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Reiper

37 Posts

11242

June 27th, 2007 13:00

E521 BIOS 1.1.10

Could anyone daring enough to flash their E521 to the new BIOS 1.1.10 please post their success/failures!  Also it didn't say if this release addresses the USB hub issue so if you can verify if this was corrected it would help greatly!  TIA

Fing

119 Posts

July 7th, 2007 16:00

And yet another failed flash attempt... Contact customer service mate...

microunit

10 Posts

July 8th, 2007 02:00

Sounds like Dell uses their customer as genius pegs to test the BIOS. Each time they put out the new firmware and more mobos failure. They should test out any conditions before release the official copy. I am so scare to upgrade every time the new ones release. I really don't know when the release is reliable to be upgrade. It makes everybody fluctuated. Is it the way they get rid of those old mobos(old version A01 to A02)? My friend got stuck with the old used mobo replacement and he is extremely upset. He is being treated like that over two months still the issue not be resolved. Although the system was charged so cheap they should not handle their business like that. I will foresee they will lost lot of business. Plus their customer care service contract out to India. It is wrong step to approach. They can not help you at all, they are just according their electronics bible to instruct you to resolve your issue. Hopefully they will change their attitude soon.

Message Edited by microunit on 07-07-2007 10:08 PM

Granouvetter

2 Posts

July 12th, 2007 09:00

I just updated 2 days ago from 1.1.4 to 1.1.10 without any issues during flashing.
 
Since then, Vista refuses to suspend itself into standby: Only Screen switches off, but the rest is remaining in power mode. I haven't entered the BIOS ever and use the "dell reconnomendend" energy-saving plan (in vista).
 
Anyone with same experience or help (better!)?
 
thanks a lot!!

Opt-e-Tech

12 Posts

July 12th, 2007 12:00

Take a peek in the BIOS and see if ACPI setting is still S3.  Couldn't explain why, but there's a chance it got flipped to S1.

Granouvetter

2 Posts

July 12th, 2007 15:00

ACPI Setting is S3 (factory setting), sorry.
I restored all BIOS to factory settings but situation is unchanged.
Maybe a Vista Bug? I found a couple of problem reports with standby mode in the Vista Forums (here at Dell) but nothing fits to my situation. (Problem definetely occured when I flashed my BIOS!)


Message Edited by Granouvetter on 07-12-2007 06:07 PM

Philip42h

103 Posts

July 15th, 2007 20:00


settyr wrote:
I've had problems with 1.1.4 since I got the PC in February (multiple attempts to restart each time).  Dell's technical support has forever been blaming Vista for this (telling me there are to many start up programs etc..), but finally, I've seen Dell announce that they recognise there is a problem.
 
Although I knew that going to 1.1.10 wouldn't fix the powered USB hubs problem, I thought I'd upgrade to 1.1.10 to make the next upgrade (when they fix that problem) simpler.  I mean staying current's what we're supposed to do, isn't it?
 
So I followed the instructions and did the upgrade.  It failed about thirty times over about three hours.  In the end I had to try and restart the PC.  As I expected, with the old BIOS gone and the new one not there, I have a completely dead PC.  This is just not fair.  I'm following what Dell recommends me to do and I have a crisis.
 
What can I do?

Get on to Dell and have them replace your motherboard ... there's nothing else to be done.
 
Its clear that some have managed to flash the BIOS successfully while it has failed for others. Note, however, that a BIOS flash simply replaces one BIOS with another. Going to 1.1.10 was never going to solve your start-up problem and certainly wasn't going to make the next upgrade simpler. BIOS flashes, particularly on the x521s, are to be avoided if at all possible ... welcome to the club :smileywink:

settyr

2 Posts

July 15th, 2007 20:00

I've had problems with 1.1.4 since I got the PC in February (multiple attempts to restart each time).  Dell's technical support has forever been blaming Vista for this (telling me there are to many start up programs etc..), but finally, I've seen Dell announce that they recognise there is a problem.
 
Although I knew that going to 1.1.10 wouldn't fix the powered USB hubs problem, I thought I'd upgrade to 1.1.10 to make the next upgrade (when they fix that problem) simpler.  I mean staying current's what we're supposed to do, isn't it?
 
So I followed the instructions and did the upgrade.  It failed about thirty times over about three hours.  In the end I had to try and restart the PC.  As I expected, with the old BIOS gone and the new one not there, I have a completely dead PC.  This is just not fair.  I'm following what Dell recommends me to do and I have a crisis.
 
What can I do?

dkh1020

7 Posts

July 23rd, 2007 17:00

Flashed the BIOS yesterday from 1.1.6 to 1.1.10 without any issues. Even so, I still have the same USB issues. Although, I really didn't expect the BIOS update to correct them.

settyr

2 Posts

July 24th, 2007 08:00

Got my PC back with new Motherboard yesterday.
Has Bios 1.1.6 installed.
PC booted really quickly first time (faster than ever before) but I've not tried it again.  Of course, my devices are now probably connected to different ports, so that might have something to do with it.
 
My fears are: If an when I do decide to flash the BIOS, how can I be sure it won't fail again?  Should I do so with Dell on the phone?
 
