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HP Dc7700 BIOS Flash Q&A - Page 20

How can a processor microcode update be executed in Windows?

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How can a processor microcode update be executed in Windows? With the latest version of HPQFlash to support the 2007 HP Business PC products (e.g. dc7800), processor microcode patches can be updated in a Windows environment. As detailed in the previous section, the microcode softpaq specific to the general BIOS family can be downloaded containing the image file uXX_MMmm.bin. This image file must be copied to the same directory as the HPQFlash.exe utility. Once that process has been completed, the microcode update can be executed by running the command HPQFlash -u uXX_MMmm.bin from the directory containing the utility and microcode image file. To log the operation output, the command can be extended to HPQFlash -u uXX_MMmm.bin -l where is replaced with the file name target. What does the BIOS binary image naming convention indicate? Binary image format is XXX_MMmm.bin. The XXX portion indicates the BIOS family. The MM is the major version number. The mm is the minor version number. The BIOS family is a collection of BIOS products all originating from the same basic code source. For example, 7DX would indicate a BIOS image from the 786D BIOS family. Minor version numbers are incremented to indicate minimal changes to the BIOS source code typically involving minor problem fixes. Major version number changes indicate a greater degree of change to the BIOS source code such as new feature additions, additional hardware support, or significant POST modifications. Can the BIOS POST splash screen be modified? The Image Flash (Flashi.exe) utility can be used to replace the POST splash image stored in the BIOS part or save the current image. This DOS utility is typically provided for re-sellers who may want to be able to put their own logo in place of the standard Hewlett-Packard image. Error checking is done to insure that an image that does not meet the requirements above cannot be flashed into the ROM part. The utility allows browsing through directories on the current disk. The images found can be viewed and a background color and a foreground color can be chosen from the colors in the image's palette. The utility also has a command line option to quickly flash a new image. The image stored in the BIOS will be compressed with RLE4. If the image being flashed is already in RLE4, the image flashed will be identical to the original except the second byte in the Bitmap Header will be a checksum. If an uncompressed bitmap is flashed, the Image Flash Utility will encode it using RLE4 and save it. Therefore, when using the save (/s) feature to get the current image, the newly saved image will be in RLE4 format, regardless of the format of the original image. Usage to Flash Image: Normal: Flashi.exe Command Line Mode: Flashi.exe [Image_File] [Foreground_Color] [Background_Color] The normal execution method will provide the user with additional interaction so that the image can be selected from various files and a preview can be seen before the image is committed to the BIOS. There is only a command line mode to save the current image. You cannot save the current image under an existing file name. Usage to Save Current Splash Image (command line only): Command Line Mode: Flashi.exe /s name 20

