[phoenix.stu]

Hope you can get it worked out.

[NotMyName789]

Just got my mini 9 today. After waiting about 15 mins for initial boot to complete, and then playing with it for a few minutes and realizing the thing was running like an old 486, I deleted all partitions and installed my nlited copy of XP from my sandisk USB SD card reader. No issues, went off without a hitch. Installed newest Dell drivers in correct order, then updated BIOS to A02 (it shipped with A00) from the windows installer. No issues. Bios update took a couple minutes. Upgraded 1gb module to 2gb. Running very well now, super fast bootup.

From my brief experience with the Dell windows install and all the cr@p they had on there, hard disk compression, etc., there is NO WAY I would attempt a bios update from the OS without reinstalling windows first. The poor thing could barely open internet explorer without croaking before I did the OS reinstall.

[ahmadh007]

Tried to update the bios and I think I just bricked my mini

I opened up the program and it said to close everything else, so I closed firefox. As that happened, the entire system came to a screeching halt. I waited about 5 minutes and nothing worked (keyboard or trackpad)

I eventually had to take the battery out and put it back in. Now the mini won't turn on at all

Anyone know where I go from here?

[somms]

Originally Posted by ahmadh007

Tried to update the bios and I think I just bricked my mini

I opened up the program and it said to close everything else, so I closed firefox. As that happened, the entire system came to a screeching halt. I waited about 5 minutes and nothing worked (keyboard or trackpad)

I eventually had to take the battery out and put it back in. Now the mini won't turn on at all

Anyone know where I go from here?

Recovery from failed Windoze flash method! bios-upgrade-utility-split-from-bios-upgrade-failure-topic--t1063.html#p7011

Strongly recommend all BIOS flashes are performed under DOS since it is much safer and also much faster than any alternative method...

[ahmadh007]

You require a new system board to fix...no alternative...

bios-up ... &sk=t&sd=a

Strongly recommend all BIOS flashes are performed under DOS since it is much safer and also much faster than any alternative method...

Thanks for the information, do you know if it's covered under the standard 1 year warranty?

[somms]

Originally Posted by ahmadh007

Thanks for the information, do you know if it's covered under the standard 1 year warranty?

installing-bios-updates--t1031s10.html#p8358

Yes, looks like it should be according to above post...

[ahmadh007]

installing-bios-updates--t1031s10.html#p8358

Yes, looks like it should be according to above post...

Thanks for linking to that post, that user had the exact same problem as mine. Maybe I shouldn't tell them I installed xp over ubuntu....


Thanks again, will give dell a call tomorrow

[thatguyx]

Hey all. I've been trying to up date the bios for my mini 9 (still on A00).

I've run the provided program to create a USB boot disk under Vista. I'm trying to run it on my ubuntu mini 9. I have rearranged the boot menu to start with a USB source. Unfortunately I keep getting the error:

Disk I/O Error
Replace the disk, and then press any key

I've tried re-running the app, but i get the same error. I've also tried all three different USB ports, but nothing is working. Please help.

***edit
Nevermind got it working. Just had to try a different (third) flash drive. Kington DataTraveler 4GB and SandiskCruzer 4GB mini wouldnt work. But an old PNY 2GB worked just fine.

[jucs]

I've also upgraded to A02 without bricking my dell mini. But still I'm really diapppointed about the upgrade software offered. After starting the bios flasher, it IMMEDIATELY started to erase my old bios, BEFORE I clicked on start. As it hung for at about 30 seconds before it told me about what it's actually doing, this is a really irresposible behavior.

[jefito]

Originally Posted by jucs

I've also upgraded to A02 without bricking my dell mini. But still I'm really diapppointed about the upgrade software offered. After starting the bios flasher, it IMMEDIATELY started to erase my old bios, BEFORE I clicked on start. As it hung for at about 30 seconds before it told me about what it's actually doing, this is a really irresposible behavior.

I was a little taken aback by this also, but just for a second. But then I thought, hey, after clicking through all of the other dialogs before the actual flasher came up, do I really need an "are you really, really sure?" confirmation?

Anyways, my A02 upgrade (via the Windows flasher) went flawlessly also.

~jeff