In short, I have a AB350 Pro4 MoBo and Corsair Vengeance LPX 3000Mhz RAM's. Unfortunately, they are working on 2133Mhz. The logic step is to update the BIOS but I got scared from reading all those horror stories about bricking the MoBo by doing so. Could you help me to make this process as secure as possible, please?  Here we go:

Current BIOS version: 1.30

Win 10 on SSD, no OC's done.

Step by step what I plan to do:

1) Buy a new USB, not bigger than 4gb and format it as FAT32

2) Download the instant flash zip file and unpack it in the root folder of the USB (under no circumstances should I use the Windows method)

3) Reset PC, go to BIOS, set everything to default values and Save&Exit

4) Insert USB in the I/O port (directly to the MoBo, backside of the case) in the 2.0 port

5) Follow method 2 as depicted in this link: http://www.asrock.com/support/BIOSIG.asp?cat=BIOS8

Some questions:

-should I update AMD Chipset Drivers before doing this?

-do I have to change anything in the BIOS settings before flashing BIOS (after reseting to default)?

-is it better to do it without a Win install on the HDD?

-did I miss something in my steps?

-anything else I should do/know?

Thank you so much on your time and help, I appreciate it!

Edit: forgot the most obvious - I'm planning to update it to the newest version, 3.20. Any problems with flashing it that I should be aware of?

Saying that, really as long as you've done your best to eliminate possible problems, then there is no reason why it won't go fine.

1) If you are buying a new USB stick, test the damn thing out first.  I can't recall what the tool is called, but there is one that checks that the stick isn't counterfeit, or at least has all of the write spaces available that it should.  I think it also flags up any cells that might be damaged.  Search around for "is my USB stick genuine", something like that.

Only once you've confirmed that the USB stick is solid should you think about putting a BIOS on it.  I've a few lying around here, but I went for my older 512MB Bytestore stick because it's been proven rather than the faster USB3.0 SanDisks which I've only had a short time.  However I think I was just being paranoid, as the SanDisks have checked out fine and installed Win10 from them without errors.

2) Yep, you got that right.  Stay well away from Windows flash (although that option is only available for later UEFI/BIOS updates anyway.

3) That's what I did.  Rebooted to Windows, and then rebooted from there, mashing the [Del] key on POST to get back to UEFI.

*

4) USB should already be in the USB port at step (3).  On the X370 TaiChi, it seems to sometimes not recognise the USB stick if I plug it in after the UEFI is loaded.  Though I guess you can find out.  If it can save a screen shot (might be [F12]), it can access the stick.

5) I don't know what the merits are of using the direct InstaFlash or the UEFI option to Flash.  I chose the latter.  I went into UEFI (mash the [Del] key on that same screen), and navigated to the Tool manu where InstaFlash was listed there.  I used that way around.  Though I would imagine they go to the same place.

6) Wait quite a while with that progress bar going ever so slowly compare to how fast all of the progress bars have been zipping along with your new system .  Do not power off.  Do not walk away.  Keep your eye on it and keep fingers away from it.

* I suppose at this point you want to confirm that your electricity is stable and not going to just cut off on you.  I live in the UK and it's very rare we get cut off at all.  We may get a 'blip' where the incandescent ceiling lights might flicker, but it does nothing to a good quality PSU.

Keep 'dumb' fingers away from your trip switches and fuse boxes, well that goes as just good living.  Keep them away from the socket your PC is plugged into.

Questions:

- Update the chipset drives prior?  I already had already, but I doubt it makes a difference.

- Change BIOS/UEFI after resetting prior to flashing? I didn't.  Once it's reset there's nothing to change.  You can have a look of course.  If you feel like something isn't right change it, then reset to defaults.  It could be that something gets missed by the reset action.  Though I would doubt that.

- Windows was already installed on my SSD.  I'm not sure if it was an update or what that occurred about the same time, but I got a clone of my ethernet device hidden in device manager that just won't go.  In the network setting "Ethernet" was now called "Ethernet 2" but I fixed with with registry.  Other than that everything else has been the same, no issues.

If I was doing it again and didn't mind reinstalling Windows 10 on the SSD I might do that to be sure it's flushed and clean, but I don't believe it's a necessary task.

- did you miss anything?  Doesn't look like it.

- Anything else you should know?  I added some bits as I went.

# I went o BIOS v3.00.  The only thing you can do is to trudge through the AGESA 1.0.0.Xx threads here on this forum and see if folks indicate issues with a particular version and your board.  You could post a new topic specifically asking if people had issues with any BIOS versions and your board, but I fear if everyone did that we'd have a lot of topics littering the place, utterly up to you though, I won't judge, as I have created a few .

I will use my Kingston 32GB Data Traveler then. It's the most "big brand name" USB I have at the moment. And for some reason, the 2 and 4GB versions from good brands cost just a few monies less then their 16GB versions. I'm not paying for that, it's ridiculous.

But, I still can't get my RAM's to work above 2133Mhz. I clocked them on 2666 and 2993 but AIDA64 shows 2133. What should I do?

Also, why can't I turn on fast boot? If that option is enabled I get stuck in BIOS. Save changes and exit -> BIOS. Turn off pc and back on again -> BIOS. Should I enable something else too for this to work?

Seeing forward to hear your experiences :)

Edit: Scratch the first question, they work now on 2666 stable. Just had to test it again.

The second question still stands, without fast boot my bios is displayed in 1024*768 and it boots normally, but when enabled I get the normal 1920*1080 and nothing further than BIOS :(

Did you install your OS in EUFI mode or (emulated)BIOS mode, I think the later.

HWinfo should tell you what you OS is installed via UEFI on it's main summary page.

Someone else will chime in here who is more akin to this stuff that I, I am very fresh to it all myself.

System summary says:

BIOS Date: 09/05/2017

BIOS Version: P3.20 UEFI

Edit: but it also says: