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Is Offer of Dell BIOS Update Legitimate?
Several times a day for the past 2 or 3 weeks I've been getting a pop-up in the lower right corner of my screen that says "Dell Update - 1 update is ready to install." When I click "Details" I'm told, "Dell Inspiron 2350 System BIOS." There are options to install now or later, and I've always clicked later. Before installing, I'd like to be certain that this is a legitimate Dell update. I would prefer approving a BIOS update on the Dell website itself - not in response to a suspicious-looking pop-up. My wife has the same model Dell PC that I have, and she is also getting the same pop-up, so that makes me think that it is probably legitimate, but I want to be sure. Should I install it? Or should I go to the Dell support website to look for that update and perhaps drivers as well? I called Dell support to try to find out if the update is legitimate, but because my PC is out of warranty, the Dell agent wasn't very interested in giving me any information other than how much a warranty would cost me.
galem2695
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December 19th, 2015 16:00
The chances of it being legitimate are between slim and none, and slim has left town. Dell BIOS should be acquired only from Dell's support site. As a general rule most PCs that are out of warrantee are too old to need BIOS updates
galem2695
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December 19th, 2015 20:00
That is a virus/malware issue, I do neither
JLSchutt39
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December 19th, 2015 20:00
Assuming it's not legitimate, do you have any advice on getting rid of the numerous prompts that appear several times a day?
LSUFAN51
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December 20th, 2015 07:00
:emotion-2:
Dell Inspiron 2350 Product Support page - Drivers & Downloads):
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/product-support/product/inspiron-2350-aio/drivers
LSUFAN51
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December 20th, 2015 08:00
:emotion-2:
You can find the BIOS version using the Command Prompt (Admin):
Please type msinfo32 in Command Prompt (Admin) then press enter, you should see the BIOS version
Philip_Yip
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December 26th, 2015 04:00
Likely its Dell Support Assist telling you have the BIOS Update.
The latest BIOS revision is A09 not A02 as mentioned it has a UK release date of 28/7/2015 (US release date of 7/28/2015):
http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER03190428M/1/Inspiron_2350_A09.EXE
Follow the instructions here to update your BIOS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpQxjpRXrjc&list=PL1RkaknDn7v-Ucth4gt0U3BHVSY7oNkWr&index=1
The A02 link was a Dimension 2350 and not an Inspiron 2350.
JLSchutt39
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December 26th, 2015 09:00
Thank you for the information, natakuc4. I did indeed locate BIOS version A09 on the Dell download website. It is described as the initial BIOS version for Windows 10. The following instructions are given there:
This file format consists of a BIOS-executable file. To use it, download the file and copy it to a DOS-bootable USB flash drive, then boot the system to the USB flash drive and run the program.
However, the video to which you posted a link shows the file being downloaded to a location on the PC's hard drive and simply executed from there. Does the use of a flash drive add something worthwhile to the procedure? If so, what is the method for "copying the file to a DOS-bootable USB flash drive and booting the system to the USB flash drive and running the program" ?
Philip_Yip
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December 26th, 2015 09:00
I'd advise just updating by launching the BIOS update within Windows.
LSUFAN51
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December 26th, 2015 11:00
:emotion-3:
"The A02 link was a Dimension 2350 and not an Inspiron 2350 "
------------------------------
natakuc4......
Thanks for correcting me on my error. I've correcting the other two posts.
JLSchutt39
16 Posts
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December 26th, 2015 14:00
No luck so far. Downloaded file Inspiron_2350_A09.exe from the Dell support web page and tried to execute it from the Downloads folder - first by double clicking it and then by right click, Run as Administrator. It asks for permission to run. I say yes. Nothing else happens.
Next attempt: I copied the file to an empty 16 GB flash drive. The file is 13,071 KB. Just for fun, tried to execute the flash drive version using the same two methods described above. Nothing.
Restarted the computer with the flash drive connected. I thought it might be detected on startup, but the PC started as usual. What do I need to do to have it read the flash drive at startup?
Just to be sure the BIOS update didn't magically take place without my noticing it, I checked with msinfo32. Still version A00 with a date of 6/14/2013. What next?
LSUFAN51
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December 27th, 2015 07:00
.
JLSchutt39
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January 5th, 2016 15:00
I've had no suggestions since my 26 Dec post for updating the BIOS. I notice on the Dell support web page for BIOS that current available versions are A02, A04, A05, A06, A07, A08 and A09 (no A00, A01 or A03). Since my PC still has the original A00 version that it shipped with, is it possible that I can't update from A00 to A09 in one step and might perhaps need to install an intermediate version first? I don't see anything to that effect in the comments about BIOS versions.
JLSchutt39
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January 6th, 2016 10:00
I see the following notes on the Dell support page for BIOS versions:
If there is more than one file listed, Click on "View details" on the most recent version of the BIOS. Then click on "Important Information".
Note: Occasionally you will need to install a previous version before updating to the latest version. This info is usually found in the "Important Information" section. To locate other BIOS versions you can try and find the version download by navigating through the links located at http://downloads.dell.com.
However, nothing says "View details" - instead it says "More details". After clicking on "More details" there is nothing that says "Important Information" and no notes saying anything about updating to an earlier version first.
kevinshin
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January 8th, 2016 14:00
hey can somebody answer this crucial question here. How can official Dell BIOS update file not be executable in Windows environment? I also mounted the software (Inspiron_2350_A09) into DOS-Bootable drive and tried to run it at startup, but no luck.
JLSchutt39
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January 12th, 2016 15:00
Kevin, it appears that we are not going to see a solution to this problem here. It almost makes me think that the pop-up that I still see several times a day (described in the initial post above way back on 19 December) offering to update my BIOS might be legitimate, but I'm not willing to take a chance on running it. I can't believe that you and I are the only two of the millions of Dell users who are having trouble updating the BIOS!