BIOS update without Windows.
I wanted to install the latest BIOS/UEFI version on my Dell laptop. This was already a bit older and I had actually hoped that the update would make it possible to have classic legacy boot available again in addition to UEFI boot. But this was not the case.
Check current UEFI version
The current UEFI version can be checked in the UEFI setup. Here we enter the setup with F2 and can view the current version under “System Information”.
Download the update
The download is available on the Dell homepage. Here we should find the current version after entering the computer type.
By default, the update can be installed directly from Windows. We simply start the .exe file. However, Linux is running on the laptop. This variant is therefore ruled out.
The alternative is to simply copy the .exe file to a USB stick. This must be formatted with FAT32.
Starting the BIOS update
We then plug the USB stick into the computer and start it.
F12 takes us to the boot menu. Simply press the key several times during startup until the message appears. Here we find the option “BIOS Flash Update”.
The updater opens. Here we click on the button with the three dots and select the update file. Interestingly, the .exe file is also used here.
We can then start the update.
There is another warning that we should definitely not switch off the computer. We should definitely heed this.
The update takes around 10 minutes. The computer then restarts, or I had to start it manually. A check in the BIOS showed that the latest version was now installed.
