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Dell Studio XPS 1640 BIOS Revision A14 on Windows 7 x64
Hello everybody. Yesterday I attempted to flash my bios with A14 on my Studio XPS 1640 on Windows 7 x64. In the middle of writing block 21, it froze and the computer locked up. And I couldn't even get it to turn off while holding the power button. I ended up removing the battery and AC adapter. This corrupted my BIOS and I had the mute, volume up, and volume down buttons blinking on the top, signaling the need for a motherboard replacement. Today I solved it by doing a boot block. It took about 5 hours in total to prepare for it and get it right. I had BIOS revision A10 and I boot blocked to A11 because that is all I had at the time. Do you think that I should attempt the BIOS update again?
AmuletOfNight
7 Posts
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April 11th, 2010 12:00
BUMP!
Finsbury
2 Posts
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April 12th, 2010 12:00
I dont suppose you can explain how you did that? Because exactly the same happened to me at the weekend with my Studio XPS 1640.
Thanks for any help you can give!
AmuletOfNight
7 Posts
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April 12th, 2010 14:00
Is the computer still in a state of dis-repair? If so, e-mail me at and I'll see what I can do for you.
<ADMIN NOTE : Email id removed per privacy policy>
paul_round
3 Posts
0
April 12th, 2010 18:00
Same thing here. I tried the update, (12 to 14), it bricked, the engineer who replaced my mobo refused to update the BIOS for me, (said I shouldn't believe what I read on online forums!!), anyway, I have the 130W adapter, so need the BIOS update to help with the throttling, but am not happy with trying again, particularly as so many people have tried and failed to do it.
Finsbury
2 Posts
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April 13th, 2010 13:00
Thanks Amulet, luckily its still under warrantee and dell are coming to replace my motherboard tomorrow. Hopefully all will be well.
AmuletOfNight
7 Posts
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April 13th, 2010 16:00
Good. Hope everything works out for you. If this ever happens again, check out my tutorial thread that I posted yesterday on how to fix this.
Gohurdler1
10 Posts
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July 24th, 2010 20:00
Hello:
I read many of the nightmare postings about updating the Dell Studio XPS 1640 BIOS to A14. I definitely did not want to brick my laptop. I did the following before the attempted flashing:
* Updated Windows (I have Windows 7 Professional 64 BIT)
* Defragmented the HDD
* Charged the laptop battery to 100 percent
* Made sure the AC Adapter was plugged in (I have the 130 WATT AC Adapter)
(* My old BIOS was A11by the way, and that was the one that the 1640 came with)
I called Dell technical support to make sure that bricking the laptop because of a BIOS update was covered under warranty. The rep, then offered to remotely upgrade the BIOS. I agreed figuring if Dell screws up my laptop, they would have no choice but to send me a replacement motherboard etc. The technical support rep went ahead and did the BIOS update and it went through and it did NOT brick. I have updated the BIOS on my other computers before so I know how to do it, but when they offered I didn’t turn it down.
I don’t know why others have had problems with the BIOS updates. Maybe they didn’t have the 130 WATT AC Adapter or their batteries weren’t fully charged. The technical support rep did say that having a battery charged less than 30 percent could cause a loss in power while updating the BIOS.
I asked the rep, if this doesn’t take care of the overheating issue what do I do next. I was told to contact them again, because they apparently have some other physical fixes, such as replacing certain parts.
kasias
1 Message
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October 18th, 2010 20:00
i did update to A14 but i am not sure if i made it corect..is there a way to check if the A14 is added on my pc?
Many thanks..konstantinos