Question Dell 3020 Cannot Update BIOS

[mlxllc]

Having exhausted all my options, I figured I'd stop by Tom's Hardware for guru advice.
I have a Dell 3020 desktop that is stuck at BIOS ver A02. The latest ver is A20.
I have download the .exe BIOS update files for every version in between.

The process I am using it to hit F12 and using the BIOS Update Option.
The BIOS update file is on a USB stick formatted to FAT32.
The BIOS update IS able to find the update file.

However, once I click start, rather than seeing the nice progress bar, the screen flashes to off, no signal from PC and it just sits there.

This PC has always exhibited a strange behavior in that it never fully reboots on it's own. If I hit reboot, it shuts down, but again, just sits there.

Wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction of a possible fix, perhaps it's a bad jumper setting.

Here are the Motherboard specifics:

M1H81R / Tigris MT MB
12124-1M
490P1$ FA
Dell PN: 490P1 Rev A00

The Power supply is NOT the original.
I replaced it with a Thermaltake 430W Smart Series supply.

If memory serves, I recall having some question as to the power connection.
Looking at the power connections now, I see the header marked : HDD_ODD_PWR has nothing connected. Only the ATX connection using an adapter to the old style MB power plug. I can include photos. Could that be a problem?

System has been working fine for over a year, but my seagate green drive just STB and is forcing me to re-evaluate the entire system.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

If you were planning to jump all the way up to version A20 for the BIOS, please don't do that and gradually work your way up tot he latest BIOS version.

Also that PSU, is not something I'd have anywhere near a computer, let alone a prebuilt. On that note, it seems to me that you just plugged in the 8pin EPS to a port that shouldn't be fed with that. The motherboard has a proprietary connector so you shouldn't be on an aftermarket PSU to begin with, source a replacement PSU that is meant to be in the Dell OptiPlex 3020.

 

[mlxllc]

Can someone recommend a PSU for this MB? I need a higher power supply for the GeForce GTI 1050i video card.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

As it's a proprietary Dell motherboard only Dell can supply a replacement. Very doubtful you'll find a larger capacity there.

 

[mlxllc]

Hmm, well in one of my biggest technical blunders, I seem to have disposed of the old, perfectly good PSU. No idea it was proprietary to a PSU. Thinking a MOBO replacement may be a better approach.

 

[mlxllc]

I have looked back and it looks like I used the following kit to convert a standard PSU 24 to 8 pin ATX connector. Is this a bad thing? Advertised to work with Dell Optiplex 3020...and it does work. https://www.amazon.com/COMeap-Adapt...=dell+3020+power+supply&qid=1578504912&sr=8-7

 

[mlxllc]

Here is the exact power supply: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BFJ91TY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00

 

[Zizo007]

What's your system spec?
That Thermaltake PSU is bad, post its specs from the sticker on the side of the PSU.

Edit: Its a 380W PSU 12Vx32A=~380W.
How old is it?

 

[mlxllc]

The PSU is only a year old. It works fine. The system problem was originally a failed seagate green hard drive, but once I took the PC apart and tried to update the BIOS, I determined the cause of not being able to update the BIOS might be due to my replacing the stock PSU. The power supply spec are in the link I provided above. It's a 430W.

This system has worked OK since 2018 with the non stock PSU. It just behaves oddly on restart. It won;t without manually pressing the power button again, but since it is using the PSU adapter, that kinda makes sense.

Still searching my office for the original PSU and drive cables. No way I would have intentionally thrown that out or recycled. I'll blame it on my wife. lol

 

[mlxllc]

Found a replacement (refurb) PSU on eBay for $15. Also found the drive cables that connect to the Mobo. PSU is a model #XFXKX - 290 watt - hope it has enough oomph for two HD's and my low power EVGA GeForce GTX 1015i video card.

From the start, I was concerned about not enough power. Guess I have that Tool Time disorder.

Will update the post on Monday to see if this fixes the strange BIOS update issue.

 

[Zizo007]

Found a replacement (refurb) PSU on eBay for $15. Also found the drive cables that connect to the Mobo. PSU is a model #XFXKX - 290 watt - hope it has enough oomph for two HD's and my low power EVGA GeForce GTX 1015i video card.

