There are times when you need to get detailed information about your BIOS, most often this happens when you need to update it or flash it. This article discusses in detail the ways to find out which BIOS is on the computer, which model and version of the BIOS is installed on the motherboard of a PC or laptop.
There are several ways, as mentioned above. Therefore, you can immediately click on the table of contents of interest and you will be directed to it.
In detail, each of these points is considered. If you are interested in something specific, then you can immediately go to that very part by clicking on the item of interest in the table of contents. And you can read all the points in more detail.
Find out the BIOS version using commands in Windows
msinfo32
We considered this way to get information about the BIOS in the article, since this is the easiest option to quickly find out the model and version.
Here's an easy way to get information about your underlying I/O system.
Another option to find out the BIOS version is through the command in the "Run" menu.
All. Also a fairly simple way to find out the BIOS of your computer.
There is also such an option to get detailed information about your BIOS. He also will not cause unnecessary difficulties.
- Launch command prompt (Start -> search -> cmd, run as administrator).
- Enter the command in the command prompt window that opens: wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion
- Then press Enter.
Information about the BIOS version of the computer will appear instantly in the same CMD window: 
BIOS version through third-party utilities
There are many programs that allow you to learn about the components of your computer, and you can also see the version and model of your BIOS there. Now let's look at some of them.
Using the CPU-Z utility, you can find out a lot of information about the computer, for example. Here's how you can use it to learn about BIOS.
- Download and run the CPU-Z utility.
- Go to the "Pay" tab
There will be information about the BIOS of the computer.
As you can see, there is nothing complicated about this. Also, the BIOS version can be viewed in other utilities.
Check the BIOS model/version when starting the computer
Information about the basic input/output system can be found when you start your computer.
- Turn on the computer.
- Immediately when the PC starts up, but even before the OS loads, press the Pause Break key.
About this information should appear, where you can find both the model and the version of your BIOS.
Of course, there are other ways to find out the BIOS version of a computer motherboard. This can be done with the help of other utilities (only 3 utilities were taken as an example in this article), you can also find out using the registry editor. But we have not considered them in this article. If you have any questions about the topic, then ask in the comments.
Any computer equipment and software, as you know, becomes obsolete over time and ceases to meet current requirements. This applies equally to the primary BIOS / UEFI systems, the software of which is integrated into a special chip on the motherboard. When installing new hardware ("hardware"), it may sometimes be necessary to flash the BIOS. On a laptop, on a stationary computer terminal, such a procedure will be performed, it doesn’t matter. The technology is almost always the same. Some users who are unfamiliar with the basics of such techniques believe (and not without reason) that this process is unsafe and difficult. If you can agree with the first statement, then you can argue about the second. In fact, flashing the BIOS of the motherboard is not such a troublesome business. But for the correct implementation of such a procedure, special attention should be paid to some important details and nuances, which depend on the motherboard manufacturer and the programs and methods used for flashing.
Why do I need a BIOS flashing?
In general, if it is not planned, and the whole system is working stably, there is no point in updating the BIOS version.
But when new equipment is installed on the computer, which may not be supported by the primary system only because of its obsolescence (the BIOS simply does not recognize the device), flashing the BIOS becomes an urgent problem. Although many users find this process complicated, nonetheless, anyone who works with a computer will be able to perform such steps on their own. It will take no more than 10 minutes.
Flashing the BIOS of the motherboard: prerequisites
To begin with, pay attention to a few mandatory conditions, failure to comply with which can lead to disastrous consequences.
Download files and programs to update primary systems only from official resources manufacturers motherboards. In the case of installing an unofficial firmware, no one can guarantee that the process will be successful and the system will work as expected after that.
The second thing to pay attention to is during the update. You need to make sure that there are no power surges or spontaneous disconnection of a computer or laptop from the mains, in advance.
General rules for updating all firmware
Flashing BIOS for almost all models of motherboards involves the use of the same scheme:
For standard systems BIOS in most cases uses DOS mode. However, for some BIOS versions, as well as for more modern systems UEFI, a special BIOS flashing program can be used, created by the motherboard manufacturer, which can run even in the Windows operating system environment without the need to create bootable media.
How can I find out the motherboard modification and the current BIOS version?
The very first thing to do is to determine which model of the motherboard is installed in computer system, as well as find out the version of the primary BIOS system (perhaps it is on this moment up-to-date and does not need to be updated).
