How to Flash BIOS on GA-M55PLUS-S3G

The BIOS works behinds the scenes and initiates the hardware components of your computer before the system loads the operating system into temporary memory. As technology improves, manufacturers release important updates for the BIOS utility on your motherboard to fix bugs and improve hardware capability. Flashing the BIOS is critical to keep your computer hardware up-to-date and improve system stability. Although improperly flashing your BIOS can severely damage your system, Gigabyte makes it relatively easy to flash the BIOS by using a built-in utility called Q-Flash or automatically using Gigabyte's Download Center.

Instructions

Updating with Q-Flash

1. Download the latest BIOS file for the GA-M55PLUS-S3G and save it to a blank floppy disk. Note that you must use a floppy disk when using this method.

2. Restart the computer and enter into the BIOS by pressing the "Del" key on your keyboard while the system is booting.

3. Press "F8" once in the BIOS menu to access the "Q-Flash" utility.

4. Press the up and down arrows to select "Update BIOS from Floppy" then press "Enter." Wait while the system analyzes the disk.

5. Select the BIOS flash file from the floppy drive, using the up and down arrow keys. Press "Enter."

6. Press "Y" to confirm that you want to update the BIOS. Allow the utility to run. Do not interrupt the update.

7. Press any key once the utility is finished running. Press "Y" to reset the computer, then "Enter" to confirm your selection.

Updating with Download Center

1. Launch Internet Explorer and navigate to the Gigabyte Download Center (see Resources). Note that you must use Internet Explorer since the webpage uses ActiveX controls.

2. Click "Yes" when the security warning appears. Alternatively, you may need to click the information bar that appears at the top of Internet Explorer and select "Run Add-On."

3. Click "GO!!" in the lower right corner of the screen. The website will scan your computer, inspecting your system setup.

4. Click the "Click to Install All Drivers" button to automatically download and install all necessary updates for your Gigabyte motherboard.

5. Click "OK." The system will restart itself and automatically install the updated motherboard BIOS.

Tips & Warnings

• To avoid potential BIOS problems, only flash your BIOS if it's necessary to resolve a hardware conflict.

• Don't interrupt the BIOS update process. Doing so could cause significant damage.

References

• Indiana University: What is BIOS
• Gigabyte: GA-M55plus-S3G User's Manual
• Dev Hardware: Why and How to Flash Your BIOS
• Gigabyte: How to Use Download Center

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Gigabyte: GA-M55plus-S3G Downloads
• Gigabyte: Download Center