Dell Inspiron 8200 problem

[Maverick2002]

I've had a Dell Inspiron 8200 notebook for a bit over 2 years now. Not too long ago, the AC adapter went up in smoke (literally). Since then I bought a new adapter, but now my laptop is being weird. The fans always spin at full speed (as soon as I power it on) and my 3rd party temp reporting utility tells me the CPU temperature is always 85C and the load is always 100%. Furthermore, when I first turn the thing on I get a black screen and the following error message:

An error has been detected with your system.
Please call Dell Support with Error Code #M1004.
Strike F1 to continue, F2 to run the setup utility.

It also works a lot slower after booting into windows. I've backed up all my data and I'm going to reformat it, but I doubt that will fix the problem. I couldn't find any temperature monitoring options in the BIOS or any way to load defaults, so I may have to open up the notebook and take out the BIOS battery? The warranty expired so I doubt I'll get any help from Dell, unless someone thinks otherwise? Please give me some advice on what to do!

 

[Maverick2002]

no one?

 

[Abhi]

you might want to try re flashing the BIOS with the latest one available. That might help. Get it from Dell's Website.

which third party software are you using to monitor temps?

 

[Abhi]

found these links..... see if they might help....

http://hardware.mcse.ms/message92531.html
http://forums.us.dell.com/supp...s&message.id=24955

 

[Abhi]

Ah... found your solution ...

This utility will clear the 'Error #M1004' message that may appear after POST on Latitude C640 and Inspiron 4150 systems with BIOS versions A00 through A03, or Latitude C840, Inspiron 8200 and Precision M50 systems with BIOS versions A00 through A06.

Get it here ... http://support.dell.com/suppor...49833&fileid=58724

 

[Maverick2002]

Awesome! Thansk Abhi. Is there some sort of guide on how to reflash a BIOS for this particular model? I would like to have the latest version but I've never flashed a BIOS before so I'm a bit new to this. Also, would that fix the fan/wrong CPU temp issue?

BTW for monitor temps I'm using Mobile Meter and I8kfanGUI (the latter specifically made for the 8200).

 

[Abhi]

Just download the hard disk version of the BIOS update and double click it. Windows will restart. Then all you do is hope and pray that everything goes right .. at least thats how it works for my 8500

 

[bacillus]

suggest you d/load & only use the floppy version bios update if you value your laptop.

 

[Abhi]

http://support.dell.com/suppor...0&releaseid=R71738

Go here.. get the hard disk version (at the bottom). Its the easiest to use.

Charge ur battery. Connect ur power adapter, and double click the file. Thats about it...

This should solve ur problem, i doubt u ll have to use the utility i gave the link to before.

 

[Maverick2002]

Is it even worth it to flash the bios? I won't be able to find out if this utility will fix my error (and more importantly the fan and cpu temp issue), but if it does is there any good reason for me a risk flashing the bios?

 

[Abhi]

the utility is only there to remove errors from laptops with BIOS versions A00 through A06. My best guess is that Dell solved the problem while releasing A07. I think just flashing the BIOS to the latest version will solve ur problem.

And yes, flashing the BIOS isnt that difficult. I suggest you do it. Its worth it.

 

[Maverick2002]

The HDD method or the floppy method? Does Dell have a one for download with instructions? This isn't something I want to screw up ..

 

[jaykleg]

side note -- If this turns out to be physical damage to your system that might be related to the adapter that went up in smoke, I would question Dell about the possibility of their covering the costs of repair or replacement. They have had a lot of trouble over the years with their notebook power adapters and battery packs. This link is about a recall going on currently. Though your model isn't mentioned specifically I'd recommend taking a look at the smoked adapter (if it's still handy) to see if there might be a connection.

Naturally it isn't going to do you much good to discuss this with a first tier support tech. You'll want to be talking with supervisory or managerial staff if you broach this subject with Dell.

 

[Maverick2002]

Originally posted by: jaykleg
side note -- If this turns out to be physical damage to your system that might be related to the adapter that went up in smoke, I would question Dell about the possibility of their covering the costs of repair or replacement. They have had a lot of trouble over the years with their notebook power adapters and battery packs. https://www.delladapterprogram.com/Main.aspx">This link</a> is about a recall going on currently. Though your model isn't mentioned specifically I'd recommend taking a look at the smoked adapter (if it's still handy) to see if there might be a connection.

Naturally it isn't going to do you much good to discuss this with a first tier support tech. You'll want to be talking with supervisory or managerial staff if you broach this subject with Dell.

I'll check out the old adapter when I get home. I don't think it was due to overheating though; one of the wires just got really loose and sometimes the adapter would just stop working. One day it kicked the bucket and made some fumes.

Still, what's the best way to go about a BIOS flash?

 

[jaykleg]

Good. I just wanted you to know that you might have been "burned".

