BIOS Upgrade

Hi rusty.07, I would suggest you to download the BIOS file onto the system again using Internet Explorer. Execute the downloaded file in the Normal mode so that BIOS gets upgraded.

Thanks much, DELL-Ravi Ch, but I am still getting the same error message.

Hi rusty.07,

I would suggest you to download the BIOS file onto the system again using Internet Explorer. Execute the downloaded file in the Normal mode so that BIOS gets upgraded.

The bios for the Inspiron 620 desktop can be found here. If you go to this page and click on "installation instruction", it will expand and you will see the following:

Download file to Desktop
The file MS-A02.exe is using the Universal (Windows/ DOS) format and is designed to be directly executed from Windows environment.

1. Click Download now.
   The File Download window appears.
2. Click the Save button.
   The Save As window appears.
3. Select Desktop using the drop-down menu to the right of Save in.
4. Click the Save button.
   A progress meter moves as the download is completed.
5. If necessary, click X in the upper right-hand corner of the Download Progress Window to close it upon completion.

NOTE: Shut down all other applications prior to running the BIOS update utility. The update utility reboots your system in order to get the new BIOS loaded.

Run the BIOS update utility from Windows environment

1. Double click the Icon on your desktop labeled MS-A02.exe.
   The Dell BIOS Flash window appears
2. Click the Continue button.
   The message Pressing OK will close all applications, shut down Windows, Flash the BIOS, then reboot. appears.
3. Click the OK button.
   The system will restart and the BIOS Flash will be completed.

Run the BIOS update utility from DOS environment (Non-Windows users)

 NOTE:You will need to provide a bootable DOS diskette. This executable file does not create the DOS system files.

1. Copy the file MS-A02.exe to a bootable floppy.
2. Boot from the floppy to the DOS prompt.
3. Run the file by typing Y:\MS-A02.exe (where y is the drive letter where the executable is located).

Why you got the errors you did, i don't know but you should not need to use safe mode. Use the normal Windows mode and simple run MS-A02.exe after closing all other running applications. That is, simply close any running apps and open windows (without worrying too much about leaving something running) before double clicking MS-A02.exe and let it do it's thing.

Note that if you again click Fixes and Enhancements from the above linked BIOS page, you will see the following:

Fixes & Enhancements

So all this does is update the microcode which is irrelevant to you unless you want to update to the latest processor supported by your system.

I don't know if an earlier BIOS fix or enhance something substantial or worthwhile but unless you have some issue that is resolved by a BIOS update, it's best to leave well enough alone..

Thanks, Skylarking, but that BIOS version was older than what I have installed.

Why do you want to upgrade your BIOS, if everything is working I would not bother. Or as the old saying goes, if it's not broke, don't fiddle with it. My 570 is running a BIOS which is 2 upgrade behind the current one.

I have never flashed a BIOS from within a Windows environment, but Dell tech support said I could. But obviously that didn't work. Comments appreciated.

If you can, install the update from a DOS-booted USB flash drive. That's how I install my BIOS updates.

[quote user="rusty.07"]   I have never flashed a BIOS from within a Windows environment, but Dell tech support said I could. But obviously that didn't work. Comments appreciated.

If you can, install the update from a DOS-booted USB flash drive. That's how I install my BIOS updates.

[/quote]

Should I extract the .exe files onto the USB drice, or just copy the .exe file as is?

Why do you want to upgrade your BIOS, if everything is working I would not bother. Or as the old saying goes, if it's not broke, don't fiddle with it. My 570 is running a BIOS which is 2 upgrade behind the current one.

That makes sense. It's just that, according to Dell, it is a recommended update. I am puzzled as to why I am getting an error message. Must be something wrong with the .exe file.

I've done this before on my old MSI board, but it was done via floppy disk in DOS mode.

If you can, install the update from a DOS-booted USB flash drive. That's how I install my BIOS updates.

I tried that route, and it looked like things were going to work, but I briefly saw an error message during the upgrade, and it disappeared faster than I could read it.

After booting into Windows, I rebooted and went into the BIOS page and saw that the update did not take (still running version A04). I then booted back into DOS and tried the update again, and here is what it said...

-      Error: Problem allocating memory

Sorry RUSTY.07 but Google search provided me an old link...

