New "Windows 11 ready" BIOS updates for Z590 boards

[citay]

MSI has released a new BIOS for the Z590 mainboards which turns on the firmware TPM / fTPM (called PTT on Intel boards) by default:

Thus, one only has to enable Secure Boot to make the system fully Windows 11 ready. https://www.msi.com/blog/Windows-11-guidance
But Windows 11 can be installed even with Secure Boot off.
I think they couldn't turn on Secure Boot by default, because there is an extra step required upon enabling it, and it also depends on the other hardware such as the graphics card.

The new BIOS also includes the Intel microcode update revision 44 (with an 11th gen CPU), which can be checked in HWinfo64 under System Summary:

This can improve things like boosting behaviour or other CPU-related functions. It's basically a code update for the CPU.

Check your board's MSI support site for the newest BIOS from September with the following changelog:

- Windows 11 Supported.
- Improved compatibility for Intel Thunderbolt devices.

Update how-to:
1) Get the latest BIOS. It's the topmost one on the MSI support page for your board.
2) Extract the file and you will get a text file and the BIOS file. Put the BIOS file into the root folder of a USB stick/drive.
3) Enter the BIOS by pressing DEL during boot, go to "M-FLASH" in the BIOS.
4) Once M-Flash (the updater) is loaded, it will show a list of your drives. Select the USB stick and select the previously extracted BIOS file on there.
5) It will ask for confirmation and then update the BIOS. It's fully automatic from there, takes about two minutes.

 

[Obscure]

Unlikely since the unactivated windows issue occurred after the bios was set correctly on first boot after flash, so it never saw windows boot until after the settings were set correctly like that.

You are correct.
Today I loaded my Windows 11 install image for the first time since updating to the recent beta bios.
It tripped up activation complaining about changed hardware, although no new hardware was introduced.
All Secure Boot and fTPM settings were set correctly before booting. This is also using a Local Account only.
So it affects more than just MS accounts. Hopefully MSI/MS will figure this out. Having to reactivate Windows
11 every time the motherboard bios is flashed going forward will be a real pain in the you know what.

peace
obscure

 

[milaaaan_63]

Hi guys, there is a new BIOS version for a Z590 boards, does anybody use it?

 

[citay]

I've seen that, i'll probably update to it today. The changelog inside the Zip archive is different though:

-------------------------------------------------
MPG Z590 GAMING FORCE (MS-7D06) V10.6 BIOS Release
-------------------------------------------------

1. This is AMI BIOS release

2. This BIOS fixes the following problem of the previous version:
-  Change the default setting of Secure Boot.

 

[milaaaan_63]

Thanks my guy

 

[citay]

I just updated to this new BIOS version. No problems so far, it behaves exactly like the version before.

However, i am almost certain that the changelogs on the support sites are wrong, and the changelogs in the ZIP archives of the updates themselves are the correct ones for this version.

Because:
1) Secure Boot is indeed enabled by default now, [Enabled] to Mode [Standard]. This fits with the changelog in the ZIP archives.
2) There is no new Intel CPU microcode update revision. It's microcode update 53, just like in the previous BIOS, and no new Management Engine firmware version either.

This leads me to believe that they made a mistake in the changelog. I mean, the changelogs are notoriously incomplete anyways, but to put a wrong statement in there, that's something new

 

[milaaaan_63]

Hmm thats interesting but thank you for your review.

I think I will try it also but I am curious about the RAM timings behaviour cause with an A5 BIOS I had big issues so lets see with the new one.
I let you know how it works then for me.
I still run an A3 version which is a best one for me.

 

[citay]

I always have problems with my tightened RAM timings when i set everything at once. I usually do it the following way: I set DDR4-3600 @ Gear1 manually, then i enter the primary and secondary timings that i determined to be stable before. But then i first enter high values for the voltages - just like the BIOS would do if i just were to enable XMP - for VCCSA, VCCIO2 and DRAM Voltage. This is just to make the memory training pass at the settings i want.

Then, once i get the memory trained like that, i lower those three voltages. But only one voltage at a time, otherwise it might fail memory training. So for example, first i lowered DRAM Voltage to the final value that i want, F10 and reboot. Then SA voltage, F10 and reboot. Then IO2 voltage, F10 and reboot. It POSTs perfectly every time with that and is stable in all the stress tests i run. I only reduce SA/IO2 voltages because the BIOS raises them way too much for DDR4-3600, they are both at 1.4+V on Auto.

With two single-rank B-Die modules, i could reduce both to 1.22V. Now, with two dual-rank B-Die modules, i need 1.32V IO2 and 1.24V SA, but this is with very tight timings DDR4-3600 CL14-15-15-32 @ 1.4V VDIMM and optimized subtimings. Just to give an idea how much those two voltages can be lowered while keeping full stability.

 

[milaaaan_63]

Thank you I will definitely try like you said.

 

[echoE]

Looks like I'll skip this bios update. And just stick to the previous one. Thanks for the clarification though about this bios update.