Upgrading your motherboard's BIOS can be a scary and daunting process for most. Cryptic version strings, DOS bootdisks, flashing and other words can scare away lots of people. Do you want to be one of them? If not, check out this simple article on how to upgrade your computer/motherboard's BIOS.
What's a BIOS and Why do You Need One?
A computer's BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is the most common piece of code present on almost every home computer being used today. Excluding Macs which use EFI, a normal IBM-compatible computer will have a small piece of code called the firmware - BIOS. This firmware is the first code which is run when you start up your computer. It boots up your computer's hardware and identifies and tests it before handing over control to software next in the chain. It runs a set of tests called POST (Power On Self Test) which make sure that your computer is in a working condition. In case of any errors (bad memory, broken hard-disks, or missing hardware), it spits out an error message and/or plays a set of beeps to inform the user about the same.
In older operating systems like MS-DOS, the BIOS provided various functions so that the memory used by the operating system would be less. In today's modern operating systems, the role of the BIOS is to just initialize the hardware and pass control to the operating system. But make no mistake - it's still an incredibly important piece of software on your computer. Without a functioning BIOS, there is no way to run anything on your computer. And upgrading the BIOS could be a risky proposition if the power goes out during the upgrade process. This is the reason why BIOS upgrades aren't very popular.
The upside of a BIOS upgrade could be the addition of new features, bug fixes to the original BIOS, or new revisions which add support for new hardware. Manufacturers routinely release BIOS upgrades for motherboards when a new breed of processors comes out. Without these updates, you wouldn't be able to upgrade to that shiny new dual-core processor in your computer. Sometimes, certain quirky bugs can pass through and cause problems on computers. These can also be fixed through BIOS updates.
Who Releases These Updates?
Although there are only a handful of companies (American Megatrends, Phoenix Technologies, Insyde Software) which provide BIOS software for all the motherboards being sold, this software is customized by motherboard manufacturers to suit their particular motherboards. Therefore, you will never see a company like American Megatrends release an update for its BIOS to the general public. These companies release upgrades and additions to the BIOS and send them off to the motherboard manufacturers.
These manufacturers then work with the BIOS to configure it for their motherboards in the market. A normal person like you or me would therefore have to go to their respective motherboard manufacturer's site and obtain the updated version from there. For those with laptops, you would have to go to the laptop manufacturer's site and search for an updated BIOS in their downloads section.
Finding The Correct BIOS For Your Motherboard
The first step is to find out if there is an update available for your BIOS. To do this, when your computer boots up, try to look at the information presented to you. You should get a list of drives detected, your computer's processor identification, the amount of RAM in your computer, and most importantly, the version of your computer's BIOS. You might have to restart a couple of times before you can find the version of your BIOS. If you see a fancy graphic coming up during bootup instead, you should try pressing the "Delete", "F2", "F10" or "Tab" on your keyboard during bootup. Chances are, one of these keys will show you the real information string instead of that fancy logo.
If you're too lazy to do this, download an application called EVEREST by Lavalys. This software will present you with a goldmine of information about the innards of your computer, including the BIOS version you're running on your computer.