You can view information about the board and BIOS version in the section that is called from the Run console with the msinfo32 command.
For the motherboard, you can also use specialized utilities like CPU-Z (formerly Everest). For a device determined in this way, on the manufacturer's website, you need to find the latest firmware and save the files on your hard drive.
Preparing Bootable Media (General Method)
In the case of using bootable media, when an update from under Windows is not provided, at the first stage it must be created. The usual recording of downloaded files will not work.
To simplify the work, you can use the Rufus utility, which is very easy to learn and creates bootable flash drive within a couple of minutes. You don't need to change anything in the settings. Only in the file system, you should specify FAT32, and use MS-DOS mode in the recording method, be sure to check the box next to the line for creating bootable media. If this is not done, then the device will not be recognized as a bootable device when booting again. Then, in some cases, to install the update, you will need to additionally copy to the media control program and firmware file.
Next, the BIOS update process will be considered with examples for motherboards from several well-known manufacturers. Although in general they are very similar to each other, nevertheless, each of them has its own nuances. We assume that the priority in the BIOS settings is already set.
ASUS
Flashing the Asus BIOS can be done in several ways. Among the preferred utilities, it is worth highlighting two programs - AFUDOS and ASUSTeK EZ Flash 2.
When using the first utility, you should create bootable media and make sure that it contains the afudos.exe program file and the firmware itself (for example, p4c800b.rom).
ASUS BIOS flashing is as follows. Boot from flash drive. Since the media was written for DOS mode, the initial line C:\> will appear on a black screen, in which you need to write the command /i p4c800b.rom and press the enter key. Upon completion of the update, a reboot will occur, during which you just need to remove the media from the USB port so that the system starts with hard drive.
Flashing the BIOS of an ASUS motherboard when using the second utility is somewhat different from the previous version.
Despite the fact that most firmware on the official ASUS website have the .rom extension, sometimes CAB files can also be found. There is nothing wrong with this, since they are used for UEFI systems.
For firmware, enter the UEFI settings on reboot, switch to Advanced Mode ( additional settings) and in the service (tools) section of the Tool, select the line ASUSTeK EZ Flash 2. Next, select the media with the program from the list again (the line of the same name), after which the desired firmware file will be shown on the right. We select it and agree with the warning twice (first to check the file, then to start the firmware process).
At the end of the process, a notification about the restart will appear, and at the beginning of the restart, a proposal will be issued to conduct initial setup. Press F1 and set the desired parameters. Otherwise, just exit the settings without saving the changes.
gigabyte
Flashing the BIOS of Gigabyte systems is quite different from other processes. First of all, this is due to the fact that you can use the online update to install the firmware. But first, consider using the Q-Flash utility, which is considered to be the best for updating firmware.
First you need to enter the BIOS settings and use the option to reset all settings Load Optimized default. After that, you need to save the changes, restart the computer and enter the BIOS settings again. Further, to launch the Q-Flash utility, the F8 key is pressed, and the start is confirmed by pressing the Y and Enter keys. To begin with, it is recommended to save the current version using the Save Bios option, after which you need to use Update Bios. Next, you will be asked to specify the source from which you want to update. HDD 2.0 should be selected as the carrier (this is how the flash drive is displayed in the settings). Then everything is as usual: select the firmware file present on the media and agree with all the warnings.
For an Internet update, you can use the @BIOS utility specially developed by Gigabyte specialists, which runs in Windows environment. In this case, it is highly recommended to disable Hyper-Threading mode in the primary system settings, as well as deactivate anti-virus and other resident applications, to avoid errors or failures during the upgrade process.
After starting the program, you can immediately save the current BIOS version by clicking the Save Current BIOS button, and then select the Internet Update online update mode, click Update New BIOS and select one of the servers in the list. After that, you will be prompted to specify the model of the installed motherboard, and the program will automatically download all necessary components and activates the update process.
MSI
Flashing the MSI BIOS, as in the case of ASUS, can be done either from under Windows or from under DOS. For DOS mode, a BIOS-embedded tool called BIOS-MFLASH is used. But the MSI Live Update 5 or 6 application can also be used as an initial management utility. installed drivers MSI, as well as flashing the BIOS of the corresponding graphics accelerators. Let's start with him.
In the main window, you just need to check the boxes on the necessary elements. Select the MB BIOS component and press the Scan button from the bottom (Scan). If a new firmware version is found, use the Download and Install button, after which the update process will start.
