Why does Dell send frequent BIOS updates ? (Inspiron 1464)
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From: William R. Walsh on 25 May 2010 13:51 Hi! > Does Dell create the BIOS, or does it come from the motherboard > manufacturer? That depends upon the vintage of the Dell system you are talking about. With the early Dell systems, Dell branched off from an old PhoenixBIOS (1988!) release and modified it to be what they wanted it to be, updating it for new systems along the way. This BIOS has a few different faces--you've seen it in the systems where the majority of the setup utility text is in blue (black background), in the "predominantly grey" setup utility and the "blue background/green foreground" setup utility. This is probably the closest thing there is to a "written by Dell" BIOS as they have had to take that old Phoenix code base and update it as new CPUs, hardware, storage devices, or whatever came along. Systems using this BIOS include the LatD800, OptiPlex GX520/620, OptiPlex GX400, Dimension 2400, 45/46/4700, 81/82/83/8400 and others. Sometimes, especially with newer systems, Dell just customized an existing BIOS, like they did whenever they put a designed-by-Intel motherboard in a system. In this case, the motherboard and the setup utility both look a lot like the original product upon which they are based, with some options removed. Someone else did the heavy lifting here. Systems using this sort of BIOS would include the whole of the Dimension L5xx/2100 series. Today's Dell systems, having very generic motherboards, usually have no Dell influence on the BIOS other than in the setup utility (where a great simplification takes place) and in the startup logo. Any of the Inspiron desktops use this BIOS. The laptops won't have as generic of a motherboard, but I suspect that considering how Dell has now totally farmed out the low end/home end desktops, that the contract assembler does most of the BIOS creation work and slaps a Dell logo on it. William
From: Hank Arnold on 27 May 2010 06:30 In general, there isn't a reason to upgrade a BIOS unless there is something in an update that is needed. While the update process is extremely bullet proof, there is always the chance of a problem. Most likely is loss of power (or turning the computer off) during the update. This can leave you with a door stop. When it comes to BIOS updates, the rule "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" definitely applies. Regards, Hank Arnold Microsoft MVP Windows Server - Directory Services http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/personal-pc-assistant/ On 5/24/2010 7:16 PM, Al Dykes wrote: > I've had an Inspiron 1464 for couple months. The RSS feed that tells > me about updates has sent me several BIOS flash updates, every two > weeks it seems. I installed the first one but old experience (not > with Dell) makes me nervous. The dates on the updates are always new. > > Can't Dell get the BIOS right? > >
From: Al Dykes on 27 May 2010 14:18
In article <htf1bo$prl$1(a)panix5.panix.com>, Al Dykes <adykes(a)panix.com> wrote: >I've had an Inspiron 1464 for couple months. The RSS feed that tells >me about updates has sent me several BIOS flash updates, every two >weeks it seems. I installed the first one but old experience (not >with Dell) makes me nervous. The dates on the updates are always new. > >Can't Dell get the BIOS right? > Another week, another BIOS update..... It'a version A08 and called "recommended". -- Al Dykes News is something someone wants to suppress, everything else is advertising. - Lord Northcliffe, publisher of the Daily Mail |