff, above is all I have.

I made sure my Linux system supports AMD GPUs. The problem is there is no output from HDMI when I start the system, I can't see boot screens or anything. Please reread my original post.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I made sure my Linux system supports AMD GPUs. The problem is there is no output from HDMI when I start the system, I can't see boot screens or anything. Please reread my original post.

That’s all I’ve got

 

[hefen]

Can you return the card?

That is an option but my motherboard supports UEFI, I just need to update it, but I'm not sure if updating BIOS meant for another system (with same mobo and chipset) would brick my system or not. Please reread my OP.

 

[Iron Woode]

I am assuming the PSU has the proper connectors for it and enough power to run it.

Why not direct your question to HP Support?

 

[VirtualLarry]

I don't think that HP Support offers tech support "for the life of the system". I think that you need to purchase a support contract to get BIOS updates and tech support, after your first year of warranty is over.

OP, take this with a grain of salt, but in my experience, if the PC in question has the EXACT SAME, and I do mean EXACT board/chipset/options, then using a different PC model's BIOS flash for the same identical board doesn't seem like a problem to me. I would personally try it, but I'm a tech., and willing to try things that most people might not. There IS risk involved.

 

[hefen]

Yeah this is a very old PC, the warranty is expired. HP still provides driver updates for older models on their website.

I don't think that HP Support offers tech support "for the life of the system". I think that you need to purchase a support contract to get BIOS updates and tech support, after your first year of warranty is over.

OP, take this with a grain of salt, but in my experience, if the PC in question has the EXACT SAME, and I do mean EXACT board/chipset/options, then using a different PC model's BIOS flash for the same identical board doesn't seem like a problem to me. I would personally try it, but I'm a tech., and willing to try things that most people might not. There IS risk involved.

When you say "options" what do you mean? As far as I can tell there's no difference between the two. The spec pages state that mine was released in the US and the h8-1212 was released in Canada, that seems to be the only difference. They seem basically identical otherwise. Same mobo with same CPU options as mine, same chipset, same amount/type of RAM, etc. I've also seen this same mobo model for sale online and I can't imagine why it would have to be installed in exactly the same type of HP system it came from, that just doesn't make sense. It should work in any HP system that used that model of motherboard. That's why I figured it would work.

But I'm not a hardware expert and for all I know there could be some detail I'm not aware of that would bite me in the ass. I just wanted some input from someone more knowledgeable.

HP has a recovery USB option for corrupted BIOS, so I'll make one with my old BIOS version just in case. If it bricks I should be able to recover it.

 

[VirtualLarry]

HP has a recovery USB option for corrupted BIOS, so I'll make one with my old BIOS version just in case. If it bricks I should be able to recover it.

That's a good idea. I'd go ahead and flash it then, if you have a restore option in case it goes bad.

 

[Iron Woode]

I don't think that HP Support offers tech support "for the life of the system". I think that you need to purchase a support contract to get BIOS updates and tech support, after your first year of warranty is over.

OP, take this with a grain of salt, but in my experience, if the PC in question has the EXACT SAME, and I do mean EXACT board/chipset/options, then using a different PC model's BIOS flash for the same identical board doesn't seem like a problem to me. I would personally try it, but I'm a tech., and willing to try things that most people might not. There IS risk involved.

believe it or not, I actually tried this with an old Socket A setup. It was one of those M810 chipset boards from PC Chips and Amptron. Both boards were identical, so I decided to flash the BIOS from the Amptron site on the PC Chips board. It worked and actually added an extra feature I didn't see before.

 

[hefen]

Well, I did more research and it appears the boards for those two machines aren't exactly the same. There are at least three different "versions" of this model. For the benefit of anyone who stumbles upon this thread I'll post what I've learned.

First there's this thread from the HP support forums: difference between motherboard M3970AM-HP and M3970CM

• Angelica has one version: M3970AM
• Angelica2 has two versions: M3970BM & M3970CM
• Angelica allows 16GB RAM max, Angelica2 allows 32GB max
• Angelica has a legacy BIOS, Angelica2 supports UEFI
• all three boards are physically indistinguishable

I did some research and these boards have Motherboard Part Numbers (MPN) printed on white stickers, and HP has a website called PartSurfer for looking up these numbers. I looked on my board and googled the other board models for their MPNs:

• M3970AM Angelica is 652951-001
• M3970BM Angelica2 is 685006-001
• M3970CM Angelica2 is 696080-001
  • PartSurfer notes the v8 BIOS I need is available for this board

My board is M3970AM and the BIOS I wanted to flash is for M3970CM.
I thought my board was Angelica2 because it has 32GB RAM installed and working, and the BIOS has "UEFI Boot Sources" and "run a UEFI application," though I don't know if that's true UEFI or Gigabyte's "Hybrid-EFI" I've read about here (also discussed here).

After all I've read if these boards really are different then I expect the M3970CM BIOS to brick my machine. It's all so unclear and frustrating that I'm probably just gonna return my GPU and get one I know works with this board.
Thank you all for trying to help lol.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Well, I did more research and it appears the boards for those two machines aren't exactly the same. There are at least three different "versions" of this model. For the benefit of anyone who stumbles upon this thread I'll post what I've learned.

First there's this thread from the HP support forums: difference between motherboard M3970AM-HP and M3970CM

• Angelica has one version: M3970AM
• Angelica2 has two versions: M3970BM & M3970CM
• Angelica allows 16GB RAM max, Angelica2 allows 32GB max
• Angelica has a legacy BIOS, Angelica2 supports UEFI
• all three boards are physically indistinguishable

I did some research and these boards have Motherboard Part Numbers (MPN) printed on white stickers, and HP has a website called PartSurfer for looking up these numbers. I looked on my board and googled the other board models for their MPNs:

• M3970AM Angelica is 652951-001
• M3970BM Angelica2 is 685006-001
• M3970CM Angelica2 is 696080-001
  • PartSurfer notes the v8 BIOS I need is available for this board

My board is M3970AM and the BIOS I wanted to flash is for M3970CM.
I thought my board was Angelica2 because it has 32GB RAM installed and working, and the BIOS has "UEFI Boot Sources" and "run a UEFI application," though I don't know if that's true UEFI or Gigabyte's "Hybrid-EFI" I've read about here (also discussed here).

After all I've read if these boards really are different then I expect the M3970CM BIOS to brick my machine. It's all so unclear and frustrating that I'm probably just gonna return my GPU and get one I know works with this board.
Thank you all for trying to help lol.

Excellent sleuthing skills you have.
I agree, I know it’s disappointing but much safer to just return the card and buy one that works right on your machine.
One tip from a guy who has an older monitor. Sounds dumb but if you use dvi make sure the card has a dvi Port.

 

[Spjut]

I'm not wanting to give you false hope, but just posting this because i haven't seen you or anyone else mention it
Typing your model number in the Software and Drivers tab, and then choosing Windows 7, does turn up one driver for the M3970AM-HP. Though it only says it updates the RAID opROM.

Driver - | HP® Customer Support

support.hp.com

Another thing worth trying that some claim have fixed this, try disabling Secure Boot if you can. And disable everything else that makes it differ from the normal POST process (ie Expressgate has been known to cause issues on Asus motherboards).

If there are any options related to UEFI and Legacy in the BIOS, try forcing one or the other. If there's an option called Compatibility Support Module (CSM), enable it for maximum compatibility.