How To Update A Motherboard Bios

Multiple Windows computer on a desk — Thannaree Deepul / Shutterstock.com

You probably shouldn't update your BIOS, but sometimes you need to. Here'due south how to cheque what BIOS version your computer is using and wink that new BIOS version onto your motherboard as speedily and safely as possible.

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Be very careful when updating your BIOS! If your figurer freezes, crashes, or loses power during the process, the BIOS or UEFI firmware may be corrupted. This will render your computer unbootable—it'll be "bricked."

How to Check Your Current BIOS Version in Windows

Your computer'south BIOS version is displayed in the BIOS setup menu itself, but you don't have to reboot to check this version number. There are several means to see your BIOS version from inside Windows, and they piece of work the same on PCs with a traditional BIOS or a newer UEFI firmware.

RELATED: What Is UEFI, and How Is It Different from BIOS?

Cheque Your BIOS Version at the Control Prompt

To check your BIOS version from the Command Prompt, hitting First, type "cmd" in the search box, and then click the "Command Prompt" result—no need to run it as an administrator.

At the prompt, type (or copy and paste) the following command, and and so hit Enter:

wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion

You'll meet the version number of the BIOS or UEFI firmware in your current PC.

Bank check Your BIOS Version by Using the System Information Panel

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You can also find your BIOS's version number in the Organization Information window. On Windows vii, 8, or 10, hit Windows+R, type "msinfo32" into the Run box, and then striking Enter.

The BIOS version number is displayed on the System Summary pane. Look at the "BIOS Version/Engagement" field.

How to Update Your BIOS

Different motherboards use dissimilar utilities and procedures, then in that location'south no one-size-fits-all set of instructions here. Withal, you'll perform the same basic process on all motherboards.

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Kickoff, caput to the motherboard manufacturer'southward website and discover the Downloads or Support page for your specific model of motherboard. You should meet a list of available BIOS versions, along with whatsoever changes/issues fixes in each and the dates they were released. Download the version to which you want to update. Y'all'll probably want to take hold of the newest BIOS version—unless you have a specific need for an older one.

If you purchased a pre-built calculator instead of building your own, head to the computer manufacturer'southward website, look upward the estimator model, and await at its downloads page. You'll find any bachelor BIOS updates there.

Your BIOS download probably comes in an annal—commonly a ZIP file. Excerpt the contents of that file. Within, y'all'll find some sort of BIOS file—in the screenshot below, it's the E7887IMS.140 file.

The archive should likewise comprise a README file that volition walk yous through updating to the new BIOS. Yous should bank check out this file for instructions that employ specifically to your hardware, but we'll try to cover the nuts that work across all hardware here.

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You'll need to choose ane of several dissimilar types of BIOS-flashing tools, depending on your motherboard and what it supports. The BIOS update's included README file should recommend the platonic option for your hardware.

Some manufacturers offer a BIOS-flashing option direct in their BIOS, or as a special central-press option when you lot kick the estimator. You re-create the BIOS file to a USB drive, reboot your computer, and so enter the BIOS or UEFI screen. From there, you choose the BIOS-updating selection, select the BIOS file you placed on the USB drive, and the BIOS updates to the new version.

RELATED: What You Need to Know About Using UEFI Instead of the BIOS

You lot generally access the BIOS screen by pressing the advisable fundamental while your computer boots—information technology'south frequently displayed on the screen during the boot procedure and will be noted in your motherboard or PC's manual. Common BIOS keys include Delete and F2. The process for entering a UEFI setup screen can be a bit different.

There are also more traditional DOS-based BIOS-flashing tools. When using those tools, you create a DOS alive USB drive, and then copy the BIOS-flashing utility and BIOS file to that USB drive. You then restart your reckoner and boot from the USB drive. In the minimal DOS environment that appears later the reboot, you run the advisable control—oftentimes something like wink.bat BIOS3245.bin—and the tool flashes the new version of the BIOS onto the firmware.

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The DOS-based flashing tool is often provided in the BIOS archive you download from the manufacturer'southward website, although y'all may take to download it separately. Look for a file with the .bat or .exe file extension.

In the past, this process was performed with bootable floppy disks and CDs. Nosotros recommend a USB drive because it'due south probably be the easiest method on modernistic hardware.

Some manufacturers provide Windows-based flashing tools, which yous run on the Windows desktop to flash your BIOS and so reboot. Nosotros don't recommend using these, and even many manufacturers who provide these tools circumspection against using them. For case, MSI "strongly recommends" using their BIOS-based card option instead of their Windows-based utility in the README file of the sample BIOS update we downloaded.

Flashing your BIOS from within Windows can result in more bug. All that software running in the background—including security programs that may interfere with writing to the estimator'due south BIOS—can cause the process to fail and corrupt your BIOS. Whatsoever organisation crashes or freezes might as well result in a corrupted BIOS. Information technology'due south better to be safe than sorry, then we recommend using a BIOS-based flashing tool or booting to a minimal DOS environs to flash your BIOS.

That's information technology—after you run the BIOS-flashing utility, reboot your computer, and the new BIOS or UEFI firmware version loads. If there's a problem with the new BIOS version, y'all may be able to downgrade it by downloading an older version from the manufacturer'due south website and repeating the flashing process.