How to Recover Phoenix BIOS
By Jack Gerard
Although most people think the operating system is the core software required for a computer to run, without the computer's BIOS, then the operating system cannot even launch. When a BIOS installation encounters a problem, it can cause components of the computer not to function correctly or it can cause the computer itself not to function at all. It is possible to recover the BIOS of a computer, if you know what sort of BIOS the computer's motherboard uses. The recovery process should take approximately 5 to 10 minutes, during which your computer will seem mostly unresponsive.
Step 1
Download a crisis recovery program designed specifically to restore damaged or otherwise non-functioning copies of Phoenix BIOS. Read the instructions for using the recovery program to make sure that no specific changes or configurations need to be done to it before it is used.
Step 2
Place the Phoenix BIOS recovery program and its files onto a blank disc or a USB drive according to the program's instructions (this usually simply consists of extracting the files from an archive.) Once the program and its files are in place, insert the disc into the computer's drive or plug the USB drive into an available USB port.
Step 3
Hold down both the Windows key and the "B" key on your keyboard and press the power button on the computer. (On some laptop computers, you will need to press the "Fn-B" keys instead.) Wait for the disc drive light or the USB drive access light to start flickering to show that the computer is accessing the Phoenix BIOS recovery program, and then release the keys.
Step 4
Wait patiently while the Phoenix BIOS recovery program overwrites the damaged sections of the motherboard's current BIOS installation. Depending on the computer and the recovery program used, the computer may or may not reboot once BIOS recovery is complete. If the computer does not reboot on its own, wait at least 10 minutes before manually restarting the computer to make sure that you do not interrupt BIOS recovery. Eject the disc or remove the USB drive before rebooting to prevent accidentally reloading the recovery program.
Step 5
Reboot the computer and watch to make sure the Phoenix BIOS screen appears as normal. Once the BIOS loads properly, your operating system should launch as normal.
References
Tips
- If you are planning on updating or overwriting your existing Phoenix BIOS installation, make a recovery disk ahead of time in case there is a problem with the update process.
Writer Bio
Born in West Virginia, Jack Gerard now lives in Kentucky. A writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience, he has written both articles and poetry for publication in magazines and online. A former nationally ranked sport fencer, Gerard also spent several years as a fencing coach and trainer.