BIOS update failed!

Great...Got this Alienware 17, was on A02, tried to update to A05, and it freaked out, shut off, and now the fans are on full blast and cant' get it to do anything else. Is there a blind flash/recovery procedure?

Pulled the battery cable, pulled the RAM. turned back on to 2 beeps, indicating no RAM. put the RAM back in, no more beeps, but nothing displays on the screen. Any ideas?

 

Wow, quick help from a fellow on AWA and apparently he was quoting a fellow NBR member, so I take no credit for this method. Quoted merely for preservation:
I'm assuming since your online, you have access to another machine.. Lets fix yours..
We're going to do a AMI BIOS Bootblock recovery.. It requires a USB stick.. Simple fix.

Follow these instructions to get back on your system WITHOUT a MB replacement.

1. Do a bootblock recovery to flash the proper rom.

2. If you have access to another machine, format a USB stick to FAT32.

3. Run AW15A05.EXE /writehdrfile. (Or whatever version you used BEFORE you bricked, as usually the bootblock isn't updated, but with some BIOS updates, it can be, so your more safe to use the same version you had on the machine BEFORE it bricked from improper flash.)

4. Now take this HDR file and rename it to AAP10.hdr. Put it on the root of the USB.

5. Now make a copy of this file and rename it AMIBOOT.ROM (all caps) so now there's 2 files on the USB key, AMIBOOT.ROM and AAP10.hdr. (Unconfirmed if uses old AMIBOOT.ROM or the new filename I found.. New aptio platform we haven't really played with yet, so lets use both..)

6. Now here's the fun part, you need the technical guide from dell and disconnect your MAIN battery, not the CMOS battery.. And unplug the PSU..

7. Now, insert your USB stick, hold down END key, plug PSU back in with battery removed.

8. It should turn on and after 5-10 mins, you should see USB activity.. Wait the FULL 10 mins. (Or until it shuts off on its own). Some have reported it took 2 mins when we were testing.

9. After this, try to shut it down using POWER if it didn't on its own, but it should. Then turn it back on.. You should be back on your system.

You don't need to flash again after, as this recovery will flash the complete ROM.. And don't' forget to reconnect your battery..

 

Yeah, I wrote that guide a while back and posted it here recently, http://forum.notebookreview.com/posts/10051222 . Glad it worked for you. I'm looking into the other models as well as this saves MB replacement time, and also if your out of warranty..

 

Good on you mate, +rep for a crucial and useful contribution to the Alienware scene!