A 3.5" 1.44M floppy disk
The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is a simple but important part of a motherboard. It is responsible for setting the proper timings and bus speeds of all the components in your computer and it does error checking to make sure all basic functions are happening as they should. If the code in the BIOS has bugs or the motherboard manufacturer has released updated features or support--these fixes or updates have to be "flashed," or programmed, into the BIOS.
Instructions
1. Download the appropriate BIOS update and flashing utility for your motherboard from the motherboard manufacturer's website. Most manufacturer websites keep the files under a section labeled "Support." The files will likely come in a ZIP archive, so you will need to extract the files to your desktop.
2. Copy the flashing utility and BIOS file to the DOS boot floppy. If your computer does not have a built-in floppy drive, you will need to connect a USB-type floppy drive first by plugging it into a free USB port. Rename the new BIOS image "newbios.bin" to make remembering it easy.
3. Reboot the computer with the boot floppy in the floppy drive. When the boot process is done, you will be at the "A:\" prompt. At the "A:\" prompt, run the flashing utility. For example, if the flashing utility is named "awdflash.exe," then you would type in "awdflash" and press "Enter." The flashing utility will likely have a simple graphic menu system with a list of the commands and what they do.
4. Save an image of the existing BIOS to a file called "oldbios.bin." Once the backup is complete, point the flashing utility at the new BIOS image and start the update process.
5. Remove the DOS floppy and reboot the computer when the update is complete.
Tags: flashing utility, floppy drive, BIOS file, BIOS image, boot floppy, computer does, flashing utility BIOS