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8670
March 4th, 2005 03:00
BIOS upgrade stuck - afraid to touch PC
Please advise! All the SP2 upgrade advice said to upgrade the BIOS first. I couldn't find a diskette, so I used the instructions for non-diskette http download. I doubleclicked on the downloaded file/icon, and it flashed quickly, then nothing. I wasn't sure if it had done anything.
Since it never asked me questions about upgrading, I thought it didn't do it, so I finally found a diskette and tried the other download instructions. I then happened to look at Task Manager and saw that it said the "bios" process was running, so I then wondered what was going on. And suddenly the bios process was gone.
So, thinking it still needed the upgrade, I booted the diskette and answered "Y" to the upgrade question. Now it's stuck in the pink Flash Utility screen with the "BIOS Update In Progress" message flashing.
I'm suspecting that the 1st method really did upgrade it, and that when the diskette tried, it was initially fooled into thinking it still needed the upgrade (since it hadn't rebooted yet) and got stuck in never-never land.
I'd really appreciate any advice as to what I can do!! Can I take out the disk and reboot?? (the disk is not being accessed.) What have I done?!
Thanks for whatever help you can provide.
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Majestic
2 Intern
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9.4K Posts
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March 4th, 2005 12:00
If you haven't done so by now go ahead and remove the floppy disk and reboot. The machine will either boot normally or it won't boot at all. If you have experienced a bad BIOS flash, shutting the machine off now or rebooting won't cause anymore damage. If the machine does boot up normally then go into your BIOS Setup and check the BIOS version number at the top of the page to see if the BIOS was indeed updated. If the machine fails to boot up then try clearing the NVRAM by following the procedure I've listed below. If that doesn't correct the problem and the machine still fails to boot up then call Dell Tech Support for repairs if the machine is still under warranty.
To clear the NVRAM by removing the battery.........
With the machine unplugged from the wall remove the battery from the motherboard. Then with the machine still unplugged press the On button for several seconds to dissipate any remaining electrical charge on the motherboard. Then re-install the battery, plug the machine back into the wall and see if it will boot normally.
smh_101
3 Posts
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March 4th, 2005 12:00
smh_101
3 Posts
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March 5th, 2005 22:00
Thank you so much! Your suggestions gave me the confidence to take the disk out and reboot, and it was just fine. The PC booted normally. I had also consulted a techhie friend who was impressed with the quality of your advice.
Majestic
2 Intern
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9.4K Posts
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March 6th, 2005 12:00