Updating M4700 BIOS


I have a Dell Precision M4700 laptop that I wanted to get up to the latest Firmware/BIOS version. Trying the 'easy' route (Dell System Update Control panel item) didn't result in success. My external monitor was black and I couldn't see anything even when I opened the laptop lid.

To get around this problem I had to restart the whole process again, this time with the Laptop lid open. With the lid open I could see the BIOS update progress bar, it moved to 100% and completed successfully this time.

So just a note: Open your laptop's lid before updating firmware! :)