Im going to reformat tonight, but when do i flash bios?

SouthernGirls's girls says under the driver section that flashing bios is required. Seemed a little odd to me as i do i have experience reformatting my other systems, and never HAD to flash bios.

But i figured i might as well anyway, so should i do it before i reformat or after? And, dells site says that u can flash from windows and itll restart the computer and do all the necessary stuff... BUTTTTT... has anyone done this before? I only ask cause ive flashed bios from windows with and MSI utility and board and ended up killing it. Had to get a replacement mobo. I dont want that to happen again, but it was a few years ago. Have all the systems been improved in that respect?

Thanks

 

If you just run the downloaded exe file from Windows then it should do the rest. I've never done it before so that's just an educated guess.

 

A few things.

First, no you don't have to flash/re-flash your bios when you reformat the computer.

Second, I flashed my bios today to upgrade to the newest release. I used the utility which ran through windows, and it worked just fine. I wouldn't imagine you would have any problems as far as actually damaging your mobo.

I'm not sure that it makes any difference whether you flash the bios before or after the reformat...probably just personal preference..

Just my .02

 

I would not recommend flashing your BIOS unless you need it for some specific reasons. Flashing BIOS is NOT required when you format your HD. Southern Girl is great for putting that todo for all of us. I heard she is very nice as well. I haven't chat, or should I say forum her, with her in a long time.

 

K thanks guys. My last computer i built myself, and its been a long time since i bought pre-built, and the first time with a laptop. Wasnt sure after reading her guide if dell had some special stuff going on

 

flashing your BIOS is a good idea because it means that manufacturer has, in layman's terms, made hardware component communication "better".

it can also address specific problems that have cropped up and need to be addressed (similar to a service pack from MS).

it can also add functionality to your BIOS: such as upgraded control over peripherals that may not have existed in a previous version of the BIOS.

you don't HAVE to flash your BIOS, but you SHOULD if there's a newer version available.

 

I just flashed my E1505, despite my machine only being 2 weeks old. There was already a newer version released, and now my machine takes a little less time to startup...

 

I recommend flashing your BIOS before you reformat. That way when you install Windows and the associated drivers they'll see any changes right from the beginning.