e6410 (option rom error) no post

trying to get this e6410 motherboard up and running.

The unit does not post and gives me the "FLASH FLASH OFF" led lights.

The dell code list says that's an option rom error and i should reseat the device or replace the motherboard. Any ideas?

I have the system down to the bare: ram, mobo, cpu, fan. It still wont post

 

You can try a blind BIOS flash.

There used to be a way to extract a rom / hdr file from the BIOS updater .exe :
biosfilename.exe /writehdrfile

This does not work on newer machines. But it may work for yours since it is older.

Put the extracted HDR file onto a FAT-formatted flash drive and boot the system while holding down the END key.

The battery LED should blink and the system should eventually restart itself.

 

I tried this, doesnt seem to work the e6410. Not sure if i have the right hdr name.

 

Did the HDR file extract from the BIOS .exe?

 

I used phoenix tool to get the hdr

 

You may need to use a different version of the BIOS that matches the one currently on the system.

There are a few gigantic threads of people trying all kinds of things, this reddit one has what looks like may be useful hints about filenames:
https://www.reddit.com/r/techsuppor...l_xps_9530_bricked_by_latest_bios_a09_please/

You may want to just take out the BIOS chip and get a bus pirate or use a Raspberry Pi SPI interface to flash it, assuming you've completely ruled out all other hardware components so that you're not wasting your time.