# MSI LiveUpdate for BIOS...CMOS destroyed?



## smoothjk

Hi all,

I recently found out that my mobo can update its BIOS version by simply going online and doing a LiveUpdate. I chose to do it, and it ran some kind of DOS program...but at the very end, I saw it say "CMOS destroyed." WTF??

The computer autobooted, told me something bad about the CMOS checksum (don't remember) and gave me some kind of option about choosing default settings and continuing. When I got into Windows, it looked like my GPU was disabled somehow, and Control Panel didn't detect it either. I restarted again, and it seemed like everything was back to normal. However, when I ran 3dmark06 to test if everything was OK, my score came back about 600 points lower than normal! (9080 instead of 9700.)

Questions:
- What the heck happened to my CMOS? Shouldn't my computer clock be off now? It's not...seems to be working fine.
- Why did I lose so much performance? Could the BIOS update really have hurt my 3dmark06 score so much?

I'm stumped.


----------



## Seth

Hi, if your CMOS was dead then you PC wouldn't turn on at all, and wouldn't get any where near getting into windows. Why did you think your GPU is dead?

The message you saw about CMOS Destroyed i think is normal, believe it or not. Eg, ASUS scare you the same way with live update, telling you the BIOS has been erased.

The way a CMOS (BIOS) update works is it basically deletes your current one and then replaces it with the new one. So I'm assuming that the CMOS Destroyed message is just it informing you it has wiped your current bios.

As for the now low score i have no idea whats going on there. How long ago was your last benchmark? Because its normal for it to lower over time as your computer just getting slower over time.

Hope this makes you feel a bit more secure


----------



## smoothjk

Haha yea it does bro, thanks. 

I thought my GPU might've been messed up because the letters on the desktop for certain shortcuts looked blurry like it does before I install the GPU drivers. And the Control Panel didn't show my GPU at all...but after a restart, it came back up. 

And I feel stupid, but it turns out the lower 3dmark06 score was due to the fact that I had changed my Nvidia settings sometime before. =P I had turned the AF to 16x and pulled the slider all the way to "Quality." After I set it back to auto, I ended up with a score of 9690, which is much closer to my normal score.

Now, I'm just relieved everything's working, and I don't need to buy a floppy drive when the time comes to update the BIOS (i.e., when I get a new quad core CPU). All I need to do is do the Live Update within Windows.

Thanks for your input!


----------



## Twist86

Least now you know why I actually buy motherboards that can run my CPU without a BIOs update.
Messages like that and the chance of me losing my board = great encouragement. Though if it was covered under warranty I wouldn't have a issue doing it.

Though good to hear everything is working mate.


----------



## smoothjk

Yea, I have to admit, it was a nervous time. What's dumb is that I don't think my mobo NEEDED the update (it supported my CPU fine), but I was just happy it seemed to have an easy way to flash my BIOS without the use of a floppy. And it seemed to be more secure and automated.

Maybe from now on, I'll follow the general rule that says only to flash it if something's not working right!


----------



## Twist86

LOL good idea...I find those rules a good thing to live by 

I flashed only 2 motherboards and I used a burnable CD vs a floppy and had no issues doing it. But boy was the idea of failure in my mind each time I did it.


----------



## Shane

i was a bit sared when i updated my motherboard using the MSI live update service.

the reason i updated my bios is because it now supports all the 45nm dual and i think all the 45nm quads where as before it would only support up to a Q6700 with what bios it come with.

but it went fine.


----------



## stallyn1

*cmos destroyed but no windows*

i had the same problem but it will not go to windows at all. i tried to go into setup but it will not. it shows the new bios v2.4 on the only screen i can get it to which shows the hd dvd usb etc. then it says

cmos checksum bad
F1 to run setup
F2 to load default values and continue

F11 to enter boot menu

none work

any ideas?

I flashed as i had received a blue screen (power managment control) and windows vista problem reporting said the bios needed to be updated for the cpu


----------



## stallyn1

got it thanks Stranglehold!


----------



## Sean89

msis live update is known to kill motherboards, they even warn you on their forums lol.  <3 asus ez flash update process way easier.


----------

