Which Bios?

D

dantefac158802e2

New member
Joined
Mar 27, 2021
Messages
24
Go to dragon Center, advanced search for bios update. says FW LED update.
Go to MSI website, find my mobo, under bios, a list of bios, (none of which reflect my current version)
Go to MSI website, under compatibility, CPU, the right most column named 'result' has a list of .zip files that also look like bios file.

Which one? Why are BIOS files on the website not visible in dragonCenter. What is the CPU file. is it bios. ? ? ?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
You don't say which mainboard you have, but let me make some general suggestions.

- I would uninstall Dragon Center, it can do more harm than good. Always update the BIOS directly from the BIOS, using the M-FLASH function.
- If you go to the support page for your mainboard, download the newest BIOS (the topmost one), extract it onto a USB stick, and then flash it using M-FLASH in the BIOS.
- Under CPU compatibility on the support page, it always links the earliest BIOS version to support that specific CPU. But if there are newer versions after that, it's obviously better to use a newer version, because they have fixed bugs etc.

So:
1) Get the newest BIOS file from the support page (top one)
2) Extract the file onto a USB stick.
3) Enter the BIOS, 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 file you extracted on there.
5) It will ask for confirmation and then update the BIOS. It's fully automatic from there.

BIOS_Update.JPG


Once this has gone to 100%, the PC will reboot or turn off, then turn on again. Enter the BIOS by pressing DEL, and set the proper settings, like fan curves etc.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi citay, thanks for your fast response. I appreciate it.

Thanks for clearing up the confusion around the file in the cpu section. When dealing with an update with many risks it is good to minimize confusion.

I have successfully updated the bios through dragon center. Specifically MSI FW LED. despite the rumors of total destruction.

I was driven to this because I formatted two drives, both below 64gb.
Both for FAT32, cleared of all other data
I have then downloaded the BIOS update. For my board MEG ACE x570, with a 3950x. the file: 7C35v1D (not touching the beta) (the current version is E7C35AZ1.1Z4 01/31/2020)
I have tried extracting the folder to drive, i tried extracting folder to desktop then copying folder, i tried just the file(no folder), i tried just the file and the .txt
Also usb is in the proper usb port.
All no luck in seeing the file, just the file path.

All of these attempts are through the method of m-flash through bios. I have not tried the physical m-flash button.

I am skeptical of updating, as i recently had a power supply explode and lost some work due to that fiasco. But also researching why psu exploded lead me to bios, but only rumors and hearsay. So maybe it is a sign that i cannot read the file.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
No, it's not a sign. Put it on an NTFS-formatted USB stick, not FAT32. FAT32 is only for when you use the "Flash BIOS button" method. If you flash directly from your BIOS, normally it needs NTFS.

"MSI FW LED" seems to have to do with the RGB lighting on the board, perhaps. I wouldn't be sure that it's an update for the full BIOS.

So i would put the newest BIOS on a USB stick formatted with NTFS, and then you can finally update it.

Note about the "beta": This is normal for this fix, AMD released an updated AGESA microcode "1.2.0.1 Patch A" which fixes the common USB problems that the boards have. Every board maker then released this update containing the new AGESA as fast as possible and put a "beta" sign on it. See for example ASUS: https://rog.asus.com/motherboards/rog-strix/rog-strix-b550-f-gaming-wi-fi-model/helpdesk_bios

This does not mean it's unstable or something, it means that they don't want to provide a lot of support for it. When the "final" comes out, it will be with AGESA 1.2.0.2.

Here is the official statement from AMD:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/m2wqkf

The same is true for the "Re-size BAR" updates, for example my board got it, they are all labeled "beta", but not because of lack of stability, only because they don't want to deal with support questions.

Finally, a PSU cannot explode because of a BIOS. A PSU that explodes has a fatal design flaw. Even if you did heavy overclocking for some reason (on the newest CPUs, OC is pointless), and you were to overload your PSU because of it, any proper PSU would just shut down because of the protection mechanisms. If it blows up, the PSU was bad, nothing else.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Then try a different USB stick. I also have one stick it just doesn't like. My Sandisk Extreme works fine every time.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
One thing that struck me as odd:

dantefac158802e2 said:
(the current version is E7C35AZ1.1Z4 01/31/2020)
Click to expand...

I've never seen such a version before. Normally the BIOS name goes like E, then model (7C35 is ACE and UNIFY, they have the same PCB), then IMS for Intel MSI or AMS for AMD MSI, then the BIOS version itself.

For the MEG X570 ACE with BIOS 1.8 for example, which comes closest to your reported date, the filename is E7C35AMS.180

You see how it differs from what you wrote?

Even when i look at reviews of the X570 ACE, it always has that version scheme that i mentioned:

MSI_MEG_X570_Ace_021_AE9DFF27B78F4953BDFFA5A4FE04E0FE.jpg


MSI-MEG-X570-ACE-Bios-6.jpg


So if your board shows E7C35AZ1.1Z4, it's odd. Then it also wouldn't accept a BIOS file with the name E7C35AMS.xxx, because it always checks first if everything matches before the dot.

The problem isn't with the USB sticks then, it's with the versions not matching.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Just for a test, can you take the E7C35AMS.1D0 from the latest non-beta here, https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/MEG-X570-ACE
(although as i explained, even the beta would be fine)
...and rename it to E7C35AZ1.1D0 on the USB stick?

But don't flash it yet, first i wanna see if the board detects it in M-FLASH with the "proper" filename. You can make a screenshot to a FAT32 USB Stick by pressing F12 in the BIOS.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Can you make a photo or a screenshot? I want to see if things match well.

If they do, i think we can risk to flash the newest BIOS then. The board is MEG X570 ACE (7C35), the BIOS is for MEG X570 ACE (7C35), so it's a match, just the BIOS filename is slighly different.

Did you buy this board from a big online shop?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
its from Origin,
IMG-2244.jpg
IMG-2243.jpg


the first pic is the folder with the beta. I did not change the name and it does not show up. The second picture is the prior update to the beta which i changed from '...ams' to ...az1'
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The only Origin i know is from EA. I guess it's a big shop in your country? I just wanted to make sure you bought from an official channel.

Yup, M-FLASH has a filename filter, it will only show updates with the same letters before the dot. This, of course, is to prevent flashing a BIOS for a totally different board. But since the BIOS is the correct BIOS for this board, you should be good to flash it. Afterwards, your BIOS will most likely also show the "AMS" naming scheme, so you can flash all further BIOS versions without any renaming.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
What i found is, the "AZ1" versions could be modified BIOS versions, what for, i'm not sure yet.

The trick with flashing the official BIOS over it should work. The only question is, how did your board get such a "modified" BIOS on it in the first place? If it came straight from an MSI shipment, it should have the official "AMS" BIOS and not "AZ1". So somewhere between MSI and you, it had gotten a different BIOS? Was the board brand new? Because if you check the thread above, the serial number info on the packaging was tampered with for that guy's board. So, you haven't noticed anything unusual about your board or the packaging?

Even though we can most likely solve the issue by flashing the current official BIOS, it's still a bit of a mystery how you got to have the "AZ1" BIOS on there in the first place. It doesn't seem to be an official BIOS from MSI, there is no such official BIOS with that version or from that date.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
ok more surprises. I got the following screen after selecting the file and clicking yes to updating. There is no other option than to click 'ok' which takes me back to main menu. Should i try the m-flash button and formating to fat32? Well honestly origin have been kinda sketchy so your mentioning that it might have been used is very 'on brand' for them so to speak. The mobo was purchased with the build. They did include a serial number for the board though
IMG-2245.jpg
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Upvote 0 Downvote
Back
Top