UNSOLVED
BIOS update bricked my laptop
I added a comment to a similar thread about somebody's XPS
https://www.dell.com/community/XPS/Bios-update-bricked-my-xps-9550/m-p/7287393#M27541 Not surprisingly, it promptly got locked.
Anyway, fast-forward to last Friday.
My Inspiron 7786 was on warranty, but, for security considerations, sending the laptop in for the repair wasn't an option for me: The disk would have to travel inside it, into the hands of technicians, all of this without me being near it. There are tools to recover data - even off a formatted disk. And there are things like cookies, authorization tokens, saved passwords, password hashes, etc. According to security 101 - if I had sent it in, I would have had to assume that data was accessed. Paranoia? Maybe, but better safe than sorry. Places like repair centers cannot be secure by definition - they are attractive to friends of hackers, if not to hackers themselves. I would be skeptical, if someone told me that "everything at [insert a name, not necessarily Dell] is fine, so no worries".
My Inspiron 7786 was on warranty, but, for security considerations, sending the laptop in for the repair wasn't an option for me: The disk would have to travel inside it, into the hands of technicians, all of this without me being near it. There are tools to recover data - even off a formatted disk. And there are things like cookies, authorization tokens, saved passwords, password hashes, etc. According to security 101 - if I had sent it in, I would have had to assume that data was accessed. Paranoia? Maybe, but better safe than sorry. Places like repair centers cannot be secure by definition - they are attractive to friends of hackers, if not to hackers themselves. I would be skeptical, if someone told me that "everything at [insert a name, not necessarily Dell] is fine, so no worries".
I ended up creating an installation media, and calling technical support again (I didn't know how to install Windows on a system with Intel Optane drive).
Overall, from the moment the computer was bricked till it was fixed completely (by the guys on the phone and myself), I spent endless hours - the initial frustration, the reinstallation of Windows, the fix for the fingerprint recognition (it refused to work, for some reason), ... Plus, I had to reinstall all of my apps, recall all passwords, ... These damages can be huge - from letting somebody down, to losing income, if not entire employment. Also add the reputational damage, after all - if you let somebody down, who will want to hire you again?... Dell wrote that they "regret the inconveniences". Wish they did. Instead, they refused to deal with these things point-blankly (I wasn't asking for too much, by the way, just wanted them to buy back the laptop, sans the HDD, or share costs in eliminating the design flaw). They still don't even acknowledge the root cause of the problem - the fact that they pushed an unsuitable update, whether by error, omission, or negligence. And it looks like Dell pushes them regularly... Why? My $0.02 would be that they save money on proper QA systems. Instead of testing these things in-house and fixing problems beforehand, they prefer to have them tested on the end user. If anything happens, they can conveniently say that it's a one-off case, as there's no way for us to check. And they won't talk to us themselves - the initial hit is always taken by an offshore call center (enough said, I hope).
Overall, from the moment the computer was bricked till it was fixed completely (by the guys on the phone and myself), I spent endless hours - the initial frustration, the reinstallation of Windows, the fix for the fingerprint recognition (it refused to work, for some reason), ... Plus, I had to reinstall all of my apps, recall all passwords, ... These damages can be huge - from letting somebody down, to losing income, if not entire employment. Also add the reputational damage, after all - if you let somebody down, who will want to hire you again?... Dell wrote that they "regret the inconveniences". Wish they did. Instead, they refused to deal with these things point-blankly (I wasn't asking for too much, by the way, just wanted them to buy back the laptop, sans the HDD, or share costs in eliminating the design flaw). They still don't even acknowledge the root cause of the problem - the fact that they pushed an unsuitable update, whether by error, omission, or negligence. And it looks like Dell pushes them regularly... Why? My $0.02 would be that they save money on proper QA systems. Instead of testing these things in-house and fixing problems beforehand, they prefer to have them tested on the end user. If anything happens, they can conveniently say that it's a one-off case, as there's no way for us to check. And they won't talk to us themselves - the initial hit is always taken by an offshore call center (enough said, I hope).
Looking for a remedy doesn't look like an option - it will probably take a lot of bricked PCs to arrange anything meaningful (most of such data is not shared, all we have is these complaints at forums). A laywer wrote me that consequential damages are almost certainly part of the terms of sales and warranty. And, if the manufacturer agrees to repair the computer, then just "take that", and move on.
