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XPS 8910, BIOS update, will it work?
I have a XPS 8910 that is running BIOS 1.1.5. I have been reminded to update my BIOS to 1.1.7 for months. I am worried that the BIOS might fail and leave me stranded! I work from home much of the time and while I am quite good at computers ( I go back to DOS 1) I know that a BIOS failure is a real pain. So I am wondering how likely to fail is the BIOS update? AND is it worth the bother? To be clear, I remember the bad old days when a BIOS update was awkward and was only run if the machine had issues. I know things are simpler these days. I am sure I can manage if it fails, I just do not want to hassle with the problem and lose many hours of work time.
Thoughts appreciated.
Thanks
BCY123
4 Posts
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October 8th, 2018 07:00
Thanks for the response...but the question was not "how to" or " if I need to".........but if there is a high risk of failure!!!
DELL-Jesse L
Moderator
Moderator
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16.7K Posts
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October 8th, 2018 07:00
BCY123,
You do not have to update the bios if you choose not to do so. If you decide to update to the latest bios version click the link below to download. Follow the information on the download to install.
Dell xps8910 Drivers, Downloads and Manuals
546insp
732 Posts
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October 8th, 2018 08:00
I update my 8920 every time a new version comes out and cringe a little every time but I really think those sketchy bios days are long gone.
RoHe
10 Elder
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43.6K Posts
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October 8th, 2018 16:00
In theory, a BIOS update should work properly, every time. But that's not always the case.
Far too many variables to figure out what may have gone wrong, if it fails, eg, user error, AC power issue, aging hardware, heat, etc, etc, etc...
Don't use SupportAssist or Dell Update to manage the BIOS update for you. Manually download the file from the support pages that Dell-Jesse linked and carefully follow the instructions on the BIOS update page.
BCY123
4 Posts
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October 8th, 2018 16:00
546insp
Thank you for the response.
The issue is that I know there was an issue with the 1.1.5 BIOS update for many users of the XPS 8910. Dell eventually removed the 1st release. From that point on I have been wary of newer BIOS updates of this Dell model. I also own several other units - not Dell - and update the BIOS regularly (Just did a Lenovo ThinkPad yesterday). And yes, you are correct, BIOS updating is really a breeze these days compared to ancient history!
My question really was related to the overall probability that Dell got the recent recommended 1.1.7 BIOS right and that I will not be spending hours getting the machine functional.
Anyone here have a smooth or problematic update with the 1.1.7 BIOS?? Would like to be warned!
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
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17K Posts
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October 8th, 2018 22:00
If v1.1.15 works, don't fix what's not broken.
A little secret. My Aurora-R1 stills runs A09 initial shipping version from 2010. There was an A10 in 2011, but it reportedly messed-up the (now stable) USB ports.
Yes, UEFI-based firmware updates are more reliable than Legacy-BIOS based ones.
dperry112
108 Posts
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October 12th, 2018 16:00
I installed the bios update without problem from the Dell driver site.
cntry2001
5 Posts
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July 15th, 2019 12:00
So I could never get the bios recovery from usb to work it would always do the 3 - 7 blink incorrect recovery image I found a way to make it work if you have another working XPS machine though.
The working XPS needs to be UEFI
flash the bios (this will write the bios recovery to the UEFI partition)
put the working hard drive in the non booting XPS
unplug everything but a monitor and keyboard from the non booting XPS
hold esc and ctrl and plug the power in the machine keep holding ctrl and esc and hit the power button
it should finally boot the bios recovery and find the image on the hard drive