I tried updating a Latitude E55XX bios today with the latest firmware. It would unpack the firmware and then shutdown, but not actually do the update. Michael and I could not figure out why it was not updating, and spent over an hour searching for a solution; finding none.
Finally we discovered a BIOS setting called “System Management” which was set to “Disabled”. The description of the “System Management” option was very vague. On a last-ditch effort, I decided to turn it on with full support, and found that I could then update the BIOS.
It seems that the “System Management” option is some sort of lock so that you cannot update BIOS. Dell has done a poor job of making users aware of this feature. Hopefully this post reaches someone with the same problem, saving them some time.
Update 7/7/2014
Also worth noting is that on this machine I had to re-install windows. I did not have the recover disks from Dell, so I just installed windows itself. I went to activate windows but could not find the windows product key ANYWHERE on the bottom of the laptop. I ended up calling Dell’s tech support and they were a little stumped themselves. We assumed that whoever had the laptop last removed the windows product key. However, while on the line with Dell’s tech support, I took a stab in the dark at removing the battery pack just to be certain, and sure enough, there was the windows product key.
SO, if you ever need to look up your windows product key, don’t forget to check under the battery pack.