Alienware 18 AA18250 5080

Windows pushed the firmware update and it was successful all the way through except for a Thunderbolt 5 fail then at the end it said BIOS failed. And now it flashes 1 RED 4 BLUE. When I do a full shutdown and turn it on it is solid blue but when I do a restart it goes back to flashing that code.

I turned on my wireless mouse when it was flashing BIOS, not sure if that caused it to fail.

Please, please help me fix this, I saw someone on reddit mention this update and everyone said it was successful and had no issues.

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    parent

  • I had 1 red 4 blue. It required motherboard replacement. Send to Dell.

    parent

    I have a hard time believing that there's actually something wrong with the hardware

    parent root

  • Download the latest BIOS from the support page for your specific Alienware device on the Dell website and install it manually.

    parent

    Even though it's the same version? Chatgpt said If the BIOS is already 1.9.0 and stable on cold boot, reflashing is unlikely to help and is not recommended.

    The flashing only happens if I do a restart, not after a shutdown. Should I just use it without restart and wait til next BIOS update?

    parent root

    Better roll back to previous one.

    parent root

    Looking at manually installing the bios for 1.9.0 it says you cannot go back to older versions.

    I think the flashing is harmless at this point and is just an indicator of the EC expecting a cold boot but seeing a warm state. To get rid of it, when I feel confident in opening the back and disconnecting battery.

    parent root

    If you're going to follow what chatgpt says, why ask here?

    parent root

    So I can verify what to do from more than one source before I do anything harmful

    parent root

    This is what chatgpt says:

    What “BIOS flash failed at the very end” usually means

    If the laptop boots normally after the flash (cold boot works, BIOS can be entered with F2, Windows starts), it usually means:

    The BIOS itself was successfully written

    The “failed” message at the very end is sometimes a false positive from the EC / hybrid state

    This happens frequently on Alienware laptops when fast startup, external monitors, or Optimus GPU are active

    If the laptop does not boot at all or can’t enter BIOS, then the flash truly failed → risk of bricking if you don’t fix it immediately

    I do have fast startup, external monitor, and optimus active

    I wanted to clear the EC by turning off laptop, disconnecting power cord, and holding down power for 30 seconds but when I hold down power it just turns on.

    parent root

  • Always get bios updates directly from Dell.

    parent

    Ya I should have but I don't check regularly. I wanted to disable them from happening but could never figure out how.

    parent root

    My bad I didn’t see that it pushed it. In windows settings when you go to update there is a settings section for windows updates specifically where you can turn off automatic updates. I’m on the road rn so I can’t see exactly but that’s where it is

    parent root

    Ya I have auto updates off

    parent root

    Damn. Wtf made it push the damn firmware? Following incase an answer is found 🤦🏾‍♂️

    parent root

    Idk I've done like 6 bios updates all pushed automatically can't stop it from windows. Until today they all were successful.

    parent root

    > I wanted to disable them from happening

    Turn off "Capsule update" in BIOS. You still can update it manually.

    parent root

    I can't seem to find it, I dont think it appears in my bios for the area51

    parent root

  • I hate when windows updates things it shouldn't. Especially a bios of all things.

    If I remember correctly connecting or disconnecting a device during a bios update can cause issues. I think I remember seeing a warning screen on one of my computers before saying to not do that.

    parent

    Omg if that's true that really breaks my heart...

    Not that chatgpt is always right but it said:

    No — moving or turning on a mouse during a BIOS update does not cause issues. Let me explain why clearly.

    How BIOS updates actually work

    The BIOS flash is handled directly by the firmware/EC on your motherboard. It writes to the BIOS chip itself, independent of Windows or external devices.

    Input devices like USB mice or keyboards are not used for the flash process, except sometimes to press “Enter” or confirm prompts before the flash starts.

    parent root

    This is the answer I got from Google's AI

    Yes, it is extremely bad and risky to connect, disconnect, or interrupt power/devices during a BIOS update, as it can corrupt the firmware, "bricking" your motherboard, making the computer unbootable until the BIOS chip is reprogrammed externally, which is a difficult process.

    Don't plug/unplug devices: Avoid connecting or disconnecting anything, including USB devices or peripherals, as the system is sensitive during this time

    parent root

    Ya I just read that too, omg i can't believe I did that, what do I do now?

    parent root

    I've never had this issue before but if you have a warranty still I would contact DELL. Whatever you do, do not tell them what happened. Act ignorant. People talk themselves out of warranty claims all the time. Just tell them the issue and let them fix it. Don't give them more information than needed.

    parent root

    I'm hoping someone here can help. I feel like everyone that talks to dell is always told they need their motherboard replaced.

    The main bios flashed successfully, I turned on the mouse during the "checks" towards the end. I feel like maybe resetting CMOS might fix it.

    parent root

    Yeah if it flashed successfully then it makes no sense why it would have an issue booting. CMOS reset is worth a shot. Good luck.

    Windows tried updating the BIOS on my computer around when I first got it. Dell had already pulled the update from their website because it was causing issues for people. Yet windows was still trying to push it. Windows should NEVER update BIOS automatically. I forget what I did but I got windows to stop doing it and luckily i never let it go through the flashing process.

    parent root

    This what Google says to do lol

    If your motherboard is bricked after a BIOS update, first try basic resets (CMOS clear, remove peripherals), then check for motherboard-specific recovery features like BIOS Flashback or Dual BIOS, which use a USB drive or a secondary chip to reflash the BIOS automatically. If those fail, advanced methods involve a hardware BIOS programmer (CH341a), but for most users, contacting the manufacturer or seeking professional repair might be the best bet.

    parent root

    Chatgpt is adamant that the mouse couldn't have caused an issue and is just coincidence so idk what to believe. Hopefully someone smart here can give me the truth.

    Thanks for trying to help, I feel like clearing it (which i have yet to figure out) might be my next move. Just waiting to see if any experts can chime in.

    parent root

    Did you try the link I sent about BIOS update 1.9 on dells website

    parent root

    Ya talks about no boot or post both of which I'm getting

    parent root

    Oh okay. Sorry. Hope you get help

    parent root
  • parent

    I would also recommend running the following commands after the bios flash in Elevated Powershell (adm priviledge) in that order (will check for any system file corruption and redownload corrected files if found)

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

    SFC /scannow

    If you can re-flash the bios and run these in success, laptop should run pretty smooth afterwards

    parent root

    I'm not sure if I need to at this point, as another post mentioned it might just be a cosmetic issue. My computer seems to be working fine as I've played 5 hours of games, although it is running hot in arc raiders but I don't think that's because of bios. I will definitely refer back to this later if needed, thank you for your input though!

    parent root

    Well if it works good you can always leave good enough alone, they are great however I just got mine and man having this much power in a laptop is crazy, sure they are heavy but, i don`t plan on carrying it with me very often, only on vacation, weekend gateways etc

    parent root

  • Load previous BIOS from USB

    parent

  • If you can, just reflash with the official Bios. Some bits might be set wrong that will (hopefully) be corrected by a reflash. When flashing do not touch anything. After the flash, enter the bios and reset to defaults. If this doesn’t work then going to Dell is your best bet and just say it started doing this by itself, not suggesting a MS pushed Bios did it. Let Dell figure out how this happened as technically you didn’t do anything wrong, though powering or depowering devices during a flash is not the best thing to do.

    parent

    Ya some dell guy in another post said they were looking into and that it appears to be cosmetic. I've been gaming on it and everything seems fine so I'm okay with living with it for now. Maybe the next bios will fix it

    parent root