You probably shouldn’t update your BIOS, but sometimes you need to. Here’s how to check what BIOS version your computer is using and flash that new BIOS version onto your motherboard as quickly and safely as possible.
Windows Updates has an irritating way of not working for Windows 7 or Windows 8. Here's a look at how to fix it if it doesn't work correctly like it should. Here's a List of Fixes for when Windows. This tutorial will show you how to manually check for updates in Windows Media Player. To be able to update WMP, you must be signed in to Windows as an administrator, and you must be connected to the Internet. Here's How: 1. Press the:winkey: + R keys to open the Run dialog, type wmplayer, and click/tap on OK to open Windows Media Player. Apr 23, 2019 Open the Windows Update window, click on Change Settings, set Windows to NEVER check for updates, click Ok. Open Change Settings again, select the option you want (check and download, automatically update etc) and Click OK. Now check for updates.
RELATED:Do You Need to Update Your Computer’s BIOS?
Be very careful when updating your BIOS! If your computer freezes, crashes, or loses power during the process, the BIOS or UEFI firmware may be corrupted. This will render your computer unbootable—it’ll be “bricked.”
How to Check Your Current BIOS Version in Windows
RELATED:What Is UEFI, and How Is It Different from BIOS?
Your computer’s BIOS version is displayed in the BIOS setup menu itself, but you don’t have to reboot to check this version number. There are several ways to see your BIOS version from within Windows, and they work the same on PCs with a traditional BIOS or a newer UEFI firmware.
Check Your BIOS Version at the Command Prompt
To check your BIOS version from the Command Prompt, hit Start, type “cmd” in the search box, and then click the “Command Prompt” result—no need to run it as an administrator.
At the prompt, type (or copy and paste) the following command, and then hit Enter:
You’ll see the version number of the BIOS or UEFI firmware in your current PC.
Check Your BIOS Version by Using the System Information Panel
RELATED:How to Open the System Information Panel on Windows 10 or 8
You can also find your BIOS’s version number in the System Information window. On Windows 7, 8, or 10, hit Windows+R, type “msinfo32” into the Run box, and then hit Enter.
The BIOS version number is displayed on the System Summary pane. Look at the “BIOS Version/Date” field.
How to Update Your BIOS
Different motherboards use different utilities and procedures, so there’s no one-size-fits-all set of instructions here. However, you’ll perform the same basic process on all motherboards.
RELATED:How to Check Your Motherboard Model Number on Your Windows PC
First, head to the motherboard manufacturer’s website and find the Downloads or Support page for your specific model of motherboard. You should see a list of available BIOS versions, along with any changes/bug fixes in each and the dates they were released. Download the version to which you want to update. You’ll probably want to grab the newest BIOS version—unless you have a specific need for an older one.
If you purchased a pre-built computer instead of building your own, head to the computer manufacturer’s website, look up the computer model, and look at its downloads page. You’ll find any available BIOS updates there.
Your BIOS download probably comes in an archive—usually a ZIP file. Extract the contents of that file. Inside, you’ll find some sort of BIOS file—in the screenshot below, it’s the E7887IMS.140 file.
The archive should also contain a README file that will walk you through updating to the new BIOS. You should check out this file for instructions that apply specifically to your hardware, but we’ll try to cover the basics that work across all hardware here.
RELATED:What You Need to Know About Using UEFI Instead of the BIOS
You’ll need to choose one of several different types of BIOS-flashing tools, depending on your motherboard and what it supports. The BIOS update’s included README file should recommend the ideal option for your hardware.
Some manufacturers offer a BIOS-flashing option directly in their BIOS, or as a special key-press option when you boot the computer. You copy the BIOS file to a USB drive, reboot your computer, and then enter the BIOS or UEFI screen. From there, you choose the BIOS-updating option, select the BIOS file you placed on the USB drive, and the BIOS updates to the new version.
RELATED:What You Need to Know About Using UEFI Instead of the BIOS
You generally access the BIOS screen by pressing the appropriate key while your computer boots—it’s often displayed on the screen during the boot process and will be noted in your motherboard or PC’s manual. Common BIOS keys include Delete and F2. The process for entering a UEFI setup screen can be a bit different.
RELATED:How to Create a Bootable DOS USB Drive
There are also more traditional DOS-based BIOS-flashing tools. When using those tools, you create a DOS live USB drive, and then copy the BIOS-flashing utility and BIOS file to that USB drive. You then restart your computer and boot from the USB drive. In the minimal DOS environment that appears after the reboot, you run the appropriate command—often something like flash.bat BIOS3245.bin—and the tool flashes the new version of the BIOS onto the firmware.
The DOS-based flashing tool is often provided in the BIOS archive you download from the manufacturer’s website, although you may have to download it separately. Look for a file with the .bat or .exe file extension.
In the past, this process was performed with bootable floppy disks and CDs. We recommend a USB drive because it’s probably be the easiest method on modern hardware.
Some manufacturers provide Windows-based flashing tools, which you run on the Windows desktop to flash your BIOS and then reboot. We don’t recommend using these, and even many manufacturers who provide these tools caution against using them. For example, MSI “strongly recommends” using their BIOS-based menu option instead of their Windows-based utility in the README file of the sample BIOS update we downloaded.
