BIOS Update general question

[Tangra]

Hi everyone,

Could, you please help me here.

My BIOS date is 13/10/2009.

On the Download page for my BIOS the date is the same.
What does that mean?
Does it mean that there is no update since 13/10/2009 - I don't have to update?
Or does it mean that the version to be downloaded is an update for the 13/10/2009 version?

Thank you in advance.

[dmdilks]

Could you tell us what your Mother boards is that way we can a little better.

[Tangra]

Thank you for your reply and intention to help.

This is where the information for my motherboard is on gigabyte's website:
http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/download-center.aspx?kw=GA-G31M-ES2L&ck=


My motherboard is the 3rd one :

GA-G31M-ES2L (rev.2.x) and my BIOS version is FF

[cjapeterborough]

Well there is a few bios updates listed on the bios support page for your board the most recent F1  2010/08/12
What is your issue?

[Tangra]

Oh, I already replied, where did my reply disappear?
I even attached a file.

[dmdilks]

All I have to say "don't fix what isn't broke". If you want to update it because it is there that is up to you.

But if you are not having any problem leave well enough a lone. They really don't improve anything unless you are having a problem.

As I told somebody once before I don't update any thing unless I'm having a problem. Most of my drivers are over two years old.

[Tangra]

Thank you for your replies.

I don't know what is the cause of my computer's problems, but I get repeated event viewer events, telling me to " upgrade the computer's firmware",  whatever this might mean.

Now, my computer is 4 years old, custom build by a company.  (Please see the attached file)

The main problem is that it can't start properly.   Now and again it does, but more often than not it doesn't.   What happens is this:  I turn it on and after the Windows logo screen the light next to the re-start button goes off, all activities stop and I get a black screen.  If I push "re-start", everything starts again, the process goes through "Error recovery", I choose "start normally" and usually Windows loads.   Sometimes I have to push "re-start" and go through this cycle 3-4 times in a row before Windows loads.  Turning the computer off and then on again sometimes helps, but usually not -I  have to go again through the same cycle.  The situation is similar if I re-start for whatever reason from inside Windows - I reach the black screen and everything stops.

Very often the computer can't wake up from sleep as well.

I can't make any connection as to why this is happening - It's highly unpredictable.
If, say, some day I happen to turn it on 6 times,  the statistics for the day might be that 2/6 times it will start OK, the other 4 times it won't.  This has been the case for the last 2 years.

I even re-installed Windows twice - a year ago and again 2 weeks ago - the situation is the same.

For reference I put some information together in the attached file - my computer configuration, the drivers I updated since the last re-installation, the power plan settings and some recent Event Viewer errors.

Any help will be highly appreciated, since I have very limited computer knowledge.

[cjapeterborough]

Based on the age of your system you may have an aged related hardware fault -hard drive or motherboard.
Have you run the western digital drive diagnostics for example to see if you have a possible problem with it?

If it was me I would update the bios to the latest and then make sure all your drivers are up to date.

If it keeps happening then it might be time to move on to something newer.

[dmdilks]

I want to add to a couple things that cjapeterborough has said. Have you tried one stick of memory at a time.

Than try and remove the video card and use the on board video. The thing is that after the windows logo screen.

That is when all you drivers start loading. You have said you will get a black screen at that point.

[Tangra]

Thank you both for your answers.

Based on the age of your system you may have an aged related hardware fault -hard drive or motherboard.

My computer is 4 years old now, but I had the same problem 2 years ago, when it was 2 years old, only.
That is why I decided 7-8 months ago to clean re-install Windows 7, but this didn't help.

Have you run the western digital drive diagnostics for example to see if you have a possible problem with it?

Yes, I have a month ago - the HD passed.  

I have 3 volumes: system reserved (100 MB), volume C: (60 MB with the OS) and volume D: 693 MB.
Lately I checked again the file systems on C: and D:. They look OK, but I get event viewer messages,
that something is wrong with the system reserved partition.
For the moment I am not sure how to check it, or if it could be repaired somehow.

If it was me I would update the bios to the latest and then make sure all your drivers are up to date.

I want to try to update the BIOS using @BIOS from Windows. I read the instruction in the motherboard's manual,
but it is not very detailed.

The instruction starts with : In Windows, close all applications and TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) programs.
This helps prevent unexpected failures when performing a BIOS update.

How to close all TSR programs in Windows 7?

I already downloaded the last update file for my BIOS, extracted it and saved it to the desktop.
According to the instruction for using @BIOS I can choose the option "Update BIOS from file".
I am not sure which of the 3 extracted files to use. Maybe the last one? The 3 files are:
autoexec
FLASHSPI
G31MES2L.FI

The instruction says, that after I click Update BIOS from file, I have to select the location, where I saved
the BIOS update file. What does that mean? Do I have just to select the folder on the desktop, containing the 3 extracted
files, or open the folder and select one of these 3 files?
Once this is done, I have to follow the on-screen instructions to complete. Do I have to know anything in advance, so I won't
make a mistake?

