Hey guys, I just have a quick question here. I do not know a whole lot about computers so I am having a computer friend helping me out but there is going to be a time where I would like to update my BIOS. The thing is I do not have a floppy drive. Will I have to go purchase one and put it in? or is there another method in doing this like putting in a USB flash drive. Thanks for any suggestions.
Depending on your motherboard will determine which options you will have in updating your bios. Some let you update with a floppy disk,or from a thumb drive and their are some that let you install it from the desktop. What I recommend you do is to check out the manufacturers website for your mobo and see what options it gives you for your bios. I would recommend using the floppy method since it's the safest way to do without running the risk of messing something up.
You can use a floppy, CD (which is a big waste of the available space IMO), an external harddrive or an USB flash drive. This is the procedure: -> Go to the motherboard manufacturers website and find the BIOS update, together with the flash utility. Download them. (NOTE: the update and flash utility should be provided free of charge! Any 3rd party software program that claims you need to pay money is bogus and could form a big risk of rendering your motherboard useless! BEWARE!) -> On the website, you should find information on the procedure you should follow. Read this carefully! -> Take a floppy disk/USB flash drive and format it -> Install the program and the BIOS update file (usually a .bin file) on the floppy/USB flash drive/external HDD or burn it to CD -> Insert floppy in drive or USB flash drive/external HDD in USB port, or CD in optical drive -> Reboot PC -> Enter your BIOS and make sure the correct device is set as the first boot device (if not, change it and use the motherboard manual to find where you can alter this setting) -> Boot PC -> Your floppy/flash drive/external HDD/CD is going to be read and you should come in a text-based environment (called DOS) -> Run the program (remember, the procedure on the website???) -> Follow instructions carefully -> Let the program flash the BIOS -> When the program tells you to shut down or reset, do so (NOT earlier!) Whatever you do: DO NOT PRESS THE RESET OR POWER BUTTON while flashing. If you do, say goodbye to your motherboard!! And having a power outage is like the same thing, so make sure you either have a UPS or a bit of luck!
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