Re: Special Flashing Gpu Bios For Mac
Alfonzo Liebenstein
Perhaps a third party installed malware on your computer which flashed your bios. It is very, very unusual that your bios would just get flashed without your explicitly doing it. This is something that is underneath your operating system, for example windows would never touch your bios since the OS boots only once your BIOS is already running.
On macvidcars.com offers a service for "special" BIOS flashing for GPU. As I understand, there is one advantage of this: Mac BIOS enables you to see the gray boot screen at startup (where you see the Apple logo and hear the iconic boot chime).
The process is usually done by using either built-in functionality of the old BIOS, or a MS-DOS-based program (booted from floppy), or more recently, a Windows program (which comes with a special driver to obtain access to hardware). (Linux? What's that?)
If power goes out while flashing, you will likely be left with an unbootable computer. Some motherboards come with secondary firmware on a separate chip though, which kicks in if the main BIOS is corrupted (e.g. power failure during flashing). This firmware usually supports flashing the BIOS from a file in a CD or floppy disk.
Of course this was not the end of the world; you could pop it in another computer with dual-BIOS slots or a special BIOS programming device and program it, but unfortunately these special motherboards were rare and expensive as were the devices, which could usually only be found in some computer shops.
The BIOS Flashback LED light will flash as it reads the file off of the drive. Wait until it is done flashing (when it will probably be off). This should take two or three minutes to complete, at which point, you should be good to go.
The Flash Memory Writer utility can not suitable for all ASRock motherboards. Please use the Flash utility which is included in each BIOS file to update its BIOS. Also ASRock motherboard MUST use ASRock's Flash utility to update BIOS, those uncertified BIOS flashing tools will cause motherboard damage.
If you encounter problems while updating the new BIOS, DO NOT turn off your system since this corrupt BIOS might cause your system failed to boot up. Just repeat the process, and if the problem still persists, update the original BIOS file. If the Flash Memory Writer utility was not able to successfully update a complete BIOS file, your system may not be able to boot up. If this happens, your system will need service.
Most BIOS implementations are specifically designed to work with a particular computer or motherboard model, by interfacing with various devices especially system chipset. Originally, BIOS firmware was stored in a ROM chip on the PC motherboard. In later computer systems, the BIOS contents are stored on flash memory so it can be rewritten without removing the chip from the motherboard. This allows easy, end-user updates to the BIOS firmware so new features can be added or bugs can be fixed, but it also creates a possibility for the computer to become infected with BIOS rootkits. Furthermore, a BIOS upgrade that fails could brick the motherboard. The last version of Microsoft Windows to officially support running on PCs which use legacy BIOS firmware is Windows 10 as Windows 11 requires a UEFI-compliant system.
If the system has just been powered up or the reset button was pressed ("cold boot"), the full power-on self-test (POST) is run. If Ctrl+Alt+Delete was pressed ("warm boot"), a special flag value stored in nonvolatile BIOS memory ("CMOS") tested by the BIOS allows bypass of the lengthy POST and memory detection.
Historically, the BIOS in the IBM PC and XT had no built-in user interface. The BIOS versions in earlier PCs (XT-class) were not software configurable; instead, users set the options via DIP switches on the motherboard. Later computers, including all IBM-compatibles with 80286 CPUs, had a battery-backed nonvolatile BIOS memory (CMOS RAM chip) that held BIOS settings.[38] These settings, such as video-adapter type, memory size, and hard-disk parameters, could only be configured by running a configuration program from a disk, not built into the ROM. A special "reference diskette" was inserted in an IBM AT to configure settings such as memory size.
In modern PCs the BIOS is stored in rewritable EEPROM or NOR flash memory, allowing the contents to be replaced and modified. This rewriting of the contents is sometimes termed flashing. It can be done by a special program, usually provided by the system's manufacturer, or at POST, with a BIOS image in a hard drive or USB flash drive. A file containing such contents is sometimes termed "a BIOS image". A BIOS might be reflashed in order to upgrade to a newer version to fix bugs or provide improved performance or to support newer hardware.
