Update BIOS from A04 to A11

Question

I am working on updating my components on my Aurora and have already moved to a New GTX 660 and 24gb of ram so I am now experiencing bottlenecking in games due to my CPU so I am wanting to overclock my processor.

I have an Aurora R1 with an i7 920 and want to update my Bios.

I saw there was a lot of issues with killing motherboards when updating Bios on these rigs.

I am curious if these problems were ever fixed?

Also suggestions on how to make a boot usb with the right file to update the Bios.

Thanks

Marcus

Tesla1856 · Accepted Answer

1. I saw there was a lot of issues with killing motherboards when updating Bios on these rigs.

2. I am curious if these problems were ever fixed?

3. Also suggestions on how to make a boot usb with the right file to update the Bios.

1. Correct because most try from Windows (not even Safe-Mode). If under warranty, call Dell and have them help you ... free MB if bricked.

2. No, it would be impossible to add Dual-Bios or BIOS-Mode-Flashing at this point. Not sure why it wasn't added to Aurora R4 or x51.

3. Yes, do it outside Windows for best chance of not bricking.

http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/p/19405753/19946447.aspx#19946447

DELL-Rajath N · Answer

Hi marcus712,

The BIOS update process can only damage the motherboard if the power supply is interrupted. You can download and install the latest BIOS from the following link by punching in the Service Tag:
http://dell.to/QjjZDA

The BIOS update file can be run from Windows and creating a DOS boot drive is not required.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.

marcus712 · Answer

One last question. Can I use the a11.exe file that I have download as is or do I need to modify it to boot from and how do I format my USB to boot this file?

marcus712 · Answer

Got a chance to run home for lunch and put in my service tag and it says I have an Aurora ALX will this make any difference?

Tesla1856 · Answer

One last question.

Can I use the a11.exe file that I have download as is or do I need to modify it to boot from and how do I format my USB to boot this file?

Sometimes they provide separate executables for DOS vs Windows. If only one is provided, it should work in both environments.

Try it. If the executable ends-up not working in DOS (really meaning ... outside Windows) you will have to take that up with Dell.

My Aurora R1 (x58 chipset) machine came with A09, and is rock-solid ... so I never messed with BIOS upgrades on this machine (and likely never will).

Tesla1856 · Answer

Got a chance to run home for lunch and put in my service tag and it says I have an Aurora ALX will this make any difference?

No. Both the Aurora R1 and the Aurora ALX R1 both have the same motherboard and therefore, BIOS.

marcus712 · Answer

Great thanks a million for the replies. Marcus

marcus712 · Answer

So i believe the bios update was successful but now when I power up it loads about halfway through bios and freezes... Thoughts on how to fix? I tried to f2 and f12 and it wont respond.

marcus712 · Answer

Fixed by removing the battery for bios. Up and functioning. Thanks again for the help

Tesla1856 · Answer

Cool. Had me worried. I would go in there and 'Load BIOS Defaults' if you haven't already. That should re-initialize all the settings and clear out any garbage,

Locked Topics – Alienware General

Update BIOS from A04 to A11

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