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A Guide to Making a Clean-Install of Windows 7

Step 1. Back up your data.

An external hard drive is a great device to back ones data up on. Documents, Music,Pictures and Videos in particular. A standard user should make regular back ups in caseof hard drive failure.

If you decide to skip Step 1 c.f. Step 7 & 13 to make sure you don't format the

drive. Do not skip Step 1 and carry out Step 6. I recommend carrying out Step 1

however and formatting the drive. 

Step 2. Use Belarc Advisor

Belarc Advisor will obtain details about your system. It is free for home use and gives you a print out of your computers hardware and software. It also gives you yourproduct keys. This is particularly useful for obtaining your Windows 7 and MicrosoftOffice product keys. It is handy to keep a print out of this data. CutePDF Writer maybe used to create a pdf print out of it. Save this in a folder in the external harddrivee.g. called Computer Software.

Note the Windows 7 Product Key obtained by Belarc Advisor is a Dell SLP key, this isnot the same as the product key printed on your COA.

You should take a note of the 25 character key on your COA. This sticker is usuallyfound on the base of laptops, although some people have reported them to be presentunder the battery. On a desktop they are usually on the top or side.

The sticker for the Dell Service Tag should be located in a similar area. You shouldtake note of it. You only need to know the Service Tag (7 digit code) and not theExpress Service Code.

Step 3. Obtaining Windows 7 Reinstallation Media.

If you have a Dell Windows 7 Reinstallation DVD provided with your system then

proceed to step 4 (unless you are switching from 32 bit to 64 bit). The ReinstallationDVD should look like the following:

Dell are currently shipping out most of their systems without reinstallation DVDs. ForUS customers there is an online request form for Reinstallation Media.  For those

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customers not in the US you will need to contact Dell technical support and ask for one.The customer numbers are available here. This is the most recommended route.

However Windows 7 retail .iso files (supplied by Digital River) may be found in myMicrosoft Windows and Microsoft Office Downloads wiki. 

Once one has the .iso file, they need to make either:

(a) a bootable DVD which requires a blank DVD

(b) a bootable USB stick which requires a USB stick of 4 GB or greater.

The Microsoft .iso to USB/DVD tool  is a very easy to use tool to create a bootableUSB/DVD from the .iso file.

Note: The bootable USB method is required for many of the netbooks that don't havea CD/DVD drive.

Note: Use of the retail files requires the 25 character product key on the COA.  Iam aware that many systems particularly laptops (which generate alot of heat) mayhave a faded COA. In this case phone activation may still be possible, if you opt tospeak to a Microsoft Support agent. However in this scenario it may be just asworthwhile contacting Dell Support to request the recovery media. The DellReinstallation DVDs do not require a product key to be input and otherwise are more orless identical to the retail media.

Step 4. Obtaining Service Packs/The Latest Build of Internet Explorer

If using a Dell Reinstallation DVD or a purchased Windows 7 Upgrade/Retail DVD it willtell you on the label if any Service Packs are included (if they are present then youdon't need to download them). Currently the latest Service Pack for Windows 7 is

Service Pack 1. 

• Service Pack 1  (select language and then appropriate x64 (64 bit) or x86 (32 bit)

file)

• Internet Explorer 9 (32 bit) (English/Not sure if All)

• Internet Explorer 9 (64 bit) (English/Not sure if All)

• Microsoft Security Essentials*

• Microsoft Security Essentials Latest Definition (32 bit)*

• Microsoft Security Essentials Latest Definition (64 bit)*

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If you are using your Dell Reinstallation DVD or own Upgrade/Retail DVD media you willneed to download all standalone Service Packs that aren't included.

The Windows 7 .iso files include Service Pack 1 therefore you just need the InternetExplorer 9 update.

Note: Use only the 32 bit SP1, IE9 and MSE for Windows 7 32 bit. Likewise use onlythe 64 bit SP1, IE9 and MSE for Windows 7 64 bit. 64 bit updates won't install on a 32bit system and vice versa.