First you will need to select the update environment. To simplify matters, mark the item In Windows mode, in the next window, click the button to close all programs that appear in the list (Close all listed programs), click the continue button (Next) and in the next window, click the button to start the process.
For DOS mode, select it from the window running process update, after which we indicate the media and agree to the destruction of all data present on it (the process will take no more than a minute, after which a message will be displayed about the successful creation of the boot drive). When you reboot, you will only have to follow the instructions of a kind of "Master".
In the case of updating using the built-in MFLASH mechanism, you will have to download the firmware manually, create bootable media and perform the same actions in the BIOS as described above (select the media and firmware file in the tools menu).
Acer
Flashing the BIOS of Acer systems is surprisingly much easier. You don’t even need to create bootable media, although you still have to format it in FAT32.
To install the update, a special utility called Insyde Flash is used, which is copied to removable media. At the same time, you need to copy the firmware file downloaded from the official website, which has the .fd extension and corresponds not only to the motherboard, but also to the laptop model, to the main directory of the program on the USB flash drive. Please note that the device must contain only one firmware file, otherwise the application will issue an offer to flash only one of several. After running the utility with the power on, you will be prompted to install the update immediately.
The second way is just as simple. First you need to completely turn off the laptop, unplug the cord from the outlet and wait until the power indicator stops blinking. Next, plug the cord into an outlet, insert the USB flash drive into the appropriate port, hold down the Fn and Esc keys and press the power button. As soon as the indicator starts flashing, release the keys. After that, reading information from the drive will begin (this can be seen by the blinking of the LED on the device itself). At the end of the update process, the laptop will reboot on its own.
Video cards
Since GeForce and Radeon are dominant in the video card market, BIOS flashing will be considered using their example.
At the initial stage, for your card on the manufacturer's website, you need to download new firmware and management programs. If the system has several video cards, only one should be left for the duration of the update by inserting it into the PCI-Express slot.
For GeForce cards the NVFlash program is used (two files), for Radeon - the ATIFlash utility (one file). Next, you need to create a bootable USB drive for DOS mode, and then copy the program and firmware files to it.
When starting from a flash drive, you should make sure that the card is single-processor, otherwise the proposed method will not work. For NVIDIA, use the nvflash --list command, for ATI - atiflash -i. If information is given on two cards, then the adapter has two processors, and the proposed firmware method cannot be used (it is better to refer to the manufacturer's website and find instructions there).
The next step is to flash the BIOS. GeForce graphics cards involves disabling protection. This is done with the nvflash -protectoff line.
Next, to start the BIOS update process for GeForce cards, use the nvflash -4 -5 -6 newbios.rom command (the name of the ROM file must match the name of the downloaded firmware), to Radeon cards- atiflash -p -f 0 newbios.rom. After that, we wait for the process to complete and reboot the system in normal mode.
Brief summary
That's all for flashing primary I/O systems. Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the best option is to install the update exclusively in DOS mode, although you can use special utilities. But they only work if there are UEFI systems, and they are not suitable for standard BIOS versions. You need to be extremely careful with video cards, because incorrect installation an update or the slightest violation during the flashing process can cause the graphics adapter to fail.
Probably, today there are no users who have not heard about the BIOS. Novice users (some of them are in the state of beginners all their lives) are afraid of this very BIOS like fire and do not even know how to enter it, let alone configure it. Well, experienced users or, as they are commonly called, computer enthusiasts, not only customize BIOS system, but also reflash it. It should be noted that the procedure for flashing the BIOS even among specialists causes a surge of adrenaline, since it is by no means safe and often poses a threat to life. However, the BIOS flashing procedure is still flowers. Far more extreme is the modding, or editing, BIOS, which will be discussed in this article.
Before starting a story about how to edit the BIOS, let's briefly recall what the BIOS is, what opportunities it provides to the user, and why update it, let alone edit it.
What is BIOS
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is a basic input/output system. More precisely, the BIOS is a system for configuring and managing memory, a processor, a chipset, controllers integrated on the board, and devices connected to the board. Unlike most other programs, the BIOS is not located on a hard drive, but on a special chip with self-powered on the system board.
A lot depends on the BIOS in a computer. In fact, the BIOS determines the system setting, which determines the functionality and performance of the PC. Often the first BIOS versions with which motherboards appear are replete with "bugs" that disappear only in subsequent versions.
