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HP Workstation System Firmware
(BIOS) Update
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This SoftPaq
contains utilities and data files that can be used to restore or upgrade
("flash") the system firmware (BIOS) on supported HP Workstations.
Several methods for flashing the BIOS on your workstation are available. This
document describes the various ways to perform the update.
- Updating from Linux.
- Updating from the Startup Menu (Esc) or Computer Setup
(F10).
- Updating from a DOS-bootable USB storage device.
- Using remote network boot (PXE).
- Recovering from a failed update (corrupted image).
- Folder and flash methods general descriptions.
- View supported models and revision history.
General Descriptions
Utilities and appropriate
BIOS images are contained in each of the folders as follows:
lxbios
Flash - a Linux utility that can be used locally to update the system BIOS.
DOS
Flash - a DOS utility that can be used locally or with a Preboot eXecution Environment
(PXE) management application to update or restore the system BIOS.
Fail-safe
BootBlock Recovery Mode.
This Softpaq
can also be used with the following methods of updating the system BIOS:
NOTE: The Workstation BIOS
Utilities SoftPaq is available on the web and
contains additional utilities to support HP Workstations, including tools to
replicate NVRAM settings across workstations. This SoftPaq
will be shown when searching for software support of products in the category ROMPaqs/BIOS and Firmware.
Linux BIOS Flashing
lxbios is a Linux utiity
which is designed to flash the System BIOS. Please see the lxbios_readme.pdf for instructions
available for this utility, lxbios_readme.pdf, the pdf is located in
the LXBIOS folder.
→
View Contents of LXBIOS Folder
Startup Menu/Computer Setup BIOS Flashing
The HP Workstation supported
by this Softpaq provides a BIOS upgrade option
through Computer setup (F10) using the “Flash System ROM” feature. Reboot the
workstation and press the Escape key to display the Startup Menu. Use the arrow
keys to select Utilities, and then select the Flash System ROM option.
Alternatively, reboot the workstation and press F10 to enter Computer
Setup. In the File menu, select the “Flash System ROM” item. Either
method requires that a removable storage device be present (typically a USB
flash storage device) containing the BIOS binary image file in the root folder.
The binary image file can be found in the DOS Flash folder
of this SoftPaq and is named XXX_MMmm.bin where
"XXX" is the abbreviated BIOS family (e.g. "J51"),
"MM" is the major version number, and "mm" is the minor
version number. If a BIOS Setup password has been set, the password will be
required before being able to access the "Flash System ROM" menu. The
user is notified when the process is completed. The new BIOS code will not take
effect until the workstation is restarted.
USB Device BIOS Flashing in DOS
DOS Flash (DOSFlash.exe, FlshUefi.cpu)
is the DOS-compatible system BIOS flash utility that can be used from DOS
bootable flash media device (where "DOS" refers to any of a number of
compatible operating systems such as FreeDOS, MS-DOS
or DR-DOS). FlshUefi.cpu is the required driver for DosFlash.exe. To flash the
System BIOS from a bootable USB storage device, you will need to copy the
contents of the DOS_Flash folder to the USB device,
boot the workstation from the USB device, and execute the DOSFlash
application. To see a more complete description of the DOS flash utilities,
view DOSFlash.txt
located in the DOS_Flash folder. This folder also
contains the required binary image of the BIOS. The binary image file is
named xxx_MMmm.bin where "xxx" is the BIOS family,
"MM" is the major version number, and "mm" is the minor
version number. This file can be copied to the root directory of any USB
removable drive for use with the Computer setup (F10) "Flash System
ROM" option or BootBlock Emergency
Recovery Mode.
Network BIOS Flashing
The DOS Flash utility has been designed to support System
BIOS flashing via a remote network boot using PXE. DOS Flash uses a small
memory footprint that is compatible with the limited DOS memory available and
the DOS extended environment that may exist while running Altiris eXpress. To see a more complete description on the network
BIOS flashing utilities, view the DOSFlash.txt located in the DOS Flash folder.
→
View Contents of DOS Flash Folder
Fail-safe BootBlock Recovery Mode
HP Workstations include 64 KB
of write-protected boot block ROM that provides a way to recover from a failed
update of the system BIOS ROM, for instance in the event of a power loss.
Fail-safe BootBlock Recovery Mode will detect that
the BIOS is unusable and boot the workstation in a recovery mode and search the
root folder of any FAT/FAT32 filesystem on any USB
media source (hard drive, flash drive, etc.) for a compatible binary image. The
binary (.bin) file in the DOS Flash folder should be
copied to the root of the desired storage device, and the system powered on. Once
the binary image is located, the BIOS recovery process will be attempted. The
automatic recovery will continue until the BIOS is successfully updated or
restored.