In this article, we’re going to show you how to update your MSI Motherboard BIOS using the Flash BIOS Button, otherwise known as the BIOS flashback method, which does not require any components to be installed on your motherboard. This method will also work with components already installed on your motherboard.
Prerequisites:
- MSI motherboard to be updated
- Power supply
- A USB drive with a capacity of 32 gigabytes or less (preferably USB 2.0, but USB 3.0 should work as well)
- A working PC with internet access to prepare the USB drive
Step 1: Prepare the USB Drive
- Please connect the USB disc to your computer.
- Right-click on the USB drive listed in your computer’s drives and select “Format” from the context menu.
- Ensure that the file system selected is FAT32, and leave the rest of the options as their defaults.
- Click the “Start” button to begin formatting the drive. Click “OK” when the warning about erasing all data on the disk appears.
- After a few seconds, the “Format Complete” dialogue will appear. Click “OK” to close it.
Step 2: Download the BIOS Update File
- Visit the support page for your specific motherboard on the MSI website.
- Under the “Drivers and Downloads” section, scroll down to find the BIOS updates. The latest BIOS update should be at the top of the list.
- Click the “Download” button to download the update files. It’s easiest to download them directly to the USB drive you formatted in the previous step.
- Once the zip file is downloaded, navigate to your USB drive. You should see the zip file in the root directory.
- Right-click the zip file and choose “Extract All.”
- Delete everything after the backslash to extract the files to the top-level directory.
- Click “Extract,” and after a few seconds, the extraction process will finish.
- You can delete the original zip file and navigate into the folder created. Copy the BIOS update file (usually the largest file) and move it to the top-level directory, then delete the folder.
Step 3: Rename the BIOS File
- Rename the BIOS file to “MSI.ROM.” Make sure to use this exact name for it to work.
Step 4: Update the BIOS
- Safely eject the USB drive.
- Connect the CPU power to the motherboard.
- Connect the 24-pin ATX power to the motherboard.
- These are the only connections needed on the motherboard.
- Connect the power supply to the power source and turn it on.
- If you’re updating a connected PC, do not power up the PC at this point or during the BIOS update.
- Find the USB port designated for the Flash BIOS button (usually labeled on the back panel). Insert the prepared USB drive into that USB port.
- Locate the Flash BIOS button and press it for two to three seconds. The button may or may not visibly flash, but the USB drive’s light should start flashing, and the motherboard lights may also indicate the BIOS update process, which can take several minutes.
- If nothing flashes for more than a few seconds, it may not have worked. Try another USB drive before further troubleshooting.
- The USB drive’s LED will continue flashing as the BIOS is updated. The process can take several minutes, during which only lights will be flashing.
- After several minutes, the lights on the motherboard will turn off, and the USB drive will stop flashing. Leave the computer alone for a couple more minutes to ensure the update is complete.
- You can now safely remove the USB drive and disconnect all wires. Your motherboard’s BIOS should now be updated.
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