dualBIOS

DualBIOS is a motherboard feature that provides two separate BIOS flash ROMs on the same board: a primary BIOS and a secondary backup BIOS. The goal is to protect against BIOS corruption caused by failed updates, power loss during flashing, or malware. The presence of a second BIOS allows the system to recover from a corrupted main BIOS by restoring from the backup image or by switching to the backup during boot.

Most implementations enable some form of automatic recovery. On power-on, the system may verify the integrity of the primary BIOS and, if it fails, boot from the backup BIOS or automatically reflash the primary BIOS from the backup. Some boards offer a manual switch or a BIOS setup option to select which image to boot from. In many designs, the backup is a clone of the primary, while in others it stores a separate recovery image used by a recovery procedure.

Benefits of dualBIOS include increased reliability and a safer path to recover from BIOS flash failures without external tools. It helps prevent complete motherboard bricking due to a corrupted BIOS. Limitations include the possibility that both BIOS chips could fail, or that the recovery pathway may require specific procedures or hardware access. Not all BIOS issues can be resolved by dualBIOS, and it does not replace the need for careful flashing practices or regular backups of important settings.

The concept has been adopted by several motherboard manufacturers, with Gigabyte popularizing a branded DualBIOS implementation. Various other vendors offer similar dual-ROM redundancy under different names or with distinct recovery workflows, making dualBIOS a common option on many higher-end or enthusiast-grade boards.