Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (
More info?)
On flashing a BIOS...
Yes, as long as one has the correct BIOS update and follows the manufacturer's
instructions exactly, a BIOS update is not risky. The major risk of a failed
BIOS update and a comatose motherboard is from a power outage, so it's a good
idea not to run a flash BIOS update in the midst of an electrical storm or when
trucks from the local power company are parked outside.
As a rule, the BIOS manufacturer (in this case, Dell) builds enough safeguards
into the flash BIOS software to prevent flashing with the wrong BIOS and to keep
people out of trouble. Occasionally, it is useful to know how to defeat these
safeguards, but that is beyond the scope of what most people need to do.
As to the downside of a failed flash BIOS update, the consequences are
considerable. The "slightly tedious process of replacing a BIOS chip" involves
de-soldering the old chip and soldering on a new chip, at least on all the
current Dell models. Any de-soldering and soldering of chips on modern circuit
boards requires far more sophisticated equipment than can be found at Home
Depot, Lowes, or any other fairly common outlet for tools. Um, this is far more
than "slightly tedious".
Socketed flash BIOS chips, which are really easy to replace, fell into disfavor
in the early Pentium era, a victim of cost savings. I have seen a few socketed
BIOS chips on modern motherboards, but they are few and far between. IBM
NetVista desktops have socketed BIOS chips.
There are two other possibilities for taking care of a failed flash BIOS update.
One is a BIOS recovery procedure, IF AND ONLY IF documented by the board
manufacturer. Intel-branded boards with a generic Intel BIOS have a
well-documented BIOS recovery procedure that works as long as the BIOS boot
block is not destroyed by the failed flash BIOS update.
The other approach is to use fairly sophisticated and uncommon equipment
designed to inject a flash BIOS onto the chip soldered onto the motherboard.
You might find this sort of equipment in test labs at Intel, Dell, HPaq, or
Gateway. In essence, you plug a self-contained single-board computer into a PCI
slot on a failed motherboard, the live single-board computer finds the BIOS chip
through standard Intel port hand-shaking procedures, and writes a new BIOS
image.
As to the necessity of flashing a BIOS, for many years the rule of thumb is to
update a BIOS to correct errors or add features which are important for ones use
of ones own computer. With a mainstream BIOS like a generic Intel one, there
are almost always documents which provide an audit trail of all the corrections
and changes made with each BIOS revision. I would suggest reading these
documents to see exactly what sorts of changes have been incorporated into the
BIOS over time. Be prepared to decipher some very much engineering-oriented
language and some obscure terminology.
If Dell recommends a BIOS update as a prelude to installing SP2, have at it if
you like. Frankly, unless there are detailed reasons explaining why a flash
update is needed for SP2, I think this is a knee-jerk reaction on the part of
Dell, who have undoubtedly tested SP2 almost exclusively on the newest computers
with the newest BIOS firmware.
For various reasons, I've done flash BIOS updates of thousands of motherboards
in the past 10 or 11 years, and I still look outside at the sky and at the
nearby power poles before running a flash update. I have never once had the
need to remove a soldered-on chip from a board, do not have the equipment to do
so, and never expect to get the equipment to do it.
Finally, if one still manages to end up with a dead motherboard from flashing
the BIOS, even with all the built-in safeguards and caveats, the quickest and
most straightforward action to get a live system again is to replace the
motherboard... Ben Myers
On Fri, 03 Sep 2004 04:21:35 GMT, "Ron Reaugh" <rondashreaugh@att.net> wrote:
>
>"Ted Zieglar aka "Rocky"" <teddyz@notmail.com> wrote in message
>news:T1GZc.60394$7y4.48071@roc.nntpserver.com...
>> Good question. BIOS is something that you only update if you need to.
>
>That's old think. Always flash the latest BIOS but carefully.
>
>> SP 2 is, in essence, a major upgrade to Windows XP. It's a good idea to
>> update the BIOS before upgrading your operating system, ergo Dell's
>> recommendation.
>>
>> If you carefully follow Dell's instructions for updating your BIOS, the
>> process is safe.
>
>And has been in most all cases for years now.
>
>> The rap against updating the BIOS is based on the fact that
>> if you mess up, or if there's a power surge or interruption while the
>update
>> is proceeding, your computer becomes a paperweight.
>
>NOPE, just a slightly tedious process of replacing a BIOS chip.
>
>> Not permanently, but
>> it's a royal pain to get it going again. So, don't update the BIOS without
>> good reason.
>
>Nope, just don't do it when/where a power outage may be pending.
>
>> Installing SP 2 is a good enough reason.
>
>The existence of a more recent BIOS is a good enough reason.
>
>
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