This post is more than 5 years old
58 Posts
0
7235
Inspiron 3650, BIOS update, 15th June 2018
Just had a notification that I should update the BIOS on an Inspiron 3650 to Version 3.6.0, 3.6.0
My current BIOS version is 3.5.2 dated 07/12/2017
After reading all the nightmare stories on here about problems users have had when updating the BIOS on their computers, I'm really very reluctant to do it. It seems that Dell leaves you high and dry (according to some of the posts on here) when updates fail and causes problems
What problems am I likely to encounter if I don't update please?
If I did update and it **bleep** my system, would a System Restore put me back to where I was? I'm on Windows 10.
Many thanks for responses.
RoHe
10 Elder
10 Elder
•
44.3K Posts
1
July 17th, 2018 15:00
You could do a little more troubleshooting. I'm not sure your monitor test was sufficient. It may have done its self-test but do you know it will actually accept an input video signal even after getting those test results? All it seems to be saying is that it knows there's no video signal, which is what you'd expect from the way you ran the test. Best way to know is test this monitor with a different PC or laptop with a video output port. Or a different monitor on this PC.
If this PC has an add-in video card, physically remove the card from the PC and then clear BIOS by doing the "battery thing" again. Now connect a known-working monitor to either the onboard HDMI or onboard VGA video port and boot the PC. (Those ports are likely to be disabled as long as an add-in card is installed.)
You can also disconnect all internal drives and try to boot. With no drives connected you would expect to get a "drive not found" error. Or remove all RAM modules, do the "battery thing" and reboot. You should get 2 beeps (no RAM detected) from the tower. No beeps = likely failed motherboard.
Only you can decide if it's worthwhile to get a new motherboard. You can contact Dell Spare Parts (1-800-357-3355) to see how much they'd charge for a new board. Have Service Tag handy. Then search around on the internet for alternative sources and prices. Be sure to consider if it's new vs used vs refurbished, and warranty, if any, not just $ alone when comparing choices. A quick Google found a couple of motherboards for ~$90.
Davey2018
21 Posts
0
July 18th, 2018 21:00
Well, I hooked up the monitor from my other computer, no result. I do not have add on video card so I pulled the memory, did the battery thing and fired it up. No beep, not a sound other than the fan. That mother board does't look fun.
RoHe
10 Elder
10 Elder
•
44.3K Posts
1
July 19th, 2018 12:00
If you're sure the BIOS recovery options won't work, you'll have to decide whether to replace this motherboard or get a new PC...
Replacing the motherboard will probably require you to contact Microsoft to obtain a new product key to activate Win 10 again. MS allows you to do that for free, as long as the replacement motherboard is the same as the original, so you shouldn't have a problem.
If you go the "new" route, you should be able to recover your files from the old hard drive, if they're not already backed up elsewhere. You can either install the old drive as a secondary drive in a new PC to copy your files over, and then wipe the old drive and use it for extra storage. Or, you can install the old drive in an external hard drive case will connects to any PC via USB to retrieve your files...
Really sorry you had these problems.... :smileysad:
Davey2018
21 Posts
0
July 19th, 2018 12:00
One of my concerns is the programs I bought and installed on that pc like micrsoft office student version. That was $150. I am really leary of buying another Dell product. I had issues with my first dell update when it was new. Everytime it went into sleep mode it would not wake up and required a hard boot. I had to turn off sleep mode to fix this. Seems like dell products are trying to support the "black screen society" , obviously some kind of secret society. The other prblem is the dell site does not show boards in stock telling me this is a large problem. I do have family pictures I need on this thing though. Thanks for all your help Ron. Under different circumstances it would have been fun.
RoHe
10 Elder
10 Elder
•
44.3K Posts
1
July 19th, 2018 16:00
I typed a response but it disappeared... :Angry:
Software installed on the hard drive now shouldn't be a problem because it's already activated. Win 10 is different because it stores its product key on the motherboard.
This PC model is relatively "old" so that may be why the website says the motherboard isn't available. But I'd call Dell Spare Parts directly at 1-800-357-3355, have Service Tag handy. They're more likely to have more current info than the website. If you Google, you'll find lots of sellers offering this motherboard, some even claiming it's new. So check around.
