Alienware Update (AU) Tool Fail to Upgrade BIOS on Computers Having BIOS Admin Password Configured

On Dell Client computers where the BIOS is configured with Admin password, the AU tool cannot upgrade the BIOS on the computer.

AU displays "Installation Complete: X (number of updates) updates failed" where the BIOS was selected to be installed and failed (Figure 1).

(Figure 1. AU tool fail to upgrade BIOS)

Impacted Products

The feature to configure BIOS Admin Password is not provided on AU.

To enable BIOS Upgrades through Alienware Update, perform one of the following solutions:

• Remove the configured BIOS Password on the computer.
• Manually upgrade the BIOS:

  • How to download and install the latest BIOS:

    WARNING: Dell Technologies recommends disconnecting devices such as external hard drives, printers, scanners, and so on, before updating the BIOS.
    WARNING: Dell laptops must have the battery that is installed and charged to at least 10% before you begin the BIOS update. Dell Technologies recommends connecting the laptop to AC power before proceeding with the update process.
    NOTE: To learn more about updating the BIOS on a Dell computer, see the Dell knowledge base article Dell BIOS Updates.
    NOTE: To install the BIOS, your user account must have administrator privileges.
    1. Browse to https://www.dell.com/support/drivers.
    2. Identify your Dell computer.
       1. Click Download & Install SupportAssist to auto-detect your Dell computer. Follow the on-screen instructions to install Dell SupportAssist. For more information, see the Dell knowledge base article Dell SupportAssist (formerly Dell System Detect): Overview and Common Questions.
       2. Enter the Service Tag of the laptop and click Search.
       3. Or, click Browse all products and select your Dell computer from the catalog.
    3. Select the Operating System that is installed on the Dell computer.
    4. Under Category, select BIOS.
    5. Locate the latest System BIOS.
    6. Click Download and save the file to your computer.
    7. Open File Explorer and browse to the location where the downloaded file is saved.
    8. Double-click the BIOS setup file and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.