Hesitant to upgrade BIOS/vBIOS - G73JH

Hey guys,

So I've finally gotten the CS6 Master Collection but it says that my current video drivers are not compatible with the software. I know that to upgrade the driver, I should upgrade the vBIOS along with the BIOS. My system's been running perfectly fine for the last 2 years and I don't want to brick it or compromise it in any way.

BIOS Version: 206 - 2/26/2010

Graphic Driver/vBIOS info:
ATI 8.683 Driver Packaging Version
Catalyst Version - 10.8
BIOS Version-012.017.000.004

Is there a safe way to ensure that I can get software to work for me in the future while reducing the risk of a broken machine? Thanks in advance.

 

You don't need to update the bios to update drivers.

 

Personally, i'd upgrade both if newer drivers are causing BSODs. The vbios has been confirmed to work on bios 209, 211, 213, but i don't think anyone tried updating with bios 206. Also 209 fixed a lot of issues like the fn+esc freezing and the processor not clocking up if you went from battery to plugged in.

I'd upgrade up to bios 213, the new vbios then take care of the drivers. You could make a backup of the original vbios in case something goes wrong.

 

I'm still using pre-209 as fn+esc locks mine up. Never had any issues updating drivers and the TC never said anything about BSODs.

 

I meant GSODs, oops. Anyways, there is a small amount of G73s with GPUs unaffected by the GSOD issue, but most of the G73s are affected. If you are on pre 209 bios, time to update, after 209, the fixes were minor things, but 209 fixed some real issues.

 

Been on pre-209 since last February, no GSOD!

 

GSODs aren't related to the bios, they are related to the vbios, what ati drivers are you running right now? You could be one of the lucky ones and have a GSOD free G73, i think the first production batch was, but the others definitely GSOD'ed.

I still suggest you update the bios though since as i said it fixed things that needed fixing, things that are in no way related to GSODs, things like throttling in certain circumstances. It is up to you in the end, but i see no reason to stay on an undated bios that has some issues.

 

11.3, haven't updated them in awhile (nor felt the need to)

 

If your card works on 11.3, it is GSOD free.

 

Thanks! Also, I've seen a lot of vBIOS's floating around. Any suggestions for a particular one?

 

Either the stock v93 from Asus or Chastity's OD2.

When you update the bios, not the vbios, make sure that if you are using EZFlash, you are using a USB drive formatted in FAT32, using NTFS flash dries resulted in bricked laptops for some users. You can look at the bios update guide sticky in the main asus section on how to update the bios.

 

Alright, BIOS 213 and Chastity's OD2 updates fully installed and working. My Catalyst Control Center update miserably failed though. The vBIOS is definitely changed (it's the recommended one from the 'What to do with your new G73' thread) but I have no idea why the ATI driver isn't updating. Any tips?

 

Awakened see this post http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...st-11-2-mobility-released-get-yours-here.html The 'clean install' It can be used to upgrade to any version of CCC.

 

Tried that with 12.4 and 11.9 and still getting "Could not load file or assembly CLLI.Implementation....." . I used the GAC method (deleting assembly files) before updating the first time. Does that have anything to do with this?

 

You could try this here: GPU-26494: How to troubleshoot a MOM.implementation or CLI.implementation error message that occurs during installation or operation of the AMD Catalyst? software

 

Tried it, still getting the same error over and over...Is there any real disadvantage to not being able to open Catalyst? Cause I'm pretty sure the ATI driver still updated.

 

Actually no As long as you don't want to force any GPU settings through the driver or make any changes to some of the video optimizations.

 

Got it to work! This solution worked perfectly: Solution for Catalyst Control Center (CCC) CLI.Implementation PublicKey Token=90ba9c70f846762e issue

Did everything as described, except added a DriverSweep run while I was in safe mode. Thanks for all the help, everyone!

 

Ah nice find! I somehow also had this issue few months ago, but didn't remember how I solved it.
Posted your found thread now to AMD, maybe they add it to their knowledgebase.

 

Sorry to dig up this old dead thread, but it was so apropos of my situation I wanted to add my 2 cents.

I resisted updating the vBios since I bought my G73jh A1 in 2010. I finally gave in, and did the update yesterday (10/3/13) with Chastity's OD2 vBIOS. I already updated my system BIOS to 213 a while back. It wasn't because I had BSOD or GSOD issues, but because I wanted the improved power settings, downclockings and ability to use latest ATI drivers. I had been preparing for this moment for a couple of weeks by creating the bootable flash drive and adding all of the correct files. I also made sure to save a copy of my old vBIOS using GPU-Z. When I did the vBIOS upgrade it looked like this:



After rebooting, everything looked fine. I checked GPU-Z to make sure I had the new vBIOS and I did. I was now ready to update my old OEM (2009) ATI driver version for the latest one from ATI (13-9) That's when I really goofed. Instead of uninstalling like I should have done, I went directly into safe mode using Driver Fusion and deleted all of my ATI entries. BIG MISTAKE. I realized it as soon as I booted back into normal Windows mode. I thought maybe it wouldn't matter too much. It did! So I eventually had to restore a recent system image to bring everything back to the way it was before my blooper. THEN, I properly uninstalled the OEM drivers, and then went into safe mode to use Driver Fusion to delete all of the remaining ATI entries. I then went to the ATI website and downloaded the latest drivers and installed them. One error happened, and I suspect it had something to do with updating visual basic or whatever. Dot Net 4.5 installed without any errors. Anyhoo, everything else went fine.

My tests so far included the HDMI port (both video and audio) which operated perfectly. I checked my Blu-ray player using Corel WinDVD PRO 11, and it operated perfectly. I tried my games, and all the usual Windows stuff, and everything worked perfectly. Catalyst was installed correctly, and has all of the new functions that never existed in the OEM version.

Hope this encourages any other hold outs like me out there, that think the vBIOS update will ruin their system.

 

Yes, driver cleaning tools are to be used only if you already have issues!