XPS 8940 BIOS 2.15.1

@His_story​ Try this.

1. Launch the NVIDIA Control Panel Software

2. Under 3D Settings select the Manage 3D Settings

3. Look for the Power Managment Mode

4. Set Power Management Mode to Prefer Maximum Performance

My computer: BIOS: 2.15.1 NVIDIA GTX 3060 Driver: 546.17 Microsoft Windows 11 Pro x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.2715.

After making these changes I have not had freeze since November 12th.

@Robert Willis​ After posting I uninstall NVIDIA and it reinstalled. So far no freeze but I have followed your advice and will see what happens

I have two XPS 8940 computers.  About a month ago I got the 2.15.1 bios update on my office computer, after which I started getting the White Amber Amber Amber blinking light and if I shut off the UPS before restarting the computer, it will open into the yellow bios screen instead of booting directly.  I thought I just had bad luck and there was a problem with my motherboard, however last night my home computer did the same bios update, and now I have the same White Amber Amber Amber blinking light and the same yellow bios screen instead of booting directly.  There is no question that the problem is somehow directly related to the 2.15.1 bios update.  I would like to roll back the bios, but I could only get the exe file for 2.14, any previous versions are only allowing me to download the bios recovery file. 

@LarryL23​ 

I don't know what you did?

Never saw an Yellow BIOS screen, seems maybe a video problem and it isn't displaying the right color? That or the monitor lost a color gun?

Very ODD that 2 PC's would have the same problem?

These are the power light codes, https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-us/xps-8940-desktop/xps-8940-service-manual/system-diagnostic-lights?guid=guid-85db873b-6a6d-4609-b8b6-31ea6899c4b5&lang=en-us and there usually is a White blink after the Amber ones?

Possible you were trying to get into the BIOS Recovery mode but the file couldn't be found maybe?

You can GET any BIOS version. In Support, for your PC (or the Generic XPS8940 even) get the list and Select BIOS. Click on it to see the Details... and there is an 'Other Versions' link, click on that and you'll see them all with a D/L link:

So select the one you want.

You'll probably need to put it on a USB drive and then USE F12 at boot to install it though. Will need to enable USB booting in the BIOS as a Selection if it is not already set on the F2 BIOS screens. Then in the F12 screen, select the USB as a boot.

Also, many of the Amber 3 flash problems listed on the link imply a PSU or Motherboard problem. I'd not suspect a PSU (check the PSU light in the back, should be Green) but a possible Motherboard battery as you mentioned white first (chart is Amber,White counts) which that indicates, but again, 2 PC's at the same time? Odd?

Why did you remove the UPS? What was the rational?

Update on the Long reboot issue

Thank you all for your good ideas on my long reboot issue and update BIOS freeze at 100%

I was able to fix the long reboot issue: I found my UPS and webcam for Zoom were still connected to the PC and disconnected them when I removed the Nvidia 1660 card, its drivers, and apps. And even though it happened a lot less, it still happened. I even downloaded from Dell any audio, Bluetooth, network, or motherboard chipset update listed for an XPS 8940 that was listed in my current configuration and I ended up re-applying the chipset update and the intel graphics apps for my motherboard. A still long reboot of 3 to 4 minutes occasionally would happen. After verifying every bit of data was backed up I even went back to a point where the long boots weren’t happening via a system image no luck.

The unfortunate cure to slow boot: I thought at this point it would be quicker to reset Windows keeping my files because something was running so deep in the background that when you look at Task Manager it does not look obvious, and I had to reinstall things anyway. I am reinstalling things as I need them and so far, no slow reboot issues; paying attention to USB cables and the device to see if any connecting cables or connectors show any damage before reconnecting.

I will need to contact Dell Premium support (one time I was glad I got the 3-year plan) to see what can be done about the BIOS update freeze at 100% because it’s still there as of yesterday afternoon when I re-flashed to BIOS 2.15.1 from a bios download from April 2023 when I did not think I had this issue. April BIOS did at least let me use the power button for a smoother shutdown; I was not able to do that with the last few BIOS upgrades.

@ispalten​ Thank you I do know about the Diagnostic lights and I knew Dell had a list of what they mean but could not find it quickly for the 8940. did not think to look back there when it did not reboot after BIOS update/upgrade. I will do that next time.

@LarryL23  3 amber, 1 white is a motherboard battery failure.  So replace the motherboard battery before doing anything else.  The complete list of XPS 8940 power button blink codes is here.

Direct links:

BIOS 2.12.0 exe file
BIOS 2.13.1 exe file

The freezing issue started for me on BIOS 2.14.  2.15 didnt fix it and rolling back as far as 2.10 doesnt fix it either where it was flawlessly working until 2.14

I'm leaning towards a Management Engine issue rather than a BIOS problem.

@Robert Willis​ Three more days and no freezes. It is working for me. Thanks. I have uninstalled NIVIDEA drivers and let it automatically reinstall GeForce experience and suggest others hold off on updating

@Robert Willis​ I've had the freezing issue for the last couple months. I leave my Dell XPS 8940 running overnight as a server, but it would always freeze up by the next morning. I tried your fix and this is the first time it hasn't. Fingers crossed this keeps working; thank you!

