Updating BIOS for Windows 11 on ASUS Motherboard

I am trying to update my BIOS to update from Win10 to Win11. My MoBo will not do so but ASUS says it will. I am 85 and not the least bit of a Geek. My first computer was Commadore 64 all others were built for me. I downloaded ASUS EZ Update but it disappeared so I downloaded AI Suite 3 and updated (online) with it, but I did not know that I should look at the BIOS to see what the Tech changed when he assembled my computer. I followed ASUS’s advice and pushed F5 To set everything to default. I tried to get it set for Win11 and failed. [Settings>>> Windows Update] says that I still do not meet the minimum requirements.

I also had other problems. Next, I downloaded “PRIME Z390-A BIOS 2004” and flashed it off one of my HHD’s but still cannot update to Win 111. My BIOS is setup with; TPM 2, Secure boot is on, CSM enabled - - Device Control = UEFI & Legacy OPROM, OS Type = Windows UEFI Mode, and it is not ready for Win11 yet. I very seldom go into my Adim user profile. Guess what I found in it. ASUS must think I am a geek.

Under the “Drivers and Tools” ASUS has updates for the LAN and Chipset I haven’t got those though I expect that I should do so. I have yet to download the MEUdateTool also.

This BIOS has Thunderbolt; What are the pro's and con's of enabling it

Items that I cannot answer, and I have tried; Is the BIOS setup property for the SHGP-31-!00GB SSD? Also, is the BIOS setup OK for the DDR4 memory? I spent a lot of time search for to see if these are setup correctly and have not succeeded.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Fractal Design Meshify C case ~~~~~~~~~~Asus Prime Z390-A Motherboard
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050i Graphics ~~~~Thermaltake 500 Watt power supply
Intel Core i7- 6700K CPU 8M 4.0 Ghz ~~~~~1 Tetra Seagate ST1000DX001-1NS162
GSKILL Ripjaws 16GB DDR4 Memory~~~~~~`Cooler Master 120mm CPU Cooler
SAMSUNG 850 PRO 2.5" 256GB SSD~~~~~~~~~~~SHGP-31-1000GM SSD
HP M22FHD monitor~~~and~~~Exterior CD/DVD

Your CPU is a 6th generation Intel chip. Windows 11 requires an 8th generation CPU. There are workarounds if you want to pursue them. Staying on Windows 10 would be the easiest.

Fractal Design Meshify C case ~~~~~~~~~~Asus Prime Z390-A Motherboard
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050i Graphics ~~~~Thermaltake 500 Watt power supply
Intel Core i7- 6700K CPU 8M 4.0 Ghz ~~~~~1 Tetra Seagate ST1000DX001-1NS162
GSKILL Ripjaws 16GB DDR4 Memory~~~~~~`Cooler Master 120mm CPU Cooler
SAMSUNG 850 PRO 2.5" 256GB SSD~~~~~~~~~~~SHGP-31-1000GM SSD
HP M22FHD monitor~~~and~~~Exterior CD/DVD


Something wrong there. Z390 supports 8 and 9 gen cpu. The 6700k is a 6th gen cpu.

If you are right about the 6700k cpu, the motherboard will not be z390. In which case "PRIME Z390-A BIOS 2004” will not flash.

check which motherboard and cpu you have.

SIW2 said:

Fractal Design Meshify C case ~~~~~~~~~~Asus Prime Z390-A Motherboard
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050i Graphics ~~~~Thermaltake 500 Watt power supply
Intel Core i7- 6700K CPU 8M 4.0 Ghz ~~~~~1 Tetra Seagate ST1000DX001-1NS162
GSKILL Ripjaws 16GB DDR4 Memory~~~~~~`Cooler Master 120mm CPU Cooler
SAMSUNG 850 PRO 2.5" 256GB SSD~~~~~~~~~~~SHGP-31-1000GM SSD
HP M22FHD monitor~~~and~~~Exterior CD/DVD


Something wrong there. Z390 supports 8 and 9 gen cpu. The 6700k is a 6th gen cpu.

If you are right about the 6700k cpu, the motherboard will not be z390. In which case "PRIME Z390-A BIOS 2004” will not flash.

check which motherboard and cpu you have.

Click to expand...

Just to confirm, the supported CPU list for the Z390-A:


(In the Core line, only 8th and 9th generation CPUs.) An I7-6700K would physically fit in the FCLGA1151 socket of the Z390-A, but it's not supposed to run. a quick Web search verifies that: Question - Hello I've installed a prime Z390-a using an I7-6700K CPU, and Timetec Hynix IC 32GB Kit (2x16GB) DDR4 2666MHz . Installed in A2&B2

Either the CPU or the motherboard is listed wrong.

