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Cannot Boot Win XP after BIOS upgrade
Hello everyone, first here are my system stats.
Dell Dimension 3000
1024 MB Ram
80 GB HD
Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz CPU
Windows XP Home Ed SP2
After running SiSoft Sandra the diagnostic recommeded I upgrade drivers and such. So wanted to do a general update of my system's software. I chose to start with a BIOS update. I had BIOS version A02 and I downloaded the BIOS upgrade from Dell. I ran the utlity from within windows and the BIOS was successfully flashed when it rebooted. The BIOS ver showed up as A03. Then when the computer tried to boot into windows I get this depressing error msg.
"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
/Windows/inf/biosinfo.inf
You can attept to repair this file by starting Windows setup using the original setup CD-ROM. Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair."
I tried booting into safe mode but still would get the same error msg. I contacted Dell tech support and they are mailing me the Windows XP Home Setup CD.
What should I do? Can I flash the BIOS back to A02? Should I use a rescue disc, try to save my data, then just reformat? Help!!! Thanks in advance ;)
Dell Dimension 3000
1024 MB Ram
80 GB HD
Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz CPU
Windows XP Home Ed SP2
After running SiSoft Sandra the diagnostic recommeded I upgrade drivers and such. So wanted to do a general update of my system's software. I chose to start with a BIOS update. I had BIOS version A02 and I downloaded the BIOS upgrade from Dell. I ran the utlity from within windows and the BIOS was successfully flashed when it rebooted. The BIOS ver showed up as A03. Then when the computer tried to boot into windows I get this depressing error msg.
"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
/Windows/inf/biosinfo.inf
You can attept to repair this file by starting Windows setup using the original setup CD-ROM. Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair."
I tried booting into safe mode but still would get the same error msg. I contacted Dell tech support and they are mailing me the Windows XP Home Setup CD.
What should I do? Can I flash the BIOS back to A02? Should I use a rescue disc, try to save my data, then just reformat? Help!!! Thanks in advance ;)
Okirj1, you could try posting in the Software - Windows XP forum to see if someone there can help you make the necessary repairs to the operating system. I would try this first. You can click here for a direct link to that forum.
Otherwise try flashing the BIOS back to your previous A02 version. To do so will require you to burn the A02 BIOS file to a CD or copy it to a floppy disk if your system has a diskette drive. Then use a bootable CD or bootable floppy to boot up the system to the command prompt. You could also try booting to Safe Mode with the Command Prompt. Once booted, insert the media containing the BIOS file into the floppy or CD drive. At the command prompt switch to the appropriate drive if need be and manually run the BIOS file by typing D3000A02.exe and pressing the Enter key. The BIOS will then flash back to the A02 version. Click here for a download of the A02 release.
- Hey thanks a lot for the input guys. Yes User97502 I did just learn a hard lesson, and I should have known better. My past few jobs have been computer tech support and I should have realized that the BIOS is one of those "if not broken then don't try to fix it" things. Anyway learned my lesson. I'll let you guys know how it goes. I just got my System CDs from Dell today. I'm gonig to first try and boot with a CD or flash drive then run that EXE to flash back to A02. if I can't do that then I'll try copying that BIOSINFO.INF file into the WINDOWS/INF directory.
If neither works then i'll have to do a reformat ;( thanks again for the input guys, much appreciated.
User97502
138 Posts
324
0
Posted August 1st, 2006 20:00
You may have just learned a hard lesson. Never, ever update your BIOS if your machine is running and performing as it was designed. I have never ran a BIOS update on any of the machines I have owned over the last 10 to 12 years and they all ran just fine.
I do not believe you can "rollback" a BIOS update. This is what makes them so dangerous. If your system boots to Windows now, and you can get to your data, by all means make backup copies!
Look to the Dell Support website for information on doing a "clean installation" of Windows. Have your Dell Resource CD that came with your 4700 handy, or download the hardware device drivers from the website, before you do the clean install. If you do a clean install, make sure you install the Intel Chipset drivers immediately after the Windows installation is done. There are instructions on the support website.