Re: Can update BIOS on old laptop?

Barry Watzman wrote: 
While problems are possible, the chance of a battery failing
(***IF***, that is, the unit isn't plugged in) during the less than
one minute that it takes to do the flash are minimal, and in all
cases that I am aware of, the entire bios is read in before the flash
starts, so a read I/O error can't cause a problem.  I've done
hundreds of flashes and my failure rate is zero.  You basically have
to either use the wrong bios or turn off the power during the flash.
There are not a lot of other ways to screw up (and many of flash
programs will verify that you are not using the wrong bios.  Many,
but not all.)


snip

There may or may not be any recovery if things go bad.  If things go
VERY bad, it is possible to create a situation in which the only fix
is a motherboard replacement (since the flash memory chip is usually
soldered to the motherboard).  However, while possible, this is not
common, you generally have to do something really dumb, like using
the wrong bios, or turning off power during the flash process (which
takes less than a minute, typically).  As long as you use the right
bios (or at least a bios for the correct machine, even if it's the
"wrong" bios), and follow the mfgrs instructions, you should be fine.
Reflashing a bios on a laptop is more foolproof than a desktop,
because invariably the mfgr's program makes a flash boot diskette,
and there is no temptation, as there sometimes is on a desktop, to
try and do the flash from within windows (which is just asking for
trouble).


snip

We do agree on all those issues Barry, but the point remains that things do happen and that occasionnally, this NG or others will have posts from people who encountered the improbable. You say, "as long as you use the right bios". Well, not all manufacturers are that clear about what upgrade to use and except for Thinkpads which have an on-line identification system that works well (provided you use IE), it may not be so easy to relate with absolute certainty the info readable on a laptop box and a list of models on the manufacturer's site.

An other issue is, once the upgrade has been done, if the results are unsatisfactory, going back to the initial bios can work or ... can get you into the dreaded situation. This is what happened to me with a Twinhead. After upgrading the bios to the latest version, if memory serves, the diskette drive started acting up. I decided to go back to the initial bios and then, I had a brick on my hands. The bios I had used to upgrade was later pulled from the manufacturers site, again from what I believe I remember.

So, at the end of the day, even if accidents are very rare, consider yourself lucky it never happened to you. But as you know, on the road or with computers, accidents do happen and not always to others. That's why I believe the wise advice to posters is NOT to upgrade their bios unless the newer version corrects (supposedly) a problem that you noticed. And then to advise them to take all precautions for the case things do not work out as planned. Insurance is expensive only before the accident.


--
John Doue
.

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