Updating the BIOS

The new ASUS UEFI BIOS is a Unified Extensible Interface that complies with UEFI architecture, offering a user-friendly interface that goes beyond the traditional keyboard only BIOS controls to enable a more flexible and convenient mouse input. You can easily navigate the new UEFI BIOS with the same smoothness as your operating system. The term “BIOS” in this user manual refers to “UEFI BIOS” unless otherwise specified.

BIOS (Basic Input and Output System) stores system hardware settings such as storage device configuration, overclocking settings, advanced power management, and boot device configuration that are needed for system startup in the motherboard CMOS. In normal circumstances, the default BIOS settings apply to most conditions to ensure optimal performance. DO NOT change the default BIOS settings except in the following circumstances:

• An error message appears on the screen during the system bootup and requests you to run the BIOS Setup.

• You have installed a new system component that requires further BIOS settings or update.

 

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  • Inappropriate BIOS settings may result to instability or boot failure. We strongly recommend that you change the BIOS settings only with the help of a trained service personnel.

 

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  • When downloading or updating the BIOS file, rename it as X299A.CAP for this motherboard.

 

The BIOS Setup program can be used to view and change the BIOS settings for the computer. You can access the BIOS Setup program by pressing the Delete key after the Power-On Self-Test (POST) memory test begins and before the operating system boot begins.

 

There are two modes available to use the BIOS Setup program.

  1. EZ Mode - by default the EZ mode screen appears when you enter the BIOS program.

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  1. Advanced Mode - to access this mode, click Exit/Advanced Mode, then select Advanced Mode or press <F7> on your keyboard.X299-a_BIOS_Advanced_Mode.JPG

This section tells you how to update the BIOS by using one of three different utilities:

  1. Asus Update: Updates the BIOS in a Windows environment.

  2. Asus EZ Flash 3:  Updates the BIOS using a USB flash drive.

  3. ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3: Restores the BIOS using the motherboard support DVD or a USB flash drive when the BIOS file fails or gets corrupted.

EZ Update

EZ Update is a utility that allows you to update the motherboard BIOS in Windows environment.

 

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  • EZ Update requires an Internet connection

 

Updating the BIOS using the ASUS EZ Flash 3 utility

 

ASUS EZ Flash 3 allows you to update the BIOS without having to use a bootable floppy disk or an OS-based utility.

 

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  • Before you start using this utility, download the latest BIOS from the ASUS website at www.asus.com/support.

 To use this BIOS update method with USB:

  1. Enter the Advanced Mode of the BIOS setup program. Go to the Tool menu to select ASUS EZ Flash Utility and then press <Enter> to enable it.

  2. Insert the USB flash drive that contains the BIOS file.

  3. Select "by USB"

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  1. Press <Tab> to switch to the Drive field.

  1. Press the Up/Down arrow keys to find the USB flash drive that contains the latest BIOS, and then press <Enter>.

  2. Press <Tab> to switch to the Folder Info field.

  3. Press the Up/Down arrow keys to find the BIOS file, and then press <Enter> to perform the BIOS update process.  Reboot the system when the update process is complete.

 

 

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  • This function can only support devices, such as a USB flash drive, with FAT32/16 and single partition.

  • Do NOT shut down or reset the system while updating the BIOS to prevent system boot failure!

 

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  • To ensure system compatibility and stability, load the BIOS default settings by selecting Load Optimized Defaults on the Exit menu.

To use this BIOS update method with the Internet:

 

  1. Enter the Advanced Mode of the BIOS setup program. Go to the Tool menu to select ASUS EZ Flash Utility and then press <Enter> to enable it.

  2. Select "by Internet"

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  1. Press the Left/Right arrow keys to select an Internet connection method and then press <Enter>.

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  1. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the update.

  2. Reboot the system when the update process is done.

 

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  • To ensure system compatibility and stability, load the BIOS default settings by selecting Load Optimized Defaults on the Exit menu.

 

Restoring the BIOS with the ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 Utility

The ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility is an auto recovery tool that allows you to restore the BIOS file when it fails or gets corrupted during the updating process.  You can restore a corrupted BIOS file using the motherboard support DVD or a USB flash drive that contains the BIOS file.  The latest BIOS can be downloaded from www.asus.com/support.

To recover the BIOS:

  1. Turn on the system.

  2. Insert the motherboard support DVD or the USB flash drive containing the BIOS file.

  3. The utility automatically checks the devices for the BIOS file.  When found, the utility reads the BIOS file and enters the ASUS EZ Flash 3 utility automatically.

  4. The system requires that you enter the BIOS Setup to recover BIOS settings. To ensure system compatibility and stability, we recommend that you press <F5> to load the default BIOS values.

 

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  • Do NOT shut down or reset the system while updating the BIOS to prevent system boot failure!