3 Reasons Why You Should Update Your PC’s BIOS

People frequently ignore the importance of updating their PC’s BIOS. And besides, updating it is somewhat frightening. If something goes wrong in the update process, your computer could become unusable. This, combined with the assumed absence of significant benefits, means that many people aren’t updating their PC BIOS unless they really must.

BIOS updates are released regularly for a purpose. And there are a few situations where your PC may encounter a problem while updating, resulting in unrepairable issues. With that said, let’s go into why you should update your BIOS and risk the dangers of this scary procedure.

What are the precautions for updating BIOS?

Here is a list of precautions you should take before attempting to update BIOS:

Why should I update my PC’s BIOS?

1. Security Updates

Some individuals immediately skip the update when the terms “security” and “patch” are mentioned in a software update change log, and we can see why. But nowadays, it is crucial to maintain your computer’s security.

Our interactions with our BIOS are limited to those that are necessary. Furthermore, the operating system that your PC is using, whether it is Windows 11 or another version, is often updated. But you also need to maintain what’s below the surface, as keeping your operating system secure is critical.

A safe operating system should keep potential dangers away, and it frequently does. However, things can quickly go bad if something harmful gets inside your motherboard. Both boot sector corruptions and BIOS hacking are real and can seriously harm your computer.

When a BIOS security update is released, a notification will pop up on your notification bar. As the name suggests, security updates aim to fix and address vulnerabilities in the previous BIOS version. Of course, most security updates are small in size, and you are unlikely to notice any difference after the update. However, it’s never a bad idea to strengthen the security of your PC.

2. Performance Stability

On motherboards, BIOS is frequently where bugs and other problems are found and fixed. Although you don’t enter your BIOS very often, you probably wouldn’t notice any problems even if you did. Instead, BIOS problems may show themselves in various ways.

For example, they can appear as operating system issues, slowdowns, malfunctioning ports or hardware, or even blue screens of death. Whether you’ve experienced an annoying PC problem that has remained through multiple upgrades and is still not resolved, you may need to check to see if the BIOS has a bug and if there is an update that can fix it.

3. Additional Hardware Support

One of the key reasons people upgrade their BIOS is the ability to use hardware that they previously couldn’t use.

CPUs are the most prevalent example of this. While new CPUs are released every year or two, CPU sockets often last longer. Even if the socket might be the same, a newer CPU cannot just be installed on an outdated motherboard and expected to function properly. Instead, a BIOS update is released for them to make motherboards compatible with those chips.

A powerful 5000-series Ryzen CPU might be upgraded from a first-gen Ryzen CPU without changing the motherboard or the majority of the hardware, thanks to BIOS upgrades for AMD Ryzen AM4 motherboards purchased in 2017. Since Intel typically switches sockets every two years, you might need a change of motherboard for your new CPU, but if you have a 12th-generation Intel CPU and wish to upgrade your PC to a 13th-generation one, you can update your BIOS so it would support the new chip. The chip will function with your PC, even though there are new features these new chips support, but the old motherboards don’t, such as PCI Express Gen 4.

BIOS updates can also fix issues such as a newer component not working properly but fitting in the socket of your motherboard.

How to update BIOS?

The update procedure may vary based on the update provider. You can get assistance by simply searching your computer manufacturer name in a phrase like “how to update BIOS ASUS.”

Some manufacturers, such as HP, provide BIOS updates via their software update programs. As a result, updating is much simpler because you don’t need to enter the BIOS setup at all.

Some manufacturers, like Acer, provide an EXE file. You can double-click the file to start the reboot and update process without entering the BIOS setup or copying files.

In either case, you should access the BIOS setup first to note any settings you want to maintain before running the upgrade. You can use your computer as usual after the procedure has been properly completed and you have made any necessary configuration adjustments, taking advantage of any upgrades or repairs that the BIOS update may have provided.

Follow the manual method on how to update your BIOS, as explained below, to complete this process without any problems.

What’s BIOS Flashing?

You can find the BIOS update on the official website of your motherboard manufacturer if you build a custom PC. These updates can be “flashed” onto the computer’s BIOS chip to replace the original BIOS software with a newer version.

Because BIOS is the motherboard- or computer-specific, you will need the BIOS for your specific computer model to upgrade your computer’s BIOS.

Wrap up! Update Your PC’s BIOS Now

Considering the above reasons for updating your BIOS, the advantages outweigh the possibility of your PC becoming unusable.

However, ensure you’re genuinely installing a fresh version of the BIOS before upgrading it. Entering msinfo into the Windows search box will launch the System Information software, which contains the easiest way to find your BIOS version.

Your BIOS version should appear under your processor speed on the right side of the window.

Make a note of the version number and date, then compare it with the most recent version shown on the motherboard support page on the company’s website.

FAQs

Although BIOS software performs several functions, loading the OS and controlling data transfer between the OS and connected hardware devices are two of its most crucial responsibilities.

You can update the BIOS yourself. These days, updating the BIOS is fairly simple because the file is available in “.exe” or “.msi” executable format.

An incomplete update could potentially harm a motherboard, especially if it is the incorrect version. An incompatible BIOS update might render the motherboard partially or entirely unusable.

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