Advice on BIOS upgrades please

Westy2000

I have to update the bios on my computer to be able to install my new 120gb hard drive. The only place I can find the upgrade is a company called AWARD. They are asking for $29.95 for the upgrade and they provide an aftercare service.

Does anyone kow anything about the company. Is there a better/cheaper provider I can use?

Cheers

shrek101

Award is the company that does the bios. However, the company that makes the motherboard should supply an updated bios on there web site which is free.

DO you know what motherboard you have? It usually says when you boot up and or you sometimes get a motherboard book.

Then its a case of downloading the right bios (you must make sure its the right motherboard) they can vary even same models have different version numbers.

The motherboard maunfacter should be able to supply a program in order to write the correct bios file to motherboard, and you MUST read the instructions carefully otherwise you can cause the motherboard not to work.

Many new motherboard like Assus now have utilitys on CD which come with motherboard and will download a new bios and then install it and will even backup the old bios just in case.


Old motherboards its just a case of booting for a bootable disc or CD and running teh supplied utility (which is only about 100k) and bios file.

LincsLad_3

I have never yet paid for a BIOS upgrade. That said, upgrading your BIOS CAN cause problems and those problems CAN be difficult to recover from. From that point of view $29.95 for the aftercare service (if it is to a decent level) can be worthwhile to some people.

However, if you are reasonably confident about handling PC software issues, you might care to check out Wim's BIOS Page where you will find a wealth of information to help you identify your m/board and find and upgrade the BIOS upgrade you need.

PLEASE take the time to read/print all the info you need before flashing your BIOS - especially any info on how to recover if things go wrong. They can and do go wrong, even for the most PC-literate. Be prepared!!

Let us know how you get on.

blinky

Try downloading CPU-Z from http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
or SiSoft Sandra from http://www.sisoftware.net/

Both should identify the motherboard (make and model). If we know what it is then we can help.

For Sandra, download and install trial.
Open the Application and select Mainboard information

e.g. for my machine

System
Manufacturer : MICRO-STAR INC.
Model : MS-6728
Version : 100

and then a lot of stuff that's not important here.


for CPU-Z
Download and unzip to a folder
Run CPUZ.exe

select the mainboard tab

You'll see the manufacturer and model at the top.

Westy2000

Thanks for all your help. I will try this software later tonight and let you know how I get on.

mhuk

Be VERY careful when doing a BIOS update!!! Follow the instructions to the letter.

Westy2000

System
Manufacturer : Award Software international, Inc.
Model : i440BX-W977TF
Version : 4.51
Date: 09/07/98

When I boot up the whole bios code is i440BX-W977TF-2A69KPCBC-00