* Microsoft Security Essentials with the latest definition is installed immediately afterthe Service Packs and Internet Explorer 9 to ensure your system is protected uponfirst connection to the internet. If you plan on using other Security Software insteadof Microsoft Security Essentials, do not install Microsoft Security Essentials.

Step 5a. Obtaining the Dell System Drivers (Dell Drivers and Downloads Page)

Dell System Drivers may be found on the Dell Drivers and Downloads page. 

 You can input your service tag. This is the 7 digit code found at the base or side

of your unit. Alternatively you can select your product model. 

Ideally you should input your service tag as your service tag is meant to give you thefull set of drivers specific to your system. However for many systems inputting theservice tag is giving the wrong drivers and/or neglecting critical drivers such as thechipset.

I hence recommend selecting the system by model type.

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This will take you to the Product Support page. Select drivers and downloads:

For some reason the default OS is listed as BIOs, you should change this to WIndows7 64 bit or Windows 7 32 bit otherwise you won't get all the drivers you need:

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Dell are upgrading their website at the moment so you may get the following (older)

interface instead of the above (newer) interface.

Select Drivers and Downloads (if you have a random picture of a box like I did, thenselect "select a different product" then "Drivers and Downloads). 

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Switch to the OS that you plan to install. 

When downloading the drivers, I recommend downloading via the browser as many usershave experienced problems with the Dell Driver Download Manager.

Step 5b. Obtaining the Dell System Drivers (Dell FTP Website)

The Drivers may also be found on the Dell ftp website.  This has been reorganised

recently so drivers are listed by model.

The Dell FTP Website has all versions of each driver released by Dell for a particularmodel. The user should download only the correct drivers for their system.

Downloading from the ftp website is faster but designed for advanced users. Otherusers should follow 5a and skip 5b however if a download link is broken in 5a the ftpwebsite is the best place to look.

Step 5c. Driver Install Order and Notes

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If you are planning to install Windows 7 and see that there are no listed Windows 7drivers available for your system. Note that:

• 32 bit Vista drivers may be used in conjunction with Windows 7 32 bit.

• 64 bit Vista drivers may likewise be used in conjunction with Windows 7 64 bit. 

i.e. you may use the Windows Vista drivers with Windows 7. There are few exceptionsto this rulein particular bluetooth which integrates with Windows Explorer.

If you only have XP drivers listed then ask on the forums for assistance; however ifVista or 7 drivers are unavailable for your system it is likely you will get a low WindowsExperience Index running these operating systems on your hardware, so I would notrecommend switching in this case.

There are a couple of unofficial driver sets listed for selected laptops  and desktops provided by me. These are likely to work but theres no guarantee.

When downloading drivers for a clean install I recommend using the same folderstructure as me to prevent confusion and to ensure that you install all the drivers inthe correct order. Although this guide is based on installing/reinstalling Windows 7 onlaptops, installation on Dell desktops will be very similar. Naturally some of thesedrivers/applications such as Dell Quickset for power/mobility are designed for Laptopsonly and are thus not needed for Desktops.

• 1. Dell System (Notebook/Desktop) Software - Under System Utilities.*

• 2. Chipset Drivers (Intel then Ricoh/Realtek/Any other ones) - Under Chipset.

• 3. Video Driver (Look only for Intel/ATI/nVidea ones applicable) - Under Video.Some of the newer laptops have switchable graphics and require the Intel driver to beinstalled first then the corresponding nVidea/ATI video driver for full performance. Indesktops the user can instead download the latest driver from the ATI/nVideawebsites.

• 4. Conexant Drivers - Under Communications*

• 5. Network Ethernet Driver (Usually mentions Ethernet/Broadcom) - Under Network

• 6. Wireless Card - Under Network

• 7. Touchpad - Under Mouse & Keyboard

• 8. Audio (SigmaTel/IDT/Realtek/Creative; any drivers installed before applications)

- Under Audio. If you have a Creative Soundblaster you may be able to get a laterdriver from the Creative Website.

