Are there any new questions about building?
Are there any new questions about building?
the higher speeds cost money, I very rarely download larger files, main one I downloaded in recent months was the Windows 10 iso. I used to be with a firm (Virgin Media, owned by Richard Branson) which was fibre optic, which had fast download options, but they started charging me £70 a month for phone + broadband, which is a bit expensive if you dont download much.
but how do you select if it is 2.4GHz or 5 or 6? as I currently only need 2.4, I'd prefer that as it has a stronger signal.
which version is the HDMI of my monitor?
I tried visiting B&Q at Hartcliffe, which is a hardware store which is ginormous, where you will struggle to fit the shop building in your field of view, looking at Google Earth, 51°25'0.52"N 2°35'54.81"W the building part is about 150metres long, and 80m wide, a standard soccer pitch is 91m x 46, ie the shop building is 2.87 x the size of a soccer pitch! you could approx fit 2 jumbo jets (76.25m) end to end in that!
and they brought in one expert after another, each couldnt deal with the item, finally the guy at the top made sense of it.
he said it takes 4mm bits, but I need a 4mm to 6.35mm converter for the phantek screws, that maybe a 4mm bit might work for the smaller ones.
but they dont have such a converter. Once in Berlin, I went to the ginormous KaDeWe department store, which is 5 or 6 storeys, and I asked if they sold screwdrivers, they said: no, try Bauhaus. I did, and they sold me a chrome plated one, where the chrome scraped off when I used it!
at a nearby shop, B&M, I found a Rolson kit for £4.99 which fits perfectly, but these bits are slightly too small,
photo of the Rolson kit
and
photo of a Rolson bit attached to the torque screwdriver
I thus need a 4mm to 6.35mm adapter, and so far havent found one which can be delivered quickly. I did find one which would be delivered maybe 6th March. And I thought I found one on ebay, but in fact it is 6.35mm to 4mm.
I tried Halfords which does car parts, and they had an item with 4mm bits, an item with 6.35mm bits, but no converter. having difficulty also finding 6.35mm bits on the internet, both on amazon.co.uk and Google.
at Halfords and other places, the items mostly dont say what size they are.
anyway, I dont think any shop in Bristol sells such a converter, and online I am struggling to find any place which sells such AND where delivery wont take too long.
yes, but can you set torque to 0.3 N.m with the makita?
I imagine it is designed for much higher torques?
I dont want to use an electric drill with the mobo, what if the drill slips? I only have to do this once every several years, so doing it manually is fine.
I have screwdrivers and miscellaneous drill bits, but not with 0.3 N.m torque control!
I have 0.3 N.m torque control, but no bits big enough for the Phantek screws!
I have the 4mm Rolson bits which fit,
see earlier photo
, but they are on the small side.
what I really meant was "publicly available", rather than the general public who dont even know what a file is!
the BIOS update is then maybe not a BIOS update, but some kind of firmware update. technically the BIOS is the CPU programming interface to the hardware. things like memory compatibility is beyond the BIOS! as the CPU doesnt use an explicit interface to memory.
if the BIOS update can proceed without the CPU, its beyond the BIOS, the BIOS might rely on it, but it is debatable whether it is the BIOS even if its called a BIOS update by the mobo people.
according to wikipedia
, the BIOS is "
firmware
used to provide runtime services for
operating systems
and programs and to perform
hardware
initialization during the
booting
process"
operating systems and programs exist entirely in the realm of CPU + memory, loaded into memory from disks, or existing in fixed ROM memory.
caveat: just because wikipedia says something, doesnt mean it is true! its just someone's opinion that hasnt been contested. with the above wikipedia definition, who else is there for firmware to provide services for other than operating systems and programs?
😳
the programmer concept of the BIOS is those Ralph Brown int commands in the earlier message, where it is explicit software calls to the hardware. and not some disembodied software in the distance on the mobo which I would regard as "on the other side".
BIOS literally means Basic Input/Output System, and means system commands for the CPU to read input from peripheral hardware eg mouse, keyboard, data reads from disks, and write output to peripheral hardware eg disk drives.
thus their comment might as well just say "the BIOS is firmware", but in that case the word BIOS is redundant, just call it firmware! because if what they say is true, they are saying BIOS is firmware, which just means software embedded within hardware to implement a black box eg a washing machine, or calculator.
undercover software implementing a machine.
the use of language needs to be debated and reformed, because inefficient or misleading language leads to confused thinking. at our uni, the maths faculty would reform the maths language from time to time, where all courses used a unified vocab. in my school era also, the exam boards would reform the use of english for courses.
eg we talk of solid state drives, but in fact these are no longer drives! a drive is where you have a rotating motor which "drives" a disk. driving literally means to push with physical force. more accurate language would be "data storage device".
these modern x86 CPUS themselves are firmware above a RISC core, so there is firmware which isnt part of the mobo, but I am not aware the CPU's firmware can be updated as a CPU doesnt have USB sockets or floppy drive!
a PC is a jungle in a box, and it is only useful insofaras a user can do stuff with it when attached to monitor + speakers for output, and mouse + keyboard + games_controls for input. storage devices also for input and output. and this is only possible via programs and or operating systems.
