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Bios Update Bricked my Dell Inspiron N5010
Having problems such as frequent mouse disconnections (a wired one) and frozen sessions I decided to look if there was any update to my model's BIOS and indeed there was one.
I downloaded the .exe from Dell.com, then run and followed the instructions. Suddenly, while the program was deleting old BIOS, the screen went black and the computer showed it was still on. I left it 5-6 hours at that state, but nothing happened. I pressed the button once, twice, hold it for a while, but nothing, it was still on. Later I decided to unplug it from power, and when the battery died, I turned it on again. However, nothing happens and there is a whistle warning me that there is no BIOS (I guess).
What can I do? Is it possible to flash a BIOS again, or should I buy a new motherboard (or system board)?
A guy at a random service spot told me it is possible to flash BIOS again without buying a new motherboard, but I am not sure about this.
RoHe
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November 21st, 2017 11:00
BTW: Have you read this, which is specifically about the N5010:
www.linkedin.com/.../solved-recover-dell-inspiron-laptop-corrupted-bios-how-roland-ihasz
I noticed those instructions don't tell you to reinstall the motherboard battery, but you should do that at the end, assuming the method solves the problem.
If you want to try this, do it after you try clearing BIOS by pulling the motherboard battery, as I outlined above.
And you follow that other guy's method to re-flash BIOS entirely at your own risk!
ejn63
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November 21st, 2017 09:00
It is possible to have the BIOS chip externally flashed -- or the board replaced. The former will likely cost less, though you're probably looking at a minimum of $150 in labor for the procedure -- which appears to be on the order of twice what the system is worth on the used market.
You may be better off upgrading a new(er) system rather than repairing this old one - or buying a complete working used system and transferring over the mainboard to yours.
RoHe
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November 21st, 2017 10:00
You might want to remove the motherboard battery (a coin cell, not the power battery) and press/hold power button for ~30 sec. Then reinstall that battery (time for a fresh one?). This might clear and reset BIOS to the old version.
Check the Service Manual for this model for instructions about removing the motherboard battery. If it's beyond your capabilities, maybe you have a geeky friend or know a trustworthy PC shop who can do it for you.
No guarantees this will work, but it could save you from a new motherboard or new PC.
Georgia11
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December 4th, 2017 07:00
Thank you very much! I got it fixed! The only caveat was that my husband had to deassembly the whole laptop to remove the bios battery. But now everything got fixed! Thank you very much!!!!