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• 9. Intel Matrix Storage Manager (If applicable) - Under SATA Drives**

• 10. TV Tuners/Other Video (If applicable) - Under Video

• 12. Dell Quickset or Dell ControlPoint (laptops only) - Under Applications

These are the main drivers, there will of course be some other variants such as mobilebroadband cards, TV tuners and other drivers depending on your systems configuration.There may also be security drivers for Latitude and Optiplex series. The check for anymissing drivers is via the Device Manager (Step 12) and you should post on theMicrosoft OS forum if you run into problems there.

There are a number of other drivers such as the CD/DVD firmware. These can beupdated if you wish but I would recommend leaving these well alone. Sometimes ifthese updates go wrong, things seriously break. If you have no problems with any ofthese devices then leave them be. You may look through Applications to see if you findanything else useful.

The BIOs can also be updated if there is a later version but be extremely careful witha BIOs update - A failed one will brick the system but this is very rare 99.9% of thetime it is fine. I tend to update my BIOs when an update is available but many of theothers will recommend to stay clear of BIOs updates.

* Not present for some of the newer systems, if its not there don't worry, it is not

needed/included natively with Windows 7.

** I usually only bother installing the Intel applications. See Step 6 for preparing theIntel SATA drivers for use during the Windows installation.

Step 6. Preparing SATA Drivers

For many systems this step won't be necessary, it is less likely to be required for

an AMD system for example. I recommend skipping this step unless you run into

one of the following errors below: 

• Errors which state there is no hard drive. 

• A CD/DVD device is missing.

• Windows Setup could not configure Windows on this computer’s hardware. 

To prevent these errors it is necessary to download SATA drivers such as the "IntelMatrix Storage Manager Driver" and load it during the Windows setup.

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To do this you will need to extract the file with 7zip as shown. First download andinstall 7zip; get 7zip from here, selecting the 32 bit .msi or 64 bit .msi depending on your OS. Once 7zip is installed, right click the Dell driver and select extract all.

This leads you to a folder with the same name Rxxxxxx as the driver, copy all thecontents of this folder onto a USB stick/DVD/CD.

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Note for some systems there will be a subfolder called x86 (32 bit) and a folder calledx64 (64 bit). Select the correct ones to match the version of Windows you areinstalling.

Repeat for the extracted contents of all the SATA drivers  on this USB/DVD. Notesome of the items under "SATA Drivers" are applications these should be installedalongside the system drivers. See the downloads page below for example.

The 2 Applications should be installed at the end of the installation while the twodrivers should be loaded onto the USB stick. The 2 Firmware may be installed at theend of the installation if desired.

Step 7a. Preparing the Drive For Installing Windows (DBAN)

Step 7a is for advanced users, most regular users should skip it. However for

users that are planning on selling/giving away their system or reinstalling due to a

viral/malware infection this step is highly recommended as it permanently erases

data and is more through than the standards Windows format. 

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Download  DBAN  and burn it to a blank CD/DVD using ImgBurn  (on XP/Vista) noadditional Software needed for Windows 7 or alternatively make a bootable USB usingUniversal USB Installer. 

Before using DBAN any card readers need to be disabled in the BIOs setup. DBANstalls if a card reader is present but has no card in it. To access the BIOs setup powerdown your system and then power it back up. At the Dell BIOs screen press F2. 

In the BIOS setup there should be a category called onboard devices, expand it.Within this category you will be able to disable the card reader. The BIOs setup shouldlook something like the following, there are variations depending on the model: 

Note: The mouse/touchpad isn't present in the BIOs setup, you will have to use thekeyboard arrow keys to move between the fields and enter to select a setting. Whenfinished, press esc and you will be prompted to save and exit or just exit. Select saveand exit. 

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This is only necessary for systems with card readers. Be careful when changing anyBIOs settings. I don't recommend changing any other setting unless you know what youare doing. If you change a setting I recommend taking a note of it just in case. 

Insert the DBAN CD/DVD or USB and power down your system. Press F12 at the Dell

BIOs screen and select boot from CD/DVD or from USB respectively. 

Follow the onscreen instructions to completely eradicate any data on your hard drive.

Note DBAN may take some time as it does a full format of any data on the hard drive.  

