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I recently updated an MSI Z690-A to the latest BIOS in preparation for installing a 13th generation Intel. I downloaded the updated BIOS file, put it on a thumb

I recently updated an MSI Z690-A to the latest BIOS in preparation for installing a 13th generation Intel. I downloaded the updated BIOS file, put it on a thumb drive, renamed it to "MSI.ROM," put the thumb drive into the "Flash BIOS" port, had the motherboard connected to ATX and CPU1 power only, no CPU, or RAM, or any other hardware installed, flipped on power, pressed the "Flash BIOS" button and everything worked fine. This board "learned" the RAM sticks very quickly, maybe because the board never had RAM to begin with. It took seconds. I was originally going to pick up an Asus Strix Z690-A but read about a variety of problems with that board, especially with regards to RAM. Many anecdotes I had seen online had similar complaints about need to really press hard to get the RAM sticks properly installed. I had no issues with the MSI. My previous build had an Asus mobo and it had strange issues, too.

_rs 4y ago
Yeah I’ll give a +1 to MSI, their BIOS firmware updates have been nothing but smooth for me and I haven’t had to think much about which USB sticks I’ve used. I’m about 80% sure I’ve used a USB 3 stick at one point but can’t be certain
- AtlasBarfed 4y ago
  IF you read the special notes about a not-too-big flash drive and FAT and all that. IIRC I also had to try several USB ports in back and something else hacky to get the flash going. It was still half black incantation and performative dance learned from the internet, and about 5% directions provided by MSI on their website or within BIOS. I've used Gigabyte and Asus/ASRock in the past, and I think a Biostar ... and I'll be going back to those in the future.
- AshamedCaptain 4y ago
  MSI is not much better than the other choices when it comes to buggy firmware. Just grep on a z690 how many AE_ALREADY_EXISTS errors you get on a fresh kernel boot ( which indicates at the very minimum a total lack of attention to detail). It did not improve on the z790 despite the fact it was widely reported to them.
- nonbirithm 4y ago
  MSI? The same thing the author describes happened to me with a new MSI Mortar a while ago. It turns out the BIOS didn't recognize the new Ryzen CPU I bought because it was too new and an update was required. I'd never experienced that before so it took me several hours to realize that and find the "support newer CPU revisions" update buried in one of MSI's support pages. Then I found the flashing process wasn't working and there were no errors to indicate it was really the USB stick I was using that was incompatible. I went through 5 USB sticks before I could flash the thing successfully and have confidence that my brand-new motherboard wasn't a paperweight straight out of the box. Can't imagine what I would have done if I ran out of USB sticks earlier.

_rs 4y ago

Yeah I’ll give a +1 to MSI, their BIOS firmware updates have been nothing but smooth for me and I haven’t had to think much about which USB sticks I’ve used. I’m about 80% sure I’ve used a USB 3 stick at one point but can’t be certain

AtlasBarfed 4y ago
IF you read the special notes about a not-too-big flash drive and FAT and all that. IIRC I also had to try several USB ports in back and something else hacky to get the flash going. It was still half black incantation and performative dance learned from the internet, and about 5% directions provided by MSI on their website or within BIOS. I've used Gigabyte and Asus/ASRock in the past, and I think a Biostar ... and I'll be going back to those in the future.
AshamedCaptain 4y ago
MSI is not much better than the other choices when it comes to buggy firmware. Just grep on a z690 how many AE_ALREADY_EXISTS errors you get on a fresh kernel boot ( which indicates at the very minimum a total lack of attention to detail). It did not improve on the z790 despite the fact it was widely reported to them.
nonbirithm 4y ago
MSI? The same thing the author describes happened to me with a new MSI Mortar a while ago. It turns out the BIOS didn't recognize the new Ryzen CPU I bought because it was too new and an update was required. I'd never experienced that before so it took me several hours to realize that and find the "support newer CPU revisions" update buried in one of MSI's support pages. Then I found the flashing process wasn't working and there were no errors to indicate it was really the USB stick I was using that was incompatible. I went through 5 USB sticks before I could flash the thing successfully and have confidence that my brand-new motherboard wasn't a paperweight straight out of the box. Can't imagine what I would have done if I ran out of USB sticks earlier.