bios upgrade?

[zirath_m.x]

e've got a phoenix bios in a dell dimension computer. We have the most
recent update for the bios from dell, however, a program called "bios agent
plus" (biosagentplus.com) claims to offer a further update - at a cost of
about $30.

A computer techie was saying that this isn't possible.

Would be interested in comments on this.

Thanks.

 

[GlowingBlueMist]

e've got a phoenix bios in a dell dimension computer. We have the most
recent update for the bios from dell, however, a program called "bios
agent
plus" (biosagentplus.com) claims to offer a further update - at a cost of
about $30.

A computer techie was saying that this isn't possible.

Would be interested in comments on this.

Thanks.

Not having had any business with this company I can not say one way or
another if the software they sell is worth anything to you.

With that said, some of the more disreputable companies have been known to
modify the bios to display their logo for advertisement purposes and then
claim they now have a "new" version for you to download, for a price of
course. Others have been known to install a back door into the BIOS for
future exploits.

I tend to ignore all but the official web site(s) for any and all bios
updates since they tend to work just fine for my needs.

About the only exception to that might be some of the open source software
for routers talked about at
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php?title=DD-WRT_Docu_(EN) among other
places.

 

[Flasherly]

e've got a phoenix bios in a dell dimension computer. We have the most
recent update for the bios from dell, however, a program called "bios agent
plus" (biosagentplus.com) claims to offer a further update - at a cost of
about $30.

A computer techie was saying that this isn't possible.

Would be interested in comments on this.

Thanks.

The BIOS last place you want to play games with some talk-trash
website. Unless you know who they are and what you're doing, realize
your odds against practices -- people generally buy a machine for
reputability -- which means, going back to the source manufacturer for
*their* degree of product firmware support. And though I've never
bought Dell, they appear to be well regarded computer source for
people who *do* want continued support without undue technical
imposition and added costs. You can try the flash, but I don't
believe Dell's technicians will be especially sympathetic should you
unwittingly trash your Dimension.

 

[Paul]

e've got a phoenix bios in a dell dimension computer. We have the most
recent update for the bios from dell, however, a program called "bios agent
plus" (biosagentplus.com) claims to offer a further update - at a cost of
about $30.

A computer techie was saying that this isn't possible.

Would be interested in comments on this.

Thanks.

Biosagentplus site links to esupport.com

http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/biosagentplus.com

esupport links to Phoenix, for whatever that is worth.

http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/esupport.com

Phoenix links to esupport, so at least they know about them.

http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/phoenix.com

Phoenix seems to have an "arms length" relationship to esupport.
In other words, if esupport stiffs you, Phoenix doesn't want to
hear about it.

http://www.phoenix.com/en/OEM-ODM/Customer+Services/BIOS/AwardBIOS/Award+BIOS+Vendors.htm

On this page, Phoenix seems to be more closely related to BiosAgentPlus.
So you could be dealing with Phoenix (who bought Award a while back).

http://www.phoenix.com/en/Privacy+Policy/BiosAgentPlus/default.htm
http://www.phoenix.com/en/Business/default.htm

Of course, there is absolutely no reason to do this, as
the manufacturer of your computer is responsible for the
BIOS, and provides free upgrades when serious bugs
are identified. Imagine the level of support you'd
get for a BIOS that "falls off the back of a truck"
Imagine if your computer is bricked by the upgrade.
Etc. Etc.

Paul