Am I in trouble for downloading a bios update that didn’t work?

I was looking for the newest bios update for my motherboard (prime a520m-k). I saw that my current bios wasn’t the latest, so I downloaded the update. But then I realized I don’t really know how to update the bios properly. I extracted the files and opened two documents (I think one was called ‘renamer’). When I opened them, nothing seemed to happen. Later, when I opened msinfo32, I saw around 4 error messages. I didn’t take a screenshot, but I remember one saying something about a program needing to be turned off. I know this sounds vague, but I just want to know if anything bad could happen after this?

You probably want to read up on how to update bios. It’s not the same as updating a normal program.

debby said:
You probably want to read up on how to update bios. It’s not the same as updating a normal program.

As someone who builds my own PCs, I’m always too nervous to update the bios. I’ve never needed to, so I just leave it alone.

@Flippa
Bios updates can fix some really important issues though.

Eloise said:
@Flippa
Bios updates can fix some really important issues though.

→ Points to the i9 fiasco.

GalacticGlimpse said:

Eloise said:
@Flippa
Bios updates can fix some really important issues though.

→ Points to the i9 fiasco.

The CPU microcode can usually be updated by the OS, but the UEFI can still have bugs too.

@Eloise
Ah, looks like the i9 issue wasn’t a firmware problem, but related to UEFI profiles…

It sounds like you just downloaded the file, but didn’t actually flash the bios. So everything should be fine.

I think you didn’t do anything yet. Asus motherboards update bios through ez flash (using a USB stick with renamer files on it). You run this through the bios, or use the AISuite program in Windows to update. If you’re unsure, look for a tutorial on how to do it properly.

You need to be in the BIOS to flash it. It looks like you just copied the files in Windows without doing anything harmful. You can delete those files from your system if you want.

Mary1 said:
You need to be in the BIOS to flash it. It looks like you just copied the files in Windows without doing anything harmful. You can delete those files from your system if you want.

Most modern boards let you update from Windows with a utility, but in your case, it seems you just opened the files and got some errors. No harm done.

You didn’t do anything yet.

The renamer tool just renames the bios file to the correct name. Then, you put it on an empty flash drive, plug it into your motherboard, restart, and press the del key to start flashing the bios. Alternatively, there’s software that helps you import the bios file into it.

Since you didn’t do either of those, you’re good.

Is your computer acting up? Or is it just throwing errors? It sounds like you didn’t do much, you just downloaded some files.

As others have said, it doesn’t sound like you got to the flashing part, so everything is fine.

As for the msinfo32 errors, you likely opened a .nfo file. These files are often used to give you system info, but the msinfo32 app expected something different, which is why you got errors.

  1. Download this link

  2. Extract the zip.

  3. Run the exe file.