Hi, Hope I am posting this in correct thread, whilst my questions are around system building, its specifically bios & o/s that I would like help with, hence posting here. Please move accordingly if incorrect. So I am upgrading my PC with new HDD (C drive) as old HDD is flaky and crashing and also it’s about time I move from XP to Win7! I have also got 4Gb of RAM and new Gfx card. Hardware wise, I am happy with physical build. My questions are around the order of the software build. I have an Asus P5N-E SLI Mobo with the original bios on there – never had any problems and not being very confident on this kinda stuff, I have left it as is. So firstly, now I am upgrading to Win7 Ultimate 64bit, do I need to upgrade bios or can I run new o/s on original bios?. I went to Asus website and put in relevant details and it seemed to suggest it was a compulsory upgrade? Can anyone confirm this for me please? If so, next question is the order in which I need to do stuff. I was going install all new hardware in to PC with the Win7 CD in CD drive and then turn on and boot/install from CD drive. If I need to update bios, I guess I need to do this first? If I have bios on a pen-drive, will it recognise this without an o/s installed? What complicates things slightly is that I live in an area with no broadband So have to use a 53.5Kbs mobile modem, so any drivers etc needed over about 1Mb, I have to take my laptop to a family members house and use their fibre, then transfer via CD or pen-drive. (Which is what I am doing for Win7 SP1 and my new Gfx card drivers). So if bios is smaller than about 1Mb, I could flash straight on to Mobo if that is the safer option? Is there an easy utility to help a non-techy do this? Sorry about ‘wall of text’ but hope this gives you info needed to help me clarify what / how I need to do. Appreciate all thoughts and feedback!
A BIOS update shouldn't be needed for an OS change. Windows 7 should recognize most of the hardware you've got. You could download the compatibility tool from the Microsoft website so you know any drivers you need in advance.
At http://uk.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_775/P5NE_SLI/ it says the board supports EZ Flash: EZ Flash 2 * Simply update BIOS from a USB flash disk before entering the OS EZ Flash 2 is a user-friendly BIOS update utility. Simply launch this tool and update BIOS from a USB flash disk before entering the OS. You can update your BIOS only in a few clicks without preparing an additional floppy diskette or using an OS-based flash utility. EZ flash is accessed by pressing ALT + F2 during POST (when the system is first booting). To find out if you need an updated BIOS, go to the above link and click the Downloads tab. Clcik pretty much any of the OS options, then select BIOS, and it will show you what BIOS versions are available and what changes were made for each version. Generally speaking if your system is running alright, then you shouldn't need to upgrade the BIOS, but as you are also installing other new hardware and a newer version of Windows there is a chance a new BIOS will prevent incompatabilities.
Thanks for feedback! @saspro - thanks for this, I've read so many horror stories about bios upgrades gone bad. With all the PC's builds I have done, installing and configuring the bios is the 1 thing I always get someone else to do for me! @debs3759 - really appreciate time & trouble you put into looking into this for me. I had heard of the EZ Flash but wasn't sure if my Mobo had it. I had read about previous bios versions and their respective improvements but I only understood about 10% of the content... Could I get the hardware and Win7 installed and do the bios at a later date if I have any problems? Or would you really recommend I do it straight away? Thanks again!
bios updates are one of those things you can ignore unless you have a problem, or a new processor is added to the bios, that you happen to be installing(not in your case).