From the start, I was concerned about not enough power. Guess I have that Tool Time disorder.

Will update the post on Monday to see if this fixes the strange BIOS update issue.

The 1050Ti requires 300W min on the +12V line. Make sure the other PSU has that under +12V, it should show the amps, multiply the amps value by 12 and you get the real PSU power rating.

 

[mlxllc]

From what I'm told, I HAVE to use the proprietary 290 W stock power supply. I have been using a third party 430 watt for over a year with minimal issues (BIOS update issue only) - we'll see on Monday. Wish I could get a straight answer on the PSU.

 

[SamirD]

This is the answer you seek:
https://www.moddiy.com/products/Del...Power-24-Pin-to-8-Pin-Adapter-Cable-30cm.html

Since your system seems to boot fine on the non-dell power supply, I'd try the bios update with the original power supply and then just swap back to your non-dell one if you want. I'd also look into the adapter cable above as it seems legit.

 

[mlxllc]

Thank you Samir - that is exactly what I intend to do. I will post an update tomorrow.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Also, once it is working, I would suggest never to touch the bios again. I usually try not to update a board's bios unless there is something specific I'm attempting to fix or a certain new feature I need. For example, I have a B350 motherboard. It says I'm able to run a Ryzen 3000 series cpu in it with some bios updates. So if I'm able at the end of the year to go to a 4000 series CPU, I may update the bios and go that route. But other than that, what I have is stable, if it's not broken don't fix it

 

[mlxllc]

Also, once it is working, I would suggest never to touch the bios again. I usually try not to update a board's bios unless there is something specific I'm attempting to fix or a certain new feature I need. For example, I have a B350 motherboard. It says I'm able to run a Ryzen 3000 series cpu in it with some bios updates. So if I'm able at the end of the year to go to a 4000 series CPU, I may update the bios and go that route. But other than that, what I have is stable, if it's not broken don't fix it

Right...this one maxed out at ver A20 in 2014 and is EOL, so will be staying there and reinstalling mobo drivers before moving forward.

 

[mlxllc]

Well, fixed the hard drive crash and recovered the bad drive using minitool. That was worth the $99. New drive installed and loaded, Win 10 Pro back up & running...will test PSU theory today. Right now still running on the Thermaltake SMART 430w unit.

 

[bignastyid]

Likely a problem with the bios and/or motherboard, not the non dell PSU.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Good that all is working. If you are still using the drive that had problems, if there are any mechanical issues, pull your data and immediately discontinue using it.

 

[mlxllc]

Likely a problem with the bios and/or motherboard, not the non dell PSU.

Wondering if some jumper or BIOS setting or power switch wiring could be causing the BIOS update problem. Seems to me if the BIOS or motherboard had a problem, I would be having other major issues.

The BIOS battery is brand new...PSU is again stock, but problem remains.

The system never reboots on it's own. It will shut down the PSU, but never comes back up automatically.

 

[mlxllc]

Good that all is working. If you are still using the drive that had problems, if there are any mechanical issues, pull your data and immediately discontinue using it.

New drive. Old drive is on the scrap heap.

 

[mlxllc]

Question: What boot mode should be used with Windows 10?
My BIOS is currently set to "Legacy" mode, UEFI is OFF.

Any time I leave the BIOS setting page, the PC just sits there with the power light on, and fans running. Same on restart...never restarts just sits there with fans running and power light on. Press and hold power switch and it shuts off.
To restart, press power switch and the system pops on for a second then shuts off...press again and it will start normally.

When I do a shutdown from Windows, everything does shut down and systems powers off.

Sounds like UEFI should be ON. Just want to be sure before making a change that might prove disastrous.
https://neosmart.net/wiki/enable-uefi-boot/
and
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...desktop/boot-to-uefi-mode-or-legacy-bios-mode
and
https://www.dell.com/community/Opti...x-3020-will-not-do-a-soft-reboot/td-p/7256474

 

[KabutoKunPC]

@mlxllc
After reading about PSU recommendations around here I read some of your posts and then I found this topic; I just registered to give you some suggestions to help you solve your problem.

