XPS Dimension One A2010 BIOS Problems After Update

That Service Tag number is real, in the sense that it brings up the XPS One service manual, even if it's not the owner's own Service Tag number. So I suggest you edit your post to remove it  ASAP. Posting a Service Tag is a violation of the forum's terms of use and the Moderators could delete this entire thread. :emotion-5:

Try clearing BIOS. Run BIOS setup and look for an option to reset BIOS to factory default settings. Reset BIOS, exit setup and reboot.

If there's no option for resetting BIOS, you may have to pull the motherboard battery.

Power off and unplug from the wall.

Press/hold power button for ~15 sec

Open the case and remove the battery

Press/hold power button again for ~30 sec

Reinstall the battery (right-side-up!) and see if it boots now.

If it still won't boot, the motherboard may be toast. :emotion-6:

Can't answer your other question about QST.

Ron

BTW: Are you sure the Service Tag is really incorrect now? (Don't post the correct one either!).

The BIOS update you did to v2.0.6 was a waste of time. According to the posted info, it only updates the Dell logo, which is inconsequential for the PC's function. And that brings up an important point:

It's not worth updating BIOS unless the update fixes a problem you actually have. On some ocassions, an update can turn a PC into a useless brick. So if it ain't broke, don't break it!

If you can't get past those error messages by clearing BIOS,  and the system is still under warranty, the owner should contact Dell Tech Support for repair.

Ron

Me again...

Are you sure you're not confusing the Service Tag number with Dell's Express Service Code number? They're two separate numbers that can be used to identify the system. 

An Express Service Code is a mathematical conversion of the System Service Tag into a purely numeric format allowing for easy entry into Dell's automated call-routing system.

If you go here and put in the number you think is the Service Tag (but is really the Express Service Code), it should give you the real Service Tag number for this system. I suspect you'll get the number that's in your original post (and should be deleted ASAP!).

Ron

No longer under warranty, RoHe.

This is some crazy stuff.  This is the first time I've ever seen a BIOS update go bad like this and I've done literally thousands, servers and desktops and laptops and appliances and consumer electronics and so on.  It's one thing for a flash to outright fail and brick something or fall back to some TFTP type of oopsie mode.  This is something else entirely.

PS, the Advanced Chipset Features page on the BIOS is blank.  Though I have no idea what that page is supposed to look like...

I edited the post but no, that's not the number that is printed on the base.  I guess it's always possible that the owner had this serviced and that's a legit code from an already-replaced motherboard.

There's a "load optimal settings" option.  Tried that before - no use.

Well, pulling the battery did zap the date and time.  But not much else.  Still getting the fan errors on boot.  F1 gets past it.

I wouldn't say the motherboard is "toast" since the system still boots and Windows is functional.

I'd like to see the "PCI Simple Communications Controller" exclamation point in Device Manager go away.  What the heck does the QST thing do anyway??

Funny how stuff turns up when you're looking for other things.  I found...

The QST driver issue in Win7 is remedied by running the installer in Vista32-SP2 compatibility mode (and as Administrator):
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/software-os/f/3524/t/19301944.aspx

The BIOS issue doesn't look quite as promising however:
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19262905.aspx?PageIndex=1

So apparently Dell has been making available a BIOS with known issues for over a year and I don't see any posts in that thread that indicate that I have any solution short of replacing a motherboard, which, seems to have been done once already considering the mis-match between service tags in the BIOS and on the base, and which I don't think will happen because this puppy has been out of warranty for just shy of three months.

Thanks all who replied on these issues.

Brad_ B,

  I recently had my mobo replaced twice on my XPS M2010 by a Dell tech because of a failure which was really the video card, not the mobo. The first replacement  already had a service tag # in it which wasn't mine. The tech could "not" change it to mine which caused him to do another mobo change. It appears there is a Q.C. problem with their refurb. unit because there should not be a ser. tag # in a mobo when it goes to the field. Removing the battery did nothing but mess up the date and time as you said. My guess is that there was a mobo change and someone elses tag # was left in it rather than change it. to the warrantied owner.

