• Updating the BIOS on an Asus Sabertooth x58
    5 replies, posted
So I learned that apparently, I have a very old BIOS version on my motherboard, and decided I need to update it. The only problem is, I've never updated a BIOS. I downloaded the most recent version from the Asus website, but I was wondering if someone could walk me through the process of updating. The update is in ROM form, so I'm assuming I have to put it on a USB drive and boot off that when I restart my computer, but I'm not sure what to do from there, and I'm also not sure if updating the BIOS does anything else, like wiping my OS or something (I really know nothing about this :v:) Any help would be very appreciated :buddy:
Updating the BIOS is one of the easiest things you can do. The location you downloaded the BIOS update from should say the options you have for installing the new BIOS, make sure a USB option is present. Usually the CD route is the fastest, but if you've got it on a USB stick that will work too if your MoBo supports it. First Step: Verify that the integrity of the file(s) with the new BIOS is safe. Easiest thing to do is to upload it to virustotal.com real quick and look up the checksums to make sure it's not corrupted. Second Step: Put the file(s) and whatever other files it may have come with on your USB drive, make sure there's nothing else on it... just the BIOS file(s) on the root of the drive. Third Step: Turn off your PC. Plug in the USB drive with the BIOS updates on it. Power on PC while awaiting the notification on what key to press to enter the boot menu. When you see the key displayed to enter the boot menu, press it, then select your USB drive as the boot device. That's practically it, at this point the rest is very simple. Usually BIOS updates come packaged with a DOS based updater which is very easy to navigate and is normally filled with instructions. Just make sure you have plenty of time and that there's no chance you will lose power or have the PC somehow shut down, as that could be very bad. If I wasn't clear about something or you have more questions, please post back before trying to update the BIOS. It's better safe than sorry.
[QUOTE=Tralisk;30769009]Updating the BIOS is one of the easiest things you can do. The location you downloaded the BIOS update from should say the options you have for installing the new BIOS, make sure a USB option is present. Usually the CD route is the fastest, but if you've got it on a USB stick that will work too if your MoBo supports it. First Step: Verify that the integrity of the file(s) with the new BIOS is safe. Easiest thing to do is to upload it to virustotal.com real quick and look up the checksums to make sure it's not corrupted. Second Step: Put the file(s) and whatever other files it may have come with on your USB drive, make sure there's nothing else on it... just the BIOS file(s) on the root of the drive. Third Step: Turn off your PC. Plug in the USB drive with the BIOS updates on it. Power on PC while awaiting the notification on what key to press to enter the boot menu. When you see the key displayed to enter the boot menu, press it, then select your USB drive as the boot device. That's practically it, at this point the rest is very simple. Usually BIOS updates come packaged with a DOS based updater which is very easy to navigate and is normally filled with instructions. Just make sure you have plenty of time and that there's no chance you will lose power or have the PC somehow shut down, as that could be very bad. If I wasn't clear about something or you have more questions, please post back before trying to update the BIOS. It's better safe than sorry.[/QUOTE] Awesome! I was just making sure because I didn't want to screw something up. My only question is, when it finishes updating, is there anything I have to do after? Like, is it safe to just let it finish, then boot my computer up normally, or is there something I need to do after it updates?
It should automatically reboot your computer once it's completed rewriting the data. If it doesn't, it will almost certainly prompt you saying that you can safely reboot. No matter what, do NOT reboot unless it instructs you to. Once it's done, everything will be fine and dandy within your computer again, but I would suggest going into the BIOS settings and making sure everything is how you want it. Sometimes new settings are added/configs are reset.
Alright, thanks very much for the info. I guess it was more simple than I thought.
you don't need to update the BIOS unless you have a problem specifically fixed by one or something similar, there's no point updating just because there's a newer version and most boards have a specific menu or utility within the BIOS for updating [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHN_QAEPeF8[/media]
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.