XPS 8960, SA not Installing BIOS

Support Assist fails. MyDell fails. My new XPS 8690 PC uses UEFI, not BIOS. Not sure if that matters.

@pdoyle35​ Thank  you  for replying.. I'am not sure ..I am not a  computer savvy, hence the reason I depend   a lot  on apps  like Support Assist. 

I have an XPS 8950 desktop.  I have the same issue.

I have been trying for 2 days to install the new BIOS update (since 1/18/2025).  The installation never finishes.  The installation screen is an endless loop.

Dell...can you resolve this issue?  Please?

John

BTW...I am also receiving the same error message: "Error Driver Version Fail"

DELL - HELP!

John

@RealDELLfan​ Dell advised, and I checked the hardware through BIOS and it passed the test. Then I turned encryption off; still wouldn't install.  Tech support told me many are having difficulty with this update, and Dell engineers hope to have a new BIOS update released later in January.

So I'm going to ignore this update, until they send us a new one.  Don't waste your time, today. I worked on it for hours.  Good evening to all!

Have you tried installing the BIOS update entirely outside Windows?

Download the new BIOS .exe file (not the .rcv file) onto an empty (non-bootable) USB stick that's no larger than 8 GB and formatted FAT32.

With power fully off, plug the USB into PC and power on. Tap F12 when you see the Dell splash screen.  Select Flash Update from the F12 menu.  When the updater opens, select (highlight) the .exe file name on the USB stick. Confirm old and new BIOS version info (typically in top left and right boxes) and then tab to the Start button and launch the update.

The PC will turn off and restart several times during the update. Leave it entirely alone, even if it looks like it's totally off and not doing anything.  When the update is complete, PC will automatically boot to your desktop.

unable to update BIOS from 2.12 to 2.13

As an update to this post, I've now done the BIOS update via F12 at boot and it seems fine. So it's just the issue of it not working via Support Assist or running the .EXE within Windows. How did this ever get released? These things should be tested before they are let loose surely. I don't want to upset anyone, but it doesn't give a great deal of confidence in the software release procedure.

Dell is aware....

<Threads on this topic have been merged>

@Chimaera450​  Yea they finally said wait a couple of days for 2.14

Hello,

I am having a similar problem with my XPS 8940 desktop. I am running BIOS version 2.24.1. Support Assist says BIOS version 2.25.0 is available. I tried to install it. My computer turns off, turns back on and then boots into Windows. Upon checking System Information, I see the BIOS is not updated. Support Assist still indicates the update is available. I tried this twice with the same result. I am wondering if something is not compatible? Maybe my PC is reading that and not installing the update? My computer is running great with Windows 11 23H2. I am avoiding 24H2 like it's the plague for now as I have software that would have issues. If anyone has a fix for my BIOS not updating issue, please let me know.

Thanks.

OK, comfort in knowing others are having same issue. On that note, I am NOT sure if it is OK to simply STOP this update in its tracks. It is stuck on this window, BEFORE the required reboot. I did try to CANCEL, but then saw the upper WARNING:   :~(

What is the safest method to stop, restart, and wait until this problem is fixed? Thank you in advance.

@RoHe​ Thank you RoHE, 

I have tried   and successfully   installed BIOS  update  via USB, only difference  between your  post and  what actually happened was  computer shut down  once and restarted, and shut  down  a second time when  update was done, not several times  as you  indicated, the  only other thing  I found unusual was the date  of the new version from Sys Information

BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. 2.13.0, 12/9/2024

UPDATE:

Miraculously, 2 of the 4 updates in the series of CRITICAL UPDATES simply failed, and enabled me to restart system for the successful 2. The BIOS must have been one of them failed ones.

Will await updating until further clarification via this thread.