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12885
June 24th, 2008 15:00
XPS M1330 BIOS A11 Update Causing Video Problems?
So I recently updated my M1330 BIOS to the A11 version, and everything went smoothly, but about an hour after updating, my screen froze up and then dissolved into garbage. It flickered a few times and then returned to normal, but I received a Vista notification telling me my video display driver had experienced an error, but recovered. Fine. I continued using the comptuer as usual. About 20 minutes later, same thing: freeze, garbage, flicker, normality and display driver recovery message.
So I restarted my computer, thinking it would fix the problem. But after about 30 minutes of regular use. Same thing. Finally, I did a hard shut down and then started it up about 10 minutes later. Everything seemed to be going well, and I used my computer problem-free for about an hour. I stepped away for a few minutes and saw the screensaver activate. Great! Everything seemed to be working fine. When I came back about 30 minutes later, though, there was garbage on my screen and the computer was stuck.
I have the most recent driver (from Dell) for my graphics card, and I've never had this problem before. And I'm not doing anything that would put too much stress on my graphics card (checking e-mail, downloading music, etc.). So I downgraded my BIOS back to A10 and the problem has disappeared completely. Has anyone else experienced this issue or similar with the A11 update?
pirod
12 Posts
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June 24th, 2008 17:00
TheRealFireblad
4 Apprentice
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4.6K Posts
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June 25th, 2008 12:00
It should'nt be necessary of course, but it might be worth trying a reinstall of the video drivers again - or even trying a newer set - if available (i.e. from LaptopVideo2Go), after you've updated to the A11 BIOS?
smjohns
137 Posts
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June 26th, 2008 10:00
FYI, it is normally best not to update your BIOS unless you are doing so to fix a specific issue. Most BIOS updates are just to provide compatibility for newer hardware bits such as processors so it is not always necessary to stay bleeding edge. Having checked their site, it does have a status of recommended though confirming "Added enhancement for thermal control."
Looks like they must be having a problem with this as there was a fix for this included in A09 also.
georgelaljohn
7 Posts
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July 1st, 2008 08:00
Coniption
2 Posts
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July 1st, 2008 17:00
Actually, a quick update on this issue:
When I downgraded to the A10 BIOS, the problem disappeared... momentarily.
A few days later I started getting the same "display driver" errors, and I got garbage and multicolored blocks on the screen, and then the system would crash, and this only got worse and worse until my computer wouldn't even boot into Windows at all; it would just hang after the BIOS screen, and do nothing...
So I called Dell, thinking the problem was with my graphics card, but based on the information I gave the tech, he told me it was actually a problem with the motherboard, and that this was a known issue with many M1330s. Ugh.
So, what I'm thinking is, while the BIOS update didn't DIRECTLY screw up my computer, I believe it served as the catalyst in causing the motherboard malfunction in the first place. In a way, I guess it's better that I replace it now while my computer's still under warranty than find this out later and have no computer at all, but still. It's annoying. I have to use my work computer (Mac) as an alternate until the service tech comes and replaces my board Friday.
Hopefully, that should fix the issue. I highly recommend if anyone else is experiencing issues like this, call Dell immediately before your computer fries itself or something!
smjohns
137 Posts
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July 1st, 2008 19:00