Intel is about to introduce a new BIOS update process for its newer mobos which gets around the difficulty users of Windows 2000 and ME have in creating a bootable floppy.

With the new Express BIOS Update, users will be able to update the BIOS on an Intel mobo from within Windows. The utility is around 1MB in size and certainly sounds foolproof. After downloading it from Intel's support Web site, three mouse clicks take the user through an installation wizard and the system then automatically shuts down, updates the BIOS and reboots.

The new BIOS update utility will initially be available for the VC820, D815EEA and MO810E mobos, and will be a standard feature on all future Intel boards using the 810, 815 and 820 chipsets.

Users of older mobos such as the BX won't get the new utility, but Intel today confirmed it will be bundling a freeware DOS variant with BIOS upgrades for these boards which will automatically create a bootable floppy.

This solution was suggested by literally hundreds of Register readers who emailed us following our earlier story Win2K and ME users up creek without a floppy.

The new utility is due to be posted on Intel's support site tonight US time but those awfully nice Intel folks are sending us a sneak preview to try out later today.

We'll let you know how we get on. ®