Precision 5830 bricked by BIOS Upgrade

Question

The Dell program that keeps tracks of updates popped up this morning and said that there were two important updates available. One said it downloaded and installed just fine. Then it wanted to do the BIOS update, so I let it reboot.

After going through several progress bars (BIOS, Intel Management Engine, ...), a green message with a check mark came up, saying the update was complete, and that the system would restart. A few seconds later, the screen went black, and nothing else (visible) happened. The power never went out (it's on a UPS anyway), and I didn't interrupt the process.

The power light is now flashing 2 amber, a pause, and then 6 white -- "System Board Failure". I MUST get this system back online quickly. What do I have to do to have a motherboard dispatched for replacement ASAP?

ThomasLG · Accepted Answer

They put in a new motherboard, and now all is well.  Oddly enough, my Office365 subscription got mangled, but I un- and re-installed it, and it reactivated just fine.

Mary G · Answer

In the future--Bios updates should not be downloaded and installed by Dell Updates. Always go to your download page at Dell(if you are notified by Dell Update) and download it yourself if the scan tells you it is needed and check for special instructions. That might have prevented the breakdown. See all the instructions --

ThomasLG · Answer

Seems crazy that Dell's software that tells me I need the upgrade, and can't manage to do it safely.

After talking with Support, they're dispatching a motherboard, which is tentatively scheduled for install in two days. I wonder what BIOS it will come with, and whether the NEXT update will brick that one. Frustrating - when this system runs, it's great, but I'm wondering if I should have just speced out components and built myself -- it at least takes the middleman out of the service question! C'est la vie.

Precision Fixed Workstations

Precision 5830 bricked by BIOS Upgrade

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