If you buy a board, you're going to have to swap it yourself, unless you have a geeky friend or take it to a reliable PC shop.
PCs not waking from Sleep is a Windows/Microsoft problem and not limited to Dell PCs. Actually, it probably was going into Hibernation which is more likely to prevent a PC from waking up without a hard reboot.
You have to decide what to do now...
Davey2018
21 Posts
0
July 19th, 2018 17:00
Again thanks for your help. I will give dell a call. I would trust the part source a bit more. Maybe I'll learn something.
Davey2018
21 Posts
0
July 20th, 2018 07:00
Guess I am trying a board. I will probably ask more questions about getting windows back after. Thanks again Ron.
johnvictor
58 Posts
1
July 21st, 2018 08:00
I'm sorry you are having the problems that I was concerned about when I started this topic a few weeks back Davey2018. Luckily, my BIOS update update went through without any issues but I'd like to ask Ron (RoHe) if he's still monitoring this thread, why it is that the update didn't affect all the Inspiron3650 motherboards, assuming they are all pretty identical?
I wouldn't have the technical skills to fix it if it happened to me in the future and would be forced to purchase a new system but that;s what they may be hoping?
Best of luck with your fix, I hope it works out OK.
Regards.
RoHe
10 Elder
10 Elder
•
44.3K Posts
2
July 21st, 2018 19:00
BIOS updates are always a bit "iffy", and it's never exactly clear why one worked (yours) and one didn't (Davey2018's). It's possible there were multiple revisions to this motherboard and that could make a big difference. It's also possible you have a different video card, different peripherals attached, different anti-viral software running, different age/condition and even different manufacturer for the CMOS chip that stores BIOS, and there's always the phase of the moon.... Pick one...
We don't know what percentage of 3650 BIOS updates worked vs failed this round. We only know about those that get posted on these forums. So far I've seen one post about one that worked (yours) and possibly one other besides Davey2018's that failed. That's not a big enough sample size to draw any conclusions...
Dell doesn't want BIOS updates to fail just so you buy a new PC. First, it's bad PR for them; second, the user might be inclined to buy some other brand next time so why would Dell potentially drive customers to the competition...? Not that the competitors are immune to BIOS update failures.
That's why it's recommended not to update BIOS unless it fixes a problem you're actually having with the PC. In this case the fix was for the Meltdown/Spectre vulnerability which was caused entirely by Intel's chip design flaw. AFAIK, there haven't been any hack attacks based on this problem, and some think it got hyped way too much and that forced Intel to require BIOS updates, which may -or not- have been necessary since nobody has apparently used the flaw to hack into PCs, at least not yet...
johnvictor
58 Posts
0
July 22nd, 2018 11:00
Very many thanks Ron. I expect Dell need to show caution but I am very wary of things like this now.
RoHe
10 Elder
10 Elder
•
44.3K Posts
0
July 22nd, 2018 18:00
Me too... :Geeked:
Davey2018
21 Posts
0
July 25th, 2018 06:00
Well, the new board arrived last night. Any precautions or suggestions before I begin open heart sugery Ron?
Davey2018
21 Posts
0
July 27th, 2018 11:00
Ron, I have the new board in and have not fired it up yet. Any advice?
Davey2018
21 Posts
0
July 30th, 2018 11:00
Well, the new board is in. I was surprised, Windows fired back up with no problems at all. Nothing to reset, you would think I just added memery or something simple like that. One question remains, I again have the message from Dell to dowload a bios update and optimize my computer. That's what killed the motherboard the last time and I am afraid to do it unless Dell starts warranties on their old machines. I mean really, the update message might as well say "please stand on freeway now".
Davey2018
21 Posts
0
July 30th, 2018 11:00
Well, the new board is in. I was surprised, Windows fired back up with no problems at all. Nothing to reset, you would think I just added memery or something simple like that. One question remains, I again have the message from Dell to dowload a bios update and optimize my computer. That's what killed the motherboard the last time and I am afraid to do it unless Dell starts warranties on their old machines. I mean really, the update message might as well say "please stand on freeway now".