Section	Page
BIOS Flash Q&A	1
Introduction	2
What are the files and directories in a BIOS softpaq?	2
In what operating systems can I update the PC BIOS?	4
Will I lose my setup configurations when updating the BIOS?	4
How do I update my PC BIOS in Vista, Windows XP, or 2000?	5
How do I update the BIOS in a DOS environment?	5
How do I update the BIOS when not running Vista, Windows XP, 2000, or DOS?	6
What are the steps necessary to execute the HPQFlash utility?	10
What are the steps necessary to execute the HPQPswd utility?	13
What are the steps necessary to create a bootable floppy for BIOS update?	14
1. Insert a blank, floppy diskette into the PC.	14
2. From Windows Explorer, right-click the 3 1/2 Floppy (A:) drive and choose Format. The Format 3 1/2 Floppy (A:) window appears.	14
3. In the Format Options section, select Create an MS-DOS startup disk. To format the disk, choose Start.	14
What are the steps necessary to create a bootable CD for BIOS update?	14
What steps are necessary to create the BIOS image CD for F10 ROM flash and recovery?	15
1. Obtain a blank CD and place it in the CD-R/RW drive.	15
2. Execute BIOS.iso. This will launch the CD burning software.	15
3. To make the BIOS binary image CD, follow instructions provided by the application.	15
4. Place the newly created BIOS binary image CD in the CD drive of the computer to be updated or restored and cycle system power.	15
5. Follow the procedures detailed in the “How do I update the BIOS when not running Vista, Windows XP, 2000, or DOS?” on page 6.	15
What are the steps necessary to create a bootable USB flash media for BIOS update?	15
1. 6860x	15
2. 786Ax	15
3. 786Bx	15
4. 786Cx	15
5. 786Dx	15
6. 786Ex	15
7. 786Fx	15
1. Press F10 at boot time to go into Setup.	15
2. Select File > System Information to verify the correct system BIOS.	15
1. Turn off power to the computer.	16
2. Insert the USB flash media device into any of the computer’s USB ports.	16
3. Insert a Startup diskette or DOS Bootable diskette into the floppy drive.	16
4. Turn on power to the computer to boot from the Startup diskette.	16
5. Run Fdisk from the “A:\\” prompt by typing Fdisk and pressing Enter.	16
6. If prompted, select Yes (Y) to enable Large Disk support and answer Yes to any other questions that appear on the screen.	16
7. Select option number 5 to show multiple drives in the system. Write down the partition drive letter that has been assigned to the USB flash media device. The drive letter is required to complete step 9. The drive letter should also display...	16
8. Exit out of the Fdisk program by pressing the Esc key several times until you are back to the “A:\\” prompt.	16
9. At the “A:\\” prompt, type Sys X: where X: represents the drive letter for the USB flash media device noted in Step 7 above. Reconfirm that you have entered the correct drive letter for the USB flash media device. If confirmed, press Enter....	16
10. Remove the diskette and reboot the system. Do not remove the USB flash media device from the port it was originally inserted.	16
11. The system will boot the USB flash media device as drive “C:”.	16
12. Any of the supported systems can now be booted from this USB flash media device.	16
What are the steps necessary to use Altiris for BIOS update?	16
1. Copy Flashbin.exe, Adminpw.exe, and BIOS image to the server.	16
2. Create Flash.bat.	16
3. Create the Altiris ROM Flash Event.	17
4. Connect the Client PC to the Altiris Console.	17
1. Create a ROMFlash folder in the Altiris eXpress folder.	17
2. Copy the following files to the ROMFlash folder:	17
1. Open a command prompt.	17
2. Click Start > Run, and then type cmd.	17
3. Type cd\\express.	17
4. Type cd ROMFlash.	17
5. Type edit flash.bat.	17
6. Type the following, where [Altiris Sever Name] is the name of the server	17
7. Save the file.	17
8. Exit the command prompt.	17
1. Select File > New > Event to create a new event in the Events frame (bottom, left section).	17
2. Type the name of the event: ROM Flash.	17
3. Double click the new event to display an Event Properties form.	17
4. Click Add.	17
5. Select Run Script to display a new form	17
6. Select Run the script from file.	17
7. Click the folder button, which is the button to the right of Run the script from file button and has image of a folder on it.	17
8. Select the file “flash.bat” created in the previous section.	17
9. Click Open.	17
10. Select DOS (from BootWorks).	17
11. Click OK.	17
12. The Events Properties Form should show:	18
13. Click OK.	18
1. Connect the client PC to the LAN with the Altiris Server.	18
2. On the client: Access the Altiris eXpress folder on the server.	18
3. Run Aclient.exe as follows:	18
4. When Aclient is properly installed and the system is connected to the Altiris Console, the Altiris icon in the Windows Taskbar (next to the clock) turns blue.	18
5. On the server:	18
What if the PC does not complete the BIOS flash process?	18
What is a processor microcode update softpaq and how is it used?	19
How can a processor microcode update be executed in Windows?	20
What does the BIOS binary image naming convention indicate?	20
Can the BIOS POST splash screen be modified?	20
How do I update the ME firmware in Vista, Windows XP, or Windows 2000?	21
How do I update the ME firmware in a DOS environment?	21
What are the steps necessary to use Altiris for ME firmware update?	22
1. Copy FWUpdLcl.exe and ME firmware update image to the server.	22
2. Create MEflash.bat.	22
3. Create the Altiris ME Flash Event.	22
4. Connect the Client PC to the Altiris Console.	22
1. Create a MEFlash folder in the Altiris eXpress folder.	22
2. Copy the following files to the MEFlash folder:	22
1. Open a command box.	22
2. Click Start > Run, and then type cmd.	22
3. Type cd\\express.	22
4. Type cd MEFlash.	22
5. Type edit meflash.bat.	22
6. Type in the following, where [Altiris Sever Name] is the name of the server:	22
7. Save the file.	22
8. Exit the command prompt.	22
1. Select File > New > Event to create a new event in the Events frame (bottom, left section).	22
2. Type in the name of the Event: ME Flash.	22
3. Double-click the new event to display an Event Properties form.	22
4. Click Add.	22
5. Select Run Script to display a new form	22
6. Select Run the script from file.	22
7. Click the folder button, which is the button to the right of Run the script from file button and has image of a folder on it.	23
8. Select the file “meflash.bat” created in the previous section.	23
9. Click Open.	23
10. Select DOS (from BootWorks).	23
11. Click OK.	23
12. The Events Properties Form should show:	23
13. Click OK.	23
1. Connect the client PC to the LAN with the Altiris Server.	23
2. On the client: Access the Altiris eXpress folder on the server.	23
3. Run Aclient.exe, as follows:	23
4. When Aclient is properly installed and the system is connected to the Altiris Console, the Altiris icon in the Windows Taskbar (next to the clock) turns blue.	23
5. On the server:	23
What if the ME firmware does not complete the update process?	23
Can the ME firmware be restored to a previous version after updating?	23
Summary	24
Appendix A - Modifying a DOS boot diskette for Flashbin.exe	24

Match case Limit results 1 per page

How can a processor microcode update be executed in Windows?

With the latest version of HPQFlash to support the 2007 HP Business PC products (e.g. dc7800), proces-

sor microcode patches can be updated in a Windows environment. As detailed in the previous section,

the microcode softpaq specific to the general BIOS family can be downloaded containing the image file

uXX_MMmm.bin. This image file must be copied to the same directory as the HPQFlash.exe utility. Once

that process has been completed, the microcode update can be executed by running the command

HPQ-

Flash -u uXX_MMmm.bin

from the directory containing the utility and microcode image file. To log

the operation output, the command can be extended to

HPQFlash -u uXX_MMmm.bin -l

<log-

file>

where

is replaced with the file name target.

What does the BIOS binary image naming convention indicate?

Binary image format is XXX_MMmm.bin. The XXX portion indicates the BIOS family. The MM is the major

version number. The mm is the minor version number. The BIOS family is a collection of BIOS products all

originating from the same basic code source. For example, 7DX would indicate