How to flash a BIOS? At one time I would have said it was always best to use the bootable floppy method. The BIOS updaters that run within Windows used to be unreliable. (Or it could very well be that many or most of the reported failures had to do with dumb stuff like people not turning off their AV software and other processes that might interfere before running the updaters.) I still have not, to this day, used a motherboard BIOS updater that ran within Windows, but I've updated lots of drive firmware and video card firmware with such updaters. Haven't had a failure yet.

And, if someone wants to talk about reliability, let's not forget about the lousy reliability of floppy diskettes. They seem to have become worse over the past few years, too. I'd say it's a tossup. If your Windows installation is stable and very reliable, and you turn off all of the system tray gizmos and any software which actively intercepts processes and scans them I would think that using the Windows updater should work for you. If you have any misgivings about your OS installation, though, stick with the boot floppy. Just make sure you check the diskette for file system errors before and after configuring it as a bootable BIOS updater. And make a second one, too -- just in case.

And, on the other hand, if your floppy diskettes are 10 years old and dusty, and your floppy drive sounds like rusty bedsprings when it reads a diskette, stick with the Windows updater.

 

[Maverick2002]

Is this what I need?

 

[jaykleg]

Holy cow! Dell's site just gave me a headache! Those explanations are terrible! I clicked through on the one link on that page that looked like it might be for a Windows-based BIOS updater and found instructions that still referred to using it to prepare a bootable floppy BIOS updater! I don't know what to tell you.

-- digression brought on by annoyance --

Dell is so weird. On the one hand they seem to put a fair amount of effort into making updates and patches for their various models available to the customer. On the other hand vaguely written instructions just don't cut it. The first thing a decent tech writer learns to do is to tell the reader exactly what the instructions are about, and then to lay out and explain the instructions. The instructions on that download page look like a how-not-to example to me.

And the dumb way they distribute driver updates by using a local html file with a download button in it so you have to "download" a file that's already on your hard drive, and then choose to run the file from its "source" just seems dimwitted (extremely) to me. I'd bet that they confuse a lot of customers that way. They certainly confuse me.

-- end digression --

I even downloaded that A09-I82.EXE file and looked inside the archive. No readme. They deserve a dope slap for that.

Why don't you download it and extract it? Shut down all of the systray and AV and such stuff, and run the setup file you'll find within the directory structure it the setup program creates. My guess is that this is what you want, if installing the BIOS update from within Windows is what you've decided to do. It should allow you to quit the procedure if it looks like something you don't want to do. This thing is too big to have been created just for making a bootable floppy updater, I think.

 

[bacillus]

Originally posted by: Maverick2002
The HDD method or the floppy method? Does Dell have a one for download with instructions? This isn't something I want to screw up ..

dude listen to what I'm telling you!
don't update using the hdd method unless it's your only choice as if you read the dell forums numerous folk have had a bad flash for whatever reason using the hdd method &amp; ended up with a laptop that's only fit for a doorstop. the bios chip is soldered in so if you mess it up you'll need a new m/board.
the floppy method is the safest way to do the update. just d/load the flopy file, run it &amp; it'll ask you for a floppy to write the files to. after that's done, reboot your pc &amp; the system will boot from the floppy updating the bios.

 

[jaykleg]

Please check out bacillus' warning. Where there's smoke there may be fire. If there's a problem with the hdd method of updating then you do want to go with the floppy. Just follow the precautions I recommended (checking the floppy's file system before using it).

 

[Maverick2002]

Originally posted by: jaykleg
Please check out bacillus' warning. Where there's smoke there may be fire. If there's a problem with the hdd method of updating then you do want to go with the floppy. Just follow the precautions I recommended (checking the floppy's file system before using it).

checking the floppy's file system? does it matter if it's fat or ntfs? don't even know if you can make floppies ntfs since I haven't used one for a long long time ..

 

[bacillus]

Don't worry about that as the floppy exe will do everything for you regarding the floppy file system.

 

[Abhi]

Hmm .. to avoid risks, maybe its better to go with the floppy as bacillus says.

I have always used the HDD method, and its always worked for me, but then, i may just be lucky

 

[jaykleg]

By recommending that the file system be checked I was referring to use of a utility like chkdsk or scandisk to be sure that the floppy diskette's file system is okay -- and therefore not likely to cause a problem during the BIOS update. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

You wouldn't be likely to find a floppy with the NTFS file system on it, though it is possible to create one with a little research and effort.

 

[Maverick2002]

Flashed the BIOS to A09 using the floppy method, no problem. Then found version A11 so flashed it again. Formatted HDD and installing WinXP now; the annoying error is gone too. Thanks for the help!

 

[jaykleg]

I'm glad to see that message. I was afraid there might be a hardware issue after reading about the smoked AC adapter.