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    bios flash

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by twistabledeer, Jun 13, 2013.

  1. twistabledeer

    twistabledeer Newbie

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    hello, i have a alienware m17x r1 laptop that wont boot, i can get into the bios but after the computer goes past the bios it just goes black screen, i have reseted the bios by pulling out the CMOS battery and i tried different ram sticks and still no go, im thinking that my bios is screwed up because when i go into the boot order i cant pick which hard drive or cd drive or usb port or anything to boot from so what i want to do is flash the bios but is there anyway to flash the bios without going into windows? kinda like a hard bios flash or something like that i have a a07 bios version.

    Thanks
     
    twistabledeer, Jun 13, 2013
    #1
  2. mikecacho

    mikecacho Notebook Evangelist

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    Can you boot into safe mode?
     
    mikecacho, Jun 14, 2013
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  3. twistabledeer

    twistabledeer Newbie

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    no i cannot boot into safe mode
     
    twistabledeer, Jun 16, 2013
    #3
  4. katalin_2003

    katalin_2003 NBR Spectre Super Moderator

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    Hello, Teistabledeer, i don't think you have a BIOS problem.
    Have you tried booting from a USB key or DVD with a linux distro per example?

    Flashing your BIOS should be one of the last steps you should take in this situation considering your system is still able to POST and access the BIOS menu.

    Have you tried a system diagnosis? If not, turn on your system, start tapping the F12 key and choose to perform a system diagnostics (last option if i recall correctly).

    If you still want to flash your BIOS, download the latest version from Dell (the zip version):
    Driver Details | Dell US

    Reference this thread on how to create a bootable USB key:
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...sh-aw-bios-updates-under-dos.html#post7076619

    Note that you'll only get the USB option in the bootable media menu in BIOS only when you actually have a USB device plugged into your system.
     
    katalin_2003, Jun 16, 2013
    #4
  5. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    You can also try this video to determine what's wrong with the PC.

    LINK
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, Jun 17, 2013
    #5