Five High-Severity BIOS Driver Privilege Escalation Vulnerabilities

Windows defender will bork your machine if it has older bios aka its a machine made before 2012.  Thats why you use DOS or XP or 7 to update older models.

Windows 10 seems to bork your video card when you try Flashing it for resizeable bar.

Regular Dell bios without all the bloat installed works fine for bios updates on newer models that came with 8 or 10.

I have a hard drive setup specifically for that or I use a flash drive in bios recovery mode to update. I have bricked my dell when support assist said it was being helpful.

Support assist is on a PSA poster now its called Conan the Destroyer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q15RX_fayv8

Older bios was made BEFORE Defender or even Microsoft Security Essentials. There is no true way to remove it or turn it off.  I doubt you want to do testing on older machines that dont have recovery to find out how many it kills forever.  Not worth the risk when you have a DELL OEM windows XP SP2 Disk to install XP and flash the bios.  Works with all up to and including Optiplex 3040.  After that you cant run XP because after 6th gen 32 bit and legacy is gone forever.

I purchased a brand new Precision 3640 a few weeks ago May 8th 2021. Tried the OOB experience by not making microsoft account but rather local login.

Then did all the updates that Conan the Destroyer recommended.

First restart after it tried to update bios was black screen Dead PC.

So I made bios recovery flash drive with the latest bios and recovered.

This procedure is not for the faint of heart.

SMART NET aka Rivet Networks Killer Networking junk is Hidden under DELL OPTIMIZER. When you uninstall Dell Optimizer it removes the Rivet Networks ExpressConnect Drivers and Services.

That's the next thing to go. Do not remove that first or it breaks the removal of Dell Optimizer.

I have also had it brick my XPS 8900, 8910, and several other models.

First thing I do with a dell is Kill Mcafee

Remove using the McAfee Consumer Product Removal tool (MCPR)

https://download.mcafee.com/molbin/iss-loc/SupportTools/MCPR/MCPR.exe

Tons of stuff to remove after Running MCAFEE MBAR

Thanks for the info.

"Windows defender will bork your machine if it has older bios aka its a machine made before 2012."  What if Windows Defender is turned off?

Mind if I ask - What Dell ended up bricking?  Then I know for future reference.

I don't know if this helps - But Windows Defender antivirus can be turned off in Win10.  It then tells you it's for a limited time only and after that it will automatically turn back on.  I've had to turn it off just to scan from my printer.  This was before some Win10 updates though.  I remember it could be turned off in Microsoft Security Essentials also.  But it sounds like it has to be removed completely before BIOS update.

Overall, we have 2 experts with extensive experience leaning away from BIOS updates.  I don't know much about redxps630's experience, but he's the same way.  So I'll do the same.  Exception of course if needed for hardware update.

Recently, we had a 390, or something close to that, not running a PCI-e card with more SATA ports.  BIOS update took care of it.

I know how to do bios updates.

I also have additional hardware and surface mount soldering tools that I could use if necessary to de solder bios chip, copy it, and re burn working bios on motherboard.  These tools are not cheap and average user cant afford them. The video microscope isn't really optional because these parts are soo tiny.

I know how to do bios recovery.

I know how to write bios in assembly language.

When user who has old system with XP/VISTA/7 wanting to upgrade to 10 I advise removing any antivirus then reboot. Then update bios with the older os. Then clone the drive.  Then upgrade the drive that you just cloned.  That way you dont lose things and you have a path back to working if its not for you.

How to Recover the BIOS on a Dell Computer or Tablet

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000132453

Bios updates are not the same across the board from 1985 PC's Limited to Dell 2021.

I disagree entirely about bios updates because even with Brand New Dell purchased May 8th 2021

doing default OOB the support assist bricked my brand new Precision 3640.

I started the bios update and left it overnight to see if it would recover.

It did not.  This wasn't an issue for me because I have 49 Years of Bios and Rom experience going back to the INTEL 4004 processor with 1702 EPROMS.  First thing I do on a Dell is remove Mcafee with MCPR.EXE

Older systems made before 2012 are even harder to recover.

You will find on the forum and in the field numerous occasions of Bios update hanging or taking too long for the user so they pull the plug and finish it off.

New Dell with MCAFEE removed first

While you'll probably differ, everyday users update BIOS quite regularly.  I'm not talking just the Optiplex forum.  I don't believe only the super highly skilled, you probably have HSAM (highly superior autobiographical memory) too, can update BIOS.  I don't think it was meant to work that way.  But I'm certainly not sure that a computer novice should do it either.

"You will find on the forum and in the field numerous occasions of Bios update hanging or taking too long for the user so they pull the plug and finish it off."  I haven't seen it numerously yet as you've been on the forum much longer, but I have seen it.  One user couldn't believe Dell would brick a PC.

Isn't BIOS recovery  in some of the manuals now for Dell's that have it and not just on the website?  I'm sure someone can follow the instructions.  And some that haven't seen website or manual do know the first thing, Google and/or go to Dell Community, or hit the manual.

And nope, Precision 3640 Tower Setup and Specifications guide doesn't have instructions on BIOS recovery, nor a link or where to go, just mentions it.  Manual just has regular BIOS instructions.

Its not going to show that in the manual because its documented elsewhere. There is no reason to add this to the manual for newer models aka made past December 2015.  It works the same way. 

Bios Recovery 2 and Bios Recovery 3 are the same for newer models both Desktop and Laptop.

Doesn't work as far as I know for Bluetooth Keyboards.  Requires USB Keyboard and Mouse for both EPSA diags as well as Bios recovery.  Does Require USB FAT32 USB2 flash drive. Doesn't work for EXFAT or NTFS etc.  BIOS_IMG.RCV is required not optional.

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000132453/

https://www.dell.com/support/contents/en-us/videos/videoplayer/how-to-recover-from-booting-issues-using-the-bios-recovery-tool/6079779755001