Once the DBAN format is done, re-enable any card reader within the BIOs setup. 

Note using DBAN may sometimes cause some issues with product activation if usingupgrade product keys as the original version of Windows is not there.

Some people have reported that a double install of Windows 7 will work in this case(see here). Others reinstall the old operating system, activate it and then proceed with

a clean install Windows 7.

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Power down your computer. Hold F12 while powering up your computer (at the Dell BIOsscreen).

Select boot from CD/DVD. Select option 1 (recommended) or option 2. (if you want 2partitions).

Note: The application must be installed after the system drivers while on the WindowsDesktop (Step 14).

Step 8. Installing Windows

Ensure everything (documents and the downloads listed above) is copied over onto theexternal hard drive.

Insert the DVD you have created or Dell reinstallation DVD or the bootable USB flashstick. Also insert the SATA Drivers USB stick if applicable.

Note: It is recommended to unplug any unecessary peripherals (You need keyboard andmouse). 

Note: Where possible use USB 2.0 ports when booting from USB; users have reportedthat when using USB 3.0 ports the USB stick doesn't always boot...

Note: Ensure that the keyboard and mouse are plugged in USB 2.0 ports as use of USB3.0 ports can cause the installer to freeze at the language select screen. 

Power down your computer. Hold F12 while powering up your computer (at the Dell BIOsscreen).

Select boot from CD/DVD or from USB respectively.

Press any key when prompted such as "h" when it says Press any Key to boot fromCD/DVD.

You will get a black screen that says "Windows is Starting Files" then one that says"Windows is Loading Files." These should disappear pretty quickly. Next one that saysStarting Windows

You will then be prompted for your language, time and currency format and keyboardsettings. Mine are all set to U.K. as shown below, amend for your preference.

Select Install Now.

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Read the license, check to select and then select Next.

Next select Custom (Advanced).

Note select Custom (advanced) even/especially if you are "upgrading" from Vista to 7.There are always some bugs when selecting "Upgrade" on this screen and this seriouslyhinders your systems performance.

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When you get to this screen select Load Driver and select your SATA drivers USB

stick.

Ensure that "Hide drivers that are not compatible with hardware on this computer isticked" (it should be set like this by default). Select all the drivers listed and thenclick next. It will take you back to this screen. Select "Drive Options".

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This will reveal the drive options. The tools are rather self-explanatory. For a new harddrive you will need to select New to make a new partition (case below).

You should get a message saying some space must be "System Reserved" and a SystemReserved Partition is made, don't worry about it, it is very small.

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When you have an existing Windows partition you have a few options:

• 1. To delete it and then must create a new partition or partitions if you want multiplepartitions e.g. for dual boot or for other reasons; this will remove all data and factorypartition. Once you have created your partitions; select the partition you wish to installWindows on and select Next. You might as well delete the Dell factory partition ifgoing down this route as it will no longer work and hence serve no service.

• 2. To format it, leave the partition intact but remove all data and factory partition.

You might as well delete the Dell factory partition if going down this route as it will nolonger work and hence serve no service and instead Extend the main partition.

• 3. To install Windows on the partition but not format it (in this case all old files willbe found in the Windows.old folder). Again you might as well delete the Dell factorypartition if going down this route as it will no longer work and hence serve no serviceand instead Extend the main partition.

The Dell Factory setting won't work in either case. I recommend deleting or

formatting but you must take the 3rd option if you have not carried out Step 1

and wish to keep your data.

Note: if you have not backed up all your data onto an external hard drive. Do not

select any of the drive options particularly format or delete. In this scenario all

your files will be saved in a folder called windows.old. 

You will then a screen telling you the progress of the install.

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Note some parts may be very fast and some steps may be very slow.

However it should not take any more than a few hours; if it is stuck on the same % fora few hours on one part then it has likely froze and you must start again (this rarelyhappens) by holding down the power button until the machine powers off and thenreattempting the install.

Type in your "username", by default the PC name will be "username-PC" but you canchange this as desired.

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Next type in your password, retype it and leave yourself a hint. Alternatively justselect next (to have no password - not recommended but optional).

