Vostro 3400 has 3500 bios? Fixable?

I recently received a warranty motherboard from Dell to repair a Vostro 3400 laptop. The new motherboard has been installed and it's working without issues. Everything is normal except that on startup and in the BIOS setup, it displays that it is a Vostro 3500. I'm quite sure that it isn't a 3500, as it's the 14" model. The part number stickers on the new and old boards are a match, so they sent me the right part.

I've tried flashing the 3400 bios over the 3500 bios, but it says that they don't match. I know on the older Dell bioses, you could use a /forcetype switch to bypass that check. Does anybody know of an equivalent switch I can use to force the 3400 bios? I'm looking to avoid another lengthy phone call with Dell on this...

 

Hi,

I have escalated this issue to our engineering team and we will get back to you as soon as possible. I have sent a private message to you. Please reply to that message with the Service tag of the system so that I can check the details and identify the support region you belong to.
Please do write back in case you need any further assistance.

Thanks & Regards
Swapnajan MC
#iworkfordell

 

Hi Swapnajan,

Thanks for your reply. It's great to see that Dell has reps on here! Unfortunately, I don't yet have enough posts to access private messages. Is there another way I can get you the service tag info? I don't want to post that publicly.

 

Hi,

I tried to send a private message to you but it says “You have decided not to receive any private messages” you may check the settings once. Since we don’t have an option to interact directly now, please wait to hear from me. I will get back to you once I get an update from the Engineering team.

Thanks & Regards
Swapnajan MC
#iworkfordell

 

pm privileges are locked until you have 5 posts and the database updates. We had to put that restriction in place because in the past members were receiving spam via pm.

 

I figured this out. What I did...

Downloaded 3400_A10.exe from Dell and copied it to a DOS bootable USB stick. From DOS, run:

3400_A10.exe /writeromfile

This decompressed the bios ROM file (4mb) and wrote it to the USB drive.

I downloaded AFUDOS.exe from AMI, since the Vostro 3400 uses AMI BIOS. I booted from the USB drive again into DOS and ran:

AFUDOS.exe /P /X 3400_A10.ROM

/X tells AFUDOS to not check the BIOS for the correct model number. It flashed the BIOS, I rebooted, and the laptop is now working properly and shows the correct model in the BIOS setup and on the startup screen.