On this information, I’ll present you learn how to carry out a BIOS replace in your PC motherboard. Flashing your BIOS is a comparatively easy course of, however it’s one that you just’ll must get completely proper for those who don’t wish to brick your motherboard. You’ll want a USB flash drive, and also you’ll additionally must be sure you know the precise identify and revision quantity (if there may be one) of your motherboard.
In our instance, we’re going to replace the BIOS on an outdated Gigabyte B660 motherboard from 2021, so it can help the greatest gaming CPU choices from the Intel 14th gen lineup. That is an replace you’ll must do if you wish to improve an outdated twelfth gen system to make use of one of many newest CPUs. Our instance board is a Gigabyte B660 Aorus Grasp DDR4, however we’ll cowl learn how to flash the BIOS on different makes of motherboard within the information as properly.
Earlier than we delve into the method of updating your motherboard, let’s cowl the fundamentals. A BIOS, or Fundamental Enter Output System, is the lowest stage software program you possibly can entry in your PC. It detects your {hardware}, comparable to your CPU, RAM, and SSD, and its interface permits you to ensure they’re working on the proper settings.
The opposite time period you’ll see used is EFI, which stands for extensible firmware interface, typically with a U at the beginning, which stands for Unified. This customary was launched just a few years in the past to replace the standard BIOS for the fashionable period, bringing help for brand spanking new options, comparable to giant storage partitions and, not like the largely text-based BIOS setups of outdated, they often have user-friendly graphical interfaces as properly. On the subject of PC motherboards at this time, although, the phrases BIOS and EFI are largely interchangeable.
There are a number of methods to flash your motherboard BIOS – and we’ll take you thru three of them right here. Nonetheless, one technique that we completely advise in opposition to taking is utilizing one of many Home windows-based flash utilities which are typically provided in motherboard software program suites.
It solely takes one wobble in Home windows – an sudden shutdown, or a lock-up – in the course of the flashing course of to render your motherboard unusable. Belief us – the drop in your abdomen if you notice you’ve murdered your motherboard is horrible – don’t threat it. Additionally, in case your board is working advantageous, and also you don’t wish to improve to a brand new CPU, go away the BIOS alone – the chance isn’t price it.
1. Establish your motherboard
Earlier than you even take into consideration downloading a BIOS replace, be sure you know the precise identify of your motherboard, in addition to its revision quantity if it has one. This shall be clearly said in your motherboard field, but when your board’s packaging has already been despatched to the nice recycler within the sky, there are different methods to seek out out your motherboard’s mannequin identify.
In lots of circumstances, will probably be prominently written on the PCB, for instance. If all else fails, you may get a serving to hand from Home windows. Deliver up the Begin menu (press the Home windows key), sort “msinfo” into the search bar, hit Return, and also you’ll be introduced with a listing of all of the gear in your rig.
Yow will discover your motherboard’s identify beneath the BaseBoard Producer and BaseBoard Product fields. When you’re right here, you’ll additionally be capable of verify the model of your present BIOS, within the BIOS VERSION/DATE area.
2. Obtain the newest BIOS replace
Now head to your motherboard producer’s web site, and discover the help web page on your motherboard – it’s typically faster to simply Google your motherboard’s identify than undergo all of the menus on the web site. Just be sure you have your motherboard’s identify proper to the letter – for those who attempt to flash your motherboard with a BIOS for an additional board then you definately can render your motherboard unusable. Verify, verify, and verify once more, that the help web page is on your actual mannequin.
There shall be a downloads part within the help part, and someplace in there you’ll discover a listing of BIOS updates. Discover the newest BIOS on your motherboard, and obtain it. In our case, we’re putting in BIOS replace F24 for our motherboard, which the replace says ‘helps and energy up Intel subsequent era processors.’ This may allow our outdated Intel twelfth gen motherboard besides up with future Intel 14th gen processors, such because the Core i9 14900K.
3. Open BIOS obtain Zip file
The BIOS obtain will often come within the type of a Zip file, which is able to include just a few different information along with the brand new BIOS file. There’s typically a PDF or textual content file providing you with directions on learn how to flash your BIOS, in addition to a flash utility and typically an additional utility to vary the identify of the file. In our instance above, and usually, the BIOS file shall be in all caps, and also will be the biggest file within the folder.
