Solved Secure Boot and BIOS update

DigitalGoat · Jun 22, 2022

Megahertz said:
Secure boot is a feature to verify if the OS is digitally signed. It wont interfere on BIOS update and BIOS update wont interfere on booting Windows.
Don't use a Windows BIOS update app. Update your BIOS using BIOS Update on BIOS

Different hardware has different requirements, different people have different experiences, there is no one rule for all as far as BIOS updates go. My previous system was an Acer prebuilt desktop, over the course of 5 years I updated the BIOS 6 times, each time through a Windows utility, never used any other method, BIOS was always reset to optimised defaults by the update, but the Secure boot feature was always on and the TPM keys were never reset.
Yet other users of these forums had their TPMs reset by BIOS updates regardless of the method used to update.
There are also plenty of threads about having to disable secure boot to boot from a USB flash drive, yet my Acer always booted fine with secure boot enabled.
Check the manual for the hardware, check BIOS notes/ instructions, check the manufacturers user forums before blindly updating.

Wynona · Jun 22, 2022

Try3 said:
Who is mandating that?
It is not MS. MS only specify that Windows 11 computers are Secure-boot-capable not that Secure boot is enabled.
See, for example, Windows 11 and Secure Boot - MSSupport

Denis

Denis, when I first updated to Windows 11 from Windows 10, I had forgotten to re-engage Secure Boot after a Win 10 upate.

Because Secure Boot wasn't enabled, Windows wouldn't update! I looked into the BIOS and thought I saw it was enabled, but it was not. When I finally figured out how to enable Secure Boot Windows updated to 11 just fine.

Disclaimer: Microsoft may have changed the requirements since then; it's been almost a year since that issue arose for me.

Dru2 · Jun 22, 2022

Megahertz said:
Secure boot is a feature to verify if the OS is digitally signed. It wont interfere on BIOS update and BIOS update wont interfere on booting Windows.
Don't use a Windows BIOS update app. Update your BIOS using BIOS Update on BIOS.

Agree.

NavyLCDR · Jun 22, 2022

It's not the same motherboard, but I just updated my BIOS yesterday with Safe Boot Enabled, no bitlocker, no resetting to default values, just did the BIOS update and all was well with the world.

Dru2 · Jun 23, 2022

I've a number of BIOS tweaks for my board so the link below is a great way to save and reload your custom settings...

Keep Asus ROG motherboard BIOS settings after a BIOS update - buzzwrd.me

Updating BIOS will reset all your BIOS settings. In this post, we will go on how to backup and restore your settings before and after a BIOS update on the Asus ROG STRIX X570-F Gaming motherboard.

www.buzzwrd.me

Many gamers and tech enthusiasts like to tweak their computers, this includes tweaking BIOS Settings. Most overclocking and virtualization are done through BIOS settings. And even if that’s not your game, you can still control fans and RGB through BIOS to avoid running extra unnecessary programs under your OS. But every time you update your BIOS you overwrite all your nice working tweaks and settings.

Reference: above link.

Now.... if you've never tweaked anything there's nothing to "reset"

Additionally, if you "Load Optimized Defaults" BEFORE doing a BIOS update, you've already reset the board to basics, so yeah, there's nothing for the BIOS to reset.

Anyway, I don't believe the person above did any tweaks and they didn't get reset during a BIOS update because store bought boards like that of the Asus ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi) will reset any tweaks done back to default with a BIOS update.

BTW...

Do I need to reset BIOS after update?

Hi, I'm thinking of updating to the latest BIOS for the ROG MAXIMUS XII HERO, what I'm wondering is: Should I reset (cmos resett) BIOS to default and re-apply all of my settings after updating BIOS or can I skip it and just have my old settings without resetting?

rog.asus.com

Note the "Asus forum moderator's" response. (but I'm sure he doesn't know what he's talking about either

)

Peace

meimeiriver · Jun 23, 2022

Well, gents, I finally took the step, and updated. And Windows booted again just fine. :)

Damn ASUS bios did save my Profile bios to USB (I can frakkin' see it), but when it was time to load it, it found rubbish. Had to recall all those specialized power settings from memory (duration of turbo speeds and what not). But, other than, operation was successful.

N.B. I hate doing BIOS updates, and avoid them if I can. But since this BIOS promised to fix 'DRAM instabiility issues,' and I recently had cause to believe a memory related BSOD had occured), I figured maybe I really should.

Ghot · Jun 23, 2022

meimeiriver said:
Well, gents, I finally took the step, and updated. And Windows booted again just fine. :)

Damn ASUS bios did save my Profile bios to USB (I can frakkin' see it), but when it was time to load it, it found rubbish. Had to recall all those specialized power settings from memory (duration of turbo speeds and what not). But, other than, operation was successful.

N.B. I hate doing BIOS updates, and avoid them if I can. But since this BIOS promised to fix 'DRAM instabiility issues,' and I recently had cause to believe a memory related BSOD had occured), I figured maybe I really should.

Good job.
Now the next time there's a post with BIOS update questions.... YOU get to answer them.

TraderGary · Jun 23, 2022

I certainly appreciate what you say about ASUS. I've owned 6 Dell computers and 1 ASUS. In my experience Dell engineers know what they are doing, and ASUS does not. Updating the ASUS was always a nightmare. Dell updates are automated and flawless.

Dru2 · Jun 23, 2022

meimeiriver said:
Well, gents, I finally took the step, and updated. And Windows booted again just fine. :)

Damn ASUS bios did save my Profile bios to USB (I can frakkin' see it), but when it was time to load it, it found rubbish. Had to recall all those specialized power settings from memory (duration of turbo speeds and what not). But, other than, operation was successful.