EEPROM and Flash memory chips are advantageous because they can be easily updated by the user; it is customary for hardware manufacturers to issue BIOS updates to upgrade their products, improve compatibility and remove bugs. However, this advantage had the risk that an improperly executed or aborted BIOS update could render the computer or device unusable. To avoid these situations, more recent BIOSes use a "boot block"; a portion of the BIOS which runs first and must be updated separately. This code verifies if the rest of the BIOS is intact (using hash checksums or other methods) before transferring control to it. If the boot block detects any corruption in the main BIOS, it will typically warn the user that a recovery process must be initiated by booting from removable media (floppy, CD or USB flash drive) so the user can try flashing the BIOS again. Some motherboards have a backup BIOS (sometimes referred to as DualBIOS boards) to recover from BIOS corruptions.
The fourth BIOS virus was a technique called "Persistent BIOS infection." It appeared in 2009 at the CanSecWest Security Conference in Vancouver, and at the SyScan Security Conference in Singapore. Researchers Anibal Sacco[59] and Alfredo Ortega, from Core Security Technologies, demonstrated how to insert malicious code into the decompression routines in the BIOS, allowing for nearly full control of the PC at start-up, even before the operating system is booted. The proof-of-concept does not exploit a flaw in the BIOS implementation, but only involves the normal BIOS flashing procedures. Thus, it requires physical access to the machine, or for the user to be root. Despite these requirements, Ortega underlined the profound implications of his and Sacco's discovery: "We can patch a driver to drop a fully working rootkit. We even have a little code that can remove or disable antivirus."[60]
In this condition, during an "install all" upgrade procedure, if bios upg-required is set to yes, then a BIOS content read/write error might result in a BIOS programming failure and the NX-OS upgrade will fail.
The BIOS Flash button is fairly simple to use, though it does have some quirks. The button itself should be marked clearly on the motherboard and is normally found in the I/O area for ease of use. Furthermore, most manufacturers clearly mark a specific USB port to use for flashing the BIOS.
Now, the process for using the BIOS Flash button differs slightly between manufacturers but does follow a fairly similar process. Below, you can read a general overview of how to use the BIOS Flash button, but you should always check out the specific instructions for your motherboard. Instructions are found on the motherboard manufacturer's website, and you can find them by completing an internet search for something like "[motherboard name] bios flash button."
Please refer to TSB71527 for more details.BIOS upgrade will require a reboot of the switch. Mist cloud will take care of any special conditions such as when only 2 out of 4 VC members are on old BIOS version, only 2 members will be upgraded.
You'll need to choose one of several different types of BIOS-flashing tools, depending on your motherboard and what it supports. The BIOS update's included README file should recommend the ideal option for your hardware.
Some manufacturers offer a BIOS-flashing option directly in their BIOS, or as a special key-press option when you boot the computer. You copy the BIOS file to a USB drive, reboot your computer, and then enter the BIOS or UEFI screen. From there, you choose the BIOS-updating option, select the BIOS file you placed on the USB drive, and the BIOS updates to the new version.
The DOS-based flashing tool is often provided in the BIOS archive you download from the manufacturer's website, although you may have to download it separately. Look for a file with the .bat or .exe file extension.
Some manufacturers provide Windows-based flashing tools, which you run on the Windows desktop to flash your BIOS and then reboot. We don't recommend using these, and even many manufacturers who provide these tools caution against using them. For example, MSI "strongly recommends" using their BIOS-based menu option instead of their Windows-based utility in the README file of the sample BIOS update we downloaded.
In this step, we will talk about the other method to flash the BIOS via the UEFI setup. Now, it's essential to understand that not all motherboards have UEFI BIOS, especially older ones. However, most motherboards released after 2015 do support UEFI.
I bought a used laptop that runs bios update for remote access on every restart. Could the person I bought it from have installed that to hack me? Do I need it? Should I remove it? I have no interest remotely accessing my laptop, so if that's what the program is for, I don't need it. My operating system that was installed prior to my purchase of laptop is Ubuntu 18.4
You don't need a BIOS update for remote access to your computer. If you use tools like SSH with VNC or the TeamViewer application you have all the remote access you need without any special BIOS. So no you don't need it. Except your laptop allows for control at boot, but I don't think so. Never heard of it.
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