Hi tech gurus,

Is there an easy way (without arcane DOS commands etc.) to update the BIOS of an older MSI mobo without floppy and functioning OS?

All info I can find refers either to floppy or live update from Windows. I don't have either. The hard drive is too large and not supported by the BIOS currently on the mobo so it's really a vicious circle as I can't install Windows on it before the BIOS is updated. The BIOS update enables the mobo to recognise the HD.

I found some contradictory info about flash with a USB drive but any attempt failed so far. I can't get the mobo to recognise the USB drive at post.

So I thought why not update the BIOS with a CD? What is the obstacle? Why isn't this process documented anywhere as DVD/CD drives are almost always recognised by the mobo for boot? What's this obsession with archaic floppies and very seldom working USB 'thumb drives'? CD is still the most obvious option for me but rarely mentioned. What's the deal here?

Any clue most appreciated.

cheers
sol

Never mind, I found some excellent and simple instructions here:
http://www.bootdisk.com/txtfiles/flashcd.txt

It just floors me that mobo manufacturers are unable to come up with an iso of a bootable CD to flash the BIOS...

Intel does offer bootable iso images to update their BIOS.

All right, apologies to Intel.

No apologies to MSI though and whoever else still assume people keep antiquities in their desktops.