The BIOS is included on every motherboard (excluding Apple motherboards), whether it's for a desktop PC or a laptop. However, it has traditionally happened that the BIOS for a laptop has a minimum of settings and is more of an informational nature. Concerning motherboard BIOS boards for a desktop PC, it allows you to perform a fairly large number of settings that affect both the performance of the system and its functionality. In particular, the traditional overclocking of the system, which implies an increase in the processor clock frequency, a change in the processor supply voltage, a change in the clock frequency, timings and memory supply voltage, is carried out precisely in the BIOS settings. In addition, in some cases, the BIOS allows you to configure the speed of the fan installed in the processor cooler and additional fans installed in the system, implement RAID settings hard drives if this array is created on the basis of a controller integrated into the chipset, and also perform a lot of other fine tuning computer.
The BIOS is located in a ROM-memory chip (Read Only Memory), which ensures that the BIOS is always available regardless of the performance of components external to the motherboard (for example, boot disks). Since access to RAM ( random access memory) is much faster than to ROM, many manufacturers provide when power is turned on automatic copying BIOS from ROM to RAM. The area of RAM involved in this is called Shadow ROM.
Currently, most modern motherboards are equipped with Flash BIOS chips, the code in which can be rewritten using special program. This approach provides the possibility of updating (firmware new version) BIOS.
There are not so many BIOS kernel manufacturers. The most common BIOSes are from AMI (American Megatrends, Inc.), AWARD, and Phoenics Technologies. Other BIOSes (from FirmWorks, Micro Firmware, etc.) are much less common. AMI BIOS currently dominates the market, so in the future we will focus on ways to flash and modify it.
Naturally, each manufacturer makes its own changes to the basic BIOS version, and, of course, one or another BIOS version is designed only for a specific product (computer or laptop) and is incompatible with other solutions.
Finally, note that BIOS chips currently use two interfaces to connect to the motherboard: either the LPC (Low Pin Connection) bus or the new SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) bus.
Why flash the BIOS
All manufacturers of motherboards and laptops strongly do not recommend flashing the BIOS unless it is absolutely necessary. Moreover, representatives of service centers constantly turn to motherboard manufacturers with a request to completely block the possibility of flashing the BIOS for the user. Of course, this idea is absurd and this will never happen, but we emphasize once again that the BIOS flashing operation is not safe and can be life-threatening. If the board or laptop is working fine, then there is no point in updating the BIOS.
At the same time, situations often arise when a BIOS update is necessary. For example, you purchased a motherboard with a processor and found out that they are incompatible with each other. Most likely, the problem is that your motherboard is flashed old version BIOS that does not support new processor. The only option in this case is to find the old processor and update the BIOS on the board.
In addition, each new BIOS version fixes errors that were made in previous versions, so the procedure BIOS updates turns out to be very useful.
The most secure in terms of the flashing procedure Board BIOS s Gigabyte companies, ASUS and MSI, which implement protection against unsuccessful BIOS flashing. Gigabyte boards have two BIOS chips installed (DualBIOS technology), and if the BIOS is flashed incorrectly and the system cannot start, then the BIOS emergency recovery procedure from the backup chip automatically starts.
On new boards ASUS technology BIOS disaster recovery is called ASUS Crash Free BIOS 3. The essence of this technology is that in the event of a BIOS crash or a checksum mismatch after an unsuccessful firmware, a program is automatically launched that searches for the BIOS on a CD / DVD disk, floppy disk or flash drive (with the FAT / FAT32 file system). If a file is found on some media, the recovery procedure starts automatically.
A similar technology, dubbed M-Flash, is found on MSI boards. The only difference is that the BIOS file must be on the flash drive.
BIOS flashing methods
All motherboard manufacturers, along with new BIOS versions, also post utilities for their firmware, as well as detailed instructions how to flash BIOS. Alas, there is simply no universal toolkit for flashing the BIOS. In general, there are three ways to flash the BIOS: from under DOS, from under the operating Windows systems and directly from under the BIOS.
Actually, about ways to flash the BIOS from under the BIOS and using a proprietary utility from under operating system Windows has nothing special to tell. Everything is simple and clear here. Moreover, the way to flash the BIOS from under the BIOS is the easiest and safest, but, alas, not all manufacturers support this function. The only exceptions are ASUS and Gigabyte.
Moreover, not all manufacturers provide their boards with utilities for flashing the BIOS from under Windows, and in some cases flashing from under DOS is the only possible way.