Thought I would pass on my experience to you. 

And you're sure the fans are actually working correctly? Could be a coincidence that they failed just when you did the BIOS update.

Dell fans typically have a sensor in them, so it's possible the sensor failed. Or the motherboard failed and no longer gets input from the sensors. Reboot and press F12 before Windows starts to load. Go to Utilities partition and run the fan tests.

Ron

EDIT: Does this system meet the requirements for Win 7? Do you need to install a (Vista) chipset driver?

Did the owner get a Dell Resources CD with the system? You can run the diagnostics after booting from that disk.

I nudged a contact at Dell to see if they can come up with a fix for this problem. No guarantees they'll look at the problem or be able to come up with a fix. :emotion-5:

Give the owner a pair of ear plugs when you return the system. :emotion-4:

Ron

Ron, the A2010 does not appear to meet the requirements for Win7 but the chipset driver (and all the other drivers, including the QST driver if you tweak the compatibility mode) from Dell's web site all seem to function fine.

Oh yeah, and the bozo who installed Win7 blew away the utilities partition when he did it.

Yes, the fans are working.  Impossible not to hear them!  :-)

If you look at one of those links I supplied, or better yet, Google dell a2010 bios fan failure, you'll see dozens of complaints just like mine.  It's very interesting that going back to the original BIOS doesn't solve the issue for anyone.  What is also interesting is that if you look at Service Manual, on the Diagnostic Error Message page is mention of "CPU fan failure, 0RPM (New feature. Not included in current specifications.)"  Yet the QST driver is specifically for fan control.  Hahahaha [doomph!]

There is something about Dell's BIOS update that make a permanent and undesirable change elsewhere on the motherboard.  Not a big shocker on a server platform where the backplane, mainboard, lights-out hardware, etc. all have independent firmware but pretty much unheard of on desktop platforms.  Dell has known about this problem for over a year, still hasn't fixed it, and still solves the issue by swapping out motherboards!

I'm just glad the system still works, albeit noisily.  But Dell really needs to get off their butts and fix their BIOS!

Thanks for reaching out to Dell, Ron.  Even if there's no fix I'd love an explanation of what the 2.0.6 BIOS flash is doing that could permanently damage a motherboard.  It's one thing for a flash to go back and outright brick a machine, or have consequences that require going to an older ROM image, or require updates to other ROM images on a system or even be incompatible with certain engineering revisions of hardware, but seriously, this is a new one for me and it's not like I'm a n00b!

Frankly I don't see the point of diagnostics right now anyhow.  It's not like the fans have actually failed.

I just can't believe that Dell has allowed this problem to go on for so long.  Not just from a common sense perspective but dollars and cents.  OTOH clearly the newer BIOS is more than just a logo change, otherwise it wouldn't be capable of doing this much damage and they wouldn't be keeping it available.

According to the publcally available notes, the only thing changed in v2.0.6 is the logo.  That isn't to say there isn't some sort of error in this version that's causing the problems you've encountered.  Wouldn't be the first time there's been  an "oops" in a Dell BIOS release. :emotion-5:

You might just want to check that the fan cables are all firmly connected to the motherboard. Dell fans typically have a sensor in them, so if they're not connected correctly, you'd get that error message and the fans may run at top speed.

Don't stay awake nights waiting for Dell to review this and come up with a fix.

Ron

There are now numerous posts online from people (such as myself) who have broken the fan control on the XPS one by applying a bios which was a 'recommended update'.

Has anyone discovered any kind of fix, I have tried speedfan but cannot get it to control the fans.  I take it their are no quieter fans that can be installed?

I am left with a nice PC which sounds like a helicopter, and i am presuming Dell have now forgotten about their blunder.

CLC

I would suggest to try reinstalling the Windows 7 OS again as this will reconfigure the Bios to it's original state. What else have you got to lose?.