Updating Dell Server With No OS

October 3, 2014 in Tech

While trying to set up a Dell T610 I scored on craigslist, I noticed that the firmware and bios were way out of date. I currently have no OS installed so I had search through the Dell support site for ways to update with no OS. Surprisingly this was not easy to find so I decided to document my process here for others to find. I can help just one person my job here is done :).

  1. Switch your BIOS to BIOS boot manager not UEFI
  2. Download Dell SBUU (System Build Update and Update Utility) and burn to CD or make bootable USB
    1. Version I used (http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=78KH7)
  3. Extract Server Update Utility Repository to USB
    1. Version I used (http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=78KH7)
    2. Extracted to USB using UNetbootin
  4. Boot to your SBUU USB/CD
  5. Once the GUI loads, select the configure link next to firmware upgrade
  6. Select the location of the Server Update Repository USB
  7. Select updates you wish to apply
  8. Apply/export updates
  9. Apply configuration to current server

Once these steps are complete you can boot back to the SBUU and make sure the updates were successful. Then if needed go back to the bios and change the BIOS boot settings.