Alienware x51 R1 update fail

I tried. Unplugged the CMOS battery, held the power button for 15 seconds. turned on again and still same single beep.

Sounds like you bricked the board.

Try UNPLUG discharging all power and removing battery.  Then try turning back on.

Well if it is the case then Dell shouldnt recommend its users to update their bios.

Is it possible to reflash the bios? 

Your board is dead now.  You will have to replace it.

I have never in over 30 years of working with computers and bios recommended bios updates unless they are required to address a problem like video card or ram or cpu.  If its not broken you shouldn't try to fix it is my advice.

Here is a picture from the dell drivers page where it shows importance:recommended. When I did the "Detect Drivers", it showed me bios update as well.

Is it possible to repair the board by changing the bios chip as the alienware motherboard is very expensive.

you can try few more things before getting a new Board.

1. remove the GPU and all RAM Modules and the CMOS Battery. then try again with Power Drain. but this Time hold the Power On Button for a Minute. now put one RAM Modul and the Battery back in and try to boot.

2. create a bootable DOS USB Flash Drive (Fat32) and copy the latest BIOS Version onto the Drive. google how to do that. if you can't Boot from the Flash Drive, then you'll need to create a Batch File which Updates the BIOS automatically. during the Update you wont be able to see anything on the Screen. just wait a few Minutes. you have to google how to create the Batch File aswell. my "How To" is in German and i would need some Time to translate it in English.

3. you can buy and Replace the BIOS Chip if everything else failed. i checked ebay. you can buy a new BIOS Chip for 23$.

Hello. Thank you for the detailed answer.

1- I did this and still the same issue.

2- I am trying to do this step. But when I download the dell bios from dell website, i can't extract the rom and other files. I am using the bios from the following link.

DELL,DSK PROG,BIOS,ANW-DT,ANDROMEDA,,A03 Driver Details | Dell US 

when i do in cmd "dell filename.exe" / writehdrfile.. i get "bad command parameter return. Something like the following

I downloaded all the bios and tried it and all of them gave me the same error. Maybe I have to download the firmware from somewhere else which i dont know.

If you could send me your how to in german, i will try to translate it using google translate. I also need to learn creating batch files as I dont know.

3. If everything fails, then this is the last option.

if you can't extract the BIOS ROM, then google for extracted one.

also google x51 BIOS restore or AMI BIOS restore.

i found one which is of 2 MB. (file in attachment)

But it has only one file which has .rom extension. Dont know if it is right file or not. Put it in the fat32 bootable usb and nothing happened. Do i have to press any key combination when turning on the pc? I will also try it with batch file and see what happens.

Thanks for your help.

yes. you have to rename the File and you have to Press some Keys. read this:

https://www.alienwarearena.com/ucf/show/214383/boards/technical-support-1/ForumPost/alienware-x51-bios 

you don't need the Batch File. read the Alienware Arena Thread.

i posted the Link for the Thread before but then i deleted the Post, because it takes forever to be approved by Mods. that is the Reason why i always tell you to google.

hey my Friend,

where have you been before?

thanks Man.

abdul.ahmadi wrote:

1. Well if it is the case then Dell shouldnt recommend its users to update their bios.

 

2. Is it possible to reflash the bios? 

1. I agree. I've been posting that and telling them that for years. Also, not to allow BIOS updates inside Windows.

2. Since the machine doesn't have a Recovery BIOS or Dual BIOS, it's not very likely.

You can try removing CMOS battery, use CMOS Reset switch, and other things like that to fully reset it. Google it ... and troubleshoot like any other computer.

From my Featured Content

See the CMOS BIOS Section for self-bootable Rufus made FreeDOS drive

Thank you everyone for your help. I will try to do it. Just a quick question. Can i replace my motherboard with one from r2 model? I am currently getting a good deal on mobo processor and ram.