P.S. - I think I looked into every possibility, and I don't see a way out for situations like this. Does anybody do?
10252
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Posted April 23rd, 2019 20:00
Yes, I will know better now, lol.
The sad part was that I didn't even know they were updating something as basic as BIOS. I thought such dangerous updates were offered separately, at least by companies as competent as Dell... But, all I was shown was a small popup in the lower-right corner of the screen, with just two buttons - to update or to cancel. When I clicked the first one, it didn't even tell me what exactly it was updating. Had I known it was BIOS, I would have preferred not to.
It appears they are doing two things - (1) saving on proper QA (as I wrote, by testing the updates on the end user, instead of spending enough budget); and (2) developing a market (by increasing the risk of failure for the laptops already sold). Can Dell disprove these things?
10130
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Posted April 24th, 2019 08:00
Ya, what they don't tell you, "Update the original MOTHER BOARD BIOS, at your own Risk." It can have negative effects on numerous parts of your specific system. I even have my "Notifications," from DELL, turned off. I do run DELL'S "Support/Assist," occasionally and ignore any updates.
People need to read up, b/4 updating BIOS, in particular. There is Google info on the subject. People think that if it comes from the computer mfg, it must be okay...........NOT always. Again, did they test it against your specific motherboard and or system?
9878
1
Posted April 25th, 2019 17:00
Yes, I uninstalled DellAssist after I got all the drivers. Will install, check, then uninstall every few months. There are still two things, however:
1. I want to know about all applicable updates as soon as they appear (as some of them maybe security-related).
2. There are other user of Dell products, and some of them (if not "most" of them) have no idea what BIOS is. So, the $64 question remains: Is Dell is going to continue pushing these dangerous updates (like BIOS), without testing themselves first, and/or without warning the user properly?..
9635
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Posted April 26th, 2019 12:00
Been waiting a couple days to see if a DELL REP would have any response received from the factory, on the subject.
9415
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Posted May 4th, 2019 21:00
Silence appears to be Dell's preferred response :Indifferent:
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Posted May 5th, 2019 11:00
DELL-Chris M (old account)
#IWork4Dell
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Posted May 5th, 2019 12:00
Hmmm, not sure, if the link DELL-Chris M posted in this thread is relevant. Text in the policy link says, "If in warranty and a Dell Support representative directed you to update the BIOS, "...
BIOS update can also be pushed by force. I my case, it was done without even making me aware what was being updated. I only saw a small popup in lower-right of the screen, and it had two options, one to update and the other to cancel. On pushing the first one, it didn't tell what was updated, it just went ahead and updated my BIOS... It didn't break the motherboard, only corrupted the OS, making it impossible to boot up, and forcing me to reinstall Windows. A very nasty experience, with a LOT of consequential damage (time, lost income, …).
If it did kill the motherboard, though, would this action by DellAssist software count as an instance of this "Dell Support representative directed you to update the BIOS"? If not, what happens in case of a Dell server pushing a user software updates in a wrong manner like this?
9481
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Posted May 6th, 2019 07:00
No. As the sticky states,
The Dell Software team states that an automated software suggestion (SupportAssist) to install any driver (BIOS update) is not the same as a Dell Support representative dictated direction. This means that if you updated the BIOS without any direction from Dell Support representative, and the BIOS update broke the motherboard CMOS, you have to buy the replacement motherboard either from Dell or a 3rd party seller.
DELL-Chris M (old account)
#IWork4Dell 2294
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Posted May 6th, 2019 14:00
I do run DELL Support Assist periodically, but perform no updates that might be recommended. BIOS on the mother board in specific, which always occurs wanting you to update. https://www.howtogeek.com/136881/htg-explains-do-you-need-to-update-your-computers-bios/
Teetertotter
2 Intern
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293 Posts
10268
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Posted April 23rd, 2019 16:00
One has to be very couscous to update any factory installed BIOS on the motherboard. I never update any DELL BIOS, just b/c issue can arise. If it works, why fix it. Same with any Dell updates, it is a no with me. Nvidia Graphics card update, is direct from their website.
BIOS, update at your own risk, which effects many aspects of your computer. Long story short. Was it previously tested on your specific motherboard, b/4 DELL told you you should install??????? I say, NOT to DELL. Same with any other MFG of computers Good luck.