ASUS motherboard is auto-updating BIOS - how can I disable this ?

[jhayat]

Hi all, hope this is in the right place 🙂

I have an ASUS TUF X299 MARK1 that's more than a couple of years old, using it with Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.

Every once in a while, the BIOS does an auto-update, I would like it to not do this.

I cant find anything about an auto-update feature in the BIOS itself - including the advanced area - nor in the manual. Windows updates are turned off (services applet) and there are no ASUS apps running, nor installed (Ctrl Panel), and there is nothing showing in msconfig.

I was told on another forum that this is the O/S doing this... is that possible? Computer power is off, you turn it on, and the bios starts to update before the Windows screen appears. That can be the OS?

Anyone have an idea on how to disable this? Thanks in advance.

[Murph_9000]

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@jhayat wrote:

I was told on another forum that this is the O/S doing this... is that possible? Computer power is off, you turn it on, and the bios starts to update before the Windows screen appears. That can be the OS?

Yes, that can be done on a UEFI BIOS.  The OS can add a BIOS update to the EFI partition, which will get installed on the next boot (before the normal OS boot sequence).  I think that's how ASUS EZ Update does BIOS updates from inside WIndows, although not 100% on that as I usually just use EZ Flash from inside the BIOS setup.

I'm wondering if this is something different, however, as the X299 is a fairly old platform now and there have not been any new TUF X299 Mark 1 BIOS updates released recently.  What exactly are you seeing, and are you sure it's the motherboard BIOS that is being updated?  Could it be the BIOS chip on a PCIe card that is being updated, possibly something that has come from a driver or application update?  Motherboard BIOS updates take a while, like a number of minutes on my X570S board (I'd expect X299 to be the same), does it look like a normal BIOS update?

[jhayat]

Thank you for the response.
"What exactly are you seeing, and are you sure it's the motherboard BIOS that is being updated? "

Exactly - hard to say. Something along the lines of "BIOS is updating - do not turn off your computer". It does take several minutes.

"Could it be the BIOS chip on a PCIe card that is being updated, possibly something that has come from a driver or application update?"

Not impossible. I have two cards - one is my video card (an ASUS, ironically enough) and my RME sound card.

My concern is b/c this is an old MB, that a BIOS update might break something.

[Jiaszzz_ROG]

Hello, @jhayat 

The latest BIOS version for the TUF X299 MARK 1 is 3701, released on June 28, 2022, and requires manual download and update.
If possible, please provide an image of "BIOS is updating; do not turn off your computer", as well as a more detailed description of the situation.

Thank you.

[jhayat]

Hi, ty

Taking a screenshot is challenging, as I dont know when its going to happen, and I would have to have my camera next to my desk, ready to shoot. It is this, or something very similar:

You say there is a manual option - I dont see any. Can you please direct me? TY!

[Jiaszzz_ROG]

Hello, @jhayat 

Thank you for sharing the image.
Could you also help confirm the following questions:

• What is your current BIOS version?
• What software or hardware changes did you make before encountering this screen?
• Have you executed the Intel ME FW update tool or EZ Flash to update the BIOS?
• If you wait for "BIOS is updating; do not turn off your computer" to finish and reboot automatically, will the message show up again sometime?

Thank you.

[jhayat]

Hi

1. 2.17.1246

2. None

3. No

4. Not that day, but sometime later

So, if my vers is 2+, and you are saying the latest vers is 3+, it seems as tho my BIOS has not been updated in some time. Which is fine; not complaining about that. So, then what happened the other day, when I got the "BIOS is updating" message? The BIOS tried to update but didn't? Or is there something else going on? I have an ASUS video card, a RAdeon RX 560, but if that is what is updating, why does the onscreen message I see say "the bios is updating"?

Thank you again.

[Jiaszzz_ROG]

Hello, @jhayat 

BIOS is firmware on a motherboard that initializes hardware and provides software interfaces for communication between the operating system and hardware devices.

For BIOS updates, it usually has to be manually updated.
Please refer to the following link for more details.
[Motherboard] How to update BIOS of the motherboard ?
[Motherboard] ASUS EZ Flash 3 - Introduction
[Motherboard] EZ Update - Introduction
[Motherboard] How to use USB BIOS FlashBack™?
Also, according to the official website of the TUF X299 MARK 1, there is no version 2.17.1246 available.

It is recommended that you enter the BIOS to confirm the current version.
If necessary, please provide a screenshot of the BIOS main page.

Thank you.

[jhayat]

H

Yes, I know what the BIOS is and does.

"there is no version 2.17.1246 available."

What do you mean?

So, the Q still stands - why does the bios do an automatic update? Or claim it does?

[Jiaszzz_ROG]

Hello, @jhayat .

Based on the image you provided, there is no information displayed regarding the BIOS version.
It appears that "version 2.17.1246" is not the BIOS version.
Please refer to How to check your BIOS version, enter the BIOS and check the current BIOS version on the main page.

At the same time, the BIOS will not be updated automatically.
If possible, next time you encounter such a message prompt, please provide a complete record of the video when the prompt appears and wait for it to automatically restart. After completion, check the BIOS version.

Thank you.