While that Thermaltake is an average PSU at best according to a quick Google search, I think it “should” be better than a stock/original DELL PSU; it has a newer design and higher current on the 12V rail (the only one you really need). While the Optiplex 3020 motherboard only have the common CPU 4-pin and the proprietary 8-pin connectors for power, it's still based on the ATX specs (for example, it still uses PS-ON and POWERGOOD), so you can keep using the Thermaltake PSU for peace of mind with your 1050TI.

The latest BIOS for your Optiplex 3020 (A20) was actually released on June 2019, but you may want to flash an older version to have slightly better CPU performance.

In January 2018, the first wave of exploits were found for pretty much every modern CPU (Meltdown and Spectre), especially older Intel CPUs. So any motherboard BIOS with updated CPU microcodes from at least this date has added a bunch of patches/mitigations that can negatively affect your raw CPU performance. I would rather flash BIOS A15 (dated march 2017, the last version that does not include these mitigations, which can be found by clicking and expanding the “Version” section on the download page of the BIOS on DELL’s support website).

These exploits are difficult to be used in practice for regular users so it’s your decision if the performance penalty is worth it for you.

For more info on why updating Haswell microcodes is a good idea, read this:
View: https://old.reddit.com/r/overclocking/comments/7gknrh/still_on_haswell_try_updating_your_microcode/


Anyway, you should try a different method of flashing the BIOS. I’ve BIOS updated every motherboard I’ve owned without experiencing a single problem, this includes several DELL computers (like Optiplex 9010). Try this:

Download a Windows 98 DOS Boot Disk (you can find it online as Windows98_SE.img) and install GRUB4DOS to a USB stick formatted to FAT32 (instructions here https://kb.acronis.com/content/57232).
Follow this tutorial from the start, skip the “Creating ISO files of Acronis products” section and continue on “Setting up multiproduct boot”. AFAIK this process should not format you USB stick.

Needed files (links on tutorial are broken):
- grub4dos-0.4.4.zip:
https://web.archive.org/web/20170225143220/http://download.gna.org/grub4dos/grub4dos-0.4.4.zip
- grubinst-1.1-bin-w32-2008-01-01.zip:
https://web.archive.org/web/2017022.../grubutil/grubinst-1.1-bin-w32-2008-01-01.zip

Instead of using the Notepad contents from the tutorial, use this as your menu.lst file:

title Boot from floppy boot image - Win98SE
map --mem (hd0,0)/Windows98_SE.img (fd0)
map --hook
root (fd0)
chainloader +1

Remember you have to copy the “grldr” file, the just created “menu.lst” and your BIOS update .exe file to the root of the USB stick (you must rename the .exe with a filename with NO more than 8 characters ).

When you boot the USB on the Optiplex (UEFI should be OFF and BIOS on legacy mode), just confirm the options (RAMDISK boot is OK) until you see the C:/ drive prompt (or type “C:”), then type the name of the BIOS .exe file and press enter. The update file will check for valid hardware and ask for confirmation before flashing the BIOS.

DO NOT interrupt the process, which has 2 steps: the regular BIOS flash and later the Intel ME flash, just let it finish. If you already have a Windows installed, you may need to change the SATA operation option back to AHCI for better performance.

If for some reason you still can’t flash the BIOS, you could try to put a jumper on the 2-pin SERVICE_MODE, located below the PCIe x1 connector (you can read the "Dell OptiPlex 3020 Technical Guidebook" if you need help locating it on your motherboard). This may allow you to bypass certain checks but while I don’t think it can be dangerous to mess with this, beware that I’ve never needed to use it so be careful.

This information should be useful to you; I’ll be reading this topic hoping for you success. 👍

 

[mlxllc]

Thanks for the informative reply. I'll give that a try.

Also, still wondering if I should be set to UEFI or Legacy mode in BIOS and what implications a change to UEFI may involve. Not even sure what UEFI does exactly.

Thanks again for your continued interest and assistance. I'd love to get this BIOS issue resolved...if nothing else it will enable me to install that latest mobo driver package from the dell support site.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

UEFI was introduced back when Windows 8 first came out. Honestly, if it works in legacy, leave it. As he said, it seems like it would be difficult to exploit. As well as I'm not 100% sure the system would boot to Windows if you change it, meaning you might have to reinstall the OS again.

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-to-change-legacy-to-uefi-without-reinstalling-windows-10