The next step for me is to click "Save the Current BIOS File". What does that mean? Is it saving the new BIOS file?
Or is it saving the old BIOS somewhere, just in case?

Then I have to select "Load BIOS Defaults after BIOS update" check box and re-start the computer.

There was a warning as well not to try to overclock the system at this moment. What does that mean?

And as far as I understand my motherboard supports DualBIOS. Does that mean, that when I update the BIOS I will
automatically update both the main BIOS and the backup BIOS?

I checked through the Device Manager one by one if my drivers were up to date. It found only 1 driver, that needed updating
and this was ATI Radeon HD 4670. I updated it. Is Windows Device Manager information correct? Can I rely on it?

Can you, please help with some details about the whole procedure? Thank you.


As far as dmdilks suggestion, I might try it if BIOS updating fails, but I have never ever opened my(any) computer.
Maybe I have to do it anyway, at least to clean the dust....

[cjapeterborough]

I want to try to update the BIOS using @BIOS from Windows. I read the instruction in the motherboard's manual,
but it is not very detailed.

Before you update your bios you should access your current bios (usually DEL) at the post screen and take a note of your current settings.
After updating and loading defaults you may need to check the settings against your earlier ones if you have any issues

How to close all TSR programs in Windows 7?

Access Task Manager CTR/ALT/DEL (google is your friend -just end the programs you are familiar with eg antivirus etc)

I already downloaded the last update file for my BIOS, extracted it and saved it to the desktop.
According to the instruction for using @BIOS I can choose the option "Update BIOS from file".
I am not sure which of the 3 extracted files to use. Maybe the last one? The 3 files are:
autoexec
FLASHSPI
G31MES2L.FI

It will be the last one (the other files are there is you want to update from DOS with a floppy drive or USB stick)

The instruction says, that after I click Update BIOS from file, I have to select the location, where I saved
the BIOS update file. What does that mean? Do I have just to select the folder on the desktop, containing the 3 extracted
files, or open the folder and select one of these 3 files? Yes Probably both
Once this is done, I have to follow the on-screen instructions to complete. Do I have to know anything in advance, so I won't
make a mistake?

If you do make a mistake it wont proceed

The next step for me is to click "Save the Current BIOS File". What does that mean? Is it saving the new BIOS file?
Or is it saving the old BIOS somewhere, just in case?

It will save a copy of your old bios to your folder location

Then I have to select "Load BIOS Defaults after BIOS update" check box and re-start the computer.

There was a warning as well not to try to overclock the system at this moment. What does that mean?

If you dont know what overclocking is then you certainly wont be doing it

And as far as I understand my motherboard supports DualBIOS. Does that mean, that when I update the BIOS I will
automatically update both the main BIOS and the backup BIOS?

No the backup is there as a fail safe -so if the main bios gets corrupted you have a 2nd backup chip which you can use to recover

I checked through the Device Manager one by one if my drivers were up to date. It found only 1 driver, that needed updating
and this was ATI Radeon HD 4670. I updated it. Is Windows Device Manager information correct? Can I rely on it?

Should be enough

Can you, please help with some details about the whole procedure? Thank you.


As far as dmdilks suggestion, I might try it if BIOS updating fails, but I have never ever opened my(any) computer.
Maybe I have to do it anyway, at least to clean the dust....

Its always good to clean the inside of your case occasionally -I use a vacuum cleaner and soft brush to clean the fans etc

[Tangra]

Hello cjapeterborough,

Thank you so much for your patience and kindness.

Thanks to your help I successfully updated the bios without any problems.
So far the computer starts OK. I have to observe it for several days to see if this will continue.
I changed one of the settings only - this is  HPET Mode from 32-bit (default) to 64-bit (because my Wndows 7 is 64-bit). Is that OK?

When according to your advice I was checking the old bios settings, I noticed that in Integrated peripherals both USB Keyboard
Support and USB Mouse Support are disabled by default. I wonder if this was the reason why my Microsoft wireless keyboard and
mouse were not working properly and were creating extra problems. (The screen saver was not working; neither the display, nor
the computer were going into sleep mode etc.)

I first removed the wireless keyboard - but didn't see any changes. When I removed the wireless mouse, though, the screen saver
started working immediately and the computer began going into a sleep state. Then the computer couldn't wake up from sleep and
I changed another setting in the bios: I set Power on by Mouse to Double Click (the default was Disable) and the computer
started waking up, at least from time to time.

So, thank you so much again. So far, so good.
I have to gather some courage and open the computer to clean it, but meanwhile I am reading some basic information about its parts.

Looks like learning as a user even about ordinary maintenance of the computer never ends.