Should new MB's BIOS be upgraded to latest ver. first on PC refresh?

I had all kinds of issues with a MB swap out (BIOS update failed now doesn't recognize hardware or boot Win 10 - Windows 10 Forums) & eventually returned the MB. It was unstable from the beginning & may have just needed a BIOS update but the update went wrong & the MB was returned. A new & different MB arrived today & I know there is a new BIOS version available for it.

Windows 10 64-bit is installed. Just new MB, CPU & memory.

Should the latest BIOS be installed before booting to the desktop?

BIOS updates will always cause troubles if done wrong. If you know what you're doing there shouldn't be any issues, if not, there will be. Only you know what you did and didn't do to have your old motherboard replaced. Think about that.

With that, if you're going to do a BIOS update make sure you follow the instructions usually posted on the download site or part of the read-me file.

All that said, I typically update to the latest BIOS. Bought a Lenovo laptop and one of the first things I did was update to the latest BIOS. The machine wasn't even a day old. That's me.

Good luck.

I always use the most current BIOS on new MBs

Dude said:

I always use the most current BIOS on new MBs

Hey Dude! Here's your quote from my earlier post; Swap my old motherboard for new day. Correct me if I'm wrong, please? - Windows 10 Forums

Quote by Dude:"I think you will need to clean install. Make sure you have installation keys for all your software so reinstall will go smooth."

At this moment I'm working with Microsoft, downloading a new Windows 10 image to do a clean install. When you made the post above a couple of days ago I was under the impression that I wouldn't need to do that as I would need a new Win 10 license because the current C: had at lease part of my Windows info on it.

Anyway, I when ahead with the hardware swap & had all kinds of issues. In the end I tried to update the BIOS which failed & apparently corrupted the MB. My new MB arrived today & is the same brand but a different model (Gigabyte GA-AB350-Gaming 3). This time I called Gigabyte before proceeding with the re-install, thinking installing BIOS update to F7 before connecting the old C: would work out this time. Under no certain terms he made it clear that with Win 10 installed with an Intel CPU on that drive would cause all types of driver issues. Clean install was the only option with a different AMD CPU & MB. It probably would of been okay with another Intel CPU & MB but not an AMD.

I didn't understand then why then but sure do now! Your advice was spot on, Dude! I'll update how all this goes but I believe this explains why I had all the issues. I'll post progress.

GARoss said:

Hey Dude! Here's your quote from my earlier post; Swap my old motherboard for new day. Correct me if I'm wrong, please? - Windows 10 Forums

Quote by Dude:"I think you will need to clean install. Make sure you have installation keys for all your software so reinstall will go smooth."

At this moment I'm working with Microsoft, downloading a new Windows 10 image to do a clean install. When you made the post above a couple of days ago I was under the impression that I wouldn't need to do that as I would need a new Win 10 license because the current C: had at lease part of my Windows info on it.

Anyway, I when ahead with the hardware swap & had all kinds of issues. In the end I tried to update the BIOS which failed & apparently corrupted the MB. My new MB arrived today & is the same brand but a different model (Gigabyte GA-AB350-Gaming 3). This time I called Gigabyte before proceeding with the re-install, thinking installing BIOS update to F7 before connecting the old C: would work out this time. Under no certain terms he made it clear that with Win 10 installed with an Intel CPU on that drive would cause all types of driver issues. Clean install was the only option with a different AMD CPU & MB. It probably would of been okay with another Intel CPU & MB but not an AMD.

I didn't understand then why then but sure do now! Your advice was spot on, Dude! I'll update how all this goes but I believe this explains why I had all the issues. I'll post progress.

Best of luck to you, thanks for keeping us updated

Dude said:

Best of luck to you, thanks for keeping us updated

Thanks. I'm sure there's many like me who can easily get in over their heads. It never occurred to me that my old Intel PC would effect the new as it did. I don't know why it didn't as it makes complete sense why it would.

But, I do have a question. Over the weekend while 1st trying the new AMD MB (not now) once booted to BIOS I was uncertain of what I saw in BIOS because the PC was sluggish. I could tell something was wrong. The RAM type & values were correct, fans worked CPU was at 40C which seemed okay. I didn't think anything needed changing. But while restarting I think BIOS was looking for a Win 10 image to install. Eventually I got to the desktop but the PC never restarted normal. That's why I tried upgrading the BIOS which shut down at 90% & corrupted the first MB.

I don't want to repeat that again with the new MB, so is it fair to say that not much needs to be done in BIOS if no overclocking is to be done?

Use default bios settings after the bios update. Clean install, then you can start bios tweaks

If you don`t know what you`re doing and you have no specific reason to update the Bios, then leave it alone before you ruin another motherboard.

Just clean install windows as already suggested.

AddRAM said:

If you don`t know what you`re doing and you have no specific reason to update the Bios, then leave it alone before you ruin another motherboard.

Just clean install windows as already suggested.

Thanks. I followed the instructions to the letter. The BIOS update stopped at about 90% & said it would boot in a few seconds. How could that be prevented? Gigabyte tech told me yesterday it crashed because the original Windows 10 was installed on C: using an Intel CPU & now there's an AMD CPU & MB. They don't mix. I get it... now!

I don't know what BIOS version is on the new board yet. F7 is the latest as of a couple of days ago. Eventually it will need to be done is there are software issues. I'm not looking forward to doing it.

You will be fine. Follow the instructions like last time. After bios flash boot back to bios and the set to boot to your w10 install media to do clean install