Just how dangerous is flashing your BIOS?

I bought the new AW 17 recently, and a few days ago I installed new RAM from CRUCIAL (2x4GB).
It seemed to work fine except for the fact that the computer started crashing about three times each day.
When I do the Windows Memory Diagnostics on startup, the "default" and "extended" version run for a while and then the computer just freezes. They never complete.
That's probably a sign that the RAM is the problem.
I removed the new RAM and the problem went away completely.

I mailed Crucial and they told me to flash the BIOS as "Stability at higher RAM totals may have been improved in more recent revisions."

This kind of scares me. How high is the risk that something horrible will happen?

I must note that I changed a few things in the BIOS (ATA instead of RAID, legacy boot). I haven't done anything to overclock the system.

 

It is safe to do if done properly, most problems occur when users try to interrupt the flashing process weather it is intentionally or not, result of a bad flash can be.....very bad.

So just do it properly as guide says, and try to NOT interrupt the short process, usually about less than 1 minute

 

Depends on what model m17x you have. I know the R3 had rock solid flashing capability and recovery procedure. The R4, on the other hand, has left me bricked on at least 3 different occasions using the official updater, and the bios recovery is iffy at best (some have gotten it to work, others have not). If you have a new m17, i don't see a reason to update the bios, or even if there is a new update as it is a new system. Probably have bad RAM.

 

There are risk involved. I wont lie. You potentially risk bricking your system when flashing BIOS. Thats why it is highly recommended to follow the golden rule:

"Dont try to fix something that aint broken"

Meaning, if it is little improvements with the new BIOS or if the BIOS fix something that you dont have trouble with, let it be. Dont roll the dice.

If you do attempt to flash the BIOS, follow the instructions point to point. Dont flash while running other programs (like having the browser open with 10 tabs open). Dont flash while running on battery. The last thing you want is the computer dying on you while in the midst of flashing.

 

I agree with cloud, make sure you always flash in dos if you have the option (this applies to all firmware).

 

1. As been told, no interruption.
2. BIOS itself should be 100% working.
3. Specifically to Win8 UEFI, newer versions may have some BS new features that you don't want.

That RAM is DOA. Send it back.

 

Well, I went ahead and flashed it to Bios version A03 (up from A01).
It was completely unproblematic. You start the tool in Windows but it restarts the computer and then flashes in DOS (I think).
I had set boot back to UEFI and secure before starting the process.

The RAM still doesn't work. Well, it seems that one of the sticks is stable, but the other isn't.

 

Also one thing always to keep in mind, is that in most machines you can usually recover from a bad flash with what is known as a blind flash.