E6410 Owner's Thread

This is what I get when I try to upgrade to any BIOS. I'm currently on A07 (it came with this from Dell)

 

Might be an issue with your Windows config...if you have a spare HDD, install a fresh copy of Windows and run the BIOS update. If that still fails, you may want to contact Dell tier 2 technical support about that...never had that happen with any BIOS update.

 

Although it seems like the issue is with Windows, I would try these 2 things:

1) Try to upgrade to A09 first. I too had A07 and tried to upgrade to A10. I got an error saying that I had to "upgrade to A09 before I could upgrade to A10". Once I upgraded to A09, everything went well.

2) Try running the update from Safe Mode.

Lastly, I'm sure your aware of this but, you need to run this with admin privileges.

 

If nothing works for the BIOS update I'd start looking for hardware issues, unexplained crashes generally don't happen unless something's up and the laptop does have a handy built-in diagnostic system.

 

This is on a clean install, like right after the install. I tried upgrading to A09 when I very first got the laptop with the same result/crash so it can't be the Windows install.

I shall try it in safe mode, I did the whole administrator song and dance with it, and it still crashes.

The laptops solid as a rock, I wouldn't say the BIOS updater crashing would be down to a hardware failure (for the sake of it, I did test the RAM and HDD with Memtest and spinrite, all are okay, temps are fine too).

I will have a look at the BIOS and reset it to the defaults too incase I ticked something thats causing some unexpected result when it goes to update.

PS: I did notice something for all you E6410 owners that have that power on after sleep problem. I thought I was the only one not getting this problem, however when I re installed Windows I left it for a bit and it went to sleep and low and behold it wouldn't wake up. My config before hand, had all the drivers but no "driver-software", I can only assume that it's an issue with drivers.

 

Contact Dell and see if there are any alternate ways of applying the BIOS update.

 

The Intel Management Engine BIOS Extension has appeared (or I've never seen it before) however it seems to be password protected... It's asking for an Intel ME Password. Could the password on this cause the .exe to crash? I have no idea what the password is, I've not set it.

EDIT: Password is admin

EDIT2: Just ran the Pre-boot system assessment and everything passed.

 

I bet you may have found the issue. That is part of Intel's AMT technology. It allows for remote controlling in a enterprise environment. That can include updating (or blocking a user from updating) a BIOS.
Let us know if simply providing the password allowed you to update the BIOS. If it didn't, we probably have to look at either uninstalling the software (preferable) or updating drivers.

 

I am wondering if any of the problems from Dell e6400 are applicable to the e6410:

- Problem 1
o Not possible to switch internet options (specifically Connections) in Internet Explorer’s settings (the menu hangs). Usually, this happens when I boot the laptop on battery. Characteristically, the Dell ControlPoint Connection Manager tab shows during the boot up and it is impossible to make it disappear (i.e. not possible to close it). Also, it is then impossible to shut the notebook down properly. I have to kill the non-responding programs (Windows shows which ones do not close during the shutdown and offers to kill them), as they do not close regardless how much time I give (once I tried some 6 hours).
o Also, sometimes the mobile broadband or even WiFi does not work after booting up.
o The workaround is to shut e6400 down, switch the radios off using the hardware switch on the right hand side, and then boot the computer fully, log in, wait for all applications to load, and then switch the radios back on, using the hardware switch. Normally, this solves the problems.
- Problem 2
o Sometimes (I believe this is also attributed to working on batteries), the mobile broadband (GPRS/EDGE/HSPA) adapter becomes disabled due to the need to “activate” it and impossible to use. The workaround is to reboot the laptop again – annoying.
- Problem 3
o Sometimes, when I switch the brightness of the display whilst the notebook is logging in/booting up (I believe, this happens after logging into Windows), the system starts to misbehave (e.g. display problem 2).
- Problem 4
o When I connect the computer to the docking station, the Ethernet stops working. The workaround is to disable and enable the Ethernet adapter in Windows Device Manager. Well... yesterday it did not help and I had to reboot computer and then enable the device. The Ethernet was then recognized and started working. Unfortunately, the CPU was then loaded 100% (by System Idle process), probably overheating (fun was working loudly), and killing the programs sporadically showing upto 53% CPU load, did not resolve the issue. I think this must be a driver issue (which driver I do not know). Just now, I again did not have the Ethernet and, miraculously, the Ethernet got connected (after some 2 hours of working).
- Problem 5
o The fun is often working excessively, despite seemingly low CPU load (~5-10%; no computations or graphics, e.g. just using MS Word), making annoying noise.
- Problem 6
o I have tried to install Dell Mobile Broadband manager, but it is unable to work, saying that ‘The mobile broadband device is not communicating’.
- Problem 7
o Sometimes Dell ControlPoint Connection Manager drops the connection established with Intel ProSET/Wireles WiFi Connection Utility. This may happen after I worked for several hours using the WiFi connection established by Intel’s utility.
- Problem 8
o Frequently, having Bluetooth enabled drops the WiFi connection (at 2.4 GHz). Interestingly enough, some long time ago (in 2009?), they were able to work simultaneously with no such problems.
- Commonality
o Many of these problems seem to be attributed to switching from the mains to the batteries and back. The main workaround is to boot up on mains, THEN switch to batteries, and, probably more importantly, connect to mains BEFORE shutting down.
o The reinstallation of Dell software solves the many of the problems (I have not tried if it solves all of the problems) ... until the first disconnection from the mains and going to battery.

Thank you

 

I have a question about the eSATA/USB port. I remember reading somewhere that this port still provides power even after the laptop is powered off, is this true?