Yep, as I said.... reset. And why you had to recall them

TraderGary said:
I certainly appreciate what you say about ASUS. I've owned 6 Dell computers and 1 ASUS. In my experience Dell engineers know what they are doing, and ASUS does not. Updating the ASUS was always a nightmare. Dell updates are automated and flawless.

I disagree with that sentiment. It's just a matter of knowing what to expect. Anyway, most of the major board venders pretty much operate the same way depending on board. I use Gigabyte boards, and the process is pretty much the same.

Anyway, I find updating a BIOS extremely easy, but then as a system builder, I've been doing them for over 20 years.

meimeiriver · Jun 23, 2022

Dru2 said:
Yep, as I said.... reset. And why you had to recall them

Not really. If you offer an option to save your BIOS settings to a USB, then it's not unreasonable for people to expect that a load of those settings, after the BIOS update, will work.

N.B. This motherboard also offers an option to revert to your previous BIOS. (Would have been awesome if the new keys caused trouble, after all) All contigent on that functionality working too. :)

meimeiriver · Jun 23, 2022

Dru2 said:
Anyway, I find updating a BIOS extremely easy, but then as a system builder, I've been doing them for over 20 years.

I find updating a BIOS extremely easy too, and I've been doing it for almost 40 years. :) But easy != risk-free. There are always risks associated with a BIOS update: bricking your system (worst case), your Windows becoming deactivated; or, in this case, a glitch (as described by people above) with resetting a pin, etc.

I stand by my rule, that one should not engage in a BIOS update, unless you have a pertinent, immediately reason to do so.

TraderGary · Jun 23, 2022

Dru2 said:
I disagree with that sentiment. It's just a matter of knowing what to expect. Anyway, most of the major board venders pretty much operate the same way depending on board. I use Gigabyte boards, and the process is pretty much the same.

Anyway, I find updating a BIOS extremely easy, but then as a system builder, I've been doing them for over 20 years.

I should have related that my experience was confined to laptops, as that's all I've used for the past 20 years. :wink:

Dru2 · Jun 23, 2022

meimeiriver said:
Not really. If you offer an option to save your BIOS settings to a USB, then it's not unreasonable for people to expect that a load of those settings, after the BIOS update, will work.

And I don't disagree with that, but that wasn't the point of my post - the point was there was a reset.

meimeiriver said:
N.B. This motherboard also offers an option to revert to your previous BIOS. (Would have been awesome if the new keys caused trouble, after all) All contigent on that functionality working too. :)

Also, not a surprise as most new boards do that, including my Gigabyte boards, which also includes dual BIOS' :)

Dru2 · Jun 23, 2022

Dru2 said:
Anyway, I find updating a BIOS extremely easy, but then as a system builder, I've been doing them for over 20 years.

meimeiriver said:
I find updating a BIOS extremely easy too, and I've been doing it for almost 40 years.

meimeiriver said:
I have a fully updated Windows 11 system, but I would like to update my UEFI BIOS. I am a little hesitant,

Ok.

meimeiriver said:
I stand by my rule, that one should not engage in a BIOS update, unless you have a pertinent, immediately reason to do so.

You have a right to your opinion. I posted mine. It's all good.

Dru2 · Jun 23, 2022

TraderGary said:
I should have related that my experience was confined to laptops, as that's all I've used for the past 20 years.

I too use laptops, but I've always custom built my desktops with my last build (and current system) being done in 2019

meimeiriver · Jun 23, 2022

Dru2 said:
Ok.

Not sure why you posted that. Secure Boot never existed before, and clearly people have run into situatuations where they couldn't boot any more because of it. Heck yeah, I was hesistant to do so. Like I said, easy != risk-free.

Dru2 · Jun 23, 2022

I think things are going sideways as I'm simply replying to posts.

And I'm keenly aware of Secure Boot and have been using it before Windows 11 came along.

Megahertz · Jun 23, 2022

BIOS settings backup is a database of the current BIOS structure. It works for same BIOS version. New versions have different database structure so old backups can't be loaded on new versions.

Dru2 · Jun 23, 2022

Megahertz said:
BIOS settings backup is a database of the current BIOS structure. It works for same BIOS version. New versions have different database structure so old backups can't be loaded on new versions.

That's somewhat true, but it's typically not the norm. And if they do change the structure, they should say so as exampled with the F8 BIOS for my Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Xtreme board which not only changed the layout but added hardware support. There's also the updates that won't you revert to a previous version as stated for my F9 BIOS, released Nov of 2021. But that's what Gigabyte does so....

But yeah, if you use custom settings, write them down in case the profile gets wiped or no longer valid after a BIOS update.

meimeiriver · Jun 23, 2022

Megahertz said:
BIOS settings backup is a database of the current BIOS structure. It works for same BIOS version. New versions have different database structure so old backups can't be loaded on new versions.

That used to be true for the early eighties. :) A single change in the BIOS 'array' would mess up restores dramatically. These days, of course, BIOS saves are an associative array, with field and values, and can be restored properly (even when some entries no longer exist, or changed position). It's simply common pratice to wipe the BIOS settings on update. Maybe the new BIOS does certain things differently, like no longer supporting AVX512 instructions on my i9 12900K (surprisingly, Intel told motherboard manufacturers to discontinue offering support for them in the BIOS, on consumer platforms, but ASUS, in my case, seems to have ignored that directive).

Tl;dr: I always assume the BIOS settings will be wiped on update/reset to Optimized defaults. And it means I either use a saved config to restore (which was strangely broken on my board), or just walk thru the settings again. ALWAYS. For one, because ASUS, per Optimized Defaults, has a habit of rather severely overvolting the CPU (so their A.i. overclock is guaranteed to always boot up nicely, without customer complaints).