Should I upgrade my BIOS?

[Huxsling]

I apologize for my new-ness. I'm not very savvy. I'm using a m17x R4 that I got back in 2010 and it has A07 on it currently. Should I upgrade it? Will I lose the F7 key or anything? Any help would be appreciated!

 

[MattyB]

Updating your BIOS should be a pain free process but that isn't always the case. I've never had an issue but there are plenty of horror stories.
Best rule is if it's not broke, don't fix it!

 

[Huxsling]

Thank you! The only big problem I'm having is that when I switch to using the two 260's the screen will go black but still displays a picture if you shine something like a flashlight on it. Would something like that be solved by an update?

 

[AeonSoul]

Check the changelogs of the BIOS updates you have for your machine, if there's anything like that then yes, update. Otherwise leave it be.

 

[MattyB]

That's an odd problem. Are you sure you don't have some weird power saving setup which is turning the brightness way down for some reason? Silly question but I had to ask.

 

[Huxsling]

Sometimes if you've just turned it on it will work for a bit then have a blink attack and remain off so I don't think its a power setting, but I've checked under power management and saving.

 

[shankc]

Try running AlienAutopsy see what that comes up with

 

[MattyB]

Also a Pre Boot Assessment may pick something up. You can usually get to it through the Boot menu at startup. F12 is usually the key to hit while booting.

 

[BrokeHombre]

Back in my college work study days, we had a couple laptops (Dells) that had the same issue, though they did not have add on video cards. What we found was that the laptop display had an 'invertor' that had gone bad and causing the issue just as you described you have with yours. We had to dis-assemble the laptop display to replace it ( was about $15 US). On one or two of them we actually had to replace the display itself.
What's weird is that this only happens when you switch display cards. the problem was exactly as you describe the problem you are having, the only difference is that you have add-on vid cards, the ones I repaired did not. Something to consider in your troubleshooting....Good Luck!

 

[Bolas]

Usually you upgrade the BIOS if there are bug fixes or feature improvements that affect you... otherwise, if it isn't broken, don't fix it!

Check the change log for the BIOS to determine if you need to upgrade.

I've upgraded the BIOS for my desktop and it was hassle free... but... could easily have resulted in disaster, too... so... use caution when upgrading the BIOS.

And this should go without saying, but... if you do upgrade the BIOS, make sure you are plugged in and have a fully charged battery first... last thing you want is the BIOS upgrade to fail due to power outage.

 

[crystal]

My personal criteria when it comes to BIOS updates is " if it ain't broke ...". as you say yourself you do not notice any particular issues with your system that is purported to be fixed by the update concerned.

You could check each of the intermediate BIOS updates between yours and the latest, (if any) and check to see if they contain anything specifically beneficial to your system.

Some updates do provide more than just bug-fixes, such as updates to support new hardware, which should be installed, if you have installed or intend to install this newer hardware, otherwise, again, I would err on the side of caution