Exposing my ignorance: I don't know what's going on with my RAM. (Renamed)

There was an option to 'apply to backup bios' or something when I ran the latest bios update just now. So... guess I need to figure out how to update the backup before installing a CPU that is not compatible with the old, original F6.

Google google google.

Not at all how I planned to spend my evening!
well it sounds like the update tool will update the backup too. you can usually do it from in the bios' update section too.
 
well it sounds like the update tool will update the backup too. you can usually do it from in the bios' update section too.
That would certainly be simple and make sense... but I'm leery of this. Current bios (that I'm running) is F61c. To get here, I had to flash two prior versions after running the EC tool and Utility before installing the current bios (this is from the Gigabyte bios update instructions).

My fear is that if the backup is at F6, and the main at F61c... I don't know what I would need to do to get the sequential prior versions to post only to the backup to get it to a safe place to recognize the 5600x.

I'm going to keep poking around the internet and see if I can find an answer. Maybe contact Gigabyte directly.
 
As mentioned prior, GB has dual bios on their boards, and it will switch to the backup bios when it has an issue during the boot process (ram training, sudden power off, some boot loops). The memory timing and frequency settings (as well as the rest?) are linked to the bios somehow, so when it switches, your settings change as well. This makes overclocking from the bios VERY difficult, as it does not say anything if it swaps to the backup.

I was thrown for a loop when I first experienced this on my Gaming k5 board. What made it even more vexing, though, was there is NO way to manually switch between the two on the K5, so I had to power cycle the computer rapidly to force a fault condition...which is both not ideal and probably not good for the PC.
 
As mentioned prior, GB has dual bios on their boards, and it will switch to the backup bios when it has an issue during the boot process (ram training, sudden power off, some boot loops). The memory timing and frequency settings (as well as the rest?) are linked to the bios somehow, so when it switches, your settings change as well. This makes overclocking from the bios VERY difficult, as it does not say anything if it swaps to the backup.

I was thrown for a loop when I first experienced this on my Gaming k5 board. What made it even more vexing, though, was there is NO way to manually switch between the two on the K5, so I had to power cycle the computer rapidly to force a fault condition...which is both not ideal and probably not good for the PC.
I'm pretty sure now that what you described explains why I saw default memory timings and then after a restart had the OC timings I had set reappear (along with the differing bios versions). The thing I am thinking may be the culprit is the EC FW -- or at least after I got to the point of trying to reinstall drivers and ran the EC FW tool - the F61a version reappeared, as did my custom 2933 setting. Running the EC FW tool subsequently has also resulted in weird behavior / black screens.

So - the timeline looks like a successful bios update to F61a in April, along with moving the RAM up to 2933 - steady working until yesterday or today when something caused the bios to load the backup. When I checked the Performance tab and saw the old 2133 speed, I did not know about a backup bios and figured the system had reset itself. So I decided to re-update the bios from F6, ignorant of the change in bios. Thus, in trying to recreate my steps, I was inadvertently updating the backup. Running the EC FW tool after the F31 update on the backup did something - unknown to me, because on restart the system must have reverted to the primary and I saw F61a as the bios version -- which was totally weird. (my last update was F31, and then, suddenly the bios read F61a). System broke itself. System fixed itself. Shrug. So I updated the F61a to F61c to get ready for the installation of the new CPU.

However - stupid me - at some point I decided after installing F61c (which reset mem to 2133) to get back to 2933 for testing / experience purposes, and... I somehow bricked the system. Black screen on restart and I could not even enter bios as it never showed up. Computer started, fans run - but total black screen, with no way to do anything.

So, after researching, I did the fault condition restart - which got me into a F31 bios... which I think is the backup (b/c prior to running the EC FW, I had been trying to re-establish F61a, following my original steps... and like you wrote, there's no way to know which bios you are working with... so I must have been updating the backup). However, this time - running the EC FW kept trying to put me into the broken bios, and the freeze reappered, forcing me to do the fault condition restart... again.

This whole thing has been confusing and I am mostly making educated stabs in the dark about what really occurred.

Anyway - after that, I'm working through the flash process... again... and just hope I have not crippled my mobo. Will be interesting to see what happens as I work my way back up to the current bios version.
 
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Okay - it's damn near 3am. I'm back to F61c. Going to sleep now

thanks for helping me figure this out fellers!
 
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