====== Preparing NUCs for Labs ======
When you are preparing to do an UncleNUC lab, it is recommended to:
  * Physically clean the NUC inside and out, including blowing out dust from the CPU fan
  * Make sure compatible RAM is installed; 8GB is what is recommended for UncleNUC Labs; 4GB will probably work in most cases
  * Make sure an mSATA SSD is installed (minimum 32GB recommended, prefer 64GB or greater)
  * Make sure the CPU fan is present and operable (yes I have seen missing CPU fans)
  * Make sure the WiFi card is present; it may be possible to run UncleNUC labs without WiFi with modifications
  * [[process:update_firmware|Update firmware to the latest version]]
    * Read [[https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005636/intel-nuc.html]]
    * Format a USB stick with a FAT filesystem
    * Download the latest firmware .BIO for your NUC - beware that several NUC models may use the same .BIO file
    * Copy the .BIO file to the USB stick
      * It is fine to have more than one firmware file on the flash drive
      * Be sure you can tell the files apart! Using folders is one way to do this
    * Insert the USB firmware stick you created in the NUC
    * Reboot the NUC and enter the Visual BIOS menu (press F2 at the boot prompt)
    * Compare the version of BIOS on the system with the version you downloaded
    * Click Update, don't check using the Internet, and file the file on the USB stick
    * Click Open, and confirm the upgrade
    * Be patient while the system updates and reboots
  * Reset BIOS settings to default
    * Intel recommends to reset BIOS settings to defaults after every BIOS update
    * Press F9 to reset to defaults and accept the message (Y)
    * Press F10 to save and exist and accept the message (Y)