How To Check & Update BIOS On The Dell Computer

What is BIOS? BIOS is short for Basic Input/Output System, which is a crucial unit for initializing hardware and preparing runtime services for operating system during the booting process.

What if the computer BIOS is too old? The corresponding motherboard may fail to identify any new hardware correctly or the system may become unstable when the BIOS version on it is old.

In this case, it’s an urgent task to update the BIOS in order to solve problems on your device and improve the overall performance. The following content mainly focuses on Dell BIOS update (the BIOS update process on other computers is basically similar).

Related reading:

• What is Acer boot menu?
• What is HP boot menu?

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The Dell BIOS Update Is Essential

Main Benefits of BIOS Update Dell

Dell company recommend that users perform Dell update BIOS as part of their scheduled update cycle. Just like operating system update and driver update, the update of old BIOS version on your PC can bring a lot of benefits.

• Hardware updates: keep system software compatible with advanced hardware, drivers, and firmware.
• Security updates: they are included in BIOS update so that your system will be more secured (resist tampering and increase the awareness of boot sector viruses) after the update.
• More stable: the BIOS updates will be released by manufacturers every time when bugs and other issues are detected on the motherboards; by updating the BIOS, you can fix the problems and even speed up data transfer and processing.

Solved: PC Not Booting After BIOS Update – Recovery & Repair!

Update Dell BIOS: A User Guide

Step 1: Check Dell System BIOS Version

There are 2 ways to check BIOS version on Windows.

1^st way: check via Command Prompt.

1. Press Windows + S.
2. Type cmd into the search box.
3. Right click on Command Prompt.
4. Choose Run as administrator.
5. Click Yes in UAC window (optional).
6. Copy & paste this command: wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion.
7. Hit Enter and check the version.

You can also type wmic bios get biosversion/wmic bios get version instead and hit Enter to show the current BIOS version.

How to use CMD to recover files?

2^nd way: check from System Information.

1. Press Windows + R.
2. Type msinfo32 and hit Enter.
3. Look for the BIOS Version/Date option in the right pane of System Information window.
4. Check the version.

Step 2: Update the System BIOS on Dell

There are 2 common methods for Dell BIOS update.

1^st method: update within Windows.

1. Open a browser and go to this Dell webpage.
2. Enter your Service tag & press Search. You can also click Browse all products and select the correct system manually.
3. Go to the Category option and select BIOS from its drop-down list.
4. Look for the most recent version of BIOS and click on the Download button after it.
5. Select a location to store the file and wait until the download is completed.
6. Double click on the file downloaded in previous steps.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

2^nd method: update by using a USB flash drive.

This method works when you can’t load into Windows.

1. Run another system and connect a USB flash drive.
2. Go to download the BIOS update executable file and save it to the USB disk.
3. Remove USB drive and connect it to your Dell computer.
4. Restart PC and press F12 to access the One Time Boot Menu.
5. Select USB Storage Device and hit Enter.
6. Type the full filename and hit Enter to run it.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish rest steps.