A Warning and a Suggestion regarding the use of non-ASUS approved/provided updates

Hello Fellow G73 Owners and Other Gamer Lappy Owners,

Several people have mentioned in many threads throughout this forum regarding the use of non-ASUS approved/provided BIOS and vBIOS updates. In some isolated cases there is some disclaimer regarding the use of these other solutions. In most cases the recommendations are suggested off hand without a word of warning regarding the hazards behind doing so.

I fully realize that in most cases those that choose to tread on that ice are fairly knowledgeable individuals (POWERUSERS) and the ice isn't very slippery and cracking. But there are others who "think" they know what they are doing and fail to read the fine print (so to speak). These individuals follow links and find newer and/or different BIOS/vBIOS updates and think they will work, (if the old one worked, why not this new one???) Never realizing that if they read through the entire thread they would have found out the new/different one doesn't work and can cause damage. Not to sound condescending (by any means) But the world is filled with low attention span people and reading through 20 - 500 pages of a thread is really expecting a lot from today’s "NEWBIE" power users.

My question/suggestion is: Can someone with more power and reputation on this particular forum post some kind of "sticky" thread - that has some kind of warning regarding the following of various "suggestions" found in the threads of this forum? Especially because some of these suggestions can literally "BRICK" (DESTROY) the operability of their precious "expensive" toy.

In Peace and Love,
Trav...

 

I'm pretty sure most of the guides we have here have warnings in big red letters in the first post. It can't be helped if someone gets in over their head by blindly following some "random advice" as if it were gospel - my advice to you is that if you don't know what the term means/what it does (ie bios, vbios), don't screw with it.

 

Agree with you, but as hakira says, post included big red letters about risk. It's decision of anyone to try/test this third party BIOSes.

Also keep in mind, the only way to know if any new upcoming BIOS will work, is testing it. Happened with the leaked 209 BIOS and it's happening now with the BIOS 211 in which people test before ASUS posted in their FTP.

This is the best example:

New BIOS 211 at ASUS FTP Server

It's still not official but is there.


Best

 

Well if its on the ftp, its kinda official because the ftp is public.
Hope we see a vbios soon.

Thanks for the update Nekki.

 

Travelor, that is a great suggestion. I think all of the original threads that get started on these kinds of subjects always have the right information and appropriate warnings. I don't think they sticky threads here. It's a darn shame too because there are eight or ten of them off the top of my head that should be stickied.

The problem is that our discussions are amorphous and you'll see ten posts about flashing vBios in the owner's thread, then twelve on the fiftieth page of another thread, etc.

If the mods would sticky some threads that have the right info in the first post it would probably solve the issue. Well, let's say it will reduce the issue. What I've learned in my years on this earth is that you can't fix stupid.

 

Nekki: fix your linky should be ftp://

 

Hello,

Yes I definitely appreciate your comments and input.
I realize that in those threads that specifically introduce new possible updates there are " Warnings". However, from my genereal reading of the threads in this forums there is mostly an "off hand mention of an update with the link to the update directly with little to no warning at all.

I do agree that the only way to know if something works is to test it, and for the most part we can assume that "official" releases on the FTP site can be trusted - except for the unfortunate "keyboard light" issue. Unfortunately I, being a test engineer, know how such an issue could "slip" through the cracks. Not to condone the missed flaw with the WinFlash utility, I know that in the test environment, engineers ussually prefer the non-Windows based testing, as this is easier and less problematic, and I know my company had an issue with WinFlash at one point, and as such they forced a revamp of the "test case" which now includes validating WinFlash. Unfortunately they still fall through the cracks and BIOS level updates still brick machines.

I am still not convinced that a "Sticky" of some kind does not belong with a general warning - especially when it comes to the suggestions regarding the use of non-ASUS approved updates like using the MSI or Clevo vBIOS and/or even the POWERUSER modified BIOS updates.

Maybe it is a non-issue and there are very few "newbies" who actually BRICK their toys and I am over reacting - I still would recommend the warning..

In Peace,
Trav...

 

Jody,
Love that Quote!!!

I kind of figured that this "sub-forum" might not be "sticy-able" (new word) - Maybe I should post this in the main forum??? I see there are 2 Stickies items there.

In Agape,
Trav...

 

Also, we need some unknowingly willing people to submit their hardware to extreme and risky experimentation for the good and benefit of all us reserved and prudent owners. In scientific terms, this is known as the "control group" and the rest of us just discuss the integrity of their placebos before we risk declaring the hypothesis correct. I love science!

How else did we learn that flashing a Clevo Bios is suicide?

 

I think that those who really read the threads here will see enough warnings and explanations, but those who dont will probably also dismiss such a sticky. Sorry to say so, but its mostly their own fault when they do something stupid based on reading just a few posts.
This forum is filled with expirienced, reliable members, but you do have to take time and read their posts...

 

"Control Group"??? What ever happened to the "Guinea Pig"??
I do understand what you mean, and I am guessing too, that those who first made the suggestion did so with some strong proof/evidence that the Clevo and/or MSI vBIOS and other updates would presumably work because the MoBo were/are in reality the same MoBo with just a different wrapper.

In any case, I'll just assume that I'm just making a mountain out of a mole hill and move forward, and hope we don't see any more "I BRICKED MY G73" posts...

In Agape,
Trav...

 

@Travelor: No worries, I jump on the kids who don't know what they're doing, and recommend a nice cup of water for their overheating GPU. Also, you're overreacting.