The one where you just give up.

[Dos_Box]

Some context first. I'm just getting the presenters laptop ready for the conf. It's a 2015 Dell XPS 13 9350, but there are often updated drivers around still for the Intel parts, and it only comes out to play for conferences these days as it only has 8GB RAM and an 2c\4t i7 in there. It did need a bit of TLC, and I cleaned out the fan and re-pasted the cpu, which actually made it very happy indeed!
After this I did a quick search to see if a new BIOS had been released (slim chance as the last one was circa 2021) and lo and behold, there was one listed for this year. Given Microsoft's secure boot certificates requirements, I didn't think this was too out of the ordinary and it could just be an 'emergency' release to let it comply.

So I asked AI to provide me with a link to it as I couldn't find it on the site, and it did indeed give me one for the new 9350 BIOS:

 

 

Happy happy joy joy I thought, only to be rewarded with this when I tried to install it:

 

 

It was at this point I went to bed.

 

[pete]

I'm going to gloss over the "I'm sure Dave can sort you with a tax-deductable and younger-than-11-years-old refurb for a reasonable price" element of this post.....

 

But if you've missed a few BIOS versions, what happens if you try an older update first?

[Dos_Box]

I have a much newer laptop for my work daily driver (Dell Vostro, because it has all the connectivity), and we use the XPS at confs to put on the lectern and run PowerPoints off. It's about the only usage it gets these days, hence the once a year fettling.
The current BIOS is from 2020 and can be found here - https://www.dell.com/support/product-details/en-gb/product/xps-13-9350-laptop/drivers

 

However, there is another site here (still the UK) - https://www.dell.com/support/product-details/en-gb/product/xps-13-9350-intel-laptop/drivers which has the new BIOS listed.

Looking at the driver dates on there, it could well be that Dell have reused the same model number for the new version of this. Which is a bit silly, and a little weird!

[MrEprise]

They've been reusing model numbers for a while. The OptiPlex 7010 could be the one released mid 2012 or the one released in April 2023. Who knows, it's a gamble.

[ICTDirect_Joe]

53 minutes ago, MrEprise said:

They've been reusing model numbers for a while. The OptiPlex 7010 could be the one released mid 2012 or the one released in April 2023. Who knows, it's a gamble.

Case and point:

https://www.laptopmag.com/laptops/windows-laptops/dell-xps-13-9350

Yep, a lovely new version. Personally, I'm waiting for the release of the upcoming Dell XPS 13 9350 expected in 2035