How To Update Motherboard Drivers

The Operating System controls all the internal and external hardware connected to the computer with the help of component-specific drivers.

Drivers act as an interface between the hardware component and the Operating System. So, if you face any issue with specific hardware, its driver is most likely at fault.

Therefore, for the OS to have a smooth and flawless information exchange with the component’s driver, both of them need to be up-to-date. The same goes for motherboard drivers as well. The motherboard driver also controls the communication between CPU, RAM storage, and peripheral devices.

Updating Motherboard Driver

You can also find many motherboard-specific drivers on the manufacturer’s download center.

Although some of these drivers can also be considered motherboard drivers, the one driver that handles the motherboard is the Chipset.

There are a few ways you can download the Chipset driver. Follow any one of these processes to update this driver.

Manual Download

To download the latest motherboard driver manually, use the official motherboard manufacturer’s site. To know which motherboard do you have and its manufacturer, follow the following steps:

1. Press the Windows + R key to open Run. 
2. Type “cmd” and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open Command Prompt as administrator.
3. Once the Command Prompt opens, type the following. 
   wmic baseboard get product,Manufacturer,version,serialnumber

The above command will display the motherboard’s manufacturer, product name, and serial number.

Alternately, you can also use the msinfo32.exe, which displays the system summary. 

1. Press the Windows + R key and type msinfo32.exe
2. This will open the System Information dialog box.
3. Check for BaseBoard Manufacturer and Baseboard Product. These represent the motherboards manufacturer and motherboard’s name, respectively.

Once you figure out the motherboard’s manufacturer and its model name, follow these process to download motherboard driver.

1. Go to their official Download Center.
2. Find your product by selecting the Product Line/Type (motherboard), Product Series (AMD or Intel), and then the Product Model (Motherboard’s name).
3. Now the site will automatically provide you with motherboard support such as the latest BIOS version, Driver & utility, Manual & Documentation, Warranty type, and CPU & Memory Support.
4. On the Driver tab, select your Operating System.
5. The web application will now give you a list of the latest drivers specific to your motherboard.
6. Here, search for a driver named Chipset. The Chipset is the driver for your motherboard. 

In this webpage section, you can also find the latest driver for all other hardware components like LAN, Audio, VGA Drivers, Software Utility, BIOS-Utilities, SATA, and many more.

7. Select the driver you want, in this case, Chipset, and click on Download.
8. Now, a file with a .zip extension should download.
9. After the download is complete, extract the .zip file anywhere on your computer.
10. Once extracted, open the file and search for setup.exe and install the driver.
11. Once the installation process complete, restart your computer.

Update from Device Manager

Another method to update the motherboard’s driver is from the Device Manager utility. You can download the latest driver for all internal and external hardware components, including the motherboard, using the Device Manager. 

To update the motherboard’s driver from the Driver Update, you can follow the steps mentioned below.

1. Press the Window + X key and click on Device Manager.
2. Here, you can see all the sections of the driver. Expand IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.
3. The driver that is listed inside IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers is the motherboard’s driver. Right-click on it and select Update Driver.
4. Click on Search automatically for drivers.
5. If there is an update, the Device Manager will automatically download and install the latest version. 
6. Once the download and installation process is complete, restart the computer. 

IDE ATA/ATAPI: the Integrated Drive Electronics Advanced Technology Attachment/Advanced tech Attachment Packet Interface

If you have a different motherboard driver stored locally, select Browse my computer for drivers after step 3. The Device Manager will let you browse the driver. Click on next once you have located the driver. The installation will start. After completion, restart your computer.

Using Windows Update

The Windows Update is also another utility that lets us download and install any updates, whether it be a Windows update, a driver update, or even a BIOS update, at once. Using the Device Manager to update the driver, you should manually right-click and update every driver. The Windows Update saves us from this hassle.

1. Press the Windows + I key to open Settings. 
2. Go to Windows Update (Update & Security > Windows Update in Windows 10)
3. Click on Check for updates or Install Updates.  
4. If there are any pending updates, the OS will automatically download and install them.
5. It will install all pending driver, Windows or BIOS updates

Updating the BIOS

BIOS acts as the interface through which users can control the component connected to the motherboard. BIOS update makes the system more stable and compatible with other computer modules like drivers. 

However, if there is a loss of power and the computer turns off during a BIOS update, the motherboard as a whole could be rendered useless.

Before starting, first, you need to check if the motherboard manufacturer has launched any BIOS update.

Run msinfo32 in Command Prompt as administrator to know your BIOS version. Check for BIOS Version/Date. This is your motherboard’s current BIOS version.

Now that you know the current BIOS version, follow these steps to update your BIOS.

1. Go to the motherboard manufacturer’s download center and search the motherboard’s model.
2. Once you have located the motherboard model in the download center, search for BIOS & Firmware.
3. Check the latest BIOS version. If it matches your BIOS version, it is unnecessary to update it. If not, download the file.
4. Extract and copy the file you just downloaded and paste it on a blank pendrive. If there are any instructions inside the .zip file, it may have more information on updating the BIOS. Thus, it may be worth a read.
5. Now, restart your computer and enter the BIOS by pressing the Del, F2, or F9 key depending on the manufacturer. Make sure that the pen drive containing the update file is attached to the computer,
6. Once in the BIOS, search for settings named EZ Flash, Q Flash, or M Flash. you can use these menus to update BIOS using a USB drive.
7. Now, select the file. The update should automatically start. 
8. Make sure that the computer/laptops does not turn off during the update.

Related Questions

Why Should You Update Motherboard Drivers?

As discussed above, a driver acts as a software interface between the Operating System and the internal motherboard components. These components include input and output audio, network adapters, display adapters, USB ports, etc. 

Updating the motherboard driver ensures that all motherboard components work flawlessly without any issue. A corrupted or outdated motherboard driver will decrease the system’s overall performance.

Can I Update all Driver at Once?

The Windows Update utilities in Windows allows you to download and install all pending driver update at once. However, if you want to install a specific driver, the Device manager is one of the best choice.