[RESOLVED] Dell BIOS Flash Killed My Dimension E521

So a few weeks ago I was looking around the Dell support site and thought I'd check out their Drivers & Downloads page.

I found a new BIOS update so downloaded and ran the .exe file (says you can do it from within windows or DOS) and it successfully update my bios from version 1.0.03 to 1.1.04

All was well until last night when I tried to boot from a USB stick and nothing happened. :confused:

I then tried to get into the BIOS and found the keyboard didn't respond and noticed that it didn't get power until windows was almost loaded ie just before the Account selection screen appeared.

I decided to run the BIOS flash again and it informed that it was going to upgrade from version 1.1.04 to 1.1.04.

I clicked OK and the progress bar moved merrily along until it reached 100% at which point it displayed a box stating

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Failure! Failure! Failure!

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:eek:

Of course when I rebooted my machine it had now been reduced to a very expensive doorstop. :(

I tried removing the battery for 15 minutes and powered on with no power cord to try clearing NVRam, but it made no difference (which I knew).

Came into work today and got onto the Dell forums and bugger me if there's not heaps of people reporting cases of flashes gone bad using this particular update (referred to as 1.1.04 or 1.1.4) :mad:

So I got on the phone to Dell support and after explaining what had happened, what I had done to investigate, that I had seen the similar cases on the Dell Forums, that I work for applications support area at the company I work for and that I felt the flash had corrupted the BIOS, the woman went off for about a minute and then came back and told me that her supervisor had given here approval to send a technician out to my hours to replace the mobo. :)

All up I was on the phone for about 10 minutes with maybe another 5 of wait time initially.

So the dude is scheduled to come out Monday.

Maybe running it from within windows was not a good idea and I should have run it from a bootable CD (I don't have a floppy).

So after all that I forgot to ask a Question.:p

When My mobo gets replaced, will I need to reactivate XP ?

After I reinstalled XP from the Dell provided DVD (when I accidentally wiped my HDs playing around wih Raid), it didn't ask me for a serial number or require activation and that was on 24th Novembr 2006.

So I'm presuming that it's a Dell OEM version of XP and as such maybe doesn't need activation or something ?

If the dell restore cd finds everything right, then no, you should not need to reactivate.

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Originally Posted by Train

If the dell restore cd finds everything right, then no, you should not need to reactivate.

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I don't plan on using the restore DVD, I'm hoping that after the mobo is replaced, it will just boot into windows as normal ??

It may just do that with the CORRECT Dell mobo.

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Originally Posted by Train

It may just do that with the CORRECT Dell mobo.

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Now you'ev got me worried, presumably they can get that right ???:confused::o

We hope !

I would be asking the Dell tech this question. I can't believe he'd come out, replace the mobo, then leave without making sure the computer was in working order! Maybe barricade the exits and take his vehicle keys until you're back to rights.;)

The woman from Dell said that he will replace the mobo and test the system.

So presumably it will all be working fine.

I was just being cautious about whether XP would need to be recativated because of the motherboard chaneg but I guess it's not my problem.

If it needs to be reactivated - it needs to be reactivated. No big deal.

Nix, I feel your pain. Bios updates always scare the hell out of me. Especially when they come from Dell, Gateway, HP, and Compaq. I killed a Gateway motherboard by running a Bios update. I will never attempt any bios updates again on any of those computers. Especially when there aren't my computer.

Now, myself I personally have an Abit AV8 Third Eye motherboard that has a neat little utility called a Guru clock that includes a Bios Flash Menu. I have updated the bios on this motherboard at least 3 times with no problem. You basically click onto update and it takes care of everything for you. No booting up off of a disc.

As far as your dead Dell goes, once the tech reinstalls the same motherboard you will not have to reactivate windows. It does have to be the same exact motherboard or you will have to run an over the top install of Windows with reactivation.

In any case there is no problem with reactivation where a mobo has to be replaced because of early failure - MS make a specific exception for that with OEM versions.

I hope you learned a lesson Nix, reflashing the BIOS can be a dangerous business, and you should only do it if the update addresses a specific need. And I've never done a BIOS reflash from within Windows, I don't think I would trust doing it that way. The tried and tested way is from DOS using a floppy (which shows that they still have their uses).

Dell will replace like for like.

In all the dell mobos I've replaced for customers I have never had to reactivate xp.

Also if you have a bootable usb flash drive you can stick the latest bios on there and run it instead of CD. I have never corrupted a bios doing it that way.

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In all the dell mobos I've replaced for customers

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That sure doesn't fill me with gobs of confidence! Are Dell OEM mobos really that prone to failure??

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Originally Posted by lgbpop

That sure doesn't fill me with gobs of confidence! Are Dell OEM mobos really that prone to failure??

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When I say all dell mobos I mean mobos I've replaced in all the dell range (Desktops and Notebooks). Occasionally I don't see a faulty mobo for weeks, and when I do it's mainly on the older systems.