Installing BIOS Upgrades - CompTIA A+ 220-901 220-902 Video Training by Prof. Messer
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@connorsoliver said in Installing BIOS Upgrades - CompTIA A+ 220-901 220-902 Video Training by Prof. Messer:
Does such a thing as 3rd party BIOS exist? Or is it specific BIOS to the motherboard?
Kinda both. Third parties make them, and the BIOS manufacturers solder it on. but it isn't the kind of thing you'd want to replace. Doing so would be akin to modding your car to change the brand of key that it takes.
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Is there anyway to recover a system when the BIOS doesn't install correctly?
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@mary said in Installing BIOS Upgrades - CompTIA A+ 220-901 220-902 Video Training by Prof. Messer:
Is there anyway to recover a system when the BIOS doesn't install correctly?
That depends on the system. In the past, there was a very low level part of the motherboard that would always allow the reading from a floppy - this was used to recover failed BIOS updates, or corrupt BIOSs.
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@Dashrender I should have been more clear, I meant on the newer machines where you can't just pull the battery.
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@mary said in Installing BIOS Upgrades - CompTIA A+ 220-901 220-902 Video Training by Prof. Messer:
@Dashrender I should have been more clear, I meant on the newer machines where you can't just pull the battery.
I guess that's a good question - I've had to remove the bottom from laptops to pull the battery to force resets before - definitely a HUGE PITA.
I was just dealing with a laptop last week that I had to pull the battery from in order for it to reboot correctly - wouldn't power on until I pulled the battery, disconnected the power bridge, forced the capacitors to drain by holding down the power button - then put it all back together, power button = on.
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@mary said in Installing BIOS Upgrades - CompTIA A+ 220-901 220-902 Video Training by Prof. Messer:
Is there anyway to recover a system when the BIOS doesn't install correctly?
There are some boards that have 2 BIOS chips and a hardware button to switch between the two. Not so much recovering the failed one so much as instant replacement. I remember older boards you could actually pull the BIOS chip and ship to the OEM for reprogramming. Never had to do that myself, just hold a UV light over an EPROM.
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@mary said in Installing BIOS Upgrades - CompTIA A+ 220-901 220-902 Video Training by Prof. Messer:
Is there anyway to recover a system when the BIOS doesn't install correctly?
Generally, no. A BIOS that corrupts is "bricked". You can cut the BIOS off with a knife and solder a new one (I have a guy in Buffalo that literally does that for us for servers!) But that's about where you are. A few systems have a secondary BIOS that can reflash the first. But that's rare.
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FYI 901 and 902 are retiring soon. I'm sure content is similar as new ones, but I just wanted to give you a heads up.
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@IRJ awesome, looks like Prof. Messler has 10-series videos out now!
