Do You Need to Update Your Computer’s

BIOS?
Chris Hoffman @chrisbhoffman
September 23, 2016, 3:58pm EDT

Updating your operating system and software is important. On the other hand, we have
previously covered why you shouldn’t generally update your hardware drivers, although
gamers will definitely want to update their graphics drivers. But what about BIOS
updates?

BIOS updates will not make your computer faster, they generally won’t add new
features you need, and they may even cause additional problems. You should only
update your BIOS if the new version contains an improvement you need.

Image Credit: Aaron Parecki on Flickr

What’s a BIOS?
BIOS stands for basic input/output system. When you power your computer on, your
BIOS takes control, starting the power-on self test (POST) and passing control over to
the boot loader, which boots your computer’s operating system. The BIOS is low-level
system software that should “just work” without getting in your way. Computers are now
coming with UEFI firmware instead of the traditional BIOS, but the same is true for UEFI
– it’s low-level system software with a similar role.
Unlike your operating system (which is stored on your hard drive), your computer’s
BIOS is stored on a chip on your motherboard.

Image Credit: Uwe Hermann on Flickr

Flashing a BIOS
Manufacturers often release updates to their computers’ BIOSes. If you built your own
computer, a BIOS update would come from your motherboard vendor. These updates
can be “flashed” onto the BIOS chip, replacing the BIOS software the computer came
with with a new version of the BIOS.

BIOSes are computer-specific (or motherboard-specific), so you will need the BIOS for
your exact model of computer (or motherboard) to update your computer’s BIOS.
Why You Probably Shouldn’t Update Your BIOS
BIOS updates aren’t big software upgrades that add new features, security patches, or
performance improvements. BIOS updates typically have very short change logs – they
may fix a bug with an obscure piece of hardware or add support for a new model of
CPU.

If your computer is working properly, you probably shouldn’t update your BIOS. You
likely won’t see the difference between the new BIOS version and the old one. In some
cases, you may even experience new bugs with a new version of the BIOS, as the
BIOS that came with your computer may have gone through more testing.

Flashing a BIOS isn’t as easy as installing a normal software update. You will often
want to flash your computer from DOS (yes, DOS – you may have to create a bootable
USB drive with DOS on it and restart into that environment), as problems could occur
when flashing from Windows. Each manufacturer has their own instructions for flashing
a BIOS.
You will need the version of the BIOS for your exact hardware. If you get a BIOS for
another piece of hardware – even a slightly different revision of the same motherboard –
this could cause problems. BIOS flashing tools usually try to detect whether the BIOS
fits your hardware, but if the tool attempts to flash the BIOS anyway, your computer
could become unbootable.

If your computer loses power while flashing the BIOS, your computer could become
“bricked” and unable to boot. Computers should ideally have a backup BIOS stored in
read-only memory, but not all computers do.

Image Credit: Jemimus on Flickr

When You Should Update Your BIOS

Given that you probably will not see any improvements from updating your BIOS, that
new bugs could pop up, and the potential for errors while flashing, you shouldn’t update
your BIOS unless you have a reason to. Here are a few cases where updating makes
sense:
  Bugs: If you are experiencing bugs that are fixed in a newer version of the BIOS
for your computer (check the BIOS change log on the manufacturer’s website),
you may be able to fix them by updating your BIOS. A manufacturer may even
advise you to update your BIOS if you contact tech support and have a problem
that has been fixed with an update.
 Hardware Support: Some motherboard manufacturers add support for new
CPUs, and potentially other hardware, in BIOS updates. If you want to upgrade
your computer’s CPU to a new CPU – possibly one that wasn’t yet released
when you purchased your motherboard – you may need to update the BIOS.

Be sure to check the change log for the BIOS updates and see if they actually have an
update you require.

If you are not experiencing any bugs that have been fixed and don’t need the hardware
support, don’t bother updating. You won’t get anything out of it except possible new
problems.

As the saying goes, don’t fix what isn’t broken.

