XPS 8930, possible blown motherboard

@Luke717  Did you have the BIOS 1.1.26 recovery file (.rcv) on a FAT32-formatted USB that was plugged into PC before you powered on and tried to use Ctrl-Esc?

You have to press Ctrl and Esc at same time, immediately after powering on, and you have to hold both keys down for ~5-10+ sec to trigger the recovery.

RoHe alerted me to this thread and I know I have private messaged a few of you so far regarding this. But if you come across this thread and you're having trouble with this update/I missed sending you a PM -can you please Private Message me your Service Tag? 

Thanks in advance! 

@RoHe Thanks so much for all of the continued help!

@RoHe no I didn't have that set up yet, doing it now with BIOS recovery file 1.1.26. Thanks for the pointer.

@Luke717  Just make sure to put the BIOS .rcv file, not the BIOS .exe file on the USB stick.

Post back and let us know how it goes...

You should leave the USB in place after the recovery until PC is back at the desktop and then use  Safely Remove to eject and unplug the USB.

How long did you wait before powering PC off?

If you reboot and tap F2, can you open BIOS setup? See what BIOS version is installed. I'm wondering if Windows Update installed BIOS 1.1.27 again. 

Assuming you can get into BIOS setup, regardless of version of BIOS that's installed, disable UEFI Capsule Updates, save the change, exit setup and power off. Now try the recovery with the 1.1.26 .rcv file again.

Thanks for this. I had the same issue with 1.1.27, and downgrading to 1.1.26 got me up and running again. I have never had an issue with BIOS updates on Dell in almost 25 years of using their PCs and laptops. I was never aware of the Ctrl+Esc command, either. It took a couple of attempts to make it work (timing of the keystrokes I assume), and I think I was a bit impatient in expecting the BIOS Recovery screen to pop up, but I got there in the end.

I would like to add that I attempted to re-update 1.1.26 to 1.1.27 using the F12 menu, it bricked the PC again, forcing me to BIOS recover a second time. I can definitively say that it is an issue with the BIOS package. The symptoms were similar to other reported issues: update, reboot, intermediate reboots, then stuck on the Dell logo and dead machine.

BIOS 1.1.27 has been pulled  from the Support Page. Please let me know if anyone is still seeing it on SupportAssist and/or Windows Update etc.. 

Also, if you already had trouble applying the 1.1.27 update and were able to downgrade following the instructions in this thread, please do not not attempt to reapply the 1.1.27 update until a new revision is released. 

Excellent summary of your trouble shooting.  My XPS8930 doesn't get quite that far when powered up.

Monitor is good; runs fine driven by a Raspberry PI.

Not getting any beeps.

Dell LED on back of power supply is lit.

Shouldn't you at least get some audible signal (beeps) if the BIOS runs and finds something catastrophic, i.e. memory, video card, disk?

What a shame.  I've really enjoyed this machine.  I was in the middle of an important edit, about to publish my life's work (seriously) when it died.  I'll pull the hard drive and see what's there.  Reminds me of the Heinlein story where the guy has just discovered how to solve all the problems in the universe with a simple change.  He's about to write it down when his mother asks "did you wind the clock?"  He forgets the solution and the world plods on...

@Dell-BradL 

Finally!  That took too long.  Dell owes its XPS 8930 customers an apology and, most importantly, an explanation of how and why this happened and the reason the BIOS update 1.1.27 was not pulled much earlier.

Personally, I am very disappointed with how Dell Support handled this issue, which caused so much grief for me and other customers.

Just my two cents.  Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

@wbmoodie  - That's what the XPS 8930 power button blink codes are for...

Well, some very good news plus some further questions.

I tried again -  USB drive in USB port, turned PC on and immediately pressed CTRL-ESC simultaneously, held for a good 30 seconds then released. After a further 40 seconds or so, the BIOS recovery screen appeared,  presenting me with the same menu options as my first attempt I described earlier. I told it to go ahead which it did and completed the BIOS recovery in less than 60 seconds.

So the procedure to recover the BIOS from the .rcv file on a USB drive, explained here by @RoHe and others, works faultlessly if you do it right (to which I must add: all else being equal). I think the timing of the CTRL-ESC key presses is key to this, pun not intended.

I now have my 8930 back thank you!

Now the questions.

According to Windows Update,  BIOS version 1.1.27 - the chief suspect in this drama - was installed (screenshot of driver updates listing in Windows update)

If I check System Information, it shows  1.1.26 installed (screenshot).

This is also what the BIOS version in the BIOS settings I accessed successfully from F2 shows. While in the BIOS I changed the UEFI capsule updating to disabled.

So I think I'm safe in assuming the PC is now running 1.1.26 and not 1.1.27?  In line with what others have said here, I will not update the firmware yet if offered, no matter the version, until I can vwerify how safe it is.That will include checking this forum.

While doing all this I shot some video that literally walks through the process. Two clips, about 10 minutes in total. I'll edit together and upload to YouTube, will share the link here when done.

Thanks to all of you for insights and suggestions, all of immense value.

Dell has pulled 1.1.27 from their support page and from Windows Update. So you shouldn't see it offered again.  And make sure UEFI Capsule Updates stays disabled in BIOS, so WU can't try to install another update.

Others have reported that 1.1.27 gets installed too, but it seems that some setting may be incorrect and that prevents Windows from loading.

If the power button is steady white when powering on with 1.1.27 installed, that says PC successfully passed the POST (Power  On Self-Test) and handed control over to the OS.

I'd wait at least 1+ week after a new BIOS update is offered and then check here to see what/any issues may have been reported. And make regular full backups of your boot drive too...

After successfully recovering the BIOS, a first visit from the 8930 was to the Dell support site to check what updates might be available. Part of the reason was to see if it said BIOS 1.1.27 was there. It's not so it looks like it has been removed.

What was offered was Dell Update Windows Universal application update (screenshot below). The description says "Dell Update application automatically updates critical fixes and important device drivers as they become available."

In light of this experience with the corrupted BIOS I'm not inclined to install or update a Dell software tool that "automatically updates critical fixes and important device drivers as they become available."

Am I being over cautious?

@Luke717  Have to agree with you...

Dell software should only inform users about new updates. And then let users decide if they want/need the update.  Especially important for BIOS updates because it's safer to install them (when they work properly) outside Windows, via the F12 menu.

I agree with @RoHe and @Luke717 . I long ago uninstalled SupportAssist and all of its recovery modules and Dell Update.  They were more trouble than they were worth.  I just go to the Dell Support site and manually check for drivers and updates.  Unfortunately, last Friday I found the BIOS Update Version 1.1.27 and downloaded it and ran a Flash Update, BEFORE checking this Forum to see if there were any issues.

As @RoHe has suggested, I will also be waiting a week before becoming an unwitting beta tester again and potentially borking my computer.  I will also monitor this Forum for potential issues.  Lesson learned!

Have a great day.

Regards,
-Phil