Dell BIOS update error 0x00000406

I just purchased a used Dell Latitude E6400 on eBay.

It came without a hard drive, so I put in a brand new hard drive.

The laptop had a valid Windows 7 Home Premium license, so I installed it and validated it using the product key located on the COA.

Then I upgraded from Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 10 Home Premium.

But I wasn't able to update the BIOS from A11 to A34 (latest version) or even A20.

I even ran Compatibility Troubleshooter.

The Windows registry modification suggested elsewhere was not helpful.

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Replies (2)

Don't upgrade the BIOS unless required by a device or the operating system. Is Windows 10 functioning fine otherwise on the system?

Best regards,
Andre Da Costa
Independent Advisor for Directly

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I was able to update the BIOS using a bootable FreeDOS USB flash drive

I got the image file [ FreeDOS-1.1-USB-Boot.img ] from https://derek.chezmarcotte.ca/freedos-1-1-usb-boot-image

I used Rufus to create the bootable USB flash drive.

Copy E6400A34.exe to the bootable USB flash drive.

Boot from the USB flash drive which gives you C:\ prompt

Type E6400A34 at the DOS prompt.

BIOS is updated.

Booted into Window 10.

I am not sure why I was getting this 0x00000406 error.

I had another E6400 that had no problems running the E6400A34.exe in Windows 10.

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Last updated May 1, 2024 Views 5,707 Applies to: