When we are using a Windows computer we may face many problems and downgrading (installing an older version) BIOS may be a solution; especially if these problems arose after updating it. Just a little further down, we will see how to achieve it.
Is it possible to go back to a previous BIOS version?
It is totally possible, it works in the same way as updating the BIOS, the only difference is that we need to install a previous version of it and that's it..
Downloading the BIOS version is not as complicated as it may seem at first glance. All we have to do is download the file and run it, maybe some steps can be a bit complex.
The first thing we will need to do is make sure that we are downloading the correct version of BIOS and that we are downloading files that are for our system. To make sure of this, it is best to check the serial number. There are some difficulties that are solved in the same way..
How to install an older version of the BIOS on a Windows PC
Before starting the process it is necessary to reconsider the decision. Installing an older BIOS version should be a last resort and should be done only if all else fails.
To downgrade the BIOS of a Windows computer, the first thing we will have to do is download the BIOS exe file. In this publication we are going to take a Dell computer as an example, but the process will be the same for all cases; except we'll have to go to your OEM's website to get hold of the BIOS files..
- In our case, we will first access the Dell support website .
- Next, we will search for our device. We can do this by searching for the name of the product in the search bar or by clicking on Browse all products and selecting our system.
- Now we will click on the drop-down menu (V).
- We will search for BIOS, using that keyword.
- If we can't find the version we want to change, we'll just click the Previous Version button.
- Then we click Download.
If we do not know if we are downloading the correct version, then we will have to look for the BIOS file with the serial number. For this we are going to open the command prompt as administrator and execute the following command:
wmic bios get serialnumber
This will give us the serial number of our BIOS. After this we can use it to find the file we need.
Once we have done this, it is time to install the previous version of the BIOS and for this we have two methods to do it. The first one is easier to execute, so it is the most recommended. However, if it doesn't work for some reason, we can use the second one.
without USB
There are two conditions here, whether we have a battery or not (if you don't see the battery icon on the taskbar). If we have a battery, we simply go to the file, right click on it and select "Run as administrator", we will follow the instructions on the screen.
If we do not have a battery or if Windows does not recognize it, then we will have to use the command prompt. We copy the downloaded file to drive C. Afterwards, we write down the name of this file and execute the following commands individually.
CD\
<file-name> /forceit
In case the file name contains an .exe, we must also add it. For example: 9P66A08.exe.
with USB
If the first method does not work, then we will switch to using a USB and for this we will need the Rufus program .
We open Rufus, select the USB, change the boot selection to FreeDOS and the file system to FAT32. Now we click on "Start" and wait for the process to finish, when it is ready we copy the downloaded content to it.
We restart our computer and press F2 or F12 (this may also vary from your computer) to boot into the BIOS, we must ensure that we have enabled boot from USB or have the option to do so when we start the computer. After I boot from the USB, we will see a screen asking us for commands.
If we can see the content of our USB, we will execute the second command. However, if we don't see it, we run the first and then the second.
say
<file-name> exe
After executing both commands, we will be asked to confirm our action; we will have to click Y when prompted.
For Dell computers, tools like Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Tool can be very useful if we are unable to boot into the operating system. Most brands have very similar tools.