Invalid Bios Image

Bossmanbrad · 19 May 2024 at 20:52

I am currently getting an Invalid Bios Image when I try to update my Bios, either by using the USB Flash Drive method or via the MB BIOS update through the Gigabyte Control Center.

I have had the system for about a year and it was a custom build from Overclockers.

I successfully updated the Bios to version F6a about a week after I received the system and have not encountered any problems.

However, I noticed how old the F6a version is when the Gigabyte Control Centre attempted to update the Bios to the F21 version but failed with the Invalid Bios Image error.

My system is a Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX with an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, 32GB DDR5 Corsair CL30 6000Mts, and a Gigabyte RTX 4090.

Should I be trying to update my Bios to the F21 version, considering I am not experiencing any problems and if so, how can I fix the Invalid Bios Image error I am getting?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

adrichardson81 · 19 May 2024 at 21:03

If I've learnt one thing from 20+ years of tinkering with PCs, it's don't update your bios unless you need a feature or it fixes a bug you're actually suffering from.

It's a bit of an odd bug - assuming you're extracting it properly I'd say it could be a corrupt image. If you need to update, I'd try whatever the next most recent version is, or try downloading it from a mirror.

Tetras · 19 May 2024 at 21:42

Bossmanbrad said:
However, I noticed how old the F6a version is when the Gigabyte Control Centre attempted to update the Bios to the F21 version but failed with the Invalid Bios Image error.

...

Should I be trying to update my Bios to the F21 version, considering I am not experiencing any problems and if so, how can I fix the Invalid Bios Image error I am getting?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

I would never update the BIOS through the motherboard Windows software, this kind of software is some of the worst, most buggy software you can install and to do a BIOS update through it? Yikes. Probably fortunate it refused to update.

ANDARIAL · 20 May 2024 at 08:55

If it is a custom build you will most likely lose the OC (if it has any)on the pc.Something to research before you try

Armageus · 20 May 2024 at 09:05

Tetras said:
I would never update the BIOS through the motherboard Windows software, this kind of software is some of the worst, most buggy software you can install and to do a BIOS update through it? Yikes. Probably fortunate it refused to update.

Have to agree - always download it to a USB stick and then flash it from within the BIOS.

With regards to the latest version not working - if it still doesn't work via the BIOS, I'd try the F8 version first, and then one of the F20 versions, just on the off chance that they've accidentally omitted a "you must be on X version" for this update to work from their changelog

pastymuncher · 20 May 2024 at 09:49

This is where I disagree with many on here. On AMD especially it is important to keep your bios up to date. AM5 is a platform that is still maturing and the Agesa updates included in the bios can bring some very worthwhile performance gains, just look at the massive one there was on AM4 a year or two ago. Then there are the security fixes and there have been quite a few of those recently on both AMD and Intel.

One thing I do agree with the others is avoid using any Windows based bios flashing software like the plague, it is the worst way to update a bios and the one that is most likely to fail. Bricked boards are very rare these days, especially on boards that have USB bios Flashback (Q-Flash Plus on your board). F24c is actually the latest release for your board. What I would do is format a USB stick to FAT32 download the latest bios from here and unzip it to the USB stick. Shut down the pc but leave the power on at the wall and plug the stick into the correct USB port on the I/O panel (very bottom USB 3.2 port next to the Mic port) then press the Q-Flash Plus button and let it do it's thing. Your motherboard manual should have full instructions on how to flash the bios this way so I suggest you have a read rather than relying on my instructions. Hopefully after this your bios should be updated.

freddie64 · 20 May 2024 at 09:54

ANDARIAL said:
If it is a custom build you will most likely lose the OC (if it has any)on the pc.Something to research before you try

Bossmanbrad said:
I successfully updated the Bios to version F6a about a week after I received the system and have not encountered any problems.

Armageus said:
download it to a USB stick and then flash it from within the BIOS.

Or use bios flashback.

Glanza · 20 May 2024 at 10:26

Make sure your on the correct revision of the board, Gigabyte bioses aren't interchangeable between revisions and you need the specific bios for that board.

pastymuncher · 20 May 2024 at 11:45

^Good point, I didn't notice that there are now three revisions of that board. Rev 1.0/1.1 both use the same bios but 1.2 has it's own bios.

Bossmanbrad · 20 May 2024 at 22:19

Thank you to everybody for your comments, advice, and suggestions. I have carefully read every reply to ensure I understand the advice offered. I see that allowing software to update the BIOS is a bad idea and I will never attempt that again.

Excellent news, I have managed to update my BIOS to the latest version F24c.

I used the Q-Flash button method where I shut down my computer AND turned off the PSU using its rocker switch. I then pressed and held the Q-Flash button and switched the PSU back on and the Q-Flash light started flashing.
After about 10 minutes the system rebooted and when I checked the BIOS it had updated to F8.
I then updated the files on my USB stick to version F24c, restarted the system, and entered the BIOS where the update went ahead without any problems.

Thank you to all the wonderful people on these forums as this has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders