BIOS update

My BIOS is A3 and I wanted to know about the procedure to update it.

The pc had come with  Win 7 Pro installed  and I move to Win 8 then to Win 8.1.

When I go to Dell site it recognizes my pc as Win 7. I see no place to change it to 8.1.

I was thinking of going back to Win 7 so I could update the Bios.

How can I update the BIOS if the site does not know I am at Win 8.1?

first thing peter, is leave the bios alone.

you should never update it unless there is a need.

the bios is definitely a case of don't fix if not broke!!!

updating the bios can and does brick your pc/laptop when it goes wrong needing it to be sent back to the manufacturer or a professional repair shop for fixing.

saying that the best way to update the bios, is to always put the bios files on to separate media like a usb drive or cd and never ever update the bios from inside the windows operating system, there's even more chance for a bios update failure doing it from inside a running os.

next you'd either boot into the bios and use it's update program/routine and point to the correct bios file when it asks so it can find the correct file and update itself or boot the cd/usb to start the update procedure.

tell me why you think you need to update your bios, along with make and model of laptop/pc and i'll tell you if you do or not and point you to the correct bios update file if needed.

When I fist got my other pc the dell tech said to update the BIOS so I did with her directions. I therefore thought it might be a good idea since this machine is  4 years old. I have read about leaving it alone by many advisors in forums but was influenced by the tech's advice.

Even if I don't, I was curious as to how to do so as with the conflict I explained above. I did not follow through but went through some of the steps at Dell and it seems straight forward.

I won't do it but do you know how I can let the Dell program know how to id my pc while running 8.1?

to be totally honest peter, last thing i'd listen to is a phone tech, who usually know very little about pc's and just parrot/read what ever is on a screen in front of them.

reasons for doing a bios update are usually all hardware related, so if the pc/laptop works fine then there is never a reason to update the bios, unless your going to make some hardware changes in the near future.

main reasons for needing a bios update off the top of my head are

1:- to add new cpu support. (eg.if your ever going to upgrade the fitted cpu.)

2:- add new hard drive support (eg.add ability to use gpt hard drives needed for hd's larger than 3TB.)

3:- fixing bugs in the installed bios (eg.usually memory related, but not always.)

it makes no difference on what os your running win 7 or win 8/8.1 as far as the bios goes, only thing the bios is concerned about is what hardware is in the pc.

so if the bios program runs in your os then that is the correct program, and if the bios file is the wrong one for your hardware then it should not try to update itself.

like i said earlier tho, personally i would never start a bios update from inside a running os.

if you give us a link to your product page for that laptop/pc i'll see if i can find out more info, i believe the page just lists your laptop/pc as win 7 because that is what it was originally shipped as, but when it comes to actually downloading software it will check what the os is running on the machine.

not 100% sure so would need to check and why the need for a link.

bit old but still relevant today in most cases, i'd say.
 

Three Good Reasons for Flashing the BIOS
The question is when, if ever, should you flash your BIOS? I have heard all kinds of advice when it comes to the question of flashing your own BIOS. There is the 'You should never flash your BIOS' camp and there is the guy who says 'I have flashed hundreds of motherboards - no problem!' Reality is somewhere in the middle. When done properly, it is closer to the guy who has no problems.
Don't be fooled by those who say it is a simple process though. Determining if a BIOS upgrade is needed and learning enough about your system and BIOS requires a fair amount of work and investment of your precious time. If you are familiar with your systems components and understand what BIOS settings are needed for your computer then it can be a fairly simple process.
There are three primary reasons for updating the firmware code of your BIOS:

• You can gain BIOS support needed for newer hardware
• A bug in the existing BIOS firmware is fixed with the update
• You can gain additional functionality or increased performance

You can gain BIOS support needed for newer hardware
A motherboard manufacturer can only ship their motherboards with a BIOS that supports the hardware that existed at the time. It takes time to develop and test new firmware. An example of this was the introduction of the Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. It uses the same CPU socket as previous CPUs. Many owners of PCs with older, slower single core processor may now want to consider upgrading to a Core 2 Duo CPU. Almost all owners of these PCs will have to upgrade the BIOS to support the CPU upgrade. The new BIOS firmware includes the instructions needed to recognize and run the newer CPUs.
Older PC's may have a BIOS that will only support hard drives up to 137 GB in size. Really old computers will have BIOS support for hard drives up to 32 GB in size. My Micron 450 MHz Pentium II Millenia computer purchased in September 1998 has the 32 GB limitation. I purchased a 30 GB hard drive for it years ago, but if I were to use this PC as a second PC on a network I would search for and install a BIOS update that would support larger drives.
Upgrading the BIOS to use new hardware is a good reason to risk a BIOS flash. Why settle for a second-rate computer when you can turn it into a near state-of-the-art machine for much less than a new PC?
A bug in the existing BIOS firmware is fixed with the update
BIOS updates are often available to fix specific bugs in the BIOS shipped with your motherboard. Not all of these fixes may be necessary or apply to your hardware components. A BIOS fix for a certain type of CPU that you do not own will not improve the operation or performance of your PC and unnecessarily puts your system at risk if the flash goes wrong. Check the BIOS revision update notes to determine the details of the BIOS changes.
Fixing a BIOS bug is a good reason for risking the flash but only if the BIOS upgrade will fix the bug that you are experiencing.
You can gain additional functionality or increased performance
BIOS updates of this type will often allow you to tweak settings that can improve performance. As an example, a BIOS update for my motherboard added a CPU multiplier used when overclocking. Note: Most users will not need this option and the average user should not attempt overclocking. Overclocking can damage your components and/or motherboard. Adding this option is therefore a poor reason to upgrade the BIOS for most people. But for those experienced users who understand the risks of overclocking this option can be very helpful and well worth a BIOS upgrade. Additional functionality is rarely a good reason for a BIOS upgrade. Additional performance may be a good reason for a BIOS upgrade if it is a significant boost in performance.
It is harder to justify flashing a BIOS for new functionality. In general, if your computer is operating correctly there is no reason to flash the BIOS. You must decide for yourself if you are willing to take the risks to gain additional features or increased performance.

