In the event that you do not pursue some specific goal, updating the BIOS, and the system does not show any problems that could be related to its work, I would recommend to leave everything as it is. When updating, there is always a risk that fails will fail, to correct the consequences of which is much more complicated than reinstalling Windows.
Does the update required for my motherboard
The first thing to find out before proceeding is the revision of your motherboard and the current version of the BIOS. Make it is not difficult.
In order to find out the revision, you can look at the motherboard itself, there you will find the inscription Rev. 1.0, Rev. 2.0 or similar. Another option: if you have a box or documentation for the motherboard, there may also be information about the revision.
In order to find out the current version of the BIOS, you can press the Windows + R keys and enter MSINFO32 in the "Run" window, after which you see the version in the corresponding paragraph. Three more ways to find out the BIOS version.
Armed with these knowledge, you should go to the official website of the manufacturer of the motherboard, find the fee of your revision and see if there is a BIOS update for it. You can usually see it in the "Download" or "Support" section that opens when a specific product is selected: as a rule, everything is easy enough.
Note : If you have bought an already collected computer of any major brand, for example, Dell, HP, Acer, Lenovo and similar, then you should go to the manufacturer of the computer, and not the motherboard, choose your PC model there, after which in the downloads section Or support to see whether BIOS updates are available.
Various ways that can be updated bios
Depending on who the manufacturer and which model of the motherboard on your computer, the BIOS update methods may differ. Here are the most common options:
- Update using the manufacturer's branded utility in the Windows environment. The usual method for laptops and for a large number of PC motherboards - ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI. For a regular user, this method, in my opinion, is more preferable, since such utilities check whether the update file is correct, you downloaded or even download it from the manufacturer's website. When updating the BIOS in Windows, close all programs that can be closed.
- Update in DOS. When using such a variant on modern computers, a boot flash drive is created (earlier - diskette) with DOS and the BIOS itself, as well as the optional utility to update in this environment. Also, the update may contain a separate AUTOEXEC.BAT file or Update.Bat to start the process in DOS.
- BIOS update in BIOS itself - many modern motherboards support such an option, while if you are absolutely sure that you downloaded the correct version, this method will be preferable. In this case, you go to the BIOS, open the desired utility within it (EZ Flash, Q-Flash Utility, etc.), and specify the device (usually - USB flash drive) from which you want to update.
For many motherboards, you can use any of these methods, for example, for mine.
How to update bios
Depending on which one is your motherboard, the BIOS update can be performed in different ways. In all cases, I highly recommend reading the manufacturer's instruction, although it is often represented only in English: if you can be lazy and miss any nuances, there is a possibility that during the update there are failures that will not be easy to correct. For example, the Gigabyte manufacturer recommends disconnecting the Hyper Threading when the procedure for some of its boards - without reading the instruction, you will not know about it.
Instructions and programs for updating BIOS manufacturers:
- Gigabyte - http://www.gigabyte.com/webpage/20/howtoreflashbios.html. The page provides all three described methods, there you can also download the program to update the BIOS in Windows, which itself will determine the desired version and load it from the Internet.
- MSI - To update the BIOS on MSI motherboards, you can use the MSI Live Update program, which can also determine the desired version and download the update. Instructions and program can be found in the Support section on your product on the site http://ru.msi.com
- ASUS - For new motherboards ASUS, it is convenient to use the USB BIOS Flashback utility, which you can download in the "Downloads" section - "BIOS Utilities" on the site http://www.asus.com/ru/. For older motherboards, ASUS UPDATE UTILITY is used for Windows. There are options to update the BIOS and DOS.
One item that is present in almost any manufacturers: After the update, it is recommended to reset the BIOS on the default settings (Load Bios Defaults), after that it is re-configured all the desired way (if required).
The most important thing is what I want to draw your attention: be sure to see the official instructions, I do not specifically describe the whole process for different boards, because I should miss at least one moment or you will have a special motherboard and everything will go wrong.