Hi,

Specs:

• BIOS A14
• Alienware Area-51 R2 i7 6800K
• Intel X99 Motherboard

My Story:

I have a software called Driver Booster 9 by IObit and I have been using it for about a year now with no issues. However, yesterday I saw there was an update for system firmware that was very out of date. Unfortunately, I installed it and cleaned up my PC afterward with Dell Support Assist.

After the cleaning was finished, I restarted my computer. As it was rebooting my PC gave about 10 weird beeps and then restarted, then shut down, and it continued this in an endless loop. Every time I attempt to turn on my PC, it does that endless on and off loop. I cannot even get into the BIOS nor do I see any video feedback and my keyboard doesn't light up.

I did some research and found out that I may have bricked my motherboard. I don't want to post links here because I don't want to be spammy but the one tutorial on my same PC has the Dell-Area-51-R2-Stock.bin BIOS image. I have no idea how he got that file nor do I know how to create it myself, which I would feel much more comfortable about doing.

So I have done the following:

• Bought the KeeYees SOP8 SOIC8 Test Clip and CH341A USB Programmer Flash (currently on its way from Amazon).
• Downloaded AsProgrammer.
• Downloaded CH341SER.EXE – USB to serial driver and CH341PAR.EXE – Multiprotocol interface driver.
• And downloaded the Dell-Area-51-R2-Stock.bin BIOS image (16MB). My BIOS is A14.

All I need now is the motherboard chip name, which I am going to have to use a magnifying glass app to see it. I just need to do some research on that chip. I assume it holds 16MB, which is the file size of the BIN file.

I am just trying to make sure that I am on the right track to flashing my BIOS and getting my PC back. I want to be as thorough as possible because this is a scary process as I am completely new to this side of technology. Also, the Intel X99 motherboard is not a cheap motherboard so I would prefer to avoid having to purchase it.

My questions:

1. Did I really brick my motherboard?
2. If I follow through with those steps above, would I be on the right track to recovering my PC?
3. How would I get a BIOS image for A14? Or is the Dell-Area-51-R2-Stock.bin BIOS image solid?
4. Are there any pointers or other information I am missing to start the process tomorrow?

Thank you for any help I receive or for just taking the time to read it. I appreciate having this opportunity to get help! I hope I didn't leave anything out.