You probably shouldn’t update your BIOS, but sometimes you need to. Here’s how to check what BIOS version your computer is using and flash that new BIOS version onto your motherboard as quickly and safely as possible.
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Many users have asked us how to determine the version of BIOS that is utilized by their video card. To proceed, select you version of Windows from the list below and follow the instructions. Windows 8 and 10 users. Press the Windows Key, type Display settings, and then press Enter. Locate and click on Advanced display settings. If you don’t detect your NVIDIA graphics card, you can try to update the drivers manually. First, you need to uninstall the drivers, for this, open the Settings using the key combination Winkey + I and go to the Apps options.
Be very careful when updating your BIOS! If your computer 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
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Your computer’s 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 ways to see your BIOS version from within Windows, and they work the same on PCs with a traditional BIOS or a newer UEFI firmware.
Check Your BIOS Version at the Command Prompt
To check your BIOS version from the Command Prompt, hit Start, 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 then hit Enter:
You’ll see the version number of the BIOS or UEFI firmware in your current PC.
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 System Information window. On Windows 7, 8, or 10, hit Windows+R, type “msinfo32” into the Run box, and then hit Enter.
The BIOS version number is displayed on the System Summary pane. Look at the “BIOS Version/Date” field.
How to Update Your BIOS
Different motherboards use different utilities and procedures, so there’s no one-size-fits-all set of instructions here. However, you’ll perform the same basic process on all motherboards.
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First, head to the motherboard manufacturer’s website and find the Downloads or Support page for your specific model of motherboard. You should see a list of available BIOS versions, along with any changes/bug fixes in each and the dates they were released. Download the version to which you want to update. You’ll probably want to grab the newest BIOS version—unless you have a specific need for an older one.
If you purchased a pre-built computer instead of building your own, head to the computer manufacturer’s website, look up the computer model, and look at its downloads page. You’ll find any available BIOS updates there.
Your BIOS download probably comes in an archive—usually a ZIP file. Extract the contents of that file. Inside, you’ll find some sort of BIOS file—in the screenshot below, it’s the E7887IMS.140 file.
The archive should also contain a README file that will walk you through updating to the new BIOS. You should check out this file for instructions that apply specifically to your hardware, but we’ll try to cover the basics that work across all hardware here.
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You’ll need to choose one of several different types of BIOS-flashing tools, depending on your motherboard and what it supports. The BIOS update’s included README file should recommend the ideal option for your hardware.
Some manufacturers offer a BIOS-flashing option directly in their BIOS, or as a special key-press option when you boot the computer. You copy the BIOS file to a USB drive, reboot your computer, and then enter the BIOS or UEFI screen. From there, you choose the BIOS-updating option, 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 generally access the BIOS screen by pressing the appropriate key while your computer boots—it’s often displayed on the screen during the boot process 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.
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There are also more traditional DOS-based BIOS-flashing tools. When using those tools, you create a DOS live USB drive, and then copy the BIOS-flashing utility and BIOS file to that USB drive. You then restart your computer and boot from the USB drive. In the minimal DOS environment that appears after the reboot, you run the appropriate command—often something like flash.bat BIOS3245.bin—and the tool flashes the new version of the BIOS onto the firmware.
The DOS-based flashing tool is often provided in the BIOS archive you download from the manufacturer’s website, although you may have 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. We recommend a USB drive because it’s probably be the easiest method on modern hardware.
Some manufacturers provide Windows-based flashing tools, which you run on the Windows desktop to flash your BIOS and then reboot. We don’t recommend using these, and even many manufacturers who provide these tools caution against using them. For example, MSI “strongly recommends” using their BIOS-based menu 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 problems. All that software running in the background—including security programs that may interfere with writing to the computer’s BIOS—can cause the process to fail and corrupt your BIOS. Any system crashes or freezes might also result in a corrupted BIOS. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so we recommend using a BIOS-based flashing tool or booting to a minimal DOS environment to flash your BIOS.
