Updating BIOS?

[MrFire8808]

I was just curious what exactly updating the BIOS will do, and how important it is to do so

 

[GreyMittens]

Some will argue, but i only update my bios (for any device) if there is benefit in doing so. If it addresses issues or problems I currently might have then of course. If on the other hand, my system is stable and performs well as it is, then I don't mess with a good thing.

 

[Agamar]

I generally will only update my bios after a reload. Since I only reload about once a year, I go ahead and update the bios before I do it. I haven't had any troubles so far.

 

[corkyg]

I agree with GreyMittens. I firmly believe in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" dictum.

Before a BIOS upgrade, I always read what the upgrade does - what is changed. If it does not relate to anything I do, and everything I have is working perfectly, I don't change it.

 

[Mickey21]

Updating the BIOS may or may not fix issues that one might be having. Over time the code for the motherboard is changed to deal with hardware better or differently. Sometimes the changes are small and not noticeable, but sometimes the changes are quite large and necessary. Like stability issues, or major microcode updates to support newer processors. It really depends. I make it a point to update my BIOS when I can and not so much wait for it to "be broken" because it can be an inconvenient thing to change out a processor for an upgrade and find out you didnt have the code necessary to support it. Annoying but usually rectifiable. Really depends on your usage. Since you are asking this question though, it is likely you should wait till it is broken. Power users that upgrade frequently or looking for the best performance may want to update the BIOS all the time to special release versions or particularly more stable versions. Normally though it isnt something I worry about... Havent flashed a BIOS wrong yet, but I am sure one day it might happen. Also, if you cant afford to lose the motherboard due to BIOS upgrade failure, I wouldnt chance it. For me if the board failed it would also be annoying but not something I just cant buy another one for... Probably a better board anyways...

 

[JimPhelpsMI]

Hi, Grey has it right. Also remember that if you goof or load the wrong update your MB is a door stop and may never be itself again. Jim

 

[Mavrick007]

Updating your bios is not that bad. If you're worried about it, do it through DOS instead of the Windows GUI. Alot less issues happen in DOS but it could still fry the chip. This doesn't mean that the board is useless though since you can either get it reprogrammed or you can just buy a new bios chip.. that's much better than going out to buy a new motherboard, albeit a bit frustrating.

You probably don't need to update your bios unless you find there's something that your machine will not support/perform that a bios update will fix. Some people will stay away from updating unless they have to because of worry about messing up the bios, but some will update once a new one comes out. You can usually revert back to an older one if something isn't working right with the newer version so it should not be a problem if you want to update your bios.