In our instance, B660AMASTERDDR4.F24 is the BIOS file (F24 is the BIOS model quantity in addition to the file extension), the PDF file accommodates the directions, and flash.nsh is the flash utility (we cowl learn how to use the latter on the backside of this text). Learn these directions earlier than you do anything – typically you must rename a file earlier than performing a BIOS replace, and you actually don’t wish to find yourself getting this incorrect.
4. Copy information to USB flash drive
Whichever technique you select to flash your BIOS (the opposite strategies are listed on the backside of this function), you will want to repeat your information to a USB flash drive. To begin, we advocate deleting all the information off the drive first, and formatting it with FAT32 if it isn’t already – some BIOS flashing utilities don’t acknowledge the NTFS file system utilized by Home windows.
To do that, right-click on the USB drive beneath This PC in Home windows File Explorer, and go to Properties. If it says FAT32 beneath File System then you definately’re advantageous. If it says NTFS, then right-click on the USB drive once more and choose Format. Choose FAT32 beneath File system, tick the Fast Format field, and hit Begin. As soon as that’s achieved, copy the brand new BIOS file over to the foundation of your formatted USB drive (not in a folder), go away the USB flash drive plugged into your PC, after which restart it.
4. Enter EFI flash utility
We’re going to begin with the flashing technique that has one of the best stability of user-friendliness and reliability, which is utilizing your motherboard’s EFI flash utility, fairly than the utility provided in your Zip file. EFI stands for extensible firmware interface, and it’s the system that changed the legacy BIOS used on outdated PC motherboards – the phrases BIOS and EFI are largely interchangeable as of late, however technically you’re updating your EFI right here.
When your PC begins up, you’ll see a splash display screen out of your motherboard that usually says one thing alongside the traces of ‘Press Del to enter setup,’ however typically additionally offers you the choice to enter a BIOS flashing utility by urgent one other key.
In our case, we are able to press F8 to enter Gigabyte’s Q-Flash utility. The equivalents from different motherboard makers are Asus EZ Flash, MSI M-FLASH, and ASRock On the spot Flash. You too can often entry your motherboard EFI’s flash utility by urgent Del to enter the principle EFI. That is the tactic we’re taking, however the precept is identical.
When you’re in your EFI, change your EFI to Superior mode (there’ll often be a button for this flagged up someplace on the primary display screen of the EFI), after which discover the flash utility. In our case, it’s flagged up on the primary display screen of the EFI (even in Straightforward mode), but when not it must be someplace within the menus in Superior mode. The Asus EZ Flash utility is generally discovered within the Instruments menu, and MSI M-Flash is discovered within the Utilities part.
5. Browse to new BIOS file
There shall be a really primary file browser system someplace within the flash utility that may allow you to level it to the brand new BIOS file. In our case, it’s within the File tab, which you entry by merely clicking on Replace BIOS from the primary display screen, however it will differ between motherboard producers. Browse to your USB flash drive and choose the brand new BIOS file. The display screen may show the small print of the present BIOS working in your board – in our case it’s within the high left.
6. Verify BIOS replace
When you’ve chosen your file, you must get to the following stage, which is flashing it. In our case, that simply means clicking the orange arrow on the proper, however this varies between motherboard makers. On Asus EZ Flash, the following stage is solely confirming that you just wish to learn the BIOS file.
Both manner, you’ll often be greeted by a field asking you for those who undoubtedly, actually, completely wish to replace your BIOS. When you’re fortunate, it may also be written in horrible English. Click on Sure to hold on. Click on No, for those who simply wish to double-check that you just’ve undoubtedly obtained the proper file on your motherboard.
7. Begin flashing course of
At this level, your EFI will both begin flashing your BIOS mechanically, otherwise you might need one final display screen to double-check every thing earlier than you set it going. In our Gigabyte EFI, the outdated and new BIOS are listed accurately on the left, so we’re going to hit Begin to get it going.
8. Reboot system
As soon as your EFI has completed flashing your new BIOS, it can immediate you to restart the system. Verify this if essential, after which look forward to the system to totally restart. This may take a bit longer than normal, because it finalizes the EFI flash, so go away it alone to do its factor – don’t reset it or flip it off.
