New Guy BIOS Questions

So I've been having some minor issues with my Alienware and I was told by one of my friends that a BIOS update might fix some of them, and would ultimately help my laptop. BUT, I have never updated a BIOS before, and I've heard horror stories about how, if done improperly, they could brick your hardware.

So, I have a few questions before I attempt to update.

1) If I have A05, will I be okay with just installing A09? Or do I have to go through A06, A07, and A08 before getting there?

2) I found THIS site with how-to instructions on updating. It says that, ideally, you should be running off of an uninterrupted power source. But my laptop has been giving me the "This AC adapter is not the one that came shipped with your machine" (though it was) error on startup. Is this going to be an issue?
NOTE: My laptop warranty has expired, so I can't send it in to get a new AC adapter....

3) Concerning the bootable flash drive... what exactly am I doing? Do I just put the M15xA09.zip on any old flash drive, unzip it, then running f.bat in the command prompt?

4) What, exactly, is going to happen when I execute f.bat? Will I have to go through on screen instructions after the PC reboots or does the machine do everything itself?

5) IF I screw up, can I use one of the discs that came with the computer to fix everything? If not, is there a way to fix it?


Thank you in advance! I'm really nervous about this because I don't want to brick my $2,000 graduation gift...

 

generally speaking if a bios flash is borked you have a really nice paperweight. that said do some more homework, I had a program that would flash a bios from in Windows which was kinda cool as if it didn't work the first time you could just keep trying till it did. It took me two tries to flash a motherboard of my previous computer which lasted me a solid 5 years.

 

Okay here's the link for the bios, turn to page two for general instruction from the rev

And the failure of flashing your bios will basically brick your laptop and u'll have to send it back to Dell. However, chances are low, flashing bios is much safer than in the past so just go with it.
If my memory serves me right, there'll be an option for you to choose usb flash drive to flash your bios, correct me if i'm wrong people.
Lastly, i think your psu's problem should be fixed before the flashing
edit: Oh, i forgot, just set your computer to boot from flash drive and then follow the screen's instructions

 

Chances of brick-ing your graduation gift are really low.

Go for it! Just remember to have the battery plugged and fully charged.
And be calm when you start the process.

 

I was nervous about doing my first bios flash a month back, but its a lot easier than it sounds. I went from A06 to A09, so going from 5 to 9 is no biggy. However, I used the cd option as it seemed to be a better option. Just a heads up i got a problem when doing the ec flash, but just find the_revelators post on the command you have to type to force the flash. Can't remember exactly what the command was off hand. It does fix the gpu throttling down issues, so u will get better fps in games. On the other hand, during normal use my pc now throttles up and down a lot more during normal use as well as higher fan speeds due to the constant throttles. Any questions dont b afraid to post bak.

 

Oh, yes... yes... Do the CD update option. It's easier.

 

Hello Everyone.. I am a newbie here and i am a bit afraid about the bios falshing, I am currently on A01.. should i flash A09 directly?

 

EDITED: Don't do it! Do as is mentioned here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/608331-new-guy-bios-questions.html#post7883104

 

"@pepemosca.. I made a thread for that purpose and THE REVELATOR told me that I need to Flash A02 first and then jump yo A09, I actually went through his instructions and it worked. BTW thanks for your support I dunno if it can be flashed directly or not.

 

Sh*t! I just hope you didn't do it as I said
Sorry, sorry for that one. I thought... Sorry.

 

Ohh man.. anyway its okay.. Thank God i din read this thread before flashing ... anyway its ok dude

 

It wouldn't cause any damage, it just won't flash. It gives you an error with a 4 digit code and stops. Wise of Dell to include that safeguard.

 

Oh yeah... That was a wise one by dell.. Thanks Rev.