UPGRADING REPAIRING PCs

Where BIOS Updates Come From 71
Table 3.1 Alternatives to BIOS Upgrades Continued
Benefits of Limitations of
Problem Alternative Fix Alternative Fix Alternative Fix
IDE hard disk See Chapter 4 for
capacity details of these
limitations fixes.
Complete Replace Provides both brand- System must use standard
solution motherboard. new BIOS and new MB form factor; mix of ISA
motherboard features and PCI/AGP slots might
at a price often just mean some existing cards
slightly higher than a won’t fit because latest
third-party BIOS motherboards have more
upgrade. PCI than ISA slots; timeconsuming
hardware install;
requires time-consuming
redetection and configuration
of hardware drivers in
operating system.
How BIOS Updates Are Performed
Two different ways of updating a motherboard BIOS are available.
With older systems, a physical chip swap (also called a BIOS chip
upgrade) is necessary. The original BIOS chip is removed, and a new
BIOS chip is inserted in its place. The new BIOS must be customized
to match the old system’s motherboard and chipset, use its
existing CPU, and provide the enhanced features specified by the
upgrade BIOS manufacturer. The typical cost range is around
$60–90 for a single BIOS chip.
With newer systems that have a flash-upgradable BIOS, the update
software is downloaded and installed onto a disk, which is used to
boot the computer. Then, the new BIOS code is copied to the BIOS
chip in a process that takes about 3–5 minutes. If the BIOS update
comes from a source other than the original system or motherboard
maker, it will also cost as much as $90 for the update.
In either case, the system might need to be reconfigured, especially
if the new BIOS was physically installed, or if either a chip-based or
flash-based BIOS is a different brand of BIOS than the original.
Where BIOS Updates Come From
The best (and cheapest!) place to get a BIOS update is from your
motherboard or system vendor. Most major system manufacturers
offer free BIOS updates for their systems with flash BIOS chips on
their Web sites. For clone systems with motherboards from various
producers, see the section “Determining Which BIOS You Have”
later in this chapter.