UPDATING BIOS

[falcon23]

I have a gigabyte board which supports QFLASH..I need to probably update my bios,but am unsure about how to go about doing it..QFLASH seems the easiest way..But am not sure what I need to do..I have a flash drive,but do not have a floppy drive..I currently have version 3bios,and want to go to the current which is 5..

                                            Thanks,
                                                 Falcon23


 This is the board I have..


http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=2778&ProductName=GA-EP35-DS3L

[BaldEagl]

Actually, if you have a DVD Recorder that might work best.

You have to burn the ISO image of the BIOS onto a DVD-ROM (or maybe you can do it onto your flash drive)

Power off your machine and re-boot.  Enter BIOS on the re-boot and set BIOS to defaults except make your DVD-ROM or Flash drive your primary boot device.  Make sure the disc is in or the flash hooked up. then hit save and let the machine boot.

It will boot to the ISO image of the BIOS and the update process will begin.  DO NOT turn off your computer for any reason during this or your are hosed.  Also don't do it during an electrical storm.

Once the process has run, shut down the machine.  Unplug the power cord and remove the battery from the motherboard for a couple of minutes.  This re-sets the CMOS.

Reboot and enter BIOS.  Set everything to default and make sure your hard drive is the primary boot device.  Save, exit BIOS and let it boot to Windows.

Now shut it back down, enter the BIOS again and restore any prior custom settings.  Save, exit BIOS and boot to Windows and you are done.

[VonMessa]

And pray you have NOTHING resembling anything like a loss of power when you flash the bios.

 

[Reschke]

The last Gigabyte board I had would let me flash from within Windows. It was a pretty handy utility and in fact that system is still running and is now my oldest sons computer.

[Fulmar]

The last Gigabyte board I had would let me flash from within Windows. It was a pretty handy utility and in fact that system is still running and is now my oldest sons computer.

Asus has this feature as well.  I haven't flashed a BIOS in boot-up/DOS in probably 7-8 years and this was on a no-name board.  I've always used the Asus Flash through Windows without a hitch.  If you do use Windows, I'd recommend turning off your anti-virus just in case.

[2bighorn]

I have a gigabyte board which supports QFLASH..I need to probably update my bios,but am unsure about how to go about doing it..QFLASH seems the easiest way..But am not sure what I need to do..I have a flash drive,but do not have a floppy drive..I currently have version 3bios,and want to go to the current which is 5..

If your system runs as intended leave BIOS as it is. The only time you should upgrade BIOS is if something is very wrong with current version or if you're adding some unsupported hardware and new BIOS would support it.

[Krusty]

If your system runs as intended leave BIOS as it is. The only time you should upgrade BIOS is if something is very wrong with current version or if you're adding some unsupported hardware and new BIOS would support it.

^--- WHAT HE SAID!!!

[Fulmar]

Flashing your BIOS isn't as critical as it used to be.  My Asus board supports an emergency bios back-up feature.  So if a flash fails or becomes corrupted, it will repair it with the stock version of the bios.

[Getback]

Falcon, look at what the upgrade enhances and see if it applies to your particular situation. You can check that at the website.

I used a 1 click program to update my bios and it worked perfectly.

[Reschke]

Good advice on that point. The only reason I will flash a BIOS is if I am going to buy a new CPU or some other hardware support that will be enabled or enhanced by updating the BIOS. Just to do it is a foolish thing.