How to update the BIOS on an MSI motherboard

Note: Please be aware that the following guide is for regular home-built PCs. CORSAIR pre-built PCs that contain an MSI motherboard utilize a custom BIOS which you can keep updated from our downloads page, or via the instructions on our help site.

Updating the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) on an MSI motherboard is a critical task that may be easily performed, even if it is your first time doing so. An outdated BIOS can cause compatibility and performance issues. For this process, you’ll require a USB flash drive that is formatted as FAT32. To check if your USB flash drive is formatted to FAT32, you may connect it to a system and check its properties via Windows Explorer.

After verifying you have a USB flash drive ready, follow the instructions below to update the BIOS on your MSI motherboard:

1. Visit the official MSI website and navigate to your exact motherboard model’s product page – be mindful that there often “Wi-Fi” and non-Wi-Fi motherboard models. From there, you’ll navigate to the “Support” page.
2. Click on the “Driver & Downloads” tab. Under “BIOS”, you’ll find a library of BIOS versions. Download the latest BIOS available for your motherboard – preferably not one that states “Beta”. If you are looking to downgrade the BIOS version in case of troubleshooting, you would opt to download a version prior to your current BIOS.

3. Open the downloaded zip folder and extract the BIOS file to your USB flash drive.

4. With the USB flash drive still inserted, restart your system and enter BIOS by quickly pressing the appropriate key (usually “Delete”, “F2”, “F10”) at the MSI logo screen to enter the BIOS setup. Refer to your motherboard's manual or the initial boot screen for the correct key.

5. Inside the BIOS setup, click “M-Flash”. Your system will then reboot and enter M-Flash mode.

6. Select the BIOS file on the USB drive and follow the on-screen prompts to confirm and start the BIOS update. This process may take a few minutes. Do not interrupt it under any circumstances, as doing so may brick the motherboard’s functionality. Once the BIOS update is complete, your system should automatically restart.

7. You may enter the BIOS setup again and check the BIOS version to ensure it has been updated. It would also be ideal to re-enable X.M.P/A-XMP/E.X.P.O to ensure you’re fully utilizing your RAM’s speed capabilities. If you had custom BIOS settings, reconfigure them as needed.

8. Make sure to save any changes and exit – this is typically done via “F10”. If there are no issues – voila! You’ve successfully updated your BIOS.