The method of flashing the BIOS from under DOS can be called classic, but also the most inconvenient. The fact is that, in addition to having the appropriate DOS utility, this flashing method involves booting the computer not from the hard drive, but from external media. Previously, ordinary 3.5-inch boot diskettes with DOS were used for this, and along with the operating system, the BIOS file itself and the DOS utility for flashing it were written to this diskette. However, at present, 3.5-inch floppy disks, like the flop drives themselves, can be considered obsolete devices. Many modern motherboards do not even have a connector for connecting a floppy drive, and laptops with 3.5-inch floppy drives have not been produced for a long time. However, the problem this method flashing the BIOS is not even that. In the end, you can find a 3.5-inch floppy drive with a USB interface, but this is unlikely to solve the problem. The fact is that a modern BIOS can be several megabytes in size and simply does not fit on a floppy disk.
Basically, one can try to solve this problem using a bootable flash drive with a DOS kernel instead of a boot floppy. But even in this case there are complications. First of all, you need to find a utility that will allow you to make the flash drive bootable, and system files DOS operating system. You can find several utilities on the Internet that allow you to make bootable DOS flash drives, the most famous of which are the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool and BootFlashDOS, which are freely available on the Web.
The HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool allows you to create bootable flash drives if you have DOS system files, which means it also requires the files themselves. However, on torrent resources you can find assemblies that include DOS system files.
If you use flash drives with a capacity of less than 4 GB, when formatting and creating a bootable flash drive using the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool (Fig. 1), you can use the FAT or FAT32 file system, but if you use a flash drive with a capacity of more than 4 GB, then you need file system FAT32.
Rice. 1. Create a bootable flash drive with DOS
using the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool
The BootFlashDOS utility allows you to create bootable DOS flash drives with just one click, since all the necessary system files are already included in the utility itself (Fig. 2).
Rice. 2. Creating a bootable DOS flash drive using the BootFlashDOS utility
In principle, if a bootable flash drive with DOS is created, then there will be no problems with flashing the BIOS. It is enough to copy the DOS utility for flashing the BIOS and the BIOS file to the bootable flash drive and boot the computer from the flash drive. To boot a computer from a flash drive, you need to insert it into the PC, restart or simply turn on the computer and enter the BIOS at the boot stage to set boot from the USB Flash Drive in the settings. Next, saving the settings, restart the computer and, having loaded DOS, execute in command line desired command according to the BIOS manufacturer's instructions.
We will give examples of executing such a command a little later, but for now we will consider another way to flash the BIOS from under DOS. It lies in the fact that instead of a bootable flash drive, a bootable CD / DVD is used. It is hardly worth reinventing the wheel here - it is better to use the ready-made Hiren`s BootCD ( Current version 10.4), the image of which can be downloaded from www.hirensbootcd.net. In case of use boot disk Hiren`s BootCD will additionally need a flash drive (with a FAT or FAT32 file structure), on which a DOS utility for flashing the BIOS, and the BIOS file itself should be written.
Now consider the procedure for flashing the BIOS from under DOS using an example MSI laptop GX640 with AMI BIOS. On MSI laptops, there is only one way to flash the BIOS from under DOS using the proprietary DOS utility that comes with the BIOS file itself. Actually, all that is needed to flash the BIOS is to create a bootable flash drive, download the archive with all the necessary files from the MSI website, which includes the BIOS file, the flashing utility and the flash.bat executable file with the prescribed sequence of all actions. After that, you should unzip this archive to a bootable flash drive and, after booting from the flash drive, run the flash.bat file for execution. The main thing is that all unzipped files are in the same folder (you can unzip them to the root directory of the flash drive).
In general, it should be noted that for each type of BIOS (AMI, Award) for flashing, there are specialized utilities from AMI and Award companies. For example, from the AMI website, you can download the amiflash package, which includes the afudos and afuwin utilities that allow you to flash the AMI BIOS from DOS and from Windows, respectively. However, keep in mind that the AMI BIOS can be either a classic AMI BIOS or an AMI Aptio BIOS. Aptio is a variant of AMI BIOS, but the main thing is that different afudos and afuwin utilities are used for AMI BIOS and Aptio AMI BIOS.
In addition, many motherboard manufacturers make such significant changes to the BIOS for their products that the universal utilities AMI or Award simply do not recognize them, and therefore cannot reflash. In particular, in the previously discussed example with the AMI BIOS of the MSI GT640 laptop, the afudos and afuwin utilities do not recognize it as an AMI BIOS and, of course, cannot reflash.
