corrupted bios

[kostas75#]

hello to every one ,i have just bought, ga x79-ud5 with i7 3930k,and with f7 bios,because of incompatibility with my wirless mocrosoft mouse and keyboard i tried to make bios update using @bios,i dont know why my computer never completed that update and starts up only with backup bios not the main   ,please tell me what can i do to make it work again

thanks in advance

[MiiCK]

I think everyone recommends using Qflash not @Bios, everyone i've seen having issues with updating bios has used @bios.. just for future reference. (Normally put new bios on memory card, press END when booting and save your current bios then add the new bios).

So, your PC is now fully functional but you want to update the bios? Download your bios drivers from here: http://download.gigabyte.eu/FileList/BIOS/mb_bios_x79-ud5_f8.exe.

Just checked the gigabyte download page for your motherboard and it says '* Please use GIGABYTE @BIOS for BIOS update. '

My motherboard and many other motherboards i've used and flashed never said this, not sure whether you HAVE to use @bios or not...?

This tutorial is quite useful... http://www.multimolti.com/blog/2010/01/10/update-bios-using-q-flash-for-gigabyte-mainboards/

I'm sure others will post soon with more help! 

[Rolo42]

1. Download BIOS file you want to flash onto a USB drive
2. Boot into bios, enter Q-flash (or hit F9 during POST IIRC)
3. Flash BIOS
4. Uninstall @BIOS and forget it ever existed; have a friend use the flashie thingie on you if you can

[absic]

Sorry Rolo42 bad advice given here:

In some cases you have to use @BIOS to update to a newer version or Flash.SPI as the new BIOS file is larger and will not be recognised by QFlash when you try to run the update. Hence the warning given on the BIOS download page by Gigabyte to use @BIOS.

After the new BIOS has been installed, then your advice to use QFlash again is perfectly correct.

kostas75#

If the Back-up BIOS is working OK you can copy that to the main BIOS chip first then go through the process of updating the BIOS again if you wish to.
To copy the Backup BIOS to the Main BIOS shutdown the PC completely.
Power up the PC and press the "Ctrl" + "F12" simultaneously, in the same way you would press the "Del" key to go into BIOS.
If you are using a USB Keyboard it may take several attempts of shutting down the PC and restarting before the keystrokes are recognised and, if possible, it is better to use a PS/2 keyboard for doing this.
Once the keystrokes have been recognised the Monitor will go black (as if it is goin through the POST process but you will get a message about copying the Backup BIOS to the Main BIOS chip. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete this process.
DO NOT power down or disconnect the PC whilst the copying process is taking place.
Once completed, power down the PC completely before restarting.

[kostas75#]

thank you all for your help,i did what absic said and my main bios works great  ,i want to ask something more for the future, is there any possibility doing a bios update to destroy the main AND the backup bios ?,because this would be a disaster.
thanks again!!!

[absic]

Theoretically it is possible for both BIOS chips to become corrupted but this is very, very unlikely to happen in the normal course of updating the BIOS.

Pleased that you now seem to be back up and running and, if you do update your BIOS to the latest version and everything is working fine then it is a good idea to copy the main BIOS to the backup chip. This is basically the same process as I previously described but you press the "Alt + "F12" instead of the "Ctrl + "F12" keys.

[Dark Mantis]

Theoretically it is possible for both BIOS chips to become corrupted but this is very, very unlikely to happen in the normal course of updating the BIOS.

I am sure absic is correct that it is a possibility but I have never heard of this scenario actually happening and so I don't think it is something that you need worry about. 

[kostas75#]

sorry for asking again and again but all these things are very interesting, i have now updated to f8 ,do you sugest me to copy that main bios to backup by alt+f12? if i do so what must be the position of the bios switch on the motherboard?
thanks again to all of you!!!

[absic]

No problem with asking and it is always better to be safe than sorry.

Yes, I would recommend copying the Main BIOS to the Backup chip to keep them synchronized as this can help prevent issues.

Copying the Main BIOS to the Backup BIOS is exactly the same procedure as you used to copy the Backup BIOS to the Main BIOS previously. The only difference is the keys are "Alt" + "F12" this time around.

You do not need to make any changes to BIOS or your hardware to do this.

[Dark Mantis]

If I could just add something to what absic has already advised you.  

You have two seperate BIOS chips, one holding the Main BIOS and the other storing the Backup BIOS. Now under normal circumstances I would not advise synchronising both of these chips at the same time as loading a new Main BIOS because that rather nulllifies the backup effect of the secondary BIOS. If you were to download and install a faulty file then synchronise the two chips you would be in real trouble. It is much safer to install the new BIOS file and then run it for a while until you are 100% happy with it before synchronising the Backup BIOS with the Main BIOS.

I hope this makes sense to you and if you have any questions please feel free to ask.  

[kostas75#]

i made something little different from the thing that absic advise me to do for copy the main bios to the backup bios, i pressed the bios switch , i boot with the backup bios and then with the q-flash i updated my backup bios to f8,i made that because i tried many times to enter with alt+f12 and i could not reach that function.was that action danger???

[Dark Mantis]

If what you say actually worked then fine but normally I would have expected the Backup BIOS to have just copied itself across to the Main BIOS and then booted from that so you would still be flashing the Main BIOS chip. I would check to see if both your BIOSes are up to date.

[kostas75#]

yes i think everything is fine,both bioses now is up to date with f8 version ,i boot from main and from backup bios with no problem.
thank you.

[Dark Mantis]

You can soon check by going into the BIOS and on the homepage just press F9 and it should bring up a dialogue box with all the details in.

[kostas75#]

by the way i have one more question if you dont mind,i have overclocked my system to 4,4ghz when i run prime 95 for about 20 minutes frequency drops form 4,4 ghz to stock 3,2 ghz ,i tried to test my system opening several programs and load my cpu to 100% and the same thing happening,after about 20 minutes the cpu frequency drops to 3,2ghz and comes back to 4,4ghz when i unload the cpu, any ideas? i want to inform you that i have overclocked my system only putting multiplier to 44 and  cpu voltage to 1,4 volts.cpu temprature is 71 degrees max.

thanks again for your time!!!