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ryannel2001

116 Posts

15440

July 4th, 2007 00:00

BIOS Flash Failed

Hello all! Well I was flashing my Dimension E521 to the newest BIOS and when I tried it repeatedly was telling me that the flash had failed. So I tried to re-flash it with no luck. So I exited out of the program because Windows was telling me it wasn't responding. Now when I turn the computer on all that I get is an orange light. No BIOS , Dell screen, anything. Guess it's time to call Dell and have them fix it. Thank god I have all my stuff backed up, I would be so messed up if I didn't.

fireberd

9 Legend

 • 

33.3K Posts

July 4th, 2007 09:00

Unfortunately if a BIOS fails, such as yours, the only option is to replace the motherboard.

Fing

119 Posts

July 4th, 2007 11:00

Hopefully you are still under warranty. Give customer service a holler and tell them what happened. I'm On my third mobo for my E521 both failures were caused by failed bios updates. Dell has been pretty good about getting them fixed. Do try to get the "tech" off the script if he/she tries to get you doing a lot of troubleshooting steps. Mostly causes they're not gonna work. And just waste time. Just remind thech that bios flash failure = dead motherboard.

ryannel2001

116 Posts

July 4th, 2007 13:00

Dell is sending a tech out to my house to replace the motherboard. At first they were saying that they couldn't replace it because it was a "user failure". However, the guy was very helpful and easily helped solve the issue. Either Thursday or Friday I should have the motherboard fixed. Hopefully they won't have to erase my hard drive, even though everything is backed up on my iBook. I have been very satisfied with Dell Support.

Fing

119 Posts

July 4th, 2007 20:00

Ya know I kinda got the same thing from the first tech I talked to...
I reminded him that this user followed the instructions listed for a piece of their software on a recommended update. It was their software that failed. He sent a repair guy over.

Of course this was all after the 30min try this do that troubleshooting script I played along with up to the point where he asked me to put my PCI-E vid board in another slot..... I told him to check the specs on my mother board and that I was done playing.

Second board failed, and there were no questions asked by that tech. He just sent me the board via DHL and I had it the next morning. (He did state the obvious recommendation that I not attempt to flash the bios with that particular update again)
LoL

Reiper

37 Posts

July 4th, 2007 21:00

I'm assuming you were trying to flash to version 1.1.10? What version were you trying to flash from? Version 1.1.4 is known to have issues as far as flashing from... I'm currently at 1.1.8 and unless I see a compelling reason to upgrade, I'm sticking with it! Good luck on the mobo replacement!

ryannel2001

116 Posts

July 5th, 2007 03:00

The version I had before was 1.1.5. I usually have no problems updating my BIOS but I knew when the first time failed that I was done for. As long as they fix my computer, I will be happy. Will they need to erase the HD for the new motherboard? I wouldn't think so.

fireberd

9 Legend

 • 

33.3K Posts

July 5th, 2007 09:00

They won't touch the hard drive.  Just replace the motherboard.

mombodog

12.7K Posts

July 6th, 2007 22:00

 


Message Edited by mombodog on 07-06-2007 06:10 PM

ryannel2001

116 Posts

July 7th, 2007 11:00

Well my E521 is back up and running better than ever! The repair person came out late last night, but was very helpful and installed a new motherboard and power supply. Took about 30 minutes and I had the computer back up and running! Even better, I now have XP Pro instead of Vista (ugh). So Dell Support has been more than helpful with resolving my issue. Thanks for all the help guys!

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