Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
image file from the motherboard manufacturer. Unlike previous upgrades via USB flash drives, the
drive only needs to contain the BIOS image file and does not need to be bootable or require any other
programs to be installed.
To perform the USB flash-based upgrade on a system using an Intel motherboard, first download the
proper BIOS image file for the motherboard and copy it to the root folder of a FAT- or FAT32-
formatted USB flash drive. Then restart the system, enter the BIOS Setup and navigate to the
Advanced, Boot Configuration menu. Make sure the setting Display F7 to Update BIOS is enabled
and that it has been saved. Insert the flash drive into a USB port, restart the system, and follow these
steps to complete the process:
1.
When prompted during the restart, press F7 to enter the BIOS Flash Update tool.
2.
Select the USB flash drive and press Enter.
3.
Select the .BIO (BIOS image) file and press Enter. Confirm that you want to update the BIOS
by pressing Enter a second time.
4.
Wait 2-5 minutes for the update to complete; then, when prompted, remove the USB flash drive
and restart the system.
To perform the upgrade on a system using an MSI motherboard, first insert the flash drive, restart the
system, and then follow these steps to complete the process:
1.
When prompted during the restart, press the Delete key to enter the BIOS Setup.
2.
Select the M-Flash menu and change the M-Flash function to BIOS Update.
3.
Select the USB flash drive as the source and point to the BIOS image file on the flash drive.
4.
Select Flash BIOS and press Enter.
5.
Once the upgrade is finished, the system restarts automatically, after which you can remove the
flash drive.
As you can see from these examples, updating a modern motherboard via a BIOS Setup-based utility
is almost as easy as using a Windows-based utility, yet it has the advantage of working outside of a
Windows environment. In fact, it works even with no OS loaded on the system (and without the hassle
of creating DOS bootable media), which makes it much easier to update the BIOS on a new
motherboard or new system build before you install the OS.
Automated Bootable Media Images
Using automated bootable images is the next easiest method and works with any (or no) OS installed
on the system. This is ideal for non-Windows systems or new systems in which the OS hasn't yet been
installed. Being able to use this procedure depends on your motherboard manufacturer supplying
bootable floppy or optical disc images containing the necessary upgrade files, which you would then
use to create the actual upgrade media.
In the case of a floppy, you download the floppy image creation program from the motherboard
manufacturer. When you run it, the program prompts you to insert a blank floppy disk into the drive,
after which it overwrites the disk with a bootable image containing the bootable OS (most likely DOS
or a DOS variant) plus all the files necessary to perform the upgrade. To perform the upgrade, you
first ensure that the floppy drive is set in the boot sequence, and then you restart the system with the
upgrade floppy disk in the drive. The system should then boot from the floppy, and the upgrade
procedure should start and run automatically. Follow any onscreen prompts to complete the upgrade;
