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CompTIA A+ Exam Cram: Flashing the BIOS

Jan 13, 2011

📄 Contents

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Enter the BIOS
Examine the Version Number
The Importance of Updating the BIOS

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The Importance of Updating the BIOS

Some of the reasons for updating the BIOS include:

Hardware updates—Newer BIOS updates will enable the motherboard to correctly identify new hardware such as processors, RAM, and so on. If you upgraded your processor and the BIOS doesn’t recognize it, a BIOS flash might be the answer.
Security updates—The latest BIOS updates come with security updates that help your BIOS to resist tampering, and increase awareness of boot sector viruses (if your motherboard supports boot sector scanning).
Increased stability—As bugs and other issues are found with motherboards, the manufacturer will release BIOS updates to address and fix those bugs. This can have a direct impact on the speed of data transfer and processing.

Updating the BIOS: Written Step-by-Step Procedure

Boot your computer and access the BIOS by pressing the appropriate key (i.e. DEL, F1, F2).
Access the main BIOS screen and write down the version number. Also, note any special settings that you have, such as passwords, BIOS boot order, and so on.
Exit the BIOS and boot to your operating system.

Access the Internet, and visit the manufacturer of your computer or motherboard. If it is a computer such as Dell or HP, you will need to go to their website and visit the download page for the model number of your computer. That can usually be found on the back of the computer on a sticker of some sort. If you or someone else built the computer, you will need to know the model number of the motherboard and visit the manufacturer’s website for that motherboard.
Access the appropriate web page that displays the downloads for that computer or motherboard and click on the BIOS download link.
Select which BIOS file you want to download. In most cases, you should select the latest BIOS update, and usually you will select the .EXE version.
Download the file to a folder on your computer.

Close all other applications.
Double-click the .EXE file to start the process of updating the BIOS. Follow the basic instructions step-by-step. The update will take a few minutes; do not restart the computer or turn the computer off during this process.
When it is finished, reboot the computer, access the BIOS, and verify that the BIOS has been updated to a new version number.
Check your BIOS passwords (if using them); you might have to re-create them. Also, you might need to reconfigure the BIOS. This could include changing the boot order priority, disabling USB, and so on. Check your notes to see what needs to be reconfigured.
Reboot to your operating system and make sure that everything works properly.

Updating the BIOS: Video Step-by-Step Procedure

Just click the play button to start the video.

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