Currently running Fedora 39 64 bit using ASUS Prime Z790-P mother board and a INTEL i7 processor
I want to update the BIOS but the ASUS site suggests that the ME firmware be updated first to provide better stability and best performance.
The problem is that ASUS only provides a Windows .exe file to allow this to be done and I have no windows OS at all. ASUS says to contact Intel as they do not provide Linux software for ME updates. (not sure if this is passing the buck or not. I did read somewhere that Intel was leaving it to the mother board vendors to provide the update facilities)

So my question is how does one update the ME firmware when all one has available is a Linux operating system?

Updating the BIOS is easy but it is the ME firmware I need to get done.

Intel ME firmware can be flashed just like a BIOS. You can do it either through the EFI shell or DOS. I've downloaded the firmware, and I think it should work."

https://www.asus.com/support/Download-Center/

The zip contains me.bin

Just flashed my Lifebook. Works like a charm with Freedos, no problems at all.

Thanks. I assume with FreeDos that one downloads a bootable version and then boots the computer to DOS. Then use the vendor supplied windows based ME Firmware Update Tool after being unpacked. Run the MEUpdateTool.exe file from it and it updates the firmware. Or do I have to to something else?

No sure how to get into and use the UFI shell. Any enlightenment please.

Mant Thanks

Is this your motherboard? https://www.asus.com/motherboards-co...e=PRIME-Z790-P .. download and extract the Intel ME Firmware. You'll need to copy the "FW" folder to your finished USB drive later.

To create a bootable USB drive, you don't need a large FreeDOS image. Rufus is sufficient for this purpose. It's important that you have enough storage space to write the firmware to the USB drive. Truncate can help you.

rufus https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/archive/v3.9.tar.gz

Second option is to copy the firmware to /boot/efi/EFI/ASUS and flash it directly through the BIOS. This may not work with all boards. My HP EliteDesk 800 G2 mini (router) offers this option. As for the Z790-P, you'll have to check for yourself. I don't know for sure.

If you want to flash it via DOS and encounter difficulties in creating the USB drive, feel free to reach out again.

Thanks. I have been trying to set up a bootable FreeDOS 1.3 USB but have been unsuccessful in getting it to boot have a new 32Gb SanDisk USB(2.0). Not sure if I am missing something or doing something wrong. Be grateful for some pointers thanks.


I have got the FW folder from the ME Firmware file as downloaded from the ASUS web site for the Z790-P motherboard.

I downloaded https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/m...PRIME%20Z790-P to find a typical Asus BIOS upgrade .zip file. Simply extract the .CAP file from the .zip to a FAT filesystem that the BIOS can identify, boot into BIOS setup, and select to update the BIOS from that FAT location. No operating system is required for the BIOS upgrade. An OS is needed only for getting the .CAP file onto a FAT filesystem.

Is it the BIOS or the ME Firmware?

I found a great video about it here.
https://youtu.be/NQgqPxkylJQ

It is the ME Firmware I am concerned about. The BIOS update is easy. ASUS provide no way of doing this for non Window users while that say that the ME firmware should be updated before the BIOS is updated. Therefore I have been trying to find a way to do this without having to install windows.

Have you considered a Windows Pre-install environment? https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Windows_PE I didn't get the UEFI booting (from the stick), but I tested an MBR boot and it works, at least under QEMU. Leave off the "--iso" if you are going to write to a USB stick. The instructions do not tell you this. Not sure if I'll pull the trigger and risk bricking my machine or not.

I'm stuck needing a BIOS update (AMD-V is locked away) from Lenovo that only is for Windows. Today I made a Window PE image with the update files and got it on a USB stick. They let you download the Windows ISO image (I used 10). Then get wimlib; use mkwinpeimg. Finally, splatter the image to a USB stic with "dd" or maybe write an ISO.

The .exe file I got was actually a self-extracting something-or-another but 7zip was able to open it.

It should be noted that while FreeDOS 1.3 would boot, it returned "Windows NT console executable" and would not run the update program beyond that error message. If you had a Windows PE, it wouldn't matter if your updates were Windows-only.

I have not been able to get a FreeDOS bootable USB stick to boot so far. I have tried a Hirens PE, the latest reworked version and can get that to boot. I loaded the FW folder from the ASUS ME update file and tried to run the FU....exe file with the BIN file but got an error message to say "Error Message 20 could not find the ME components" (the last word may have been a bit different).
If I tried the run the ME install executable file from the ASUS update, it gave me a message to ensure that the "Intel ME Driver was installed" There was no Intel ME file in the 'System" of the Device Manager on the Hirens PE version I read that the Intel ME file is placed in the system folder after an update. Not sure how to run an update on the Hirens PE version.

I am quite ok with doing the BIOS update using a the file copies to a USB stick and using the Asus Boot flash in the BIOS.

It is the firmware updates ME being the one for the Z790-P mother board that I wanrt to get done. I note there is USB firmware update and a ME firmware update for a Ausu Z690 Board which I also have.

@GRS63

Check out the YouTube video, maybe it'll help you.

Hads a good look at the video. The video is about updating the bios a .cap file. That can also be done throiugh the Flash EZ app thiat is included with the ASUS BIOS.
What I am looking for is to update the Intel ME Firmware. Asus provide a file that works with Windows but noithing for Linux operating systems.
I set the Bios for Legacy boot and can get Free DOS to boot and have a C: prompt. I understood that one could extract the ME.bin file, which is in the FW directory of the ASUS ME firmware update file. I also understood that one could `run the FWUPLcl.exe file (also in the FW directory)as FWUpLcL.exe -F ME.bin from th c: DOS prompt aan the ME firmware would be updated. All I got was a message to say the ME Device could not be found. also tried the 64 bit FWUp... file as well.

Also tried using a Higgen Windows PE but keep getting messages to sat the ME driver is not installed. So nothing has worked for me anyway as indicated on The web FreedOS and a WINDOWS PE system. ASUS when I asked them just said ask Intel. Fine but find the intel site confusing besides I understand it is better to use the mother Board ME update file as there can be mother baord spacific things that need to be considered in the ME update. (I may have this wrong) So much of there "Other OS" support.

The problem is the ASUS recommend that the ME firmware be updated before the BIOS is updated to improve stability and performance. Fine but how does on update the ME firmware when all I have are linux machines.
So where to from here how do I get the intel ME firmware updated.

One of my motherboards also has a USB firmware update but again only a windows update file.

Any ides would be welcome thanks

Solved for two of my mother boards. ASUS up dated the BIOS to include the ME update.
Thanks for the input.