It is funny that I spent last evening setting up a new Dell with Windows Vista pre-installed. Ed Bott of ZDNet has been doing the same thing this week. I skipped the BIOS update. He did not as you can read in his blog. I had slightly better luck than Ed.
Day 2 with a new Dell and Vista by ZDNet‘s Ed Bott — I’m documenting my experience with a new Dell C521 that arrived last week. Day 1 was uneventful, as I unpacked the pieces, backed up the original hard drive and replaced it with a new larger drive, and installed a few updates. Well, uneventful except for the BIOS update I left running overnight… On Day 2, I get to put Dell’s support to the test as the system is completely unresponsive.
I have always been hesitant to update ROM in anything from computers to MP3 players. Updating ROM is usually referring to rewriting the instructions that are written onto a chip on the device. As the acronym implies, it is Read Only Memory. Writing to this memory was not intended when it was made. You never have a small problem when you are rewriting ROM. If there is a problem, then it usually really goes badly. Usually it is the death of the device.
To straighten out a couple of terms quickly here. The BIOS is the Basic In/Out System in a computer that is written in the ROM (Read Only Memory). The BIOS handles running the computer until the disk start spinning and feeding instructions to the processor.
The only time that I suggest updating the BIOS of a computer or ROM of any device is if there is a troubling problem or you really want a new feature.
A couple of examples:
1. I recently worked with a computer that had a bad time with USB devices. The printer/scanner/fax would work intermittently and the external hard drive used for backup would disconnect every couple of days. I tried software driver updates, but the problem persisted. A BIOS update was available, but I left it as my last resort. The BIOS update has appeared to correct the problem.
2. T-Mobile offered an update to version 6 of Windows Mobile for my HTC S620 PDA/Phone. Being a gadget junky and a sucker for anything free – I did take the risk of applying this update. On a serious note – I did need to test this update for a roll out at a company that uses many of these devices. It was fun trying out the new features, though.
If you do decide to perform a BIOS or ROM update do the following:
- Be sure that you really, really need the update. I equate a ROM/BIOS update with heart surgery. It either goes or not. There is no in between.
- Print and carefully read the manufacturers instructions all the way through and then download the update.
- If you are using a notebook computer or PDA or MP3 player be sure that you are using AC power. If you are using a desktop computer then be sure that you are using a battery backup or uninterrupted power supply.
- Disable any screen savers and turn off power management tools on your computer. Do not use any other software during the update process.
- Be patient. Let the update runs its course for a long time. I would wait for at least hour if things look like they are stuck. Your last resort is to stop the update process. Your device may never work again if you interrupt the update.