Legacy BIOS update packages are for older Dell models. Some command line options may not be available on all Dell legacy BIOS update packages.

Some options are only valid when the update package is executed in Windows and some options are only valid when the update package is executed from DOS media. Common options across most legacy BIOS updates when run in Windows:

  • forceit
  • nopause
  • noreboot
  • reportstatus
  • writehdrfile
  • writehexfile
  • writeromfile

Other options are listed below.

Options

The options can be invoked with either / or - characters.

Option Description Windows DOS
b9600 No Yes
boot Yes Yes
classic Yes No
dwim No Yes
edvu Yes No
factory Resets the BIOS to default settings. Yes Yes
fbu Flash without confirmation. No Yes
forceit Forces the BIOS update even if a laptop is not plugged into an AC power source. Yes Yes
forcetype Forces the BIOS update to any Dell model. Yes Yes
info Yes Yes
jabil Forces the BIOS update even though the system says it is the wrong BIOS version. No Yes
minivu No Yes
nopause Allows execution of a BIOS update to be completely silent by preventing the BIOS update from prompting when executing. Yes Yes
norburesults No remote BIOS update results. Yes No
noreboot Prevents the PC from rebooting after the BIOS is flashed. Yes Yes
nvram No Yes
prgboot Most likely is used to disable Microsoft Windows features when flashing from a bootable DOS media. Yes Yes
rburesults Remote BIOS update results. Yes No
readgzfile No Yes
readromfile No Yes
reportstatus Writes a dat file containing the current installed BIOS version. Yes No
serout No Yes
verbose Yes Yes
wipeall Cleans the DMI Data Area, Password, Service Tag, and Asset Tag. Yes No
wipeclean Clears the ESCD and DMI data tables. This is commonly used to resolve conflict issues and corrupted BIOS settings. Yes No
wipenvram No Yes
writehdrfile Extracts the header file, that would be flashed to the BIOS, to a separate .hdr file. Yes Yes
writehexfile Extracts the hexadecimal format file, that would be flashed to the BIOS, to a separate .hex file. Yes No
writeromfile Extracts the ROM (Read Only Memory) file, that would be flashed to the BIOS, to a separate .rom file. Yes Yes

Examples

To silently update a system and prevent an automatic reboot:

  • package.exe /nopause /noreboot
  • package.exe -nopause -noreboot

To silently update a system and allow an automatic reboot:

  • package.exe /nopause
  • package.exe -nopause

Passwords

Legacy BIOS update packages do not support specifying a BIOS password when a BIOS password is already set on a system. Instead the BIOS password must be cleared using the Dell Client Configuration Toolkit (CCTK).


To clear the BIOS password before executing the BIOS update:

  • cctk.exe --setuppwd=  --valsetuppwd=password


To set the BIOS password back after executing the BIOS update:

  • cctk.exe --setuppwd=password


If a system boot password is set, then use --syspwd and --valsyspwd instead.

Exit Codes

The update package returns a value of 0 when the update executes successfully and non-zero when a failure occurs. However, the actual BIOS update operation does not occur until the system reboots. To determine success of the actual update operation, use CCTK's --completioncode option. See the CCTK BIOS Completion Codes page for more information.

References