BIOS is the most basic operating system on your PC, responsible for coordinating the various efforts of all the individual components. Flashing the BIOS is occasionally necessary if the BIOS becomes corrupted or when updating to a newer version with additional features is required. While flashing the BIOS in the absence of video is difficult, it can be done.
Instructions
1. Locate the make and model number of your computer's motherboard. This should be in your computer's instruction manual. If you do not have a manual, contact your PC's manufacturer for the required information.
2. Use your backup computer to download the BIOS file and flash utility from your motherboard manufacturer's website, and save them to a floppy disk. These files should be available on the Download section of the Support page. It's important that you download both the flash utility and the revision with the highest version numbers.
3. Create a boot disk using your other 3.5" floppy. Insert the disk into the drive of your working computer, then go to the Start menu. Click on "Run," then type "format a:" A number of options should appear--tick off "Format as MS-DOS Boot Disk" and press "Enter" or "OK" to start the formatting process.
4. Insert the boot disk into the drive of the computer without video, and turn it on. After the computer stops beeping, the boot disk will bring it to a DOS screen containing an "A:\" prompt.
5. Switch out the boot disk and replace it with the disk containing the new BIOS files you downloaded.
6. Type in the full name of the BIOS flash utility, followed by a space, followed by the full name of the new BIOS file. Include three-letter file extensions. For example, at the "A:\" prompt, type "biosflashprogram.exe newbiosversion.bin." Be careful not to make any typing errors, as you will not be able to see them. Press "Enter" after you are sure you input the file names correctly, and the flash process will commence.
Tags: boot disk, flash utility, BIOS file, disk into, disk into drive, full name