I would thus prefer to refer to it as mobo firmware, rather than BIOS which is CPU centric. who knows what goes on in a mobo beyond the CPU, but there are probably auxiliary cpus implementing the mobo, eg the update which doesnt need the CPU might be enacted by these auxiliary cpus.
if I remember rightly with the original PC design, Motorola arranged the chip which managed the real time clock. that is a disembodied chip, embedded within the mobo somewhere!
the "BIOS update" would be some really low level of the mobo, I have some AMD document about some lower level, but I couldnt make sense of how one would access such stuff, I think its meant for firmware developers eg mobo developers. unable to find it just now.
I see a general problem with Intel architecture PCs, of proliferation of complexity, where there is too much stuff going on, and customers cannot cope with the complexity. where a lot of the advancement is wasted on most people. its a problem with mathematics, that with some experts, the only person who can understand their work is the expert who created it! and it has become "self serving". It involved major discussion with Aeacus to arrive at the Ace mobo, most people will never get to the Ace mobo, there are too many mobo manufacturers, too many mobos, etc. its too complicated!
if you can "update the BIOS" without CPU, does this mean the mobo without CPU produces an early startup screen?
that would be weird, a disembodied startup interface!
when I say disembodied, I mean like a ghost without a body, literally a person "with body removed", where for a computer the body is the CPU, "with CPU removed". disembowelled is where your digestive system is removed, "gutted".
the reason they rename the file and put it at the top, is to be able to need less program code to reach it. I think the MSDOS filesystems were designed so you can shortcut to some files without having to utilise a full filesystem.
if they allowed the file anywhere, firstly you'd need some auxiliary file in a fixed location to say where that file was! which is now complexity proliferating, and then further complexity to navigate the filesystem to reach that file.
Now the user wants to be able to put stuff anywhere, eg install a program to an external drive, etc, and that requires a proper filesystem, and that is a lot of work.
as you say, the dual BIOS means they have fixed the hazard of BIOS updates.
can you change both BIOSes (via 2 successive updates), or is one fixed at manufacture time where you say can reset all firmware to a safe version, a bit like a reset of some equipment eg modems, and maybe the smartphone factory resets.
By picking the right SSID when connecting to a wi-fi network. If your home setup only supports 2.4 Ghz, there are no alternatives except that one choice. HDMI 2.0
Regarding adapters: 4mm to 6.35mm? This might be necessary.
Amazon UK listing: https://www.amazon.co.uk/IANROL-Adapter-...0BNLBYPLL/
I haven’t reviewed the manual thoroughly, so I’m unsure about the gear torque specifications for my Makita power drill. I purchased it mainly to drill holes in walls, not to fasten screws manually.
Still, it’s not a hidden detail because every MoBo specification page lists BIOS versions, and you can freely download different firmware files.
What you own is not BIOS but rather UEFI. Most devices from around 2010 onwards use UEFI, though some still support BIOS.
In terms of terminology, many people say UEFI instead of BIOS, because more people recognize BIOS than UEFI.
For more details on UEFI: https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/defini...rface-UEFI
No.
Updating BIOS without CPU or RAM is basically a blind update. You won’t see any screen, only an LED light on the device indicating progress and completion. Once the update finishes, the LED stops flashing.
Yes, you can update both BIOS versions. You can also brick both, which permanently disables the device.
Your device doesn’t have a BIOS flashback function, meaning it lacks a second chip for backup (passive) BIOS. This feature is available when you brick the BIOS during an update, allowing you to restore the original BIOS and fix corruption.
Instead, your device runs with two active BIOS versions that you can switch between and update as needed.
In summary; most devices use a single BIOS, high-end models support BIOS flashback, premium models have dual BIOS.
but if that cable is 1.4, will it give me the full power of the monitor?
maybe I should have gotten a usb-C to usb-C vid cable, with HDMI converter at the end, as I could then use that if and when I upgrade the monitor, and just change the converter.
the problem is delivery is 5th March, which is 13 days in the future!
with the torque screwdriver, it arrived I think the next day.
I will try to visit another DIY store in a satellite town, I realised I can get 6.35mm bits from screwdriver sets, just not the 4mm to 6.35mm adapter.
one problem is a lot of the kits dont say what size they are.
maybe I can get a 6.35mm torque screwdriver, but these things cost maybe £90,
Spoiler:
some off topic opinions
In Britain, there is an agenda to disempower the general public, where the more empowering stuff isnt available in the stores. eg when the Dyson hoop fan was released, where it is this hoop with air flowing through it as if by black magic, that was in the stores in Germany, but when I returned to England it wasnt in the stores, yet is a british product! Also I watched some Hollywood film in Germany at an english language cinema, then when I returned to England, I saw a bus advertising it as being released in Britain some weeks in the future!
