A tiny BIOS chip lurks deep in every computer, sitting on your motherboard to breathe life into your system as you press the power button. BIOS stands for the primary input and output system, and the BIOS chip initializes all other devices in your computer, like the CPU, GPU, and motherboard chipset.
A few years ago, in partnership with Microsoft and Intel, motherboard manufacturers introduced an alternative to traditional BIOS chips called UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). Today, most motherboards have a UEFI chip, not a BIOS chip, but they share the same purpose: to prepare the system for booting into the operating system. That said, most people still call UEFI “BIOS” because of the familiarity of the term.
Why you should (or shouldn’t) upgrade the BIOS
Your understanding of UEFI is essential so you can understand how (and if) take advantage of feature updates and fixes that come with BIOS updates provided by manufacturers Motherboard.
Your motherboard can use any firmware revision that the motherboard manufacturer was in for after it was built. Manufacturers will release new software packages or BIOS updates during motherboard usage, allowing new processors and memory support or resolving common errors. However, the only real reason to update a more recent firmware version is to fix a bug in your UEFI or swap out a CPU newer than your motherboard.
Some people want to regularly check and update their UEFI firmware package just for updates. This is a risky fact, given that the software update process could potentially brick your motherboard in the same way that flashing a custom ROM on an Android phone could brick the device. It’s best not to update your UEFI firmware unless there’s something specific that the update software provides that you need.
That said, you probably want to stay on top of the BIOS update if you’re on a new chip platform or motherboard out the door. Several motherboard BIOS updates have been released in the first week of AMD’s disruptive Ryzen chips in the hands of reviewers. Each offers additional performance and system stability. Expect for those keepers like AMD working the bugs out of Ryzen.
Before you upgrade BIOS, make sure you are installing a new version. The easiest way to find your BIOS version is to open the System Information application by typing info in the Windows search bar. In the window that opens, your BIOS version will appear on the right, below your processor speed. Note down your version number and date, then compare it with the latest version available on your motherboard support page on the manufacturer’s website.
How to upgrade your computer’s BIOS?
When you start up your computer, you will see a text informing you which button to press to enter the UEFI BIOS. Hit it! (Correct control is required, and the UEFI panel design of all other motherboards is needed, so these instructions should be more than step-by-step instructions).
While not all motherboards offer this feature, on some models, you can boot into the UEFI console and use a built-in update utility to connect to the Internet and flash the software. Latest from the manufacturer’s server. This too nice feature makes updating newer firmware as painless as possible.
This process has more to do with motherboards that don’t support this feature. First, you need to find your motherboard support page on the manufacturer’s website. The Latest BIOS update should be in support and download. You will need to download and extract the file, dump it into the USB drive, and reboot your computer into the UEFI console.
From there, you will need to launch the UEFI firmware update tool or the flashing tool and back up your computer’s current software to your flash drive – just in case something goes wrong. Use the same UEFI utility to select the new firmware image you downloaded from the flash drive location. Running the software update utility only takes a few minutes, but make sure not to turn off your computer during this process. This is very important.
Once the flashing process is finished, reboot your computer, and your computer’s updated BIOS is ready to kick.
Some manufacturers provide utilities that can update the UEFI chip directly in Windows by running a .exe file. Still, we recommend using either of the above methods to avoid experiencing the problem.
Again, updating your computer’s BIOS can be beneficial, but it’s essential to understand the risks. Don’t touch it if there’s no exact, compelling reason to update the UEFI firmware. That said, if you want to put a newer CPU on an older motherboard, then it’s clear that a BIOS update is in your future.