In general, the situation when it comes to modified versions of the AMI BIOS, which are defined as AMI BIOS by the AMI utilities themselves, is quite common. This and many MSI boards, and many Gigabyte boards. So far, only ASUS boards, the BIOS on which can be reflashed with utilities from AMI (although, of course, utilities supplied by ASUS itself, are better suited) have not been seen in such a "show off".
Why Modify the BIOS
So, we have considered the main ways to flash the BIOS, and now we will discuss how to modify it. Naturally, the question arises: why modify the BIOS at all? On this occasion, one can argue ad infinitum, as well as about whether it is necessary to overclock the computer. Actually, if the BIOS modding procedure is possible in principle, there will always be enthusiasts who will do it.
A few years ago, few people thought about the possibility of self-editing the BIOS. However, this procedure has recently become popular, and you can find quite a few resources on the Internet dedicated to BIOS modding. The interest in this issue can be explained by the fact that recently many users have begun to flash the SLIC table in their BIOS, and this is one of the options for modding, or editing, the BIOS. By itself, the procedure for flashing a SLIC table into the BIOS is quite legal, but what it is done for, of course, is already illegal - this explains the popularity of this procedure.
Briefly explain what we are talking about. Flashing the SLIC table in the BIOS is used to implement the mechanism for OEM activation of the Windows 7 operating system in the same way that Microsoft OEM partners do to activate preinstalled copies of Windows without Microsoft verification. This method allows you to activate the system under three conditions: the use of a special OEM key and an OEM certificate, as well as the presence of a SLIC table in the computer's BIOS.
Windows 7 requires SLIC tables version 2.1 in the BIOS, and there is no hard binding of the OEM key to the SLIC table and certificate. The key is bound only to the Windows edition and allows you to activate both x86 and x64 versions of the OS. The filecertificate and SLIC tables are interconnected, and for successful activation, both components must be from the same OEM partner.
We will not tell you how to illegally activate Windows 7, but we will focus on the procedure for inserting a SLIC table into the BIOS. We note right away that this is far from always possible and not all BIOSes can be edited in any way.
On the Internet, you can find a package of software tools (AMITool) containing both the SLIC tables themselves and a utility (AMI SLIC Mod) for flashing them into the AMI BIOS. However, this requires that you use the AMI BIOS on your board, but even in this case there is no guarantee that the procedure for flashing the SLIC table in the BIOS will be possible. As we have already noted, many manufacturers modify the BIOS for their products in such a way that the AMI SLIC Mod utility simply does not recognize it as an AMI BIOS, and therefore cannot modify it.
However, even in this case, do not despair and run to the store for another motherboard. Before trying to flash the SLIC table in the BIOS, you should check that it is not in the BIOS. If you recently bought a motherboard or laptop, it may well turn out that the version of the SLIC table you need (version 2.1) is already in the BIOS.
You can view the version of the SLIC table in the BIOS using the specialized utility RW - Read & Write Utility (current version 1.4.7), which can be downloaded from http://rweverything.phpnet.us. Another name for this utility is RW-Everything.
By setting this utility, run it and in the main window of the program on the toolbar, click on the button labeled ACPI. In the ACPI Table window that opens, click on the SLIC tab. Next, you need to view the table in hexadecimal format and find a line in it starting with bytes 53 20. If the next four bytes are 00 00 00 00, then the SLIC table version 2.0 is flashed in the BIOS, and if it is 01 00 02 00, then the SLIC-table is flashed version 2.1 table (Fig. 3).
Rice. 3. Determining the version of the BIOS SLIC table
Of course, inserting a SLIC table into the BIOS is far from the only possible modding option. Another modding method is unlocking some BIOS features. Indeed, motherboard manufacturers often deliberately block some functionality BIOS to simplify the procedure Setup settings BIOS. They also disable those functions that are not available in a particular motherboard, but can be used in the following modifications.
Using specialized utilities, you can try to unlock all disabled features and options in the BIOS. In addition, you can change the logos (some motherboard manufacturers, such as ASUS, even supply special utilities for changing the BIOS logo), as well as some names, so that, for example, when loading, not the real name of the processor is displayed, but something like “ AMD Core i9-995".