What is BIOS and How to Update the BIOS

on Your Dell System
English
What is BIOS and How to Update the BIOS on Your Dell
System

Want to know more about System BIOS and how to Check and Update the BIOS on your Dell
System? This article will show you how.

Note: For information regarding Resetting or Clearing your system BIOS, please see the KB article:

 How to Perform a BIOS or CMOS Reset and/or Clear the NVRAM on your Dell System

Table of Contents:

1. What is the System BIOS?

2. Why Should You Update the System BIOS?
3. Check Your System BIOS Version
4. How to Update Your System BIOS Within Windows
5. Flashing the BIOS from the F12 One-Time boot menu
6. Updating BIOS on Systems With BitLocker Enabled
7. How to Update Your System BIOS Using a USB Flash Drive
8. Updating the Dell BIOS in Linux and Ubuntu Environments
9. Useful Links

1. What is the System BIOS?

BIOS is an acronym that stands for Basic Input Output System. Also know as "System Setup",
the BIOS is software that is contained on a small memory chip on the PC's Motherboard,
typically referred to as the CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). It acts as an
interface between the computer's hardware and its operating system, e.g. Windows, allowing the
software to control the PC's hardware.

The BIOS also contains instructions that the PC uses to perform basic instructions, such as
whether to Boot from Network or Hard drive, which drive to Boot from first.

BIOS is also used to identify and configure hardware components in a computer such as the hard
drive, floppy drive, optical drive, CPU, memory, Plug and Play devices etc. This is called the
ESCD (Extended System Configuration Data) and this is usually stored in additional non-volatile
memory also referred to as NVRAM (Non-Volatile Random Access Memory)
Over the years as technology has changed people still refer to the BIOS as both CMOS and
NVRAM, however they are subtly different. The CMOS contains the BIOS and its settings, the
NVRAM contains the ESCD, updating the BIOS will not clear the NVRAM.

You can enter the system BIOS or Setup on a Dell PC by pressing F2 at the Dell loading screen.
(Figure 1)

Figure 1: BIOS Loading Screen

Or by pressing F12 and selecting BIOS Setup from the menu. (Figure 2)

Figure 2: One Time Boot Menu

Caution: Be careful when altering BIOS settings. The BIOS interface is designed for advanced users, you
can change a setting that could prevent your computer from starting correctly and you could suffer
potential loss of data.

Here is an example of what the BIOS system set up screen looks like: (Figure 3)

Figure 3: OptiPlex 990 BIOS Screen

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2. Why Should You Update the System BIOS?

Dell recommends updating the BIOS as part of your scheduled update cycle. Like Operating
System and driver revisions, the update contains feature enhancements or changes that will help
keep your system software current and compatible with other system modules (hardware,
firmware, drivers and software) as well as providing security updates and increased stability.

Unlike Windows and Anti-Virus program updates which are usually automatic, BIOS has to be
updated manually.
Dell provides an easy to use self installing update package that allows this task to be performed
relatively easily.

Caution: Always backup your data before attempting to update the BIOS as an error can result in a
potential loss of data.

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3. Check Your System BIOS Version

There are several ways to check your BIOS version but the easiest is to use System Information.

On the Windows 8 and 8.1 "Metro" screen, type run then press Return, in the Run box type
msinfo32 and click OK.

On Windows 10 type msinfo32 into Search and press Return

On earlier Windows versions, to view the System Information screen, click on the Start Button
and click Run, in the Run box type msinfo32 and press OK

Once the System Information window opens, make sure System Summary is highlighted in the
left navigation window, and look for BIOS Version/Date in the right summary window (Figure
4)

Figure 4: System Information

You can also check the BIOS version from the command prompt.

1. Click Start. In the Run or Search box, type cmd, then Click on "cmd.exe" in search
results.
2. If the User Access Control window appears select Yes
3. In the Command Prompt window, at the C:\ prompt, type systeminfo and press Enter,
you will find the BIOS version in the results (Figure 5)

Figure 5: Command line systeminfo

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4. How to Update Your System BIOS Within Windows

It is important to keep your System BIOS up to date. Newer releases of BIOS can provide
improvements to Hardware compatibility, improved Diagnostics, as well as Security updates and
Increased stability.

