BIOS Password Is Not Included in the Exported Configuration of Dell Command Update

Summary: Learn what to do when BIOS Password is not included in the exported configuration of Dell Command Update.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.
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Symptoms

Customers may face a problem with Dell Command Update when importing configuration from computer to another.

Cause

The BIOS Password value is not included in the imported configuration, and when the configuration is imported to the target computer, the BIOS password is blank.

Resolution

If the customer wants to deploy updates using the BIOS password feature, they must use the CLI by following the step described below:

  1. Create an encrypted BIOS password setting:

    • dcu-cli /generateencryptedpassword -encryptionkey=""MyEncryptionKey01"" -password=""The Local System BIOS Password"" -outputpath=""C:\temp""

    • An encrypted password is saved to the file 'C:\temp\encryptedPassword.txt'.

    • Program exited with return code: 0

  2. Open the encryptedPassword.txt file and copy the encrypted password.

    • In this example, the encrypted password is:
      ""AdMNCABdAq6eZ2CX4My2aUFINCYBzTv99yYH8eb4Yjow+4jjppfZzt8pICNXj+MMLzQjCVJFvGfKEd7toFXy57fDwVZq6G+dpdUg8++yZQWmPKWTKBbu/tAxi9Ni""

  3. Run the following command on the target computers, substituting the user’s encrypted password and encryption key for mine.

    • dcu-cli /applyupdates -encryptionkey=""MyEncryptionKey01"" -encryptedpassword=""AdMNCABdAq6eZ2CX4My2aUFINCYBzTv99yYH8eb4Yjow+4jjppfZzt8pICNXj+MMLzQjCVJFvGfKEd7toFXy57fDwVZq6G+dpdUg8++yZQWmPKWTKBbu/tAxi9Ni""

Affected Products

Dell Command | Update
Article Properties
Article Number: 000187573
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 10 May 2026
Version:  5
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