That’s it—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, you may be able to downgrade it by downloading an older version from the manufacturer’s website and repeating the flashing process.
Image Credit: Kal Hendry on Flickr, Robert Frelberger on Flickr
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Updating your operating system and software is important. On the other hand, we have previously covered why you shouldn’t generally update your hardware drivers, although gamers will definitely want to update their graphics drivers. But what about BIOS updates?
BIOS updates will not make your computer faster, they generally won’t add new features you need, and they may even cause additional problems. You should only update your BIOS if the new version contains an improvement you need.
Image Credit: Aaron Parecki on Flickr
What’s a BIOS?
BIOS stands for basic input/output system. When you power your computer on, your BIOS takes control, starting the power-on self test (POST) and passing control over to the boot loader, which boots your computer’s operating system. The BIOS is low-level system software that should “just work” without getting in your way. Computers are now coming with UEFI firmware instead of the traditional BIOS, but the same is true for UEFI – it’s low-level system software with a similar role.
Unlike your operating system (which is stored on your hard drive), your computer’s BIOS is stored on a chip on your motherboard.
Image Credit: Uwe Hermann on Flickr
Flashing a BIOS
Manufacturers often release updates to their computers’ BIOSes. If you built your own computer, a BIOS update would come from your motherboard vendor. These updates can be “flashed” onto the BIOS chip, replacing the BIOS software the computer came with with a new version of the BIOS.
BIOSes are computer-specific (or motherboard-specific), so you will need the BIOS for your exact model of computer (or motherboard) to update your computer’s BIOS.
Why You Probably Shouldn’t Update Your BIOS
BIOS updates aren’t big software upgrades that add new features, security patches, or performance improvements. BIOS updates typically have very short change logs – they may fix a bug with an obscure piece of hardware or add support for a new model of CPU.
If your computer is working properly, you probably shouldn’t update your BIOS. You likely won’t see the difference between the new BIOS version and the old one. In some cases, you may even experience new bugs with a new version of the BIOS, as the BIOS that came with your computer may have gone through more testing.
Flashing a BIOS isn’t as easy as installing a normal software update. You will often want to flash your computer from DOS (yes, DOS – you may have to create a bootable USB drive with DOS on it and restart into that environment), as problems could occur when flashing from Windows. Each manufacturer has their own instructions for flashing a BIOS.
You will need the version of the BIOS for your exact hardware. If you get a BIOS for another piece of hardware – even a slightly different revision of the same motherboard – this could cause problems. BIOS flashing tools usually try to detect whether the BIOS fits your hardware, but if the tool attempts to flash the BIOS anyway, your computer could become unbootable.
If your computer loses power while flashing the BIOS, your computer could become “bricked” and unable to boot. Computers should ideally have a backup BIOS stored in read-only memory, but not all computers do.
Image Credit: Jemimus on Flickr
When You Should Update Your BIOS
Given that you probably will not see any improvements from updating your BIOS, that new bugs could pop up, and the potential for errors while flashing, you shouldn’t update your BIOS unless you have a reason to. Here are a few cases where updating makes sense:
- Bugs: If you are experiencing bugs that are fixed in a newer version of the BIOS for your computer (check the BIOS change log on the manufacturer’s website), you may be able to fix them by updating your BIOS. A manufacturer may even advise you to update your BIOS if you contact tech support and have a problem that has been fixed with an update.
- Hardware Support: Some motherboard manufacturers add support for new CPUs, and potentially other hardware, in BIOS updates. If you want to upgrade your computer’s CPU to a new CPU – possibly one that wasn’t yet released when you purchased your motherboard – you may need to update the BIOS.
Be sure to check the change log for the BIOS updates and see if they actually have an update you require.
If you are not experiencing any bugs that have been fixed and don’t need the hardware support, don’t bother updating. You won’t get anything out of it except possible new problems.
As the saying goes, don’t fix what isn’t broken.
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