When it will definitely reboots once more after flashing, it can have in all probability modified most of your EFI settings (comparable to your reminiscence XMP profile, resizable BAR and so forth), so press Del to enter the EFI once more and get your settings proper.
You must be capable of verify that your motherboard is certainly working the newest model from right here too, but when not, run CPU-Z if you get into Home windows, and click on on the Mainboard tab. Your new BIOS model quantity (F24 in our case) must be listed within the BIOS part, together with the date of situation.
What if my motherboard doesn’t have a BIOS flash utility?
Within the unlikely occasion that your motherboard doesn’t have a flash utility constructed into its EFI system, there may be one other option to flash your BIOS, and it will typically be detailed within the directions within the Zip file on your obtain. Within the outdated days, this course of concerned booting into an old-school MS-DOS mode and utilizing a floppy drive, however it’s now extra typically achieved with a low-level EFI shell and a USB flash drive.
When you’ve downloaded your new BIOS replace, your first step shall be to make your USB flash drive bootable. Yow will discover out how to do that in our full How you can make a bootable USB drive information – format it with FAT32, fairly than NTFS, if you get to step 8.
Make doubly positive you totally learn the directions in your Zip file -if there are not any directions within the Zip file, they need to be accessible within the Assist part of your motherboard’s web page on the producer’s web site. Rename any information if essential, after which copy the required information to the foundation of the USB flash drive (not in a folder). Depart the USB drive plugged into your PC, then reboot it and press Del to enter setup.
You’ll then want to vary the boot order, to ensure your system boots from the USB drive first, fairly than your normal SSD or onerous drive that accommodates Home windows. This can be immediately accessible from the primary display screen of the EFI, or you will have to seek out the Boot part. Both manner, make sure that the USB drive is about to be the primary boot drive. Save your settings and exit, then wait on your PC to reboot.
Whichever system your motherboard producer chooses for this low-level BIOS flash, you’ll now be greeted with some very unfriendly-looking textual content, with a immediate on the backside. From right here, you possibly can run the flash utility in your USB drive, following the directions within the Zip file to flash the BIOS.
Can I replace my BIOS and not using a CPU?
Within the outdated days, there was no likelihood of with the ability to run a brand new CPU in an outdated motherboard, until you had an outdated CPU useful so you would boot into your system to do it, however that’s modified on many (although not all) new desktop PC motherboards now.
A comparatively fashionable function generally referred to as BIOS flashback allows you to flash your BIOS to the newest model, even when your present BIOS doesn’t acknowledge your new CPU – you don’t even want a show in your monitor. Actually, you don’t even want a CPU put in in your motherboard. In case your motherboard helps USB BIOS flashback, this implies you would purchase an outdated B660 or Z690 motherboard secondhand and not using a twelfth gen CPU, however nonetheless run a 14th gen CPU on it.
As with the above strategies, you’ll must observe your motherboard producer’s directions for placing your new BIOS file onto your USB flash drive. Put the file on the foundation of the drive, not in a folder, and observe the directions to the letter. Additionally, as with the opposite strategies, make completely doubly positive that you just’ve undoubtedly obtained the BIOS file on your actual mannequin of motherboard.
Your subsequent job is to seek out the USB BIOS flashback port on the again of your motherboard – it’s typically labeled ‘BIOS’, or one thing comparable, however you possibly can at all times nail down its location in your motherboard guide. You now must observe the following step in your motherboard producers’ directions, which often entails plugging the USB flash drive into the BIOS flashback port, plugging in all the ability cables on the motherboard, switching on the PSU, after which urgent the BIOS flashback button.
On many motherboards, you’ll discover a mild close to the BIOS flashback button, which is able to flash to point out you which of them stage the flashing course of is presently enterprise. Don’t reset or change off your PC, otherwise you’ll threat bricking your motherboard. After a couple of minutes, the sunshine ought to point out that the flashing course of is full.
We’re all achieved with our BIOS replace information now, and we hope you’ve managed to replace your motherboard to both settle for a brand new CPU, or get some new options, comparable to resizable BAR help. If you wish to profit from the latter, be sure you learn by our information on learn how to allow resizable BAR, the place we run you thru it step-by-step.
When you’re going to assemble a brand new system, be sure you try our full information on learn how to construct a gaming PC, the place we take you thru each step of the method.
