[clug] can upgrading ubuntu kill your bios? DON't PANIC - How do I start the BIOS recovery on a Dell system?

[Robert Edwards]

On 21/1/19 10:26 pm, George at Clug via linux wrote:
> Bob,
> 
> 
> This reminds me of the old quote DON'T PANIC, though I forget the
> colouring that was part of the skit.
> 
> 
> I have had the issue that UEFI looses all boot information for a disk
> drive. Personally I hate complexity, and UEFI is just that, more
> complexity than benefit (personal opinion only).
> 
> 
> 
> I would assume that you have already checked the below possible
> solutions?  If not, let me know if this could work?
> 
> 
> https://www.dell.com/support/article/au/en/audhs1/sln300716/bios-recovery-options-on-a-dell-pc-or-tablet?lang=en
> 

Thanks for this link, George.

I don't know what he has attempted so far. All I have done so far is
lent him my Torx set so that he could disconnect the internal battery
to force it to power cycle... Didn't fix anything...

I also gave him bad advice that I wouldn't expect that upgrading the
O/S would touch the BIOS (or "boot up firmware"). How wrong I was...
You live and learn.

cheers,

Bob Edwards.

> 
> WHAT IS A BIOS RECOVERY TOOL?
> 
> The BIOS Recovery tools are software designed to recover a corrupted
> BIOS.
> 
> 
>   
> 
> How Do I Initiate BIOS Recovery On A Dell Laptop?
> 
> 
> 
> Before you begin the BIOS Recovery, ensure that the laptop's battery
> is charged up to at least 10%.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 	*
> 
> Verify that the laptop is powered OFF and disconnect the AC adapter.
> 
> 
> 	*
> 
> Press and hold the CTRL key + ESC key on the keyboard.
> 
> 
> 	*
> 
> Plug in the AC adapter to the laptop.
> 
> 
> 	*
> 
> Release the CTRL key + ESC key on the keyboard once you see the BIOS
> recovery screen.
> 
> 
> 	*
> 
> On the BIOS Recovery screen, select Reset NVRAM(if available) and
> press the Enter key. Select Disabled and press the Enter key if you
> wish to save the current BIOS settings.
> 
> 
> 	*
> 
> Select Recover BIOS and press the Enter key to start the recovery
> process.
> 
> Note: Your Dell PC may restart a few times during the process of BIOS
> recovery.
> 
> 
> Note: This works slightly differently for Alienware Notebooks. Please
> follow the steps below instead.
> 
> 
> 	*
> 
> Shut the PC down and remove the AC adapter cable
> 
> 
> 	*
> 
> Press and hold the CTRL and ESC keys together while carrying out the
> next steps
> 
> 
> 	*
> 
> Connect the AC Adapter cable and press the PC's power button
> 
> 
> 	*
> 
> Release the CTRL and ESC keys as soon as the power button LED is lit
> 
> 
> 	*
> 
> Select option Recover BIOS and wait until it finishes
> 
> 
> 
> George
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Monday, 21-01-2019 at 18:52 Bob Edwards via linux wrote:
> 
> 
> I have a colleague who recently upgraded his Dell XPS13 laptop from
> Ubuntu 18.04 to 18.10 and, as part of the process, it seemed to
> attempt to update the BIOS.
> 
> I have never heard of a Linux distro, let alone Ubuntu, wanting to
> update the BIOS. Further, if this was thing, I would have expected
> it to ask first, possibly more than once.
> 
> Something apparently went wrong during the BIOS flashing and now the
> laptop is a brick.
> 
> I have looked around on the web, but I can't see any evidence that
> Ubuntu would pre-emptively update the BIOS during an O/S upgrade.
> 
> Is this a thing, or has the laptop been infected with some sort of
> malware?
> 
> cheers,
> Bob Edwards.
>