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[Solved] BIOS update RAID Windows reinstall?

Forum Windows 7 : General Discussion [Solved] BIOS update RAID Windows reinstall?

Before I begin my overclocking project, I'd like to update my BIOS. I'm currently using an ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 with a BIOS of 0301. According to their website there is a new BIOS 0402. One of the two components of the update states "increased stability". So I'm thinking updating the BIOS would be groovy before I begin my overclocking project.

After my week old build, I've done two things to the 0301 BIOS. I've used the ASUS OC for dummies button and overclocked it to "Fast" (not Extreme). I've also configured it to RAID.

1) Should I "un-overclock" to its original settings it before updating?
2) When I update it, will the update put the BIOS back to default settings, including the RAID setting reverting to AHCI?

If the answer to #2 is yes, then it will default to AHCI rather than RAID when the update is complete.....so is it just a matter of resetting it to RAID before attempting to boot Windows again? I ask this because of the pain I experienced when I had to reinstall Windows after going from AHCI to RAID the first time.

I guess my ultimate question is, will I need to reinstall Windows after a BIOS update? And, does having BIOS in a RAID setting matter in the answer to that question?

Thanks in advance!

Reply to catatafish

Best answer

save your current bios to a profile--you can do that within the bios

yes the raid may revert but you should just be able to set it back to raid

its recommended not to flash the bios while its overclocked--though i have never had any problems doing it while

overclocked

you shouldnt have to re-install windows but back up anything important just in case

and keep an eye on your cpu voltage when using the auto overclocking as on my P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 when i

tried it just out of interest it was spiking far too much voltage through my cpu

Reply to mcnumpty23

Thanks for the tips. I totally agree with your cpu voltage concern. That is exactly why I want to overclock manually (the subject of my next question ). I read some articles about the ASUS auto-overclock about how it is achieved so I'm going to try it more manually after I update my BIOS.

I guess my concern was that when Windows loaded it looked for a specific ID# of some kind that corresponded to a specific BIOS configuration. And that after I updated BIOS, then switched it back to RAID before loading Windows, Windows would do something like "I can't find the RAID ID you set up, here's a blue screen of death".

So I guess its as simple as:

1) Open BIOS, click Default Settings (which should un-overclock it).
2) Reset it to RAID (#1 would set it back to AHCI).
3) Boot Windows.
4) Open the ASUS utility thingie. Use the Update BIOS functionality.
5) Follow the instructions, update the BIOS.
6) When it reboots, spam Delete.
7) In BIOS reset it to RAID.
8) Save and restart.

???

Is that it?

Reply to catatafish

yes thats it

pretty sure when i used to have a raid array thats exactly how i did it and didnt get bluescreened or lose my raid

array

now i have a 120gb ssd i dont need raid anymore