If using retail media you will be prompted for a product key. Use your product keyfound on the COA sticker found at the base of your system or your purchased upgradekey/retail key/OEM key.

A Dell OEM disc should not require you to input this key and this screen should notdisplay.

Once you have input your key select Next. The following screen will display if you haveinput the wrong key.

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Alternatively you may skip this step and get a trial of Windows 7 (I believe its 3 days).

Once you have input the correct key, this should lead you to here, I generally selectUse recommended settings.

Then select your time and date settings.

Set up Network settings and or connect to a wireless network.

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Finally the setup will Finalise.

Step 9. Install the Service Packs/Internet Explorer 9

Now that you have Windows 7 installed. Ensure that you have the latest Service Packinstalled. It often works out better installing the latest Service Pack and InternetExplorer before installing the system drivers. Doing so in this order prevents a greatdeal of problems with Windows Update and conflicts with system drivers. You shouldhave downloaded these at Step 4 and have them readily accessible on a USB stick orExternal Harddrive.

Step 10. Install the System Drivers

Ensure you keep to the order listed above for best results. You should again havedownloaded these at Step 4 and have them readily accessible on a USB stick orExternal Harddrive.

Running the .exe file Rxxxxxx should extract the driver to C:\Dell\Drivers\Rxxxxxxand then run the installer automatically. If no installer runs, you will need to navigate tothis folder and click on any setup.exe files.

We will take for example R284334 the chipset driver for my XPS 8300:

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Double clicking the file, you should get a run prompt select yes.

Select Continue

Select Ok

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Select Ok. At this stage the setup should start and you should start the installation. Ifit does not the driver is not installed. In my XPS 8300 (and I suspect many othersystems) the installers do not automatically run. Therefore in this case I have to go toC:\Dell\Drivers\R284334 (you will have to go to the number of your driver) and clicksetup.

Accept the UAC prompt and install via the setup program.

Usually a series of clicking next, next, finish and then rebooting. I usually tell it not toreboot until I install all the drivers it is faster this way and always worked for mehowever it is probably best to reboot when prompted.

Step 11. Activation

Press the [Windows] and [Pause|Break] or go to start, right click computer and clickproperties.

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If it says (at the bottom) Windows is activated then you are fine. This will happenautomatically if you use the Dell disk.

If it says activate Windows Now, click the link to activate. If you used the .isos Ireferred to you may (probably) will get a screen like this:

Enter the Windows 7 product key on your COA or Retail/Upgrade product key.

Use the automated phone activation. It is a quick automated called, follow the onscreeninstructions.

You should now have Windows is now activated in the screen below.

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For more details on activation see here. 

Step 12. Ensure there are no Errors in Device Manager and run the WindowsExperience Index Rating

On this screen next select Device manager.

Hopefully it should look something like mine.

If you have an error, yellow ? or ! then you probably haven't installed a system drivercorrectly. You should quickly check that you haven't missed installation of a driver and

check to see that something hasn't installed correctly.

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Ask on the forums for details if you get stuck at this stage.

Next after the drivers are installed you should rate your system. Click the link "systemrating is not available".

Note at this stage I would re-rate the system even a number is displayed there.

Although people may not care so much for the system rating it is best to perform.

Several unrated systems will revert to the Windows 7 Basic Theme even if they

are capable of the Aero Interface and will not allow the user to change to the

Windows 7 Theme until the system is rated. 

Select rate this computer and leave it be for 5 minutes to rate it.

You should get the rating now. Here are the scores on my Desktop for example:

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Note if you are using retail media and want the Dell logos and information in the abovescreens, you may download and follow the instructions for Dell White and Black logo or Dell Blue and White Logo. The 3 screens above have the White and Black, no logoand the Blue and White logo respectively.

Step 13a. Install a Security Program and your Applications (Security)

For Security I recommend use of Microsoft Security Essentials  (I have mentionedinstalling this at step 4 of the wiki) and Malwarebytes' Antimalware. 

However this is an area where almost everyone has a different opinion/their ownfavourites. So I am not going to argue or force my opinion here.

My personal recommendation for security programs and many other programs may befound in my Useful Software for Microsoft Windows [Free]  wiki where I listdownload links and then give an explanation to what most of the programs do. If youknow of any other free high quality software please feel free to post in the commentsat the bottom of the software wiki.

Step 13b. Install a Security Program and your Applications (Microsoft Office)

The full version of Microsoft Office 2007/2010 and Microsoft Office 2010 Starterinstallation files may be found in my Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office

Downloads wiki. 

Use your product key obtained by Belarc advisor (Step 1.) and/or found with theMicrosoft Product Identification card on your system with the correct installer. Formore details about the Microsoft Product Identification Card see here. 

Note Microsoft Office 2010 Starter does not require any product key.

Step 14c. Reinstalling Dell Preinstalled Applications (Dell Support Centre)

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Dell Support Centre may be downloaded and installed from here. It only works on homesystems and does not work on Precision, Latitude or Optiplex systems. Here is thestandalone download link Dell Support Centre. 

Step 14d. Reinstalling Dell Preinstalled Applications (Dell Dock)

Dell Dock is also not provided on the drivers and downloads page. Here is the downloadlink Dell Dock. 

You may not need or want Dell Dock if you have Dell Stage (this is for newer systems)and can be found in My Dell Downloads (Step 14e).

Step 14e. Reinstalling Dell Preinstalled Applications (My Dell Downloads)

See my wiki Instructions on using My Dell Downloads. Here the user should find thepreinstalled Dell Stage, Roxio Creator Starter, McAfee. What other software youhave available here will depend on your specific system. Save any downloaded items toan external hard drive for backup purposes as there is a download quota.

Step 15. Copy old files from Windows.old

If you have everything on the external hard drive then ignore this step. If not go tocomputer, then to C then to C:\Windows.old look through the users folder, move all theitems (you want to keep) from "documents" to "documents", "desktop" to "desktop","music" to "music", "pictures" to "pictures", "downloads" to "downloads". Look about inthis folder for anything else, has old windows files you won't need, old program filesprobably won't need. It is very large. Delete it when you have moved whatever you needas it is a very large folder and unnecessary once you have your new windows installed.Note there is more information and an automated tool here. 

Step 16. MultiMonitor Software

Skip this step unless you are using 2 or monitors.  For those that are using 2monitors I recommend downloading and installing Actual Windows Manager or Actual

Multiple Monitors.  This will give you a taskbar on each monitor completing yourWindows experience.

Note you get a 30 day free trial of each product; for the Actual Multiple Monitorsafter 30 days this will revert to the free version (its worth having around)

The professional version is of course better and I recommend using it or ActualWindows Manager. See here  for a comparison between the professional and freeversion. I wrote a small wiki on thier software here (it needs updated however).

Step 17. Notes on Updating the BIOs

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Dell recommend updating the BIOs to the latest version as there are often

enhancements/fixes in the updates.

Know the risks however caution should be taken when updating the BIOs as a

failed BIOs = a dead system. Therefore many users opt to stay clear of BIOs

updates completely. I personally tend to update the BIOs if available after a cleaninstall. 

When you power up your Dell system, you will get the Dell BIOs screen:

On this screen is the model number and the BIOs revision. The BIOs revision typicallythis of either 2 formats:

• Axx, i.e. A01, A02, ..., A12 etc. 

• x.x.xx, i.e. 1.0.0, 1.0.3, 1.1.2, 1.1.4, 1.1.10, 1.1.11 etc. 

The higher the number the later the revision.

To reduce the probably of fatal BIOs updates, I recommend downloading the latestBIOs file from the ftp website,  save the file to the desktop and close down allprograms.

Then double click the file and run it as an administrator. Don't touch the computeruntil the BIOs update is complete. It should automatically log you off, update the BIOsand restart the computer.

Don't power down the computer during the BIOs update as this will ensure your systemis rendered completely useless. Ensure both the battery is at full charge and the ACadaptor is plugged in when updating the BIOs on a laptop.

Step 18. Use your computer

That's everything done, you should have a fully functional system with peakperformance.☺