Luke Rainbird Posted July 19, 2013 Report Share Posted July 19, 2013 Gents, looking for a little info. I've got a netbook (Dell Mini 9/Inspiron 910) that I received free from an old friend with no battery. I managed to pick up a replacement cheap on eBay but have since discovered that non-genuine batteries are not recognised by any version of the BIOS later than the original (A00) version so I need to downgrade in order for the battery to charge. This in itself is no biggy, as it's easy enough to get a copy of this version to replace the current (A05) that's on there, however I'd like a little info on the flashing process itself. Normally flashing BIOS isn't something I'd bother going near, but there are several decent BIOS recovery tools available and the unit cost me next to nothing so should it come to it there's no major risk. If it comes to it I can pick up a genuine battery for around £25, but I'd rather not spend any cash if I can avoid it. I'm aware that flashing from within Windows is generally frowned upon and that most people tend to flash from a USB floppy drive. Is there any difference between using a USB floppy vs simply a USB flash drive? I can't see why there would be but that's certainly not to say there isn't! Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weirdoku Posted July 19, 2013 Report Share Posted July 19, 2013 Difference? Not that I can think of, the end results are the same. Recent netbooks/laptops/desktops should be able to flash from a flash drive. There should be instructions for your BIOS. Personally I've never flashed a netbook since I'm a desktop person, but I can't imagine there to be much difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted July 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2013 Hmm, that's what I thought but it's being a bit of a gay. Shall continue to play and see if I can sort it as this'd be ideal for car diagnostics stuff. Wondering if perhaps the lack of any charge in the battery could make any difference - if it does I'm in a bit of a catch 22 situation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevinfor Posted July 19, 2013 Report Share Posted July 19, 2013 Hmm, that's what I thought but it's being a bit of a gay. Shall continue to play and see if I can sort it as this'd be ideal for car diagnostics stuff. Wondering if perhaps the lack of any charge in the battery could make any difference - if it does I'm in a bit of a catch 22 situation! Just make sure it doesnt run out of juice in the middle of the flash, if it does you have to head back to ebay and look for a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted July 19, 2013 Report Share Posted July 19, 2013 If you download the latest bios from the dell website i think they come bundled with a utility and instructions to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted July 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2013 Had tried the latest version but wasn't having any of it - unfortunately I need to original version as apparently it's the only version that allows you to run a third party battery unit. Managed to modify a few files in a later recovery tool and flash to the required A00 version now - still no joy. Bollocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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