Although a BIOS upgrade can in some circumstances be benefitial, it is not the solution to every conceivable computer problem. It's very risky and if it goes wrong the computer will no longer boot properly.

A BIOS upgrade should only be performed in the following cases:

• A faster processor is available, but only after a BIOS upgrade
• A bug has been discovered in the ROM
• A new BIOS feature has been added
• Larger Hard Disk Capacity has been introduced

A BIOS reset should also be issued with care. Held within the CMOS are important CPU and memory settings. Should these settings be erased, this could lead to an incorrectly clocked processor, bad memory timings and unconfigured hard drives/CD-ROM drives.

A BIOS reset should be performed when the following is true:

• The CPU has been overclocked and the computer won't boot
• The memory has been overclocked and the computer won't boot
• Other CMOS settings have been altered and the computer will not boot.

If the computer is able to boot, only one or two settings may need altering. Just remember that when a BIOS reset is performed, everything gets reset!