Cannot execute a DELL BIOS update for a VOSTRO 260 machine

Question

I am trying to update my DELL VOSTRO 260 BIOS. I am struggling to get anywhere. If I download the exe and try to run it using a FreeDOS USB drive:

• https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DellBIOS#Upgrading_with_a_FreeDOS_USB_drive

here is what I get:

C:\> ms-a10
SfxDos v2.11 [2012/06/25]
Extracting Files: [6174382 / 6174382] 100%

BIOS Version:
    Current Version: A04

    New Version:    :A10

Update BIOS (y/n)? y
Disable secure compatibility function.
CurVer:A04, Chk version A: A00, Chk version X :X00
-      Error: Problem allocating memory
Get ME Firmware version…Compare ME version…

The ME version is same or lower than current ME version. Skip update ME

Obviously something went wrong, but what ?

Answer 1

The program will not actually run in DOS (which explains your memory allocation error). I've not tried this but theoretically you should be able to run this EXE from a Windows PE environment like the Win7 PE or BART's PE if you can get access to the files needed to build it or find a ready made ISO on the net.

So far so good, but you will notice that the download is a Windows executable. Just as this cannot be run under Ubuntu (or any other Linux), it also will not run under legacy versions of Windows, in particular MS-DOS or any emulation of MS-DOS. This is in spite of anything it may say on the download page about being compatible with earlier versions of Windows; using any legacy DOS-type environment the .exe runs, but exits without doing anything except printing out an annoying message.

The key ingredient at this point is a Windows 7 Repair Disk. There are several ways to obtain one, including buying one from sources on the internet, or making friends with someone who has a Windows 7 computer. If you are lucky your computer manufacturer bundled one with your box. I chose to make one on my Ubuntu machine, using a copy of Windows 7 running in VirtualBox, adapting the instructions for making a rescue disk from this web site.

The good news is that it does not seem to matter which version of Windows 7 the Repair Disk is obtained from. Since this is a BIOS upgrade it does not even matter whether you use 32-bit or 64-bit versions if your computer is 64-bit.

Once you have a Windows 7 Repair Disk, the rest is easy. You can make it into a bootable USB if you wish, but if your box has a CD drive this is unnecessary. Here are the steps:

1. Put the downloaded BIOS upgrade .exe on an ordinary USB flash drive.
2. Reboot you computer from the Windows 7 Repair Disk, hit the Space bar when prompted.
3. Navigate to the command prompt. (Use Recovery Tools->Command Prompt).
4. Find the correct drive letter for your USB (on the command line dir a: then b, c, etc. till you find the right one).
5. Navigate to it on the command line (type the drive letter with colon).
6. Run the file by typing its name (note tab auto-completion works :)).
7. From there, just follow the on-screen instructions, and make sure your computer stays powered-on while the upgrade completes.

Perhaps this will help: