The majority of the desktops in our environment are Dell Vostro all-in-ones. Even though this is consumer-line hardware and not subject to Dell’s OMCI tools, we purchased this model because of price and because Dell didn’t have a OptiPlex all-in-one. The BIOS installers for these Vostros do not properly respond to the silent/unattended switches that they should support. Fortunately there is a work-around with this simple process.
- Extract the WINFLASH files: Just simply double-click the installer then when it’s at the first dialog box for the upgrade, make a copy of the files from C:\ProgramData\WINFLASH. Cancel out of the installation.
- Create a script to run the command “winflash.exe %pathToWinFlash%\BIOS.bin /p /b /n /r“. Note that it is extremely important that for BIOS.bin that you include the full path to the file because winflash.exe doesn’t check that its local directory contains the .bin file.
- The restart of this will be suppressed, so remember to restart the computer after installation.
Voila! You have now upgraded BIOS on the Dell Vostro 330 and/or 360.
#1 by Gary on November 15, 2012 - 10:14 am
Fantastic! Only one problem though – it clears the Admin password from the BIOS and cctk won’t work on a Vostro so SOL I guess… unless you’ve got any ideas on that one?
#2 by N. Moseley on November 15, 2012 - 10:17 am
Hey Gary, thanks for the feedback, I’m glad that it’s helpful. Unfortunately I no longer have access to Vostro systems, so I wouldn’t be able to help you much further. Good luck though and if you figure something out, feel free to post back here so we all know!!
#3 by Gary on November 15, 2012 - 10:20 am
Will do! I wish there was more documentation on Winflash… ;-)