How To Proceed

BIOS modification is a risky job. Even a minor error renders the system unbootable, displaying a dull screen black as the starless night sky. Most contemporary motherboards are equipped with special mechanisms protecting against BIOS updating failures. However, this protection is actuated only when BIOS is damaged. They do not protect against errors in the firmware code.

For this purpose, you'll need a backup BIOS. To achieve this, start the motherboard and create a dump of the firmware (or download an updated version from the manufacturer's site), modify it at your discretion, and then, without switching the computer off, remove the original chip carefully and insert the chip, with which you are going to experiment. Then start the flashing utility and write the hacked firmware into BIOS. Now, if something goes wrong, it will always be possible to remove the faulty chip, insert the original one, then correct an error and overwrite the experimental BIOS again.

Is this procedure safe? To tell the truth, every step of it is potentially dangerous. For example, you might drop the chip and let it fall to the motherboard, short-circuiting it. The smallest error in the firmware might cause hardware failure and ruin the entire system (for instance, by unintentionally raising the voltage or clock frequency). Thus, before you gain some experience and smell the gunpowder, it is recommended that you experiment with ancient motherboards (such as Pentium 155), which are going to scrap, anyway.