# [SOLVED] Bios upgrade stuck



## xendistar (Jun 5, 2012)

I have just built a new PC with a Asus H97M Plus motherboard. I have installed Win 8.1 to an SSD drive and completed all the Windows Updates when I decided to do a bios and motherboard driver update.

I downloaded the latest bios and started the install from with in windows (cant remember the name of the Asus program), it then asked to reboot, I rebooted and just after the section where it says press F2 or Del to enter the UEFI the screen goes to a "UEFI Bios Utility - Advanced Mode" screen where it tells me to finish the Bios update I have to select the same Bios file (.cap). So I click OK select the hard drive partition and eventually the folder, highlight the file, press enter and then it comes back asking me if I want to read the file, I click yes and then it comes back with "Reading failed" 

If I click OK the PC reboots and the same sequence is repeated, I can not get into any part of the UEFI Bios other than the update.

Anybody advise what I can do?


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: Bios upgrade stuck*

Did you name the file correctly? Some Asus BIOS need the name to be correct for it to work.

Remove the CMOS battery as well as other power to the PC and allow it to clear. Then put it back and try to boot.

Booting the system leads directly to the BIOS update?


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

*Re: Bios upgrade stuck*

Follow chiefs advice, you should never upgrade the bios from within windows, always though the bios/dos


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## xendistar (Jun 5, 2012)

*Re: Bios upgrade stuck*

Unplugged from the mains, removed cmos battery, left like that for 5 minutes, replaced the cmos battery plugged in switched on , now comes up to first screen of Bios and tells me

Please enter setup to recover the bios
Press F1 to enter bios

When I press F1 I go straight back into the Bios update loop again

But.........................

After a little closer scrutiny of the user manual I noticed a sentence that said the bios will only read fat16 or fat32 formatted file systems. Well where the bios was saved on the hard disk and ntfs format, so I downloaded another copy of the bios and unzipped it to a usb stick. plugged the usb stick into the pc, rebooted and went through the bios update loop again accept this time when it came to the section to choose where the bios file was the usb stick was highlighted along with the bios file, told it to use that file and the bios updated. Rebooted and everything is working.

I am somewhat stunned that even reading the manual on the EZ Update section (which is the windows bios based update system I used) it makes no mention of the fact that you will need to provide the bios update file on a fat16\fat32 file system upon reboot. It was only reading Asus EZ Flash 2 section of the manual that I noticed the comment about fat16\fat32.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

*Re: Bios upgrade stuck*

Using a Windows bios tool does not really give you the option to rename the bios file and you guys are not saying what to name it anyway.
I know we have been telling people for years not to upgrade bios in Windows but honestly, most motherboard mfgrs today provide excellent tools to do so and I have been doing it that way for years with no incidents and it is so much easier.
For the average user, they will never be able to do it another way but more importantly what we need to do is stress not to do bios flashes as if you were updating Adobe Reader. Instead when you have an issue, and the bios flash addresses that issue in its description, is the only time you should do a bios upgrade.

I just had an Msi board (Z97 Pc Mate)with an i5 cpu new build driving me nuts for weeks because it booted so fast with Windows 7 that the internet connection came way before Windows was ready to accept it requiring me to reboot really often to be in synch with internet readiness and sure enough I found a bios flash that addressed the issue. That is when this kind of thing should be done and only then.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: Bios upgrade stuck*



xendistar said:


> Unplugged from the mains, removed cmos battery, left like that for 5 minutes, replaced the cmos battery plugged in switched on , now comes up to first screen of Bios and tells me
> 
> Please enter setup to recover the bios
> Press F1 to enter bios
> ...


Glad to hear its working again.

Updating via Windows isn't the worse thing if there is a special tool that is used. Many manufacturers have perfected updating via Windows by now, but you should only update the BIOS in the future if you're having issues.


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## xendistar (Jun 5, 2012)

To be perfectly honest I don't see updating\upgrading the bios as any different than updating your operating system. We frequently update our OS without even knowing what the upgrade is for (enhancement, bug fix, security issue). Yes if a bios update goes pear shaped then you have major issues but it is only a little more serious than an upgrade to your OS screwing up the install and not being able to start the OS.

The current state of Bios updating\upgrading is no better than the Microsoft updates of the early 90's. Motherboard manufacturers don't help the issue with bad grammatical errors, misleading and missing information in manuals.

Anyway thanks to all those that took the time to offer advice


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The difference between a Windows update and a Bios update is vast. A borked Windows update can be fixed using a system restore or at worst a upgrade install, a borked Bios update can have you sending the motherboard in for service or replacing it.


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## xendistar (Jun 5, 2012)

Wrench97 said:


> The difference between a Windows update and a Bios update is vast. A borked Windows update can be fixed using a system restore or at worst a upgrade install, a borked Bios update can have you sending the motherboard in for service or replacing it.


Yes I realise that, but why is there no bios rollback\restore options. The actual mechanics of updating\upgrading is not that different, it is just that the Bios and Motherboard manufacturers have not invested greatly in the upgrade technology. It has come along way since UEFI but it still has a way to go. It will arrive but it will be long overdue.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

> but why is there no bios rollback\restore options.


There are. Gigabyte motherboards come with dual BIOSs, newer Asus systems can use a USB device to restore the BIOS, Asrock and some Asus boards use a replaceable BIOS chip, and MSI has their own method on some boards, not all.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

All true but the fact remains even if you do everything right and have a power failure in the middle of a bios flash, you have a paper weight there that needs to go back to mfgr so in short the message is do them when necessary to fix an issue you know that flash update corrects.


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## sara38 (Jul 24, 2016)

*Re: Bios upgrade stuck*



xendistar said:


> Unplugged from the mains, removed cmos battery, left like that for 5 minutes, replaced the cmos battery plugged in switched on , now comes up to first screen of Bios and tells me
> 
> Please enter setup to recover the bios
> Press F1 to enter bios
> ...



hey there @xendistar 
could you be so kind and describe in a few more words how did you pass the F1 sequence, did you use a small (until 1GB USB stick)? I am experiencing something similar except the fact that after the hard reset, I am unable to use F8 in order to use the choosing device booting menu. On the other hand, If i hit F1, I am sent to a screen that telling me "to finish BIOS update you have to select the same BIOS file (.cap file) again to continue updating the BIOS. "; sounds good enough but If I hit OK and choose via Storage devices option EZ doesn't see the flash.
Checkmate! Thanks,


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## xendistar (Jun 5, 2012)

I have to be honest and say I can't remember and I don't have the PC to hand to go through the process (I never made any notes either). I think the most important point through the entire process is to make sure that where you store the *.cap file is either formatted fat16 or fat32 and you have named the file correctly. Sorry I can't help any further than that.


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## sara38 (Jul 24, 2016)

It's ok, I understand. Good to know, 
Thank you,


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