TCAS wrote:what about upgrading your motherboard bios which is some time is vital to the operation of your system...?
If you carefully reread my comments, I think you will see that you have answered your own question. I did not make a blanket recommendation against upgrading firmware. Instead, I recommended upgrading firmware only when the upgrade will actually improve the operation of the component being upgraded. An upgrade "vital to the operation of your system" would certainly qualify as one that improves operation and, thus, one that would be worth performing.
TCAS wrote:People have to be encourage to take the risk (which I believe there is no risk involve in any case even with newvie if he/she pay careful attention to the upgrading instruction) otherwise no progress will be made.
Stick around here long enough, and you will find that there are distressingly large numbers of people who are careless in general and avoid reading instructions in particular. We get questions here every day that people could easily answer for themselves if they would just do a tiny amount of reading. Amazingly, we even get people who
proudly proclaim that they are too lazy to do any reading or research.
Even neglecting those with a tendency towards self-imposed ignorance, there are still things that can go wrong during a firmware update. For example, power could go out or Windows could blue-screen (it has been known to happen from time to time...
). And even if the firmware update goes smoothly, it won't necessarily improve matters. Sometimes it may make things worse.
Another common question around these parts is "I upgraded my burner to firmware version Z and now it works worse than before. I want to go back to version Y but didn't back it up. Does anyone have a source for version Y?" Newer isn't always better. This also illustrates the level of care and planning many people put into firmware updates. Best practices would dictate securing a means of reverting to the original firmware version before upgrading by either backing up the firmware or locating an alternative source for the original firmware.
In summary, I am not against firmware updates in general, only gratuitous updates performed simply for the sake of having the latest firmware installed. I would counsel anyone contemplating a firmware update to first ask himself, "Do I have a problem that this update is designed to fix, or does this update add features that my equipment doesn't currently have and that I would like to make use of?" If so, then go for it (after carefully reading all the instructions, of course). If not, then spend your time on more promising pursuits.
cfitz
P.S. My comments above are directed towards those whose computers are tools used in pursuit of a greater end and not towards enthusiasts whose end is the computer itself. Those who enjoy exploring their computers, playing with the latest updates, and tweaking their rigs to see how far the equipment can be pushed are a different class than the average user and are quite capable of deciding for themselves when and what to upgrade. Enthusiasts should certainly enjoy their hobby and upgrade, downgrade or side-grade to their hearts' content.
Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2002 8:53 am
Thanks a lot.
