Skip to main content
Sign Out

Welcome to Dell

My Account
  • Place orders quickly and easily
  • View orders and track your shipping status
  • Enjoy members-only rewards and discounts
  • Create and access a list of your products
  • Manage your Dell EMC sites, products, and product-level contacts using Company Administration.
Sign In Create an Account Dell Financial Services Premier Sign In Partner Program Sign In
Contact Us

Your Dell.com Carts

Article Number: 000216539

BIOS Update Through Windows Update Fails on Computers with a Discrete Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

Summary: This article gives information about a scenario where a Dell BIOS update fails when done through Windows Update.

This article may have been automatically translated. If you have any feedback regarding its quality, please let us know using the form at the bottom of this page.

Article Content

Symptoms

Dell BIOS Update Fails

Computers with integrated Unified Memory Architecture (UMA) video cards: Windows Update downloads, and install the Dell BIOS update without any issues.

Computers with discrete nonintegrated video cards: Windows Update downloads, the Dell BIOS update, then reboot, but the update fails. Windows Device Manager shows a yellow bang next to System Firmware (Figure 1).
Windows Device Manager with Firmware Error
Figure 1

This behavior happens on both Windows 10 and 11 with BitLocker enabled.

Cause

Most computers enable BitLocker during the Windows Out of Box Experience (OOBE). During this process Windows binds BitLocker Platform Configuration Registers (PCR) depending on installed hardware.

When a computer needs a BIOS update, BitLocker must be suspended to ensure the update can be successfully applied, and the computer does not boot into Windows Recovery mode.

Dell tools like Dell Command Update and Dell Update contain integrated logic that automatically suspends BitLocker before applying the update.

Windows Update does not contain a similar integrated logic when certain PCR bindings are used.

Resolution

Suspend BitLocker for BIOS Updates

Workaround:
The current workaround is to manually suspend BitLocker and then reboot the computer. Windows will then attempt the BIOS update on reboot.

Open a Command Prompt with Admin Rights (The Command Prompt: What It Is and How to Use It on a Dell System). Type the following command: Suspend-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:" -RebootCount 0
This command suspends BitLocker encryption on the BitLocker volume that is specified by the MountPoint parameter. Because the RebootCount parameter value is 0, BitLocker encryption remains suspended until you run the Resume-BitLocker cmdlet.

Once the BIOS update is successful. Type the following command: Resume-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:"

Resolution:
Microsoft is investigating the behavior and is working on a future solution that allows Windows to suspend BitLocker automatically when using all PCR bindings. (No current ETA.)

Additional Information:
Automatic Windows Device Encryption or BitLocker on Dell Computers

Back to Top

Article Properties

Affected Product

Desktops & All-in-Ones, Laptops, Workstations

Last Published Date

08 Aug 2023

Version

1

Article Type

Solution

Back to Top