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    Bios question?

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by 0lok, Jul 28, 2015.

  1. 0lok

    0lok Notebook Deity

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    1.)how will you know bios update is successful and without errors?
    2.)can you flash bios straight from a00 to a05 and vice versa? like from a05 to a00?
     
    0lok, Jul 28, 2015
    #1
  2. sirleeofroy

    sirleeofroy Notebook Evangelist

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    As far as I know you'll only be able to upgrade the BIOS not downgrade and in my general experience with Dell laptops I found it best to do each incremental BIOS update rather than jump straight to the latest as it may depend on having a certain update already installed ie: must have A03 before being able to install A05.

    Of course you could go right ahead and install the latest BIOS and have no problems!

    If the install fails then the utility with tell you but I'm pretty sure it will verify the file beforehand, I've not had a BIOS update fail on me since the 90's.
     
    Last edited: Jul 28, 2015
    sirleeofroy, Jul 28, 2015
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  3. 0lok

    0lok Notebook Deity

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    wow.. ok thanks alot.. i downgraded bios from a05 to a02 then a00.. now i can relate to everyone that a00 is the best bios in terms of fan profile.. hahahahhaha.. was too afraid to downgrade bios and might brick the laptop.. anyways thanks for the info.
     
    0lok, Jul 28, 2015
    #3
  4. Lord Zog

    Lord Zog Notebook Guru

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    Unless a lot has changed, or otherwise specified, you can go to latest from lowest and vice versa.. The BIOS update is a FULL ROM and will update what's needed.. If you watch the update, it skips the first few rows as that's BOOTBLOCK and usually isn't updated, but it's included in the ROM file.. Same with Embedded Controller ROM and Intel ME firmware.. If Dell specifies you need to update to a certain ROM first, that's cause they moved information, changed structure, or BOOTBLOCK was modified for some reason and not compatible with older versions, then you can have issues if you downgrade past that ROM..

    If you have a failed update or a bricked update and can't boot, the BOOTBLOCK does have recovery options and that's why it's not updated unless needed, and the details are specified here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/posts/10051222 to fix it. Just need a USB stick and access to another machine to add the contents to the stick.
     
    Lord Zog, Jul 28, 2015
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  5. 0lok

    0lok Notebook Deity

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    thank you for the information.
     
    0lok, Jul 28, 2015
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