Urgent Help about BIOS UPDATE Asus Z690 Hero

[shantohasibul]

Hello there, I'm planning to buy Asus Z690 Hero (Z790 Hero) is not available yet in my country.
I have Intel Core i9 13900k . So i saw that before updating bios you have to update intel ME firmware to Version 16.1.25.1885.
So how can i update intel me without updating bios first ? I don't have any 12th gen cpu to install first.
Thank you for helping.

[JohnAb]

You will need BIOS 2004 or later on the 690 for it to work with a 13th Gen chip (most people say that BIOS 2103 is better, so go with that version which is also the latest one).

You can use Flashback to install that BIOS. Put the BIOS on a FAT32 formatted stick, rename it using the supplied tool and insert into the USB Flashback port. Hold the button for ~3 seconds. It should start to flash and after a few minutes (I don't know how long exactly as I have never used flashback myself, but it might take 10 minutes or longer) but once the light has gone off for a while then you can reboot and you should have BIOS 2103. Any problems, there are online guides about how to do it.

https://rog.asus.com/technology/republic-of-gamers-motherboard-innovations/usb-bios-flashback/

Once that is done, if you have an NVME drive, do NOT install it in M.2_1 (because ME firmware is not updated yet and it might not work) but it should still work in other slots. Then you can do an install of Windows and update ME Windows drivers and ME firmware. After that, you can move the Windows boot drive back to M.2_1 if you wish. If you are using a SATA connected drive (SSD or HD), then I don't think you will have any problems.

Let us know if that works...

[JohnAb]

CORRECTION. I made a mistake in the above post. It looks like BIOS 1720 also contains the microcode for next gen. However, depending on your specific situation, the comments about Intel ME might still apply depending on what version you have. Always update ME Windows drivers and firmware before the BIOS to avoid a non functioning M.2_1 slot.

Thanks to haiu2323 for pointing this out...