Flashing your BIOS from within Windows can result in more problems. All that software running in the background—including security programs that may interfere with writing to the computer’s BIOS—can cause the process to fail and corrupt your BIOS. Any system crashes or freezes might also result in a corrupted BIOS. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so we recommend using a BIOS-based flashing tool or booting to a minimal DOS environment to flash your BIOS.
That’s it—after you run the BIOS-flashing utility, reboot your computer and the new BIOS or UEFI firmware version loads. If there’s a problem with the new BIOS version, you may be able to downgrade it by downloading an older version from the manufacturer’s website and repeating the flashing process.
Image Credit: Kal Hendry on Flickr, Robert Frelberger on Flickr
READ NEXT- › What Does “FWIW” Mean, and How Do You Use It?
- › How to Automatically Delete Your YouTube History
- › What Is “Mixed Content,” and Why Is Chrome Blocking It?
- › How to Manage Multiple Mailboxes in Outlook
- › How to Move Your Linux home Directory to Another Drive
In Windows 8.1, updates continuously seem to be checking, without any error or successful message. It looks as though they are connecting to the internet with rolling balls or progress symbol. You might leave the PC for the night, expecting to take time. But I tried to do it several days and still the updates check does not end.
Though this is not a specific error of Windows Updates, it has something to do with particular KB updates. The culprits in this case are KB3173424 and KB3172614. You might have tried different troubleshooting steps like using the default Windows Update troubleshooting tool from Control Panel.
In the next step you can stop the “services” related to Windows Updates and restart them.
These include the following.
1. Background Intelligent Transfer Service
2. Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
3. Windows Firewall
4. Windows Update
5. Network Connections
1. Background Intelligent Transfer Service
2. Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
3. Windows Firewall
4. Windows Update
5. Network Connections
Most of the times this will not solve the problem. You might have also freshly installed Windows 8.1, which again has no result. It will also eat up your CPU resources, making your computer slow. The problem as mentioned before lies in the two KB updates as talked before.
Read common problems and errors you face in Windows 10 and Office 365.
Step #1
You can do the following to fix “Check for Updates” is continuously running and is stuck.
1. First stop the Windows Update service using Task Manager.
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to open it.
3. Go to Services tab.
4. Stop the “wuauserv” service.
5. Block or Pause or Stop your Internet connection.
1. First stop the Windows Update service using Task Manager.
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to open it.
3. Go to Services tab.
4. Stop the “wuauserv” service.
5. Block or Pause or Stop your Internet connection.
Step #2
Now the crucial steps for the Windows 8/8.1 updates continuously checking error.
1. Press the Win key and type a few characters like “Control”.
2. Click on the Control Panel from the search results.
3. View by “Small icons“.
4. Click on “Windows Update” > Change Settings
5. Under “Important Updates” click on “Never check for updates (not recommended)“.
1. Press the Win key and type a few characters like “Control”.
2. Click on the Control Panel from the search results.
3. View by “Small icons“.
4. Click on “Windows Update” > Change Settings
5. Under “Important Updates” click on “Never check for updates (not recommended)“.
How To Check For Updates Windows 8.1
This will basically stop your Windows Update service from connecting to the internet.
Step #3
Now you need to download and install the two KB updates manually from the below links.
1. Download KB3173424 Update for Windows 8.1 (32 bit)
2. Download KB3173424 Update for Windows 8.1 (64-bit or x64)
3. Download KB3172614 Update for Windows 8.1 (32-bit or x86)
4. Download KB3172614 Update for Windows 8.1 (64-bit or x64)
The Windows8.1-KB3172614-x86 file is of size 51 MB and Windows8.1-KB3173424-x86 of 5 MB.
Note: PS: You might need to download and install following 2 prerequisites before installing “KB3172614” update in your computer:
After downloading and installing the updates, restart your computer.
Source: askvg.com
How To Check For Driver Updates Windows 8.1
Step #4.
Now restore the Internet connection and change the “Windows Update” settings in Control Panel to “Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them” using the option mentioned before.
Step #5
Now click on “Check for updates”. Depending upon your ISP speed and CPU, RAM it will take some time. For my Intel Core 2 Duo PC, 8GB DDR3 RAM and 6Mbps connection, it took roughly 20 minutes to show the update results.
You can also do the following in addition to the above steps to resolve this Windows 8/8.1 update error.
From the Administrative command prompt (clean up any errors) Xmeye app for computer.
Run sfc /scannow
Run dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /RestoreHealth
Reset the Windows update process
Run dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /RestoreHealth
Reset the Windows update process
- Start services.msc (or Open Task Manager and click on Services), locate the Windows Update service (wuauserv).
- STOP the service
Open %windir%SoftwareDistribution e.g. C:WindowsSoftwareDistribution and delete all the files in that folder (it may prompt you for administrative access, click Ok)
- Start the Windows Update Service through the Services manager
- Reset Windows Update Settings
Open the Windows Update window, click on Change Settings, set Windows to NEVER check for updates, click Ok.
Open Change Settings again, select the option you want (check and download, automatically update etc) and Click OK.
Now check for updates.
Open Change Settings again, select the option you want (check and download, automatically update etc) and Click OK.
Now check for updates.
Source: superuser.com