another example: in Germany in the media markt store, they had a 3D camcorder, where you could stand in front of it and see yourself in 3D on a nearby screen, but in England no such thing in the stores. Here in Bristol at that time, the PCWorld was the largest in the country, ginormous store, looking at Google Earth about 81m x 81m, ie 57% bigger than a soccer pitch, its that entire building complex at 51°31'37.46"N 2°36'3.69"W during covid they shrunk the store and created an upper floor. PCWorld is a french company, DSG.
for some reason we have ginormous shopping places in Bristol, much bigger than London, eg we have a mall which is 1/3 km long, I actually use a car there to get from shop to shop! using the outer entrances. it has 5000 parking places, so during the week easy to park near the mall. on Saturday the entire region of the country converges on the mall and no parking places. we have a small satellite town Yate, which has a supermarket with floor area 128m x 92m, 2.8x the area of a soccer pitch, 51°32'23.10"N 2°24'39.95"W. these stores are expeditions to browse around. And it is a challenge to perceive the totality of the stores.
torque is going to be high medium or low so to speak, I havent seen a machine which does the entire gamut!
Spoiler:
slightly off topic on precise control over a big range of values
its tricky engineering to make things which can deal with a bigger spectrum of measurements, in the UK, the robot tills seem to be able to weigh from really light to really heavy items.
to be able to do a wide gamut of torques, you probably need gears! like with the 3 hands of a watch, where the second hand does 1 revolution/minute, but the small hand does 1 rev/12 hours! which is simultaneous gearing, but that might make the machine either very expensive or very big, maybe with some form of transmission of the torque. I bought a mechanical screwdriver from Woolworths long ago, which transmits the torque along a flexible transmission. its better just to have several machines, use the right specialised tool for the job.
I have some german calipers which measure to 0.1mm accuracy, but they only go up to 12cm. I have a german (Bosch) laser measurer, which measures I think up to 25m up to 1mm accuracy. you place it eg on a wall, and press the button and a red dot appears on the other wall, press again and it tells you the distance in millimetres.
what I meant is what the file does, the object is publicly available, but the contents are secret!
it might include executable code for an undocumented chip,
ok, people are already using the word indiscriminately! BIOS UEFI firmware whatever!
Spoiler:
slightly off topic on indiscriminate terminology
its like the word engineer, this guy told me he is now an engineer, on further interrogation, he instals and maintains the refrigeration on supermarket delivery vans. for me that is more a mechanic than an engineer. for me an engineer is someone who engineers things, creating new bespoke structures, eg bridges or designs new hardware. Technically I feel the word should only be used if you have an engineering degree, where although a programmer does engineer software, I think engineering should just relate to physical structures. programming is more virtual, like music, maths, fiction. Best to just say "programmer" than "software engineer". the really indiscriminate word is IT.
for language to be good, its important to discuss the use of language, including questioning current usage.
eg originally they talked of "global warming", but then they found some weather could get colder, so they revised the terminology to now be "climate change". With the EU, it used to be the EEC, then I think it became the EC and eventually the EU.
the mobo has leds? are these covered in the Ace manual?
you have 2 chances to get things right! no 3rd chances. the other BIOS is the last chance saloon!
sounds like the way to do things!
I wont try updating the BIOS except as a very last resort.
do these updates all go to a very specific "permanent" memory chip, or could they be scattered around the mobo?
No.
The HDMI 1.4 (the 16-foot cable) supports 4K at 30 Hz.
The HDMI 2.0 (your monitor’s version) can handle 4K at 60 Hz.
If you’re okay with sacrificing about 30 frames per second, the HDMI 1.4 cable is still viable.
So, you might need to search further online or consider faster shipping options. Your choice.
Are you feeling paranoid?
🤔
If you go to a third-party site and download the firmware from an unreliable source, there’s a real risk—malicious files could be present.
But if you get it straight from MoBo’s official page? It seems pretty legitimate. Unless you reach out directly to MSI support and they send the file yourself, it’s likely safe.
That brings me back to our earlier discussion,
🤔
where you mentioned all memory modules as SIMMs, even though they’re actually DIMMs.
But let’s not circle back.
Yes, MoBo has several indicator lights. It would glow brightly like a Christmas tree when powered on.
And the key indicators are detailed in the manual:
* BIOS update LED – usually under the "Flash BIOS button" on the rear I/O panel, page 23 (25 pages), item #8.
* EZ debug LEDs – page 60 (62 pages).
* Debug code LED – page 61 (63 pages).
* Eye-catching ones like the MSI dragon logo on the VRM heatsink,
* MEG lettering on the second VRM heatsink,
* ACE lettering on one of the M.2 heatsinks,
* LIGHTING GEN 5 lettering on another M.2 heatsink,
* and a triangle symbol in the chipset heatsink.
There are probably more, but these three are the most notable.
The BIOS is stored on a dedicated chip inside MoBo. With dual BIOS support, your unit has two of those chips.
I don’t know if you’ve seen the unboxing or teardown videos, but there are good ones available:
Unboxing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKvCcNwR06I
Teardown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siQ1QXE7l54
The teardown is quite engaging to watch.
🤔
But now that you own the MoBo, it’s worth remembering your valuable device.
At 13:25 in the teardown, they discuss the BIOS chips—which is why I checked the video first.