The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Advice on bios upgrading to A02

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by Newton28, Mar 23, 2015.

  1. Newton28

    Newton28 Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    I've seen people complaining about their bricked machines due to A02. Does bricking happen to all of the users?
    Should I just wait for A03?
     
    Newton28, Mar 23, 2015
    #1
  2. HaloGod2012

    HaloGod2012 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    766
    Messages:
    2,066
    Likes Received:
    1,725
    Trophy Points:
    181
    Wait for a03 , my new system will arrive tomorrow and I will definitely stick to the a00 or a01 bios it will come with. A02 is bad news. Trust me.
     
    HaloGod2012, Mar 23, 2015
    #2
  3. giangy.della

    giangy.della Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    76
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    16
    are you sure there will be an A03 bios?
     
    giangy.della, Mar 24, 2015
    #3
  4. HaloGod2012

    HaloGod2012 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    766
    Messages:
    2,066
    Likes Received:
    1,725
    Trophy Points:
    181
    Most likely yes , every Alienware I have owned has had more than 2 bios versions released
     
    HaloGod2012, Mar 24, 2015
    #4
  5. Red Pyr4mid

    Red Pyr4mid Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    95
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Mine arrived 4 march and had BIOS A01, I suggest you to get a 240w PSU and downgrade to A00.
     
    Red Pyr4mid, Mar 24, 2015
    #5
  6. giangy.della

    giangy.della Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    76
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    16
    what difference between A01 and A00 bios? Why online we can find only A00 and A02 bios?
     
    giangy.della, Mar 24, 2015
    #6
    iPhantomhives likes this.
  7. Splintah

    Splintah Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    278
    Messages:
    1,948
    Likes Received:
    595
    Trophy Points:
    131
    I personally haven't seen the A01 bios, I would just stay far away from A02 though, it's a mess.
     
    Splintah, Mar 24, 2015
    #7
    bnosam likes this.
  8. HaloGod2012

    HaloGod2012 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    766
    Messages:
    2,066
    Likes Received:
    1,725
    Trophy Points:
    181
    The first thing I did today on my new system was try A02. Crashes and freezes during bootups and weird bluescreens. Went down to A00 and works perfectly. They really need to release an A03 and address the power usage and lockups. I still dont think we are using all 240 watts of our power supplies...if we are...then I need a 330watt
     
    HaloGod2012, Mar 24, 2015
    #8
  9. bnosam

    bnosam Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    65
    Messages:
    578
    Likes Received:
    133
    Trophy Points:
    56
    I plan to do a bit more comprehensive testing of this when I get my laptop since I have the 330W and 240W supplies
     
    bnosam, Mar 24, 2015
    #9
  10. Red Pyr4mid

    Red Pyr4mid Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    95
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    16
    A01 exists only as pre-installed BIOS, both A01 and A02 enable Hybrid Power Technology wich is not 100% efficient in terms of performance and will kill your battery in the long term.

    A00 is the best choice simply because it doesn't include the Hybrid Power thing.
     
    Red Pyr4mid, Mar 24, 2015
    #10
  11. Logispice

    Logispice Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    71
    Likes Received:
    15
    Trophy Points:
    16
    how might someone downgrade to A00? I would like to try that later on.
     
    Logispice, Mar 24, 2015
    #11
  12. HaloGod2012

    HaloGod2012 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    766
    Messages:
    2,066
    Likes Received:
    1,725
    Trophy Points:
    181
    A00 is available on dell.com under the drivers. Just download the executable, close all running programs, and double click! It will warn you that you are downgrading (in my opinion upgrading) the bios and will run.
     
    HaloGod2012, Mar 25, 2015
    #12
    Logispice and bnosam like this.
  13. Red Pyr4mid

    Red Pyr4mid Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    95
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    16
    I suggest you to put the AW15A00.exe file on a USB pen drive and boot the AW by pressing F12 to select Dell's BIOS updater utility, still safer then flashing from Windows.
     
    Red Pyr4mid, Mar 25, 2015
    #13
    Logispice likes this.
  14. Logispice

    Logispice Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    2
    Messages:
    71
    Likes Received:
    15
    Trophy Points:
    16
    how might someone downgrade to A00? I would like to try that later on.
    thank you very much! I will be doing this as soon as they release the 850 EVO
     
    Logispice, Mar 25, 2015
    #14