Latitudes randomly switching from AHCI/NVMe to RAID

Question

Lately we have had several Latitudes (5400s and 5420s) blue screen when the user shows up in the office with the device and simply powers it on.  Our techs go into the BIOS and find that the SATA operation has changed from AHCI/NVMe (which is how the computer is imaged) to RAID, and switching it back resolves the problem.  We suspected this random switching was due to recent driver/BIOS updates we deployed via Dell Command Update (using a catalog file generated with Cloud Repository Manager), but the last few computers received their updates weeks ago and just started acting up within the last few days.  Anyone else seeing this happen with their fleet of Latitudes, or maybe other models?

drep27 · Answer

Thanks U2, in the process of doing that now.

U2CAMEB4ME · Answer

Welcome to the Dell Community @drep27

You need to contact your Dell representative ASAP.

It sounds like another BIOS engineering defect.

https://www.dell.com/community/Latitude/Dell-Latitude-5420/m-p/7958877

Best regards and good luck,

U2

jphughan · Answer

@drep27  Dell ships their systems in RAID mode from the factory, so I wonder if the BIOS update is also causing a reversion to factory default settings.  Did you make any other BIOS customizations on these systems that you can check to see if those settings were also reverted?

bacillus1 · Answer

if it was just one pc then I'd suspect the mainboard battery has died. when it occurs is the bios time/date correct?

U2CAMEB4ME · Answer

Welcome to the Dell Community @bacillus1

Good point, maybe I should expanded it a bit.

As with the OP I image drives and set the BIOS to AHCI. " E6420 XFR's"

This model has a very peculiar BIOS defect.

If the AC is disconnected and Battery is removed [or just dies] the BIOS will reset.

It will set the SATA Operation back to factory default [ RAID ]

And the system will Blue Screen at boot and would need to be reset back to AHCI.

The BIOS battery will read 2.7 - 3.1v.

There are other defects posted.

https://www.dell.com/community/Latitude/E5xxx-and-E7xxx-No-Power-Dead-Possible-Engineering-Defect/m-p/7300303#M12411

https://www.dell.com/community/Latitude/Dell-Engineering-defect-found-on-Latitude-E7240/m-p/7708634#M26558

@drep27

Before the Blue Screen, does it say that Date and Time needs to be reset???

Best regards,

U2

drep27 · Answer

@jphughan Thanks for the response.  We've used Dell Command Config in the past to deploy BIOS customizations, but only to a handful of OptiPlex desktops, and that was a few years back.  I don't think Dell Command Update handles those kind of customizations, but I guess with some of these BIOS updates you never know...

drep27 · Answer

@bacillus1 , @U2CAMEB4ME Thanks for the responses. After the first few reports of the issue I suspected the CMOS battery, but found that after our techs set the computers back to AHCI the end users haven't reported the issue recurring (even after multiple shut downs and restarts).

Next time we have an occurrence, I will have the techs check the date and time and see if it is accurate.

U2CAMEB4ME · Answer

@drep27

Others are posting similar problems.

https://www.dell.com/community/Latitude/5400-need-to-reset-rtc-every-time-cannot-update-bios/m-p/8058069#M37083

https://www.dell.com/community/Latitude/Dell-Latitude-5420/td-p/7958877

Not sure what you should do???

Regards,

U2

LilttleBilly · Answer

My Dell T900 has made 2 hard drives non-bootable.. I can reinstall the OS to fix..  It seems to mess up the boot sector. Using system restore and repair on both Windows 7 and Windows 10 did not work.. One drive was the original factory 1TB, the second was a Samsung 850pro.. It is just a project box now and I can still get stuff off the drives after, just not boot to the OS..

Latitude

Latitudes randomly switching from AHCI/NVMe to RAID

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