This post is more than 5 years old
13 Posts
0
53391
XPS 730 Bios and upgrading of computer
Hi Everyone,
I am upgrading my XPS 730 (2008) following an HD failure, by installing more RAM, windows 7 64bit. and an upgraded video card.
I have read online that I may need to flash the bios for the new ram to work, I have never flashed the bios on my computer before because I always worry that I might do something wrong and cause damage to the system.
Therefore, I was wondering if it would be best to install my original Dell Vista 32bit OS which complies with my service tag and update the bios through that direct tag linkage with Dell and then either upgrade the Vista to win7 or do a clean install of 7 or just install the new OS and download a bios update from Dell.
Any advice would be most appreciated
shesagordie
10 Elder
10 Elder
•
46K Posts
0
October 10th, 2014 13:00
Rebby27
Best to update the BIOS prior to any upgrades are performed
Also, carefully read the installation instructions for updating the BIOS, before flashing the BIOS .
Bev.
Rebby27
13 Posts
0
October 10th, 2014 17:00
Thank you for all your help, I will be marking this thread as solved by you.
I checked out all the other downloads linked to the bios page and because they state hard drive space required I am assuming they are software drivers and not firmware updates.
I was thinking of trying a driver update using my service tag to search but, that may only reference 32 bit drivers so, perhaps just using device manager driver update or going to the product sites will be the best option.
Thanks again for all your help
Rebby27
13 Posts
0
October 10th, 2014 13:00
Thank you for the quick reply.
Just to clarify, am I correct in reading in your reply that you recommend I reinstall my 32bit Vista OS and upgrade the bios from that rather than installing win 7 and trying to upgrade from there?
Would you also recommend I carry out a clean install of 7 as opposed to just upgrading the Vista installation(this is a retail copy of 7 not OEM)?
I'm a little new to this stuff but, feel I do need to learn to do these things myself unfortunately, spending a day reading conflicting information on the web hasn't helped, that's what eventually brought me to this forum.
shesagordie
10 Elder
10 Elder
•
46K Posts
0
October 10th, 2014 14:00
Rebby27
Yes, I am, best to update the BIOS first.
Because you using a Vista 32-bit operating system and as you are installing W7 64-bit, a clean installation of W7 is required.
You can use the Upgrade option during Windows 7 installation, which preserves your files, settings, and programs, only if you're currently running a 32-bit version of Windows Vista and you want to upgrade to the 32-bit version of Windows 7.
Similarly, if you are running a 64-bit version of Windows Vista, you can only perform an upgrade to a 64-bit version of Windows 7.
Bev.
Rebby27
13 Posts
0
October 10th, 2014 14:00
The reason I'm asking about the OS is my HD is a brand new replacement which I have only just installed so, I wanted to ask these questions prior to installing any OS.
I am assuming that I will not have to install any windows updates on the 32bit OS as all I will be doing once it is installed is connecting to Dell under my service tag to ensure I get the correct bios update software.
Sorry to be a nuisance asking what must seem obvious questions, I'm just grateful that there are people like yourself willing to guide newbies like me through (what to me), is a very stressful process.
shesagordie
10 Elder
10 Elder
•
46K Posts
0
October 10th, 2014 16:00
Rebby27
Yes, you only need to install version 1.0.6.
Bev.
shesagordie
10 Elder
10 Elder
•
46K Posts
0
October 10th, 2014 16:00
Rebby27
Sounds like you don't know which BIOS version is already installed on your system?
BIOS version 1.0.6 has updates for memory.
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=J3CR7&fileId=2731107173&osCode=WV64&productCode=xps-730&languageCode=EN&categoryId=BI
As you are not upgrading the processor, and have not already installed an operating system on the new hard drive and have purchased a full retail copy of W7.
Personally, I would install go ahead and install Windows 7, instead of installing Vista first.
Then update the BIOS, if required, before installing the new memory, but this is what I would do!
If you install Vista first, then you would probably need to only install the service packs.
Bev.
Rebby27
13 Posts
0
October 10th, 2014 16:00
I Just checked it out by turning the on the PC and hitting F2 as it booted. My bios is 1.0.4 so, it will need updating.
I should have thought of finding out what bios version I already had before posting but, at least I am learning.
Do I need to do 1.0.5 first or just go straight from 1.0.4 to to 1.0.6?
Looking at the other listed updates I assume all those were lost when the hard drive failed so I need to download those as well.
shesagordie
10 Elder
10 Elder
•
46K Posts
0
October 10th, 2014 17:00
Rebby27
I've usually found that Windows 7 natively has most of the drivers required for the installation.
Bev.
Philip_Yip
7 Technologist
7 Technologist
•
16K Posts
0
October 11th, 2014 16:00
You can't easily update the BIOS without a working OS. Install the new hard drive.
Install Windows 7 64 Bit directly. You may get Windows 7 64 Bit drivers here:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/driver-sets/xps-desktops/xps-730-windows-7-64-bit/
Install Windows 7 64 Bit and then update the BIOS. After the BIOS update, install all the Windows Updates using WSUS updates and then install the rest of the system drivers.
Then shut down your computer and upgrade the memory.
You may then wish to install the latest version of Dell Backup and Recovery which will make a recovery partition from your clean installation:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/dell-backup-and-recovery/
See my Windows Reinstallation Guide/A Clean Install of Windows 7 for more details:
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/a-clean-install-of-windows/