Updating A Motherboard Bios

This is one area of computer work I am not real familiar with. I've built my own computers for over 10 years now but have never dealt with a motherboard BIOS update.

I have an ASUS M4A785M motherboard. Currently it has the original v1006 BIOS installed. There is a v1101 BIOS available.

1. In general - How risky is it to perform a BIOS update?
2. Can the OS be affected in any manner?
3. Can the motherboard get damaged in any way?
4. I am running Windows 10 PRO 64bit on the computer and have been for two years. The v1101 BIOS is supported through Windows 8. However, Windows 10 is basically a fancied up version of Win7 and Win8 (sort of). If the Win10 PC OS is operating fine with the v1006 BIOS then there really shouldn't be any issue with the PC's OS operating under the v1101 BIOS.
5. The reason for updating the BIOS is this:
   
6. I am having problems with WIN PE thumb drive creation/usage via AOMEI Backupper.
7. I cannot get the Backupper WIN PE Utility to write to a thumb drive on the motherboard
   
8. If I insert another WIN PE thumb drive made for one of my other computers the PC will read the drive but the BIOS will not boot from the drive. It might be possible that the WIN PE thumb drive needs to be computer specific; not sure about that aspect as of yet.
9. The CD drive version of the WIN PE works just fine for booting to the AOMEI program to run a System Image Restore on the computer. However, I like the compactness of a USB drive for the WIN PE's.

At any rate - that's what I am facing, and wondering about, relative to line items 1. - 4. above. I am not wanting to lose functionality of this PC and am just wanting to make certain of the path I'm heading down.

 

Usually, bios updates will detail what is included in the update (i.e. why they are updating it). Usually to fix something that's broke or to add a new/updated function. Can you check the notes to see if your type of problem is listed? If not, I don't think a bios update is going to fix your problem.
On a side note, there are always risks when applying a bios update, but in my several years of tinkering and applying many bios updates, I have never run into an issue. My last 2 or 3 motherboards i've purchased came with a "backup bios" or some sort of fail safe option so if the update did go wrong, it wouldn't brick the motherboard. Does yours have that feature?
Also, a few tips about thumb drives. Have you tried the drive in a different usb slot? preferably on the rear of the motherboard? (it may seem trivial, but I've seen issues with usb slots on the front of the case)
The bios can be sort of computer specific. I have heard (not actually seen) that there are very few instances where the manufacturer will not let you boot from certain devices.
If I think of anything else, I will post it here
Good luck

 

After a check on your motherboard specs, I found this:

and the bios update changelog states it "improves stability" (not sure what that means)

 

Sort of? Even that's a stretch. W7 came out in 2009. W8 in 2012. There have been huge advances in technologies in both hardware and software during that time. Is the 2018 Honda Accord just a fancied up 2009 Accord? Or are they almost totally different, though similarly looking cars with the same logo on it?

"Shouldn't" being the key word there. But remember, the BIOS is really all about the hardware, more so than operating systems since the BIOS is used to boot up the hardware before any OS on a boot drive is even touched.

When I look at the BIOS download page for your motherboard, the date I see for v1101 is 2012 and all it says for a description is it improved stability since your version from 2010. It says nothing about adding support or fixing problems with thumb drives.

I agree completely with thesmokingun. BIOS updates are released to fix something that's broken or to add support for new hardware like newly released CPUs or RAM. If the change logs for the update don't address your problem specifically, I would not do it.

Updating the BIOS is much less risky than it was years ago, but the risk of bricking your motherboard is still high, should something go wrong during the update process. A power fluctuation at just the right (or rather wrong) time, for example could be a killer.

If thumb drives work with other programs, that is not a BIOS issue. As for booting from the thumb drive, did you change the settings in the BIOS Setup Menu (if they even exist - check your motherboard manual) to allow booting from USB connected devices?

IMO, your problem is not with the BIOS.

See: WinPE: Create USB Bootable drive

 

thesmokingun: Yes, I did try the USB in the rear slots. In fact I seldom use front slots since my other PC's have multiple, different USB speed, slots on the rear of the MB's. That has made me accustomed to using the rear for USB plug in.

I think I'm going to go through some more testing here and see if I can pinpoint what exactly is going on. I have felt that I tried everything but maybe I overlooked something. Another interesting issue is that the problem has persisted through the Win 10 OS major updates. I'm now on v1709. This is not a new problem. It has been with me for two years. I've just not approached it because the AOMEI WIN PE Utility performs well via the CD. It's a definite strange situation.

 

I had an ASUS motherboard in my last computer. They have an auto update app but for me it never worked. It might for your computer if that motherboard is supported. What I was wondering is if there are problems that make you want to update the BIOS that maybe we can find a solution for.

 

That's why I posted this thread. Been there, done that. Thanks.

 

AOMEI had problems with their backup,and restore functions with Windows 10- have you checked if there was an update that you have not got from Aomei.
Digeratti's post - It could be worth you checking it out- It may be that you need the ADK tools on the computer you are working on for it to boot.
A link from Digeratti's post -
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...cture/desktop/winpe-create-usb-bootable-drive

 

Thanks for your advice. No I have not yet checked AOMEI. I've been kinda swamped all this week. I'll be paying closer attention to the problem next week.
. . .
I decided to go ahead and take a quick look at the link. I then followed the ADK link. There was the following introductory paragraph - The Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) has the tools you need to customize Windows images for large-scale deployment, and to test the quality and performance of your system, its added components, and the applications running on it. The latest version of this kit is available for download below. I noticed there is an ADK for Win10 Fall Creator v1709 - which I am running; that's a good thing.

What do they mean by 'large- scale' deployment? Is a standard desktop PC out of that realm? I have never worked with ADK before; thus I need to secure some confidence in putting it on the computer. It may be what the PC needs to get the WinPE up and working correctly.

 

Although I have not gone this far myself, it may be that you need to check if the usb backup was made in bios,or Uefi mode,or, both, and it may be that it would boot, if you change the settings as in the link to work from the usb, from this link,where-as the dvd seems to work alright. Scroll down the whole page.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...desktop/boot-to-uefi-mode-or-legacy-bios-mode
ADK can be useful, and needs to be studied before using, but the tools are good,if you need them.
I would not worry about 'large scale deployment ' messages, but if you study the pages, and ll it's links, you can decide if it is for you