What is BIOS?
Your computer’s BIOS is a hidden, proprietary code that controls crucial functions like how your computer boots up, how it handles software updates, and how it handles sensitive data like passwords, banking information, and personal information. It is possible to change or modify the code that runs your computer’s BIOS. Doing so can enable you to run custom software, install operating systems, and run certain applications that require additional access to hardware. That said, modifying your computer’s BIOS is not for the faint of heart. Doing so can cause your computer to fail to boot, fail to update, and even lock you out of the computer until you reinstall the modified BIOS. For that reason, updating your computer’s BIOS is typically reserved for advanced computer users who know what they’re getting into.
Why Update Your Computer’s BIOS?
A properly updated computer can run more efficiently, help prevent hardware failures, and keep your system secure from malware. While updating your BIOS is generally a risky endeavor, we’ve put together instructions that will make it easy for you to update your computer’s BIOS. A correctly updated computer can help keep your system running smoothly and protect against security breaches. It’s for these reasons that updating your computer’s BIOS is strongly recommended for advanced computer users.
We use our computers every day to store important information, browse the web, do work, and watch movies. This constant use damages the components that run inside every computer, leading to slowdowns and crashes. Updating your BIOS can help increase the speed at which your computer operates and can help prevent future crashes by clearing out incomplete tasks. Since BIOS is responsible for loading the operating system and initializing hardware components, updating your BIOS can help prevent hangs and slowdowns as well as security breaches.
Open BIOS Update Utility
Most BIOS update utilities can be installed on a USB flash drive and run from there.
You’ll need to find the utility that’s natively packaged with your motherboard manufacturer. Popular motherboard manufacturers will likely have an update utility available for download on their support websites.
If you don’t see the update utility on one of your motherboard manufacturers’ support websites, you may be able to find it on Google. Methods of finding and installing the utility can differ between motherboard manufacturers, but you’ll likely be able to locate an installer through a quick Google search.
Update utilities are designed to be run on compatible computers. If you run an incompatible computer, you may experience a blue screen error, a failure to boot the computer, or even the inability to update the computer’s BIOS.
Boot Up Your Computer and Update BIOS
If you’ve located the utility on your computer manufacturer’s website, you can now run it to update your computer’s BIOS. Once the utility has finished installing on your computer and launched, you can update your BIOS with the utility by following the utility’s instructions.
At any point during the process, you can press the “Esc” key on your keyboard to return to the BIOS utility menu. This will prevent you from making any hardware configuration changes when the utility is still updating your BIOS.
If you happen to forget to press “Esc,” the utility may not detect the change that you’ve made and may overwrite your BIOS configuration settings. That said, most BIOS update utilities have a “backup” option that will save your BIOS configuration settings so that you can undo the changes that you’ve made.
Exit BIOS and Save Configuration Settings
Once you’ve exited the BIOS utility, it’s time to save your BIOS configuration settings before updating your BIOS again.
We recommend that, if possible, you shut down your computer before making any changes to the BIOS settings. This will ensure that you don’t accidentally boot your computer while you’re saving the settings.
Once you’ve saved your BIOS settings, you can update your BIOS again.
If you’re updating your BIOS on a computer that you’re using, we recommend that you reboot the computer after updating your BIOS settings. This will ensure that your configuration settings are saved and that the BIOS utility has loaded onto your computer.
Final Words: Is BIOS Updating Worth It?
The risks that come with BIOS updating are significant. It’s possible to cause severe damage to your computer if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s also possible to lock yourself out of your computer until you reinstall the BIOS that you’ve improperly updated.
The benefits of updating your computer’s BIOS are significant, though. A properly updated computer can run more efficiently and protect against potential security breaches. BIOS updating is also recommended for advanced computer users who want to get the most out of their hardware.
Is BIOS Updating Illegal?
Many countries require your computer’s BIOS to be updated, so there’s a lot of potentials for BIOS updating to be regulated. In some countries, especially ones where the government has a lot of influence over technology, updating your BIOS can be a legal requirement. If that’s the case, there’s not much you can do about it. The best you can do is be aware of the laws in your country and update your BIOS when you’re told to.
To find out if your country requires BIOS updates, you can look up your country’s regulations and see if there’s anything that requires you to update your computer’s BIOS. You can also lookup your computer’s model number and see what the model number of the closest computer is to yours, which you can then compare to your computer to get the information you need.
Format a Flash Drive
If you don’t have a writeable BIOS chip in your motherboard, you can use a flash drive and a BIOS updating program to update your BIOS. The BIOS updating program will erase your BIOS from the flash drive, then write the updated BIOS onto it. Once you’ve written the BIOS onto the flash drive, you’ll need to put it back into your computer and boot it up. The BIOS update will then run on your computer.
Update From Windows
If your computer can run Windows, you can update your BIOS from Windows. Just hit the Windows key, select “Device Manager,” and select your motherboard from the list of devices. In the details tab, select “BIOS” and then click “Update Driver.” Click “Browse” and select the BIOS update file you downloaded or created. Click “Install” and let Windows do the rest.
Summary
Updating your computer’s BIOS is typically reserved for advanced computer users who know what they’re getting into. If you’ve tried updating your computer’s BIOS before and it failed, don’t worry. You can use this guide to help you update your computer’s BIOS quickly and easily.