[Discuss] Risks of BIOS (actually UEFI) updates

[Drew]

I would say that updating a modern bios on a PC is far less risk then
it was back in the day. Modern BIOS implementations typically have a
built-in backup of sorts so that if the updated bios fails to boot for
some reason, they can fail back to a known working version. I first
saw this feature on gaming rigs back in the mid to late 2000's (I was
a heavy modder back then so bricked more then a couple boards tweaking
the bios and/or uploading 3rd party bios mods.). The introduction of
backup copies in the main storage chip and improved flashing
techniques have eliminated much of the worries about bricking.
On Sat, Nov 10, 2018 at 3:18 PM Alan W. Irwin
<Alan.W.Irwin1234 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> From my last post, it turns out I might need to do a BIOS (actually
> UEFI) update for my "newish" Ryzen 7 1700 computer to solve its random
> lockup issues.
>
> When I bought that custom system from Mother Computers they told me
> they went out of their way NOT to apply BIOS updates since they felt
> that was a last resort.  But if after 6 months of instability and if
> the kernel measures I just discovered to deal with such lockups are
> not working, then I am sure I could convince them to do a BIOS upgrade
> now, but likely at my own risk since from my experience with them I
> think it is a fair to say that Mother Computers are uncomfortable with
> any Linux-only issue.  So I will definitely ask them their take on
> such risks before authorizing them to go ahead with it.
>
> However, I would also like to ask the same question here.  For
> example, my experience with much older boxes was it was common for
> assemblers not to apply BIOS upgrades.  But is that attitude still
> common for modern PC's?  Or is the consensus here that BIOS upgrades
> for modern PC's should always be done and reverted back to a previous
> BIOS version only if the latest version works worse than previous?
>
> Finally, I would appreciate comments on the worst-case scenario, where
> the BIOS update turns the computer into a brick.  What are the
> chances, and if that scenario happens, does that mean I would have to
> get Mother Computers (or some other vendor) to reassemble my new
> computer components around a brand-new motherboard, or are there
> easier ways for computer shops to deal with a modern PC with
> non-working BIOS?
>
> Alan
> __________________________
> Alan W. Irwin
>
> Programming affiliations with the FreeEOS equation-of-state
> implementation for stellar interiors (freeeos.sf.net); the Time
> Ephemerides project (timeephem.sf.net); PLplot scientific plotting
> software package (plplot.sf.net); the libLASi project
> (unifont.org/lasi); the Loads of Linux Links project (loll.sf.net);
> and the Linux Brochure Project (lbproject.sf.net).
> __________________________
>
> Linux-powered Science
> __________________________
>
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-- 
Drew

"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood."
--Marie Curie

"This started out as a hobby and spun horribly out of control."
-Unknown