Please tell me why I get an error when installing Windows 7 RTM build 7600.16385 (Ultimate) ! My laptop is DELL Vostro 1400 Pls help me resolve this problem. Thanks very much!!!
Are you using the latest BIOS for your system? If not, upgrade it. If need be request a 2.1 SLIC mod on the LATEST version of the bios in the bios mods thread, flash the latest 2.1 SLICed bios, and give it another go. Searching for that error gives rather inconclusive info. Seems that the issues can be caused by extra USB hardware being plugged in during the install, by the laptop being on a docking station, etc. Are you trying to install a fresh copy or upgrade from something? It seems upgrades can produce that error too. It basically sounds to me like windows doesn't quite like something and that's a general hardware related error that could pop up for things not DIRECTLY related to the bios. If you have the latest bios, try resetting to defaults in case something got set to an incompatible setting. If you have USB printers, hard drives, and if you have pc card/cardbus devices, try removing everything extra and then try the install again. That kind of makes me wonder if the issue won't just show up again after the install on boot when everything is plugged in though.
BIOS from DELL does not contain SLIC 2.1 table. You can download mod BIOS which was already added SLIC 2.1 within sticky for Vostro 1400.
KaiDaiAndee I am trying to mod my vostro 1400 bios too. I will probably just use yours once someone else confirms it works, is it A09? The files I have created and yours have different CRC32 checksums, however exactly the same length, maybe I have made a mistake, can you post the HDR file you created for me to check against mine. Best regards Dan
Failed Vostro 1400 bios update KaiDaiAndee, During the flash update my screen went black, and only one LED stayed on for a long time, this was not the update you posted, I wish I had now. After a few minutes I decided the update had crashed and pressed the power button. Now I can not boot, I think I have bricked my laptop, the bios is either blank or partially programmed. Is there any way I can recover or do I need a new motherboard?, I read about a possible Phoenix recovery disk and pressing FN + B while booting, anyone else had this problem with dell vostro or inspiron or similar and recovered? I have tried so many things but can´t get anything to work.
Damn... Well, this is the reason that everyone should take the time to learn: 1. If a recovery is possible 2. How to perform a recovery for their BIOS Before ever trying to flash. I know hindsight is 20/20. Good luck vostro1320. err... That should have been: Good luck danwalmsley!
Don´t worry its not your fault, I knew what I had done as soon as I pressed the power button, just kicking myself now.... Any way has anyone succesfully tried the phoenix recovery methods on a Dell laptop?, I have tried, i can´t get any thing to work, does anyone know the correct key combination?... I am not sure this is possible, what kind of usb floppy drive can be used? Also the file to rename to bios.wph is that the rom file or the hdr file? or something else altogether. Dan
I managed to fix the machine, only by replacing the system board. The good news is I now updated the bios to have slic 2.1 and I now have everything working as expected. If you want to avoid my problems, only do the following. 1) close all programs. 1a) PLUG IN THE POWER LEAD 1st VERY IMPORTANT otherwise it interrupts the way the bios update runs, this is not just for safety don't assume it will be ok. 2) run the bios update file with administrator privileges. 3) leave the pc alone until it restarts. 4) Be patient, do not PRESS THE POWER BUTTON if the screen goes black, it can take time. 5) Wait for the PC to restart on its own.
danwalmsley, where did you get the replacement system board from? the video card on my system board just died not too long ago. this just really sucks because i spent so much time keeping the system in shape, getting the system on windows 7 and what not. it would be really nice if i can get a replacement system board for it for a reasonable price. thanks in advance.
Hi KaiDaiAndee, Nice work there, I am a bit confused which of the BIOS' you posted is the correct. The first one is a 2MB file, the second is 1MB (like the original DELL A9). thx chris
KaiDaiAndee and danwalmsley I have a dell vostro 1400 centrino duo 2,2 GHz 3GB RAM, BIOS A09 i installed windows 7 ultimate and worked fine but when i instaled an old driver for an mp3 player it collapsed, i got a black screen and had to reinstall W7, it seemed that everything was fine but when i leave mi laptop unatended for a while and the screen gets black, i can´t get it to work again, i had to conect it to an externat monitor, press Fn F8 and then try to get a restore wich it ussually worked for my next day and the problem appeared again, i now have my laptop thinking of it as a brick, tell me what can i do, get a windows XP an install it, update to your BIOS (wich scares me a little) o I´m doing something wrong, please help