I have read on the forum, some have problems starting macOS after upgrading the BIOS.
As a general question, when should we upgrade the BIOS, and is it safe?
Should we always update to the latest version of the BIOS?
I haven't updated the BIOS in my Hackintoshes of fear of turning the motherboards useless.
I'm not expecting a definite answer, but if you want to share your experience or recommendations is appreciated.
Cheers
In my opinion, the major reason why some have problems starting MacOS after a BIOS upgrade, is because the BIOS upgrade actually returns all the BIOS setting to default values (like performing an "Load Optimized Defaults" command), and if they do not change the BIOS setting back to the required values, then MacOS may not start.
If you have no problems using your systems, it is normal not to upgrade the BIOS. However, BIOS updates may be issued by motherboard manufacturers to fix various problems (e.g. RAM compatibility, CPU problems), or to support new CPUs. The recent case about the
Intel Skylake / Kaby Lake hyperthreading bug is a case in point. You need to install BIOS updates to your motherboard to fix such problems and these will be times when you should upgrade the BIOS.
My own rule is when the motherboard manufacturer (Gigabyte in my case) releases a new version of BIOS for the motherboard I am using, I check to see if it is "Beta", i.e. testing versions. I do not install Beta-BIOSes in general. For Gigabyte it is easy to check. If the BIOS version has a small non-capital letter accompanying it (e.g. F4a), then it is Beta. If the BIOS version is not accompanied by a small non-capital letter (e.g. F5), then it is a release version. I would wait a little time myself to see if there are any problems related to the new BIOS reported by other users, and if not, perform the BIOS upgrade in due course.
So yes, I generally recommend updating the BIOS to the latest version provided there are no reported problems.
There are several ways to upgrade the BIOS on a motherboard.
(1) The motherboard vendor may offer a Windows program to download and upgrade the BIOS in Windows. However, I generally avoid upgrading the BIOS in Windows, as if something happens in Windows, the BIOS upgrade program may experience problems and the upgrade may fail. A failed BIOS upgrade may render the motherboard unbootable (although technologies like Gigabyte DualBIOS are supposed to reduce the possibility of such problems occurring).
(2) The BIOS update file can be downloaded to a USB stick formatted in FAT32 format. Reboot the computer and enter the BIOS. There will be a program available in the BIOS to perform the BIOS upgrade from the USB stick. (Gigabyte calls it Q-Flash.) This is the way I use to upgrade the BIOS, and I have never encountered problems doing it this way.