Another point: I have a multi-media keyboard.  This only becomes active once Vista has loaded.  So, if I want to use a keyboard prior to this (e.g. to look at the BIOS settings) I have to plug in a standard USB keyboard.  Do you think this is a related issue?
 
Thank you

ty1134

3 Posts

August 24th, 2007 12:00

"Attempted to update from 1.1.4 at Dell support rep's plus supervisor's direction with great reluctance.  The flash appeared to process straight forward.  On reboot you see the BIOS splash screen but the machine subsequently tries to boot PXE style from the NIC and fails, ending with a message that the machine is in manufacturing mode.  Message says press Alt - F to change to normal mode but all it seems to do is reboot and go through the same scenario of trying to boot from the network interface.  Dell can't tell me what to do to exit manufacturing mode so they've dispatched another system board replacement.  This is my first AMD platform machine.  Are AMD platforms this problematic or is it just Dell's implementation of AMD?
Looks like from prior entries that if you go from 1.1.8 to 1.1.10 it works like it should.  Seems like the 1.1.4 BIOS is a real challenge to get off of without trashing the BIOS.  I'd hazard a guess Dell neglected to test updating from 1.1.4.  Quality assurance is looking extremely poor or nonexistant.
If anyone has the magic decoder ring to emerge from manufacturing mode I'm all ears!  Thanks!
Update....
I can manage to load Windows using the F12 boot menu and selecting Bootable hard drive.  Once up in Windows I tried regressing from 1.1.10 back to 1.1.4.  Flash appeared to process normally but upon reboot the splash shows 1.1.4 but it proceeds to load a PXE NIC driver and get out over the NIC which fails and eventually reports being in manufacturing mode again.  Looks as if 1.1.10 changed the format of the CMOS where Dell keeps service tag, asset tag, and other system particulars and prior BIOS levels don't map the data using the same format 1.1.10 planted so either you get to 1.1.10 from 1.1.8 or you're in a pickle going from a pre 1.1.8 level that will take a system board replacement to straighten out.  I would advocate calling Dell prior to trying to update from a pre 1.1.8 level and see what they have to say.
BTW, what compelled this was calling Dell to get an explanation for the first serial ATA controller sharing IRQ 21 with the OpenHCD USB controller when there are unused IRQs available.  The IRQ sharing of the first SATA ctlr and the legacy USB ctlr puts just about all devices using IRQ 21.  Moving the HDD and DVD to the second SATA ctlr, SATA2 and SATA3, which is assigned to IRQ 22 by itself eliminates a lot of the quirks the E521 exhibits.  Lock ups in POST and while running seem to go away.  Dell insisted I get current and the highly credentialed supervisor assured me that would resolve the IRQ assignment (sharing), hence the BIOS update.  Not looking good on the confidence scale."
 
-This is what happened to me.  I had previously upgraded my bios to the new one with vista, but I had to get a new mobo after my first one died.  The second one I had xp with and everything fine and I tried upgrading and now it is stuck in this mode and not able to get out, does anyone know how to get out of manufacturing mode without manually booting from the hard drive.  I don't want to waste my money on another one of these boards.


Message Edited by ty1134 on 08-24-2007 08:17 AM

Opt-e-Tech

12 Posts

August 24th, 2007 14:00

If you haven't tried what I'm about to suggest, give it a try....
If you have a cable or DSL connection hook the machine to your modem or router with an ethernet cable and power on.  The boot process will try to connect to Dell.  This may take several minutes so be patient.  If it finds what it's looking for the CMOS will be updated such that it transitions the machine out of manufacturing mode and into normal mode.
If that doesn't work, because the boards don't have any method of BIOS recovery, I believe your only recourse is to contact Dell for another board replacement.  If you explain the chronology of what you went through Dell should replace the board at their expense because the fault lies with changes Dell has made to the BIOS beyond your control.  Because Dell support(?) is such a joy to work with I hope the first suggestion works.  Please put a post out if it does.  Thanks!  Optie
Note to Dell- why don't you remove the 1.1.10 flash from downloads- if it hasn't become evident it hasn't been adequately tested and it hasn't been documented there is a dependency requirement in the sequence of BIOS version updating, there would seem to be serious cognitive deficits within the support organization.
Hope all the Walmart and Sams E521s are shipped with BIOS 1.1.10 or Dell is liable to have a time on their hands when a greater number of patrons trash boards trying to update in hopes of big gains from a 'recommended' BIOS update.  The handling of the E521 BIOS situation has become an extremely poor reflection on Dell.  Dell- this handling of E521 has ended my patronage of the brand if any of your moderators happen to pick up on this.  How many other customers do you suspect this has alienated from the brand?  I'd urge getting this situation rectified 'yesterday'.


Message Edited by Opt-e-tech on 08-24-2007 10:43 AM

ty1134

3 Posts

August 24th, 2007 14:00

I beleive it was hooked up to my cable modem when I was going through this, so I don't think that will work.  And with contacting dell, I bought my computer externally, and they do not have the service code or express code on file, so if I can not get it out of this mode I guess I will have to be stuck with manually booting from the harddrive. 

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