Another example of BIOS modding can be given. Some craftsmen manage to unlock the possibility of using the SLI mode for NVIDIA video cards on those motherboards where this mode is not provided through the BIOS. Actually, if the board officially supports the SLI mode, then its BIOS contains the corresponding key from NVIDIA. The idea of modding is to cut this key from the BIOS of the motherboard on which the SLI mode is officially supported, and paste it into the BIOS for the board on which the SLI mode is not supported (that is, in the BIOS without the NVIDIA key). In particular, there are examples of how, due to such modding, the SLI mode was activated on boards based on Intel chipset P45 Express.
However, let's move from theory to practice and discuss BIOS editing, in particular AMI BIOS editing as the most common.
Edit AMI BIOS
To edit a BIOS with an AMI kernel, you will need the AMIBCP utility, which, by the way, is released by AMI itself. This utility can be downloaded both separately and as part of the AMI BIOS ROM Utilities package. It should be noted that since, as we have repeatedly emphasized, motherboard and laptop manufacturers make changes to the AMI BIOS for their products, there is no guarantee that the AMIBCP utility will recognize the BIOS. Alas, not every BIOS can be modified. As practice shows, BIOS can be edited without problems ASUS boards and ECS, but the AMIBCP utility is powerless with respect to motherboards from Gigabyte and MSI.
So, back to the consideration of editing the BIOS in the event that it is possible. The AMIBCP utility (version 3.x) runs under the Windows operating system, but it should be noted that there are versions of the same utility for DOS.
After downloading the utilities, you need to open the BIOS file. In our example, we will consider editing the AMI BIOS for the ASUS P6X58D-E motherboard using the AMIBCP v.3.37 utility. We will edit the P6X58DE.ROM file.
So, in the main window of the program, we load the BIOS file, which we will modify (Fig. 4).
Rice. 4. The main window of the AMIBCP v.3.37 utility
First of all, the Setup Configuration tab is interesting, in which, in fact, the BIOS settings are modified. The main BIOS settings menu is displayed in the left window of this tab. If you uncheck any menu item, it will not be displayed in the BIOS menu. In the considered example (see Fig. 4), we unchecked the Ai Tweaker and Advanced checkboxes, thus blocking all possibilities for overclocking the system. That is, the BIOS menu items, in which you can view information about the processor and memory, as well as change frequencies, supply voltage, etc., will simply be absent in the modified version of the BIOS.
The situation is similar when opening the tree structure of each item of the BIOS setup menu: if you uncheck any sub-item, it will not be displayed in the BIOS menu. For example, if we do not want the Intel PPM Configuration item to be displayed in the Advanced settings menu, we just need to uncheck the corresponding item (Fig. 5).
In order to block any option of the BIOS setup menu, it is enough to set the value No in the Show column for the corresponding item. Such blocked elements will (after saving the changes) be highlighted with a green bar.
For example, if our system does not have additional fans installed in the case and we do not want the BIOS to display their settings, then we enter the Power menu, then open the Hardware Monitor menu and for the options Chassis Fan 1 Speed, Chassis Fan 2 Speed, Chassis Fan 3 Speed, Chassis Q-Fan Profile and Power Fan Speed set the value to No in the Show column (Fig. 6).
Rice. 6. Blocking BIOS display of various setup menu options
It should be noted that the BIOS P6X58DE.ROM for the ASUS P6X58D-E board does not allow any improvements using the AMIBCP v.3.37 utility. All options in it are unlocked, so the maximum that can be done is to block what is not needed (however, it is not clear why this should be done).
You can also try to change some labels, but keep in mind that labels in Russian will not be displayed. For example, if we want the line ComputerPress P6X58D-E BIOS Edition to be displayed instead of the string ASUS P6X58D-E ACPI BIOS Revision 0106 during boot, then it is enough to find the string ASUS P6X58D-E ACPI BIOS Revision 0106 on the BIOS Strings tab and change it to the specified .
It remains for us to consider one more type of BIOS modding - changing background picture(logo) BIOS. At the same time, ASUS even completes its boards special utility which allows this feature to be implemented. Of course, for ASUS boards, it is easiest to use this particular utility. However, for AMI BIOS, you can also use the AMI OEM LOGO utility (Fig. 7).
Rice. 7. Changing the BIOS logo using the OEM LOGO utility
The interface of this utility is very simple and does not require comments. It is enough to load the BIOS and specify the path to the file with the new logo. The only limitation is that the drawing must be of a certain resolution and format.