How Long for BIOS Update?

[Coastie3202]

I purchased a new system with Windows 7. It is the Dell i1764. Dell put a small piece of paper in with the documentation that states "Before Using Your Computer.....Update to the latest computer BIOS and drivers."

I followed their link, read the instructions carefully, and did everything that they said. The BIOS update has been running for over 2 hours now, with no movement of the status bar. It has been sitting on "2 of 84" for that length of time.

How long does a BIOS update normally take? If it is stuck, what are my options?

Thanks for your help.

 

[pebbly]

a bios update should not take that long , normally less than 1 minute , how did you perform this update?

 

[Suspekt]

I think you made a bad move there . I hope your mobo it's ok Usually a bios update/flash takes up to a maximum of 1 minute ( mine took about 20-25 seconds ).

 

[pebbly]

you may be lucky and be able to use the backdoor recovery, turn off the laptop ,hold down the "del" key and reboot that should reset the bios defaults bact to factory settings, good luck

 

[Coastie3202]

Well.....I attempted to halt the operation, with no luck. The BIOS update process froze everything, including the mouse and keyboard, and the power button. So, to turn off the system I was forced to remove the battery. Once I replaced the battery and had the laptop hooked to external power I attempted to turn the computer back on. Seems everything is dead, no power button input at all. The laptop just sits and looks at me like I am stupid...which my wife just told me I am.

Any suggestions, other than taking it back to Best Buy?

 

[pebbly]

did you try the backdoor recovery i suggested?

 

[StealthyBoss]

never update bios... that way your safe

 

[BWK]

Why would they sell you something that needed a bios update to begin with? Don't they have on site geeks for that stuff. It seems kinda weird that they sold a system telling you to update bios. I would take it back, make sure you have that piece of paper that they gave you telling you to update bios...this may turn into a BIG mess and they might tell you they did nothing of the sort. Good Luck!

 

[pebbly]

sorry coastie its the "end" key you have to hold down

 

[Coastie3202]

did you try the backdoor recovery i suggested?

Never got the chance to do the backdoor. Everything is dead. It would not power off and won't power back up. It is dead dead dead.

I will be taking it back and will show them the piece of paper from Dell that states to do the updates, including BIOS before using the computer. What's a pain in the ass is that the store is 65 miles away. Oh well!

 

[pebbly]

did you try the backdoor recovery i suggested?

Never got the chance to do the backdoor. Everything is dead. It would not power off and won't power back up. It is dead dead dead.

I will be taking it back and will show them the piece of paper from Dell that states to do the updates, including BIOS before using the computer. What's a pain in the ass is that the store is 65 miles away. Oh well!

sorry about that coastie , what a pain, you've got to convince them now it was'nt user error

 

[karlsnooks]

Coastle,
Hearing the results after your trip to Dell would be informative. This will let us better help others who run across this problem.

 

[Coastie3202]

Coastle,
Hearing the results after your trip to Dell would be informative. This will let us better help others who run across this problem.

I am hoping that it won't be a problem. I purchased it at Best Buy and they have their 14 day return policy. I will show them the paper that said to do the updates, and see what happens. I'll let everyone know what happens.

 

[Frostmourne]

Coastle,
Hearing the results after your trip to Dell would be informative. This will let us better help others who run across this problem.

I am hoping that it won't be a problem. I purchased it at Best Buy and they have their 14 day return policy. I will show them the paper that said to do the updates, and see what happens. I'll let everyone know what happens.

You should have built your own PC - gugabyte's boards have Dual Bios - one dies the other kicks in. You can also back up the BIOS to the HDD. Did you follow the instructions?

 

[Coastie3202]

Upon further reflection

Upon further reflection I should have realized that this computer had a problem. I bought it this past Friday. On Saturday during initial startup I got the dreaded blue screen (actually it was black) and reported that it experienced a problem and required a restart. Then later when I was trying to register it with Dell the registration failed because it could not read the electronic "tag". I realized that there may be a problem and while researching the paper documentation that came with the laptop I came across the single piece of paper that advised not to use the computer until updated drivers and BIOS were downloaded. That is where the major problem occurred as it bricked during the update, probably during the BIOS update.

Pissed? You bet.

I'll be calling Best Buy tomorrow and making the 65 mile one way trip later this week for a full refund (hopefully). :shock:

 

[nekkidtruth]

Coastie, did you have it plugged into a power source during the BIOS update, or were you running off battery?

It sounds like there was definitely an issue with the laptop prior to your purchase of it. There is no reason a new machine should be blue screening or having any issues for that matter. Unless someone has toyed with it or there is faulty hardware.

That being said, please don't be discouraged with updating your BIOS. This is not normal and updating your BIOS is crucial sometimes. I hope you're able to a refund and or a new machine. Good luck and please let us know what happens.

Frostmourne, it's a laptop not a desktop And overkill much? Hehe

 

[Frostmourne]

Coastie, did you have it plugged into a power source during the BIOS update, or were you running off battery?

It sounds like there was definitely an issue with the laptop prior to your purchase of it. There is no reason a new machine should be blue screening or having any issues for that matter. Unless someone has toyed with it or there is faulty hardware.

That being said, please don't be discouraged with updating your BIOS. This is not normal and updating your BIOS is crucial sometimes. I hope you're able to a refund and or a new machine. Good luck and please let us know what happens.

Frostmourne, it's a laptop not a desktop And overkill much? Hehe

Laptops can be built easily.

 

[nekkidtruth]

Laptops can be built easily.

Easily, yes. Cheap/mainstream like desktops, no.