11/28/2023 Update: My computer froze again. The setting change may help reduce the freezing frequency but it's still bound to freeze. Yesterday I downgraded BIOS to 2.2.0 and the computer hasn't frozen since. Let's hope this keeps working!

12/05/2023 Update: My previous fix did not work by itself, but I have found a solution that has kept my computer running for a week now. Here's what worked: As mentioned in the previous update, I downgraded BIOS to 2.2.0, and then turned off the UEFI Capsule Firmware Updates in BIOS to prevent Windows from updating BIOS automatically. Then I downloaded Nvidia Studio driver 536.40, but did not install it. I rebooted into safe mode, turned off my internet connection, and used Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to completely remove my current Nvidia drivers. Safe mode ensures a clean uninstall/reinstall, and an internet connection might make windows auto-update your graphics driver after it's uninstalled. Finally, I installed the 536.40 driver, turned off automatic updates in the group policy editor, and then turned on my internet again. This has kept my computer running for the past week; I'm hoping this nightmare is over.

11/27/2023 Update: Computer has been running without crashing for the past month I think it's safe to say that the solution I posted works. Good luck and happy holidays!

TLDR; Downgrade BIOS to 2.2.0 & install Nvidia Studio driver 536.40.

Update: I'm running on BIOS 2.15.1 and GPU driver 456.71 (auto installed by Windows after I completely removed the existing drivers). PC has been running 24/7 since November 20 (6 days and 6 nights) doing its thing and doing it well. If I want issues, all I need to do is install Dell drivers for my RTX 2060. I've turned off capsule updates in BIOS to make sure no surprises. 

I have the same computer except it's an I9- same Ram

I am running Cubase 13 pro with Vst instruments from Audi modeling and the focusrite 18i8 at 256 buffers. 

I did research a link from Steinberg and how to change the bios settings of this computer computer and I have the same version as you

if the making the suggestive changes I had zero dropouts and glitches which amazed me

The link is below:

https://helpcenter.steinberg.de/hc/en-us/articles/360008589880-Windows-How-to-set-up-and-optimize-a-Digital-Audio-Workstation

it's always good to go to the bios being the very first foundation for everything that happens with your computer even if you make changes with the windows settings which to me is only a Band-Aid

Alan Russell

Looks like Bios version 2.19.1 4/17/2024 fixes this problem for me. I went through alot for almost 2 months with Dell Premium Support. I have the Nvidia 3060ti video card. My system started to fail (frequent system freezes). I had 2 sets of Mirrored Volumes (Window mirroring) that would have to be rebuilt after every crash (10TB Mirror and 5TB Mirror). What a pain. Took days to fully recover. First Dell told me the drives were too big. This configuration had been running for almost 2 years, flawlessly. The system came with a 1TB SSD (boot disk) and 2TB disk. They would not diagnose it until I put it back in Factory Condition. I detached the mirrored volumes and they started to work on the problem. System would still hang. Several months of diagnosis without any results. When a system freezes, there is no error code and that is what they wanted. Finally, I bought a new motherboard and installed it. Same problem. I'm out a $110. I lost more of my time with this issue. I finally got them to replace the Nvidia card. Same problem. I even did a full reinstall of Windows 11. Not fixed. I took my 2 WD Red drives (10TB each) and bought a WD EX2 array. I needed to access that data. I took the Nvidia card out and used the built in Intel Video. I was not happy. I politely cursed at them many times. I'll never buy Dell Premium support. It was a waste of money. After I blew off Dell Support, I kept searching the internet and found this thread. It's my problem. The experts at Dell were unaware. I know how much time and money I wasted over a firmware bug.

A few weeks ago, I received the first firmware update through Support Assist. I've been running fine since then. I decided to put my Nvidia 3060ti back in. My system is stable as can be. I put the video card through its paces. No problem. 

This firmware update fixed the problem for me. Nothing in the release notes relating to this issue. But it is fixed. It's nice to have a stable system working again.

I won't be moving my mirrored 10TB drives back into the system. The mirror performed a bit better when in the XPS. It performs well in the MyCloud EX2. I don't want to waste any more of my time. I do have my 5TB mirror running in the XPS. It's stable and performs well.

I am retired for 12 years. I worked in IT for 40 years. This problem kicked me. I have always been able to identify a problem and get it fixed. Now this one is fixed and I can keep my perfect record intact. This was my dream machine - Dell XPS, i9, lots of storage and ram. It was and now is again, a great performer.

Try this firmware update. Hopefully it will fix your problem.

I think it is solved (and probably by accident).

<Profanity is never allowed on our Forum. Edits done. DELL-Admin>

After having this same issue for months, and searching through 100s of forum posts and comments, it doesn't seem anyone has found a solution to this with systems containing AMD GPUs. Has anyone had this happen on their system with an AMD GPU or recommend a fix? I had hoped the 2.20 bios from July 8th would have resolved it, however, it did not. It seems Dell has finally publicly admitted fault for the issue but still no warranty or for sure fix. https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000218411/xps-8940-randomly-stops-responding-after-bios-update?lang=en