Searching Dell drivers and downloads for Inspiron 620 & 620s provides the latest MS-A10 BIOS here. And expanding the "Previous Versions" section shows the old BIOS' and their release dates with links to these old BIOS's. Looking at each BIOS release and the associated "fixes and enhancements" and "checksum" sections yields the following information:

So after downloading the BIOS file, you can use the MD5 (or SHA-1 or SHA-256) checksum above to verify that the download is not corrupt. I use FileAlyzer and the "hashes" tab to check such file properties but there are many ways to skin that cat...

Note that these BIOS updates do not seem to be so urgent, so unless you have an issue i wouldn't bother as has already been mentioned previously.
I also believe a BIOS chip is flash based tech so it has limited read/write endurance and at some stage (years?) expect this flash chip to loose read/write ability where you may not be able to boot your system any more as a consequence (hence my like for socketed BIOS chips of days gone by)!

As to why you have an issue flashing, who knows, but i would try to incrementally update the BIOS if you feel you need to have the latest.

So since you have A04, i would try flashing A04 again and then check it is successful, after which try with MS-A08 and again check it is successful. Then finally try again with MS-A10 and check it is successful.

If you still have problems, you could return BIOS settings back to defaults, clear any BIOS passwords and try again to flash MS-A10 and see if this helps. Obviously take note of any non default settings you have made first so you can set them again after the flash.

In all cases i would flash BIOS from within windows as that utility seems to have more sanity checks (at least it did when i last did my Dell desktop)...

It may sound odd to do incremental updates or return BIOS to default settings but some BIOS' have prerequisites and OEMs don't always have clear documentation identifying such issues in all instances.

Update BIOS (y/n)? y Disable secure compatibility function. CurVer:A04, Chk version A: A00, Chk version X :X00 -      Error: Problem allocating memory

Some motherboards require a jumper be set to disable BIOS anti-malware protection.

Some motherboards require a jumper be set to disable BIOS anti-malware protection.

Any idea where to find it? I don't have any mother board documentation.

Skylarking, I downloaded the file analyzer you linked to, and I check the appropriate boxes on the hash tab, but I am not proficient enough to decipher the posted results. Will I get an error of some sort?

Here is the scan report below...

RUSTY.07 the MD5 hash you get via FileAlyzer matches the MD5 hash within the "checksum" section of the MS-A10 BIOS download page so your copy of MS-A10.exe is OK and there is need to worry about the file integrity. It's good practice to always check the hash (whether it's MD5, SHA-1 or SHA-256) against that listed on the download page itself, thought not all sites provide a file hash for their downloads, as matching hashes prove the file downloaded OK.

If, for example, the file MS-A10.exe was corrupted during the downloading process, the MD5 hash you get from FileAlyzer would not match the hash within the "checksum" section of the Dell download page and likely the file would not run correctly when double clicked. Luckily this is not your problem in this case and we know the file is OK...

Since you don't have documentation, it's a good idea to download all available documentation for your Inspiron 620 and spend a little time reading the few documents that exist. So this Inspiron 620 page is a must have bookmark within your browser as it has tabs for "Drivers & Downloads" (software) and "Manuals and Documentation" amongst other tabs for your system.

I did a quick read of the service manual and it seems your motherboard only has two jumpers, one for clearing the CMOS (CMOSCLR1 at location 14) and one for clearing passwords (PSWDCLR1 at location 17). Note that within the service manual, the CMOSCLR1 jumper is described as "clearing CMOS password" which i believe is a wrong description as this jumper is likely used to clear CMOS memory and returns BIOS settings to defaults.

It's worth resetting the PSWRDCLR1 jumper and then resetting the CMOSCLR1 jumper which should return your system to a clean slate default setting. Then jump into BIOS and go to the "Security" tab and check all entries. You should no longer have BIOS Admin or system passwords set and HDD protection feature (HDD boot sector protection against viruses) should be disabled. Then try and flash the BIOS again. 

As rdunnill mentioned, the issue may be some BIOS anitvirus protection measure but i can't see that HDD boot sector protection stopping a BIOS update (and in any case resetting CMOS to defaults ensures such features are off). On newer systems with TPM chips and BitLocker active, you need to temporarily suspend BitLocker protection before you flash the BIOS and in a similar vein, if you have a "secure boot" UEFI BIOS, there are actions that need to be taken like Dell signing their BIOS files and making users jump other hurdles before flashing the BIOS. Luckily in your case, this does not seem to be the cause as your system predates such "initiatives" and you don't have a TPM chip or UEFI BIOS or BitLocker drive encryption to worry about... So do as i mentioned and reset those 2 jumpers and re-flash the BIOS incrementally as previously mentioned.