American Megatrends BIOS (AMIBIOS) – How to Update | How to Unlock It

American Megatrends BIOS also called AMIBIOS is a famous BIOS firmware for many motherboard manufacturers. This article will discuss in detail about what is American Megatrends BIOS, BIOS Architecture, how to do AMIBIOS update and How to Unlock its Settings.

What is American Megatrends BIOS

BIOS developed by AMI (American Megatrends Inc) is called as AMIBIOS. Based out of United States of America, AMI is an international hardware and software manufacturing company founded in the year 1985.

Fig. 1 – Introduction to AMIBIOS

This company started as a manufacturer of Motherboards and AMI spreads its wings by manufacturing BIOS/UEFI firmware for motherboards, server motherboards, storage controllers and remote- management cards. AMI has huge range of motherboards. Every different product comes with unique AMIBIOS codes. Also, users alter AMI BIOS code to create the product well-matched with their systems.

The BIOS is usually stored on a small embedded chip on the motherboard. BIOS (Basic Input Output System) enables the operating system to communicate with the hardware of the computer. BIOS is the main software element that looks after the computer’s boot process and makes sure that all the essential hardware are properly initialized.

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Generally, computer’s BIOS being the start-up element largely remains hidden. Hence, updating a BIOS or customizing it’s settings on your computer can’t be done until you exclusively navigate to the BIOS setup utility. Luckily, American Megatrends BIOS update is quite simple and can be done by computer users with moderate skill level.

American Megatrends BIOS is the second article in the series on BIOS. You can read the complete article on BIOS which gives detailed information about functions of Bios, configuring Bios etc.

Fig. 2 – American Megatrends Bios Screen

BIOS Architecture

Every motherboard manufacturer produces diverse BIOS and the different motherboards have varied hardware architectures; hence, BIOS needs to be modified for that exact set of hardware. When there is any hardware trouble, BIOS will provide user error codes for the particular hardware. Also, as many companies produce their computer devices, they have their own BIOS versions.

BIOS had only firmware service for a long time but it has developed the Extensible Framework Interface (EFI) which creates an open system of standards for developing firmware for hardware components without interfering with complete framework. Then, it grew into Unified Extensible Framework Interface (UEFI) standard. Apple, Microsoft, Intel and IBM are few companies that are developing this firmware standard.

How to Update AMIBIOS

AMIBIOS Update becomes necessary to improve stability and performance. American Megatrends makes it easy for individuals to upgrade their BIOS. To begin, visit the American Megatrends company’s website and find the AMI Firmware Update tool. This software functions via the command line, making the process of programming BIOS more efficient.

Most of the users can only execute the firmware update and permit the utility to complete the process. For network administrators, a remote BIOS tool is also available, which permits individuals to transform BIOS settings without having to work directly on the computer in question. Network sharing tools guarantees that BIOS updates are spread across multiple platforms rapidly.

The AMI BIOS can be updated by first visiting the official website and then confirming whether the system is using an AMI approved motherboard or not. On the website, you can find the AMI reference. The reference is the serial number and it must match up with the AMI motherboard installed on the system.

If the AMI reference is missing, then contact the computer service provider for further help or you can just download the AMIBID from the internet followed by running the motherboard identification tool on the computer. Once the AMI motherboard is found on the system, download the AMI Firmware Utility Tool from the internet. This utility tool will help update the AMIBIOS.

Fig.  3 – Dialog Box of ‘AFUWN’ Executable File

Now, all you have to do is to follow the below steps and then you can easily carry out the updating process.

• As the AMI firmware Utility tool is downloaded on your computer, you now need to unzip the downloaded zip files.
• From the main folder, select the AFUWN folder and choose between 32 bit or 64 bit and click on the executable file called AFUWN.EXE.
• The dialogue box will appear on your screen. Click on ‘OK’ and continue ahead.
• Then, click on ‘Open’ button as shown in Fig.3. Now, search for the ROM file that has already been downloaded from the motherboard manufacturing website.
• Look for the ‘flash’ button and click on it to see the progress tab on display as shown in the Fig. 4. Now you can see the BIOS update live process. After the completion of the process, close the Flash Utility Tool and restart the computer.
• Once the computer switches on, the new updated BIOS is functional.

Fig. 4 –  Bios Update in Progress

How to Unlock American Megatrends BIOS Settings

Following the steps mentioned below, you can easily unlock the Amibios settings.

• Switch on the computer
• The moment the computer is turned on, Press the “Del”, “F1” or “Esc” keys to open the AMI BIOS.
• Now, press the “Alt” and “F1” keys to unlock the hidden settings on the AMIBIOS. If this doesn’t work, try holding down “Shift” key and press “F1” or “Ctrl” and “F1” instead.