Laptops are great when you need them, but anyone who says they're "just as good as a desktop," IMO just isn't a real user. I've not found one with a decent keyboard, the drives are only about 1/4 as fast (which is compensated somewhat by the unavailability of larger drives) and any maintenance or upgrade invariably runs into "proprietary parts" limitations.

Not too long ago, nearly every laptop used a different "special" chip package for RAM, so if you waited a year or two to get all the RAM you needed, or if a chip failed, you simply couldn't get the chips to repair or increase RAM. They'd stop making one "special" as soon as a new model with a different package hit the stores. There seems to be more standardization of memory chips for laptops now, so that problem may not be quite as bad for more recent models. Batteries and swappable hard drives and CD/DVD drives are often "model specific" and may be discontinued just before you need a new one. Docking stations can be handy, but ones with "model specific features" often seem to disappear from the market while the new model laptop that requires it is still being offered for sale.

Stilly -

It's not really too uncommon to see multi-strip failures in RAM, especially if the failure is from "external causes." A line transient that zaps one memory strip is likely to get several, and any defect in any RAM chip usually completely disables the machine. While lightning bolts and falling line poles are the usual causes, a failure in an internal component in the computer can sometimes do it. Adjacent hot parts and old age can sometimes seem to be the cause.

It's actually unlikely that Dell would download a BIOS update as part of their automatic updates. A BIOS update requires "absolute privacy" and 100% control of the machine for safe installation, and an "automatic" installation couldn't be assured that someone wouldn't click the mouse at the wrong time. It's likely that you'll have to do a manual download of that update and manually install it, although I can't say that's a provable and immutable fact.

Most BIOS updates are to fix some problem that a few people run into, often with hardware devices or software programs that only a few people have. They're "critical" only to those who have run into the problem, so it's rare to see a "general distribution."

John