NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Forums › Dell Legacy (single-core notebooks) › A04 BIOS killed my lappy! Help!
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

A04 BIOS killed my lappy! Help! - Page 2

post #21 of 38
10/11/04 at 12:39pm
If the three LEDs are Caps, Scrool and Num lock, then try to start the laptop without being plugged in to the wall, running on battery only.

My lappy has NEVER booted with the AC adapter plugged in. (It also has never hibernated or gone into standby, instead running at full power any time the lid is shut, it has serious video corruption problems on battery and is generally ready to be replaced by Dell as soon as I get around to calling...) Guess that's what I get for being one of the first ones to order... I got ALL of the common problems in one unit!
Reply
Reply
post #22 of 38
10/11/04 at 1:22pm
no problem with the bios flash for me.... my lappy is ready to be replaced too i think.... it works great, but physically it is falling apart.
Reply
Reply
post #23 of 38
10/11/04 at 1:48pm
i've got a northwood in my 9100, but flashed it just to be "current". no problems here either. everytime i've flashed, it was from within windows and i haven't had a problem yet. i'm guessing there might be something wrong with the installer, coz this hasn't been an issue here until the a04 release.
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 38
10/11/04 at 3:10pm
I installed the new A04 bios in my 9100. I did not run into any installation problems. The only thing is that I cant delete the A04 instalation file from my comp.
Reply
Reply
post #25 of 38
10/11/04 at 3:32pm
If anyone has a problem deleting the file. Go into safe mode with command prompt. You can delete it from there.
Reply
Reply
post #26 of 38
10/11/04 at 3:33pm
if you've got a linux/unix shell, you can use rm -f to the delete the file too.
Reply
Reply
post #27 of 38
10/11/04 at 5:33pm

Problem Resolved

Just reflashed the old A03 bios and voila... everything is back to normal. What a coincidence. For those of you with the same problem, check my other posts: there seems to be an issue with the new xps notebooks and the recently released A04 bios. This is not a motherboard problem. The A04 bios is trash.
Reply
Reply
post #28 of 38
10/12/04 at 4:33am
Similar thing happened to me, after flashing it started fine but when i shutdown the computer and restarted it the leds lit for a few seconds and went off. I tried atleast 10 times but the same thing happened, i then tried running it on battery but no luck , i tried running on AC power alone and no luck.
I started to really freak out and tried starting again, and clicking random keys on the keyboard like F1 Esc etc etc for the time the leds were on and just when i clicked the power button again the thing started!!!

BTW it doesnt happen when i hibernate it, only if i turn off, does the problem repeat and i have to start the random clicking process again.

I am gonna flash it back to A03 and hopefully i wont have this problem.
Oh yea and i have a XPS with Prescott.
Reply
Reply
post #29 of 38
10/12/04 at 7:06am
At this point, if I was an XPS owner, I would probably not touch the A04 BIOS. I'm guessing A05 will be out shortly after they realize there's a problem.
Reply
Reply
post #30 of 38
10/12/04 at 2:47pm
Anybody have any results of what happens when flashing back to A03? I'm thinking of flashing back because my i9100 has been acting frumpy lately with some weird blue screens.
Reply
Reply
post #31 of 38
10/12/04 at 2:53pm
somebody posted that flashing back to a03 fixed his problems.
Reply
Reply
post #32 of 38
10/12/04 at 4:34pm
That person is me... and my post was earlier in this thread. The only thing that happens when you flash the A03 from the A04 bios is a lot of relieved frustration. Enough said.
Reply
Reply
post #33 of 38
10/13/04 at 1:19am
Thanks MussumD, I got my laptop started after pushing the power button for like 3 straight minutes, and changed back to A03, and it works fine now. I just upgraded my warranty to at home service so I am going to have a tech come change the motherboard anyways to see if it works with the A04 bios.
Reply
Reply
post #34 of 38
10/24/04 at 6:22pm
Thread Starter 
Just an update: I contacted Dell tech support a right after posting this thread, and, after several hours of being given the run-around, I finally got to talk to an actual human being. I then had to humour him for over an hour while he attempted to "troubleshoot" my system, after which he finally admitted what I had known all along: I would have to send my system back to Dell for a mobo replacement.
Now, here's the kicker: The empty box that I am supposed to use to ship my system back still hasn't arrived! I'm absolutely furious at this point. I tried to email Dell.com to get an ETA, but the tech-"support" guy couldn't help me because I am Canadian. He told me to contact Canadian tech support (why couldn't he have simply forwarded my email!?), which I did. But I still haven't received a response!
Meanwhile, my the clock on my warranty is ticking away, and I am out a laptop.
Reply
Reply
post #35 of 38
11/15/04 at 8:26pm

DOS flash 9100 to A05

I want to flash the bios on my new i9100 to A05 from A03 in DOS.

I have my bootabel CD made and the .exe from Dell with the A05 burned to it.

So am I correct in assuming I simply boot (F12) into my dos CD and execute the file as I downloaded it from Dell?

AND...! Should I be doing this now or after the XP pro reload?

Thanks guys...
Reply
Reply
post #36 of 38
11/15/04 at 9:05pm
Yes, that's what I did:
Boot to DOS (F12 - bootable CD) and executed "I9100_A05.EXE".
Reply
Reply
post #37 of 38
11/15/04 at 9:17pm
Flashed mine to A05 in Windows... everything went OK... no problem
Reply
Reply
post #38 of 38
11/15/04 at 9:39pm
i wonder if the flashing does any good.....
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Forums › Dell Legacy (single-core notebooks) › A04 BIOS killed my lappy! Help!