WOW! Vista is smarter than XP

[Guest]

Hi All:
I have two pc's with the same m-board and recently tried to update the
bios on the XP pc. The update failed and I had to go thru several
steps....using a recovery disk, removing the configuration jumper &
replacing it......re-flashing back to the original bios before the update to
get the pc going again. Lots of fun. Well......being a real dummy, I
downloaded the same bios update again and tried to flash the Vista pc bios.
Bios update failed again and all I got upon re-start was the same black
screen! I know, I should have known better. But......I re-started the Vista
pc again and I was surprised when it started to boot into windows, went
black and the hard drive started clicking away and soon a box came up saying
"your bios update succeeded". Well, sort of anyway.......Vista re-installed
the prior bios on it's own I think.........it now has the bios I was using
prior to the update attempt. I can't swear it un-installed the failed bios
and re-installed the known good bios on it's own but it is working fine and I
didn't have to go thru the mess of removing the m-board config. jumper and
flashing a recovery bios then flashing the complete bios again after
replacing the bios config. jumper. I am very pleased with Vista's recovery
from a failed update!

xiowan..........in tucson

 

[Chad Harris]

Xiowan--

Whether a bios update is available and appropriate for your machine depends
on the MOBO and bios that you have. There should be direct info on the
website of the PC manufacturer or the maker of the bios you have.

CH

 

[Guest]

Hi Chad:
I have a relatively new motherboard and have updated the bios 3 times
prior to this without any problem. Not sure why this update didn't work. It
is designated as update 1676 for Intel DG965WH m-board which is the model
m-boards I tried it on. It is specified as for all operating systems. The
only improvement in the new bios I had really hoped for was an 8 second
speed-uup in the boot process it promised, so I can get by without it I
guess. My main point was that Vista was able to recover from the failed bios
update and re-store the previous bios which XP couldn't.

xiowan.............in tucson

 

[Chad Harris]

Xiowan--

I understand. I'm glad that Vista recovered and is up and running. I think
to find out why the bios update that shoukld have worked didn't, you'd have
to talk to the m-board / and or bios makers.

CH

 

[Guest]

Hi Chad:
It wasn't a real important update to the bios, so I'll just wait and
see if they fix it or put another one out later. I don't think the
manufacturer really wants to talk to someone who only bought 4 of their
motherboards last year lol!

xiowan.........in tucson

 

[Simon Dean]

Hi Chad:
It wasn't a real important update to the bios, so I'll just wait and
see if they fix it or put another one out later. I don't think the
manufacturer really wants to talk to someone who only bought 4 of their
motherboards last year lol!

I may be a bit stupid, but how can Windows restore the BIOS unless your
computer can get to Windows in the first place?

Correct me if Im wrong, your computer goes to the BIOS first, does all
the system checks, then loads up the Operating System.

If the BIOS is knackered, it aint never going to boot Windows is it?

 

[Guest]

Hi Simon Dean:
I'm probably not tech savy enough to explain it but I'm guessing that
after the attempted installation of Intel Bios Update 1676 the computer tried
to boot up and at this point is when the O.S. flashes the new bios? Well,
in this case after re-starting the computer when directed by the Bios update
software, the pc turned back on to a black screen and did a lot of clicking
but after 30 minutes I still had no O.S. So.........like with the XP system
that did this on the same motherboard, I turned off the pc and was about to
remove the configuration jumper and use a recovery cd to re-flash the board
bios, but when I turned it on to insert the cd, I stopped to get more pepsi
and the pc kept whirring away and an intel window popped up saying that I had
successfully updated the bios. After quite a bit of hard drive activity,
Vista came up normal and when I checked the bios number it was back to Bios
Update 1666 not 1676 that I had just attempted to install. I don't know how
it works but I will mention that I have a back-up file in the pc containing
all driver & bios software, along with back up of my favorite software
programs. I don't know if Vista searched out and re-installed the earlier
bios or if the failed update just didn't change the bios version at all which
is possible. The good thing is that Vista was able to run after the failed
bios update and it didn't after the failed update on XP for the same
motherboard. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can explain what happened LOL!

xiowan...........in tucson

 

[Rob]

Might have also been that your mobo has dual bios in the event one fails,
the second one
goes through and will restore the first.

Rob

 

[Guest]

Hi Rob:
I think the Intel DG965WH board has a main bios and a basic recovery
bios but the recovery bios only can be used by pulling a configuration jumper
on the board and re-starting the pc........at which time you can put in a
floppy or cd with a recovery bios update. Both the XP & Vista pc have the
same board though and the re-storation of the original bios only occurred on
the Vista pc. Anyway, I'm glad I didn't have to open the case, pull out the
hard drives cage to get at the configuration jumper on both of the pcs and
then do it all over again after flashing the recovery bios! I wonder if
that's why Intel has a notice on their website saying that you shouldn't
update the bios unless you REALLY REALLY need to to fix a problem LOL. This
was the 4th time I'd flashed the bios since they've been putting out frequent
bios updates for the board....the previous updates had been very helpful but
this time I only wanted the promised 8-sec speed-up of the boot process lol!

xiowan.............in tucson