Try reflashing the same BIOS update you already have. I had an XPS 13 where the BIOS update claimed to complete successfully, but afterward when I put it to sleep, it would cut power entirely, which of course caused me to lose my work. I flashed that exact same BIOS update again, and it was back to normal. If that doesn't work, you can try downgrading your BIOS back to whatever you had, although normally you need to explicitly allow downgrades since I think they're disabled by default for security reasons. The problem is that this option is set in the BIOS itself, so if you can't get into that menu by pressing F2 at boot, that's definitely a problem.
And fyi, you don't have to turn Secure Boot on in order to boot into Windows. Windows supports Secure Boot, but it doesn't require it to be enabled.
Thanks for your reply. Sadly I can't reflash the bios due to the requirement to enter the bios to boot from an external drive as part of the process.
Interesting about the secure boot, I wonder why it wasn't allowing the boot from grub. It found the os but gave an error that I interpreted as an authorisation error.
You can copy a bootable flash drive that contains a BIOS update and/or I believe you can just copy a BIOS update file onto the drive and then access the BIOS Update option in the F2 menu, but as I've been typing that sentence I realize that if you can't select an alternate boot device or the F2 menu, you're stuck -- and checking your system on support.dell.com there doesn't seem to be a BIOS update package for Linux as I've seen for some server models. In that case I'm not sure what to suggest at this point -- sorry!
In terms of Secure Boot, just for clarification, booting directly to the regular Windows bootloader works with Secure Boot enabled as long as you're using Windows 8 or newer. However, I don't know if the GRUB bootloader supports Secure Boot, and even if it does, I suppose it's possible that chainloading to the Windows bootloader from GRUB may not work. I haven't tested those scenarios.
I also have a Dell Xps 15 series 7000 7559 Inspiron laptop, and also was tricked into updating by the Dell urgent BIOS update notification nagging me in windows. It is a dual boot Windows 10/Linux machine and was booting fine from the F12 option.
It said it updated successfully, and said it needed to reboot to complete the process, but now I don't get the Dell pre-boot screen that usually has the F2 setup and F12 boot options, and can't boot from the Windows rescue USB flash drive I created when I bought the laptop, nor will it boot from Linux CD, DVD or USB, and I had to use grub rescue mode and reinstall grub to get it to boot at all.
Cmon, Dell, this is a top end machine I bought from you. You can't let it turn into a brick like this.
jphughan
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February 18th, 2018 12:00
Try reflashing the same BIOS update you already have. I had an XPS 13 where the BIOS update claimed to complete successfully, but afterward when I put it to sleep, it would cut power entirely, which of course caused me to lose my work. I flashed that exact same BIOS update again, and it was back to normal. If that doesn't work, you can try downgrading your BIOS back to whatever you had, although normally you need to explicitly allow downgrades since I think they're disabled by default for security reasons. The problem is that this option is set in the BIOS itself, so if you can't get into that menu by pressing F2 at boot, that's definitely a problem.
And fyi, you don't have to turn Secure Boot on in order to boot into Windows. Windows supports Secure Boot, but it doesn't require it to be enabled.
Alienfish
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February 18th, 2018 16:00
Hi,
Thanks for your reply. Sadly I can't reflash the bios due to the requirement to enter the bios to boot from an external drive as part of the process.
Interesting about the secure boot, I wonder why it wasn't allowing the boot from grub. It found the os but gave an error that I interpreted as an authorisation error.
Thanks again.
jphughan
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14K Posts
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February 18th, 2018 17:00
You can copy a bootable flash drive that contains a BIOS update and/or I believe you can just copy a BIOS update file onto the drive and then access the BIOS Update option in the F2 menu, but as I've been typing that sentence I realize that if you can't select an alternate boot device or the F2 menu, you're stuck -- and checking your system on support.dell.com there doesn't seem to be a BIOS update package for Linux as I've seen for some server models. In that case I'm not sure what to suggest at this point -- sorry!
In terms of Secure Boot, just for clarification, booting directly to the regular Windows bootloader works with Secure Boot enabled as long as you're using Windows 8 or newer. However, I don't know if the GRUB bootloader supports Secure Boot, and even if it does, I suppose it's possible that chainloading to the Windows bootloader from GRUB may not work. I haven't tested those scenarios.
KnowsMore
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November 24th, 2018 13:00
Slightly different scenario. Powered on a brand new Inspiron 15 5500 Series.
Then let the Dell Firmware Update happen, then let the Windows 10 Update 1803 happen, then shrank the HDD by 500 GB, then installed CentOS 7.
CentOS 7 built a GRUB2 menu (with UEFI support) and a Windows Bootloader menu entry. The laptop always boots to the GRUB2 menu.
Tried the F12 boot option, but it always seems to mess up both the Windows 10 and CentOS 7 boot up(s). So sticking with the GRUB2 boot up.
Also, the BIOS/UEFI always kicks back with a Diagnostic Warning that is annoying
bobc19
1 Message
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January 18th, 2019 22:00
I also have a Dell Xps 15 series 7000 7559 Inspiron laptop, and also was tricked into updating by the Dell urgent BIOS update notification nagging me in windows. It is a dual boot Windows 10/Linux machine and was booting fine from the F12 option.
It said it updated successfully, and said it needed to reboot to complete the process, but now I don't get the Dell pre-boot screen that usually has the F2 setup and F12 boot options, and can't boot from the Windows rescue USB flash drive I created when I bought the laptop, nor will it boot from Linux CD, DVD or USB, and I had to use grub rescue mode and reinstall grub to get it to boot at all.
Cmon, Dell, this is a top end machine I bought from you. You can't let it turn into a brick like this.
Please help us!