Dell Studio XPS 9100 freezes during BIOS update

[tHeDa!]

There is a big problem with my Dell Studio XPS 9100. Yesterday I tried to update the bios from A02 to A04. The update successfully started but after 20 minutes, there is no progress. It seems to me the update has frozen. So I turned off the computer. I know that the BIOS update will not take such a long time. When I boot the computer, nothing showed up on screen. How can I fix this?

[Vicky Woodley]

First of all you need to create USB flash in order to recover your BIOS and for that you need a separate computer to create USB flash.

• Create usb flash(download and run the WINCRIS.exe, and click "start")
• Remove the battery and power cable
• connect the USB to the device.
• Now hold down the "End" key about 3 seconds and connect power cable also release the "End" key.
• It will take a little time to recover the laptop. You will see power indicator glowing.
• If laptop restarts automatically, then the recovery is successful.

[Hymavath]

If you are getting freezes on Studio XPS, it is recommended to flash with the latest BIOS and Video Driver. However go for the BIOS update, only if it is necessary. I mean if you are going to upgrade the CPU, RAM or something, then you will obviously need a BIOS flash to resolve some compatibility issues. If the BIOS flash failed, then the laptop must be faulty. Call Dell support for further help. The interruption only occurs when there is some fault in the motherboard.

[Amadou]

I have heard that recently Dell launched the BIOS update for fixing beeps problem. Dell advice you that before going for the BIOS update, make sure that your device and all its components working properly. If there is any malfunction in device hardware peripherals, then it will interrupt the BIOS update process and you will be bricked.

[Denholm]

I have got the same problem yesterday when I went to update the BIOS. The newer version of BIOS was intended for performance gain and to fix several issues. After the problem occurred, I went to look into the event viewer and there was error message.

The problem was with the embedded controller (EC) and it was not responding within the specified timeout period. It is due to the failure of the EC hardware or firmware or may be due to the BIOS which is accessing the EC incorrectly.

[Gameli]

In my case the problem has started with the usb boot files. I have properly installed the files in the USB drive but I don’t know what happened during the boot process. I think I didn’t give much time to work. So I restarted the computer twice to boot from the USB properly. After the third attempt it worked. If you own Dell studio, then I urge you to give it enough time to boot and update BIOS.

[JErastus]

I know that this a common problem with most of the older laptops. The issue has something to do with Windows and BIOS settings only. You don’t need to worry about the Hardware unless it is compatible. See whether there is any older version of BIOS available for your system. Flash to the older version and then directly get to the latest one. May be it can solve the problem.

[Faiyaz9]

The EC control several f things. It will help you to enable and disable some devices. If there something previously wrong or goes wrong, then it could really lead you to the BIOS flash failure. Update of BIOS shouldn’t stop half way and become unresponsive, and then it is really not normal. Dell technical support told me that it is the hardware failure. One thing keep in mind that BIOS cannot be format and installed like operating system whenever you want. If you make any mistake during BIOS update, then it will brick your system.

[ErikaGeek]

I have experienced the same issue with my system and good thing is it can be resolved easily. You must remove CMOS battery for 20-+ minutes. This will reset the BIOS by clearing the CMOS setup. I hope that it will surely make some difference in your computer.

[fflygirl]

For your issue I urge you first look into your BIOS setting. I hope that there should be a "Quick POST". Disable it and see whether there are any POST error messages. Also look into the event logs which is the part of administrative tools for warning. Also double check the device manager and see if there anything missing.