"rfhar" doesn't need any third-party software to identify the motherboard and processor. In the Device Manager control panel, the motherboard will be under Computer. The processor, under Processor.

An NVME M.2 drive is on the parts list. I assume it's the boot drive. (It would be a waste to use a SATA drive of any type as a boot drive if an M.2 drive is present.) That leads me to expect a fairly recent MB (like the Z390-A).

Asus sets the BIOS defaults for the Z390-A to support Windows 11 in BIOS 1903 or later.

I had something wrong in my records. I burned up a MoBo in 16 and they put this one in. I remember that they said I would need a new CPU and they chose the one I have. The BIOS says that I have a 3.6 MHz Intel Core i7-9700 CPU. Also, I have BIOS ver. 2004 x64 Many, many thanks.

[Settings>>> Windows Update] says that I still do not meet the minimum requirements.

Click to expand...

Does it say why?


If your eligibility info is not updating in a timely manner, you can also manually refresh the Windows 11 eligibility assessment using the following steps.
admin cmd prompt:
schtasks.exe /Run /TN "\Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience\Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser"


or you could download the win11 iso from ms , run setup and see if tells you what is not conforming.

Hello @rfhar and welcome to ElevenForum.

Scroll down and download WhyNotWin11.exe from the link below and just double click to run the app...




It will tell you what is and is not compatible...
Green = compatible
Red = not compatible



It looks like this...

To post a screenshot on this forum...​

1. Take the screenshot, edit it as desired, save to your desktop as .png or .jpg (max. size = 2MB)
2. Left click in your post, where you want to place the screenshot.
3. Click the Attach Files button at lower left, browse to your pic and click Insert.
4. After clicking Insert, I usually choose the Thumbnail (smaller) option, or the Full Image (larger) option.

rfhar said:

I had something wrong in my records. I burned up a MoBo in 16 and they put this one in. I remember that they said I would need a new CPU and they chose the one I have. The BIOS says that I have a 3.6 MHz Intel Core i7-9700 CPU. Also, I have BIOS ver. 2004 x64 Many, many thanks.

Click to expand...

That unexpected. BIOS 2004 (from 2021) should default to all the necessary settings, if I understand it correctly. The previous BIOS (1903) didn't alter any BIOS code, it just applied the Windows 11 settings by default.

Your BIOS should be set to UEFI, Secure Boot should be enabled, and the firmware TPM (trusted platform module) should be enabled.

Unfortunately, Asus only provides a User's Manual for the Z390-A. (They have a separate BIOS manual for some boards.) The firmware TPM is barely mentioned in the user's manual. It doesn't even mention PTT (platform trust technology), which is Intel's name for their firmware TPM.

Ghot said:

@rfhar

scroll down and get WhyNotWin11.exe from the link below and just double click to run the app...

It will tell you what is and is not compatible with Windows 11...

Releases · rcmaehl/WhyNotWin11

Detection Script to help identify why your PC is not Windows 11 Release Ready. Now Supporting Update Checks! - rcmaehl/WhyNotWin11

github.com

Green = compatible

Red = not compatible



It looks like this...

View attachment 84028

Click to expand...

I'd never tried that tool. It's a good one. Should show exactly what's tripping "rfhar" up. I suggest the specific download link:


(It's about a 2.5MB download.)

I forgot about the graphics requirement, but a GTX 1050 ti is compatible. I suggest updating its drivers, though.


(No Core Isolation check, though? Sad. )

It needs to be secure boot capable which is not the same as enabled.

SIW2 said:

It needs to be secure boot capable which is not the same as enabled.

Click to expand...

I believe that's correct.

I also believe that if Secure Boot isn't enabled, Device Security will tell you that standard hardware security is not supported. (Which is not the same as forbidding an installation.)

I’m posting twice today one Immediately after the other.

Upgrade History of my computer

First : Disk 0 - - (E) drive was ‘C’ and data Win7?

Second: added 256gb SSD: Disk 1 - -(D) was ‘C’ drive and disk 0 was data drive Win10

Third: Added 1000gb SSD Disk 2 - - became “C” and was big enough for all my data (downloads, Pic’s, music & etc.) [prices became lower]; Disk 1 became, “D” Linux Mint; “H” as title; the third partition was left as it was.

Updating BIOS history

1st I Tried to use the EZ Update but it disappeared while installing. (Three days later I found it in my Admin profile.)

So I used EZ Flash 3 and let it load the new BIOS from the net, updated to version 1903 and when it finished there is nothing in the boot order list but the 256SSD. My “C” drive was listed as a storage drive. I found CSM and it was disabled, I enabled it. Then four options came up. Boot Device Control, Network, Storage, PCI-E/PCI Expansion Devices. (whatever they are?) I changed “Device control” to “UEFI and Legacy “OPRC?” This allowed my computer to boot up.