Once you have established that you require a BIOS update you can download the newer version
from the Dell support page www.dell.com/drivers

The video below will give you a visual guide on how to Update your system BIOS.

Video (English Only)- Update your System Setup (BIOS) (2:07)

Note: When updating the BIOS on a Laptop or Portable, the battery must be present and the AC adapter
plugged in.

1. Open a web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome etc) and go to

www.dell.com/support/drivers
2. If you are asked to "Identify your product", then either enter your Service tag, or select
"Browse for a product" to select manually.
3. If the system shown is incorrect, click on "View a different product" and again either
enter your Service tag or Browse manually
4. After the correct system is selected, you may have to click on the tab that says "Find it
Myself" then look further down the page, where it says "Refine your results:". In the
pull-down Category menu, choose BIOS. This will refine the results to show only the
BIOS category.
5. If there is more than one file listed, Click on "View details" on the most recent version of
the BIOS. Then click on "Important Information".

Note: On some occasions you may need to install an intermediate BIOS version before updating to the
latest version. This is called BIOS dependency; when a intermediate update is required before installing
the latest version. This information is usually found in the "Important Information" section. To locate
other BIOS versions you can try and find the version download by navigating through the links located at
https://downloads.dell.com

6. Click Download File to begin the download

7. Save the file to your Desktop
8. Once downloaded, you can double click the icon on your desktop.
9. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation (Figure 6). This will reboot
your system and perform a BIOS update
Figure 6: BIOS Flash Update Continue Prompt

The above screen may vary depending on version and system type.

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5. Flashing the BIOS from the F12 One-Time boot menu

Most Dell systems built after 2012 have the ability to be updated from the F12 One-Time Boot
Menu. This process can be executed if you have a USB memory stick formatted to the FAT32
file system and the BIOS executable file that you downloaded from the Dell Support Website
and copied to the root of the USB key

For more information on this process, please see the following article:

 Flashing the BIOS from the F12 One-Time boot menu

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6. Updating BIOS on Systems With BitLocker Enabled

Caution: If BitLocker is not suspended before updating the BIOS, the next time you reboot the system it
will not recognize the BitLocker key.

You will then be prompted to enter the recovery key to progress and the system will ask for this
on each reboot.

If the recovery key is not known this can result in data loss or an unnecessary operating system
re-install.

For more information on this subject, please see Knowledge Article:

 Updating BIOS on Systems With BitLocker Enabled

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7. How to update your System BIOS using a USB Flash Drive

If the system cannot load into Windows but there is still a need to update the BIOS, download
the BIOS file using another system and save it to a bootable USB Flash Drive.

Note: You will need to use a bootable USB Flash drive. Please refer to the following article for further
details:

 How to Create a Bootable USB Flash Drive using Dell Diagnostic Deployment Package (DDDP)

1. Download the BIOS update .EXE file to another system

2. Copy the file e.g. O9010A12.exe onto the bootable USB Flash drive.
3. Insert the USB Flash drive into the system that requires the BIOS update.
4. Restart the system and press F12 when the Dell Splash logo appears to display the One
Time Boot Menu.
5. Using arrow keys, select USB Storage Device and press Return
6. The system will boot to a Diag C:\> prompt
7. Run the file by typing the full filename e.g. O9010A12.exe and hit Return
8. The BIOS Update Utility will load, follow the instructions on screen (Figure 7)

Figure 7: DOS BIOS Update Screen

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8. Updating the Dell BIOS in Linux and Ubuntu Environments

If you wish to update the system BIOS in a Linux environment such as Ubuntu, then you can get
some help by following the link below:

 Updating the Dell BIOS in Linux and Ubuntu Environments

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9. Useful Links

The following articles cover other topics related to BIOS which you may find useful depending
on the task you are undertaking/information you need.
  System prompts for a BIOS password
 Downgrading the System BIOS on a Dell System
 BIOS Recovery options on a Dell PC or Tablet
 Forcing a BIOS Update without the AC adapter attached on Dell Laptop

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