 

http://www.pecos-softwareworks.com/three_good_reasons_for_flashing_your_bios.shtml
 
anyway so now you know the reasons why to update your bios and especially the risks involved,so it's up to you if you want to go ahead and update it, personally i've never had a failed bios update but know people who have, so never do an update unless i have a good reason to.
 

here's a newer link explain the bios and if you should update it or not. :- http://techaz.net/explains-need-update-bios/

 

Now for the real question: do you need to upgrade your BIOS to the latest version? I personally feel that you should only update your BIOS if you’re currently having a problem. If you system is running smoothly and everything is working, why take a risk and possible corrupt your BIOS and end up with a dead machine.

_{http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/product-support/servicetag/3NS6FQ1/drivers}

_{I was not sure how to get you to the page where I have my specs for my desk top. I hope this works.}

_{It seems to say to follow the prompts but this would be IN Windows which you are saying not to do. I wonder why Dell would do that?}

_{Please do not bother if you do not have the time as I am not going to do this. I read your article and the last option was to 'buy a new pc' - that was enough for me.}

_{PS the print from the link and my comment in the dialogue box is very small and I tried to enlarge it but it seems not to want to work.}

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/product-support/servicetag/3NS6FQ1/drivers

it offers 2 ways of updating the bios.

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=R318123&fileId=2731121903&osCode=BIOSA&productCode=xps-8300&languageCode=EN&categoryId=BI

in windows

 

BIOS Update Executable for Windows/DOS Download 1. Click Download File, to download the file. 2. When the File Download window appears, click Save to save the file to your hard drive. Run the BIOS update utility from Windows environment 1. Browse to the location where you downloaded the file and double-click the new file. 2. Press "Yes" to confirm the BIOS version you want to update and start BIOS Update process. 3. After BIOS update finished, press Yes and then system will restart to take effect.

not in windows

 

Run the BIOS update utility from DOS environment, if Legacy Boot mode (Non-Windows users) 1. Copy the downloaded file to a bootable DOS USB key. 2. Power on the system, then Press F12 key and Select "USB Storage Device" and Boot to DOS prompt. 3. Run the file by typing copied file name where the executable is located. 4. After BIOS update finished, press "Yes" and then system will restart to take effect. Run the BIOS update utility from DOS environment, if UEFI Boot modewith Load Legacy Option disabled (Non-Windows users) 1. Copy the downloaded file to a bootable DOS USB key. 2. Power on the system, then go to BIOS Setup by pressing F2 and go to "Boot > Boot Mode" Option. 3. Change "UEFI" to "Legacy" Boot Mode. 4. Go to "Exit > Save Changes and Reset" and then reboot system. 5. Press F12, then Select "USB Storage Device" and Boot to DOS prompt. 6. Run the file by typing copied file name where the executable is located. 7. After BIOS update finished, press "Yes" and then system will reboot to take effect. 8. Go to BIOS Setup by pressing F2 and go to "Boot > Boot Mode" to change Boot Mode from "Legacy" to "UEFI". 9. Go to "Boot > Secure Boot Control" to change Secure Boot from "Disabled" to "Enabled". 10. Go to "Exit > Save Changes and Reset" and then reboot system. ——————————————————————————– Note 1: You will need to provide a bootable DOS USB key. This executable file does not create the DOS system files. Note 2: Please make sure you suspend BitLocker encryption before updating BIOS on a BitLocker enabled system. If you don't enable BitLocker on your system you can ignore it. Note 3: Do not turn off power or interrupt BIOS update process during flashing BIOS

the latest bios version is A06, personally i see no benefits/reasons listed to risk the update, but then again i haven't done a full research on the change logs from A03 up to the A06 version.

so think you made the correct decision to leave well enough alone.

no you don't need to buy a new pc if the bios update goes wrong, BUT fixing it is no easy matter, for those of us without an eprom programmer it's usually done by something called a hot flash where you need a working bios chip from the same motherboard.

insert the working bios chip then start a bios update, remove the bios chip and put in the dead one from the failed bios update while everything is powered on and running and complete the update to get it working. (very dangerous and not something i'd really recommend to anyone to do.)

this explains the process in more detail :- http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=62&pgno=0

and if the bios chip is soldered to the motherboard then fixing it is much much harder.

like i said not something that easy to do, and unlikely you'd have a working bios chip handy, so it is more usual to send the motherboard to the manufacturer to fix or take it to a professional repair shop or even buy a new bios chip off the internet when a bios update fails.

I am going to keep this in a folder for future use and to look over - thank you.

I noticed within Windows it mentions the OS's, non of which are mine. Did I read that wrong?

no i didn't see win 7/8/8.1 specifically mentioned but i'm pretty sure if you double clicked the download file it would work on those and start the update bios procedure, but have no way to test that supposition.

I will read it again but was sure it listed Win ME, 95,98,XP.

Maybe those were the ones it would not work with. Let me read it over again.

Thank you for the help.

Peter

those are the ones tested on and definitely work, but like i said i also think it would work on win 7/8/8.1 but can't test for you so that's just supposition on my part.

You have done plenty for me and I am grateful.