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SOLVED Winphlash user interface has stopped working SOLVED
I have an Inspiron 1501 - it's old but it woks great.. I tried updating the BIOS following the instructions on the Dell site. I repeatedly get the Winphlash User Interface has stopped working. I see others have reported the issue from years back, but no one has a solution. Can anyone tell me the proper technique to do this BIOS update without errors? I don't get any instructions on line - only a DOS type window then it disappears.
Also on the Dell site re Drivers, It finds my Service Tag <ADMIN NOTE: Service tag removed per privacy policy> and then I get the message that my operating system Windows Vista Home Basic is not available on the machine --but it was bought from DELL with this OS?
Thanks in advance for any assistance/direction.
Note: This has been reposted here in Laptops, based on advice from another poster sugarbear16. Thnx.
Jack
orangedell2
7 Posts
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November 6th, 2014 07:00
Solved. My Inspiron 1502 is Vista Home Basic with upgraded BIOS.
After reviewing some other posts re winphlash I did find a procedure that worked to update the BIOS.
-download the BIOS update file from DELL ( I put it on desktop)
-go to control panel and turn off User Accounts ( I also turned off/disconnected Internet to avoid any automatic changes that may occur for other software) - machine must be restarted to take affect.
-double click the downloaded BIOS update file. A DOS window appears for a few seconds then closes. There is nothing on the screen to advise you it is working, but the disk light/indicator is busy --so don't touch anything. After a few minutes, a small screen appears and lists the steps being undertaken (backing up old bios, saving..., flashing bios) all with checkmarks as they complete. There are specific messages re reading BIOS block, erasing od block, writing new block...
Also, a number of files including phlash.log are shown on the desktop.
The machine is shut down automatically and restarted.
I ran cpu_z and can confirm the new BIOS version 2.6.3 Dated 12/07/2007
Go back into control panel > User Accounts and turn User Accounts ON.
That's it --worked for me.
Thanks,
Jack
NOTE: I should add that the phlash.log has all of my attempts ( a few tries in the last few days) to do the update. The successful run today is logged in its entirety and shows
Log started 11/06/14 9:18:03....... (right down to) ......cleanup stage, stage completed, restarting system and finally --Log stopped 11/06/14 09:20:23.
I hope this helps someone facing the winphlash error. It would be nice if DELL were to update its help file associated with updating BIOS.