Dell BIOS Update

Ever wanted to update your bios on your computer or laptop but cant because your not running windows. Here's a solution we came across that seems to work for the Dell 1521 Laptop and should work on other Dell also running Linux. This will work for Dell computers running both Gentoo and Ubuntu Linux.

Download your selected fimware update from Dell themselves never trust 3rd party sites for bios updates, it's not advisable or necessary, this will be in the form of an EXE file which doesn't run under Linux so we need to cheat and install some packages to help extract the data we need from the Bios.EXE

#> sudo apt-get install wine firmware-addon-dell

Now run wine to extract the data file needed to upgrade BIOS, please pay careful attention to the naming convention of the downloaded file, if it is only to be used the once use the file as is (Don't bother to rename). Uppercase and Lowercase Letters in filenames are treated as different so bios.exe Bios.exe Bios.EXE are all different to one another in Linux and can all exist in the same directory despite all having the same filename.

#> wine /path_to_file/1521_Bios.exe -writehdrfile -nopause

It is best practice to use the above command within your own home directory, its only used once so can be discarded after upgade has been performed.

This command expands the bios.exe file and converts to a bios.hdr file which with some persuasion can be used under Linux. You first need to install a module using modprobe then perform the update.

You can use the tab button to identify the actual filename used.

Reboot your Dell PC or Laptop to complete the process, You will be presented with a message "Performing Bios Update" NEVER BE TEMPTED TO SWITCH OFF DURING UPGRADE just because the process takes some time, if you are using a laptop ensure it is connected to the mains and you are not using battery.

Please Note: This procedure is given freely for information only. If you attempt to upgrade the firmware on your PC or Laptop you do so at your own risk, SoSLUG or any of it's members are not responsible for any losses incurred as a result of using this Howto. We can not stress enough this upgrade could potentially harm the correct operation of your computer or Laptop please use this procedure with caution. If you are in any doubt we recommend you do not attempt this category of upgrade.