Later I used EZ Flash 3 with BIOS version 2004 download to flash the BIOS again. My BIOS setup with; TPM 2, Secure boot is on, CSM enabled - - Device Control = UEFI & Legacy OPROM, OS Type = Windows UEFI Mode.

rfhar said:

Updating BIOS history

1st I Tried to use the EZ Update but it disappeared while installing. (Three days later I found it in my Admin profile.)

So I used EZ Flash 3 and let it load the new BIOS from the net, updated to version 1903 and when it finished there is nothing in the boot order list but the 256SSD. My “C” drive was listed as a storage drive. I found CSM and it was disabled, I enabled it. Then four options came up. Boot Device Control, Network, Storage, PCI-E/PCI Expansion Devices. (whatever they are?) I changed “Device control” to “UEFI and Legacy “OPRC?” This allowed my computer to boot up.



Later I used EZ Flash 3 with BIOS version 2004 download to flash the BIOS again. My BIOS setup with; TPM 2, Secure boot is on, CSM enabled - - Device Control = UEFI & Legacy OPROM, OS Type = Windows UEFI Mode.

Click to expand...

It appears that your boot disk is MBR rather than GPT. I believe that GPT is needed for UEFI.

It's possible to convert an MBR drive to GPT. See the MBR2GPT conversion tool. I'm not sure that you'd end up with the proper partitions, though.

Did whoever built the PC clone your old install to it? That's the obvious reason why you might have an MBR boot drive on such a modern PC.

rfhar said:

Updating BIOS history

1st I Tried to use the EZ Update but it disappeared while installing. (Three days later I found it in my Admin profile.)

So I used EZ Flash 3 and let it load the new BIOS from the net, updated to version 1903 and when it finished there is nothing in the boot order list but the 256SSD. My “C” drive was listed as a storage drive. I found CSM and it was disabled, I enabled it. Then four options came up. Boot Device Control, Network, Storage, PCI-E/PCI Expansion Devices. (whatever they are?) I changed “Device control” to “UEFI and Legacy “OPRC?” This allowed my computer to boot up.



Later I used EZ Flash 3 with BIOS version 2004 download to flash the BIOS again. My BIOS setup with; TPM 2, Secure boot is on, CSM enabled - - Device Control = UEFI & Legacy OPROM, OS Type = Windows UEFI Mode.

Click to expand...

See... now we know what to recommend.

1. Convert the drive to GPT. MBR to GPT
2. Enable Secure Boot in the BIOS and set it to [Windows UEFI Mode]
3. Then set CSM as shown in the pic below...



This is on the "Boot tab" in you motherboard's BIOS...




Then run the Github tool again and this time it should come up... all GREEN.

Thanks guys, that is good news, I, as usual when looking at MS instructions am wondering if those people are paid by the word. No problem for a geek but I am an 85-year-old non-geek swimming in a sea of nervous ignorance and feeling like my gills are turning green. I’ve been over the MBR2GPT conversion tool info twice now and am going to do so again slowly before I use it. I worked as an electrician for 40 years in an auto plant. And over that time, I developed a bias that tech manuals were written by ether a technician who had poor marks in his English classes or an English major who had an unfound confidence in his knowledge of what he was writing about. I will post back again with the results

So, the following command should do the job?

MBR2GPT /validate|convert [/disk:<2>] /allowFullOS]

rfhar said:

So, the following command should do the job?

MBR2GPT /validate|convert [/disk:<2>] /allowFullOS]

Click to expand...

The command prompt should already be on the correct disk.
mbr2gpt /convert /allowfullOS


It should look just like this...




The command prompt should already be on... C:\Windows\System32
So it already "knows" which disk you're talking about.

rfhar said:

Thanks guys, that is good news, I, as usual when looking at MS instructions am wondering if those people are paid by the word. No problem for a geek but I am an 85-year-old non-geek swimming in a sea of nervous ignorance and feeling like my gills are turning green. I’ve been over the MBR2GPT conversion tool info twice now and am going to do so again slowly before I use it. I worked as an electrician for 40 years in an auto plant. And over that time, I developed a bias that tech manuals were written by ether a technician who had poor marks in his English classes or an English major who had an unfound confidence in his knowledge of what he was writing about. I will post back again with the results

Click to expand...

Your statement regarding tech manuals is about the best I have seen!

Sir_George said:

Your statement regarding tech manuals is about the best I have seen!

Click to expand...

I dunno. I think tech manuals are written by people that don't understand Chinese or English.