Table of Contents
ℹ️ Note!
Most motherboard manufacturers do not provide this method. If you are not sure what your motherboard vendor is, you may follow a portion of this guide to identify it, but you will have to follow our manual method of installing the BIOS instead (How to update your BIOS (manual method)) if this method isn't available.
We've identified the following manufacturers do not provide this method: AsRock, MSI, ASUS, Gigabyte, NZXT.
We've identified the following manufacturers do have this method: HP, Dell.
What is a BIOS?
A BIOS is a piece of software that always resides in your motherboard that contains essential instructions for how other components in your system should start up and operate, including the CPU, RAM, USB ports, etc. It sits on a physical chip, separate from other disks you have in your system. Because of this, sometimes it requires a list of steps to update.
Why would I need to update the BIOS?
Sometimes, manufacturers do not release their products in a finished state for many reasons or discover ways to improve them. So, they provide updates over time when they or customers find issues with the product and need to fix them.
What do I need to update the BIOS?
With the newer program method, all you need is to identify the correct motherboard model your computer has and run the BIOS update program.
Identifying your motherboard
The way motherboard vendors provide BIOS files is through the product page of your motherboard online. The product page is named exactly after the model name / product name of your motherboard. Luckily, every version of Windows comes with a tool called "System Information" that displays a bunch of information about your computer on screen. You can run System Information by typing "msinfo32" into the Windows search bar, and running it.
You should now see a window that looks like this with your computer's information - highlighted is our computer's motherboard name. It should be under "BaseBoard Product":So, the product name in this screenshot is "Pro Q670M-C" - and we will use that as an example when searching for a BIOS.
ℹ️ Note!
If you do not download the BIOS file from the correct product page, the BIOS will fail to install and you will be stuck frustrated as to what the issue might be. An example is two very similar product names "PRIME Z790-P D4" and "PRIME Z790-P WIFI D4". One has "WIFI" in the name and the other does not. The only difference is that a WiFi module comes with the motherboard - but if you mix up the product names and download the incorrect BIOS, it will fail to install. Make sure when searching for your motherboard online that you find the correct one.
To search for a motherboard online, go to Google and enter the name we found from msinfo32:
Always double check if the top search result is right for you!
ℹ️ Tip!
Each different motherboard manufacturer may have a different website layout - but all of them have a support page in order to download a new BIOS.
In the case of HP, they provide an executable file and automatically load a driver in order to flash the BIOS.
You will see a screen like this after downloading and running the executable from the website:
For navigating the Dell website, you will need to click on this series of options:
And finally, select an option that says "BIOS" for download:
That's it! Go through Dell's installation process by running the downloaded executable.
✅ Congratulations!
You have successfully updated your BIOS! You may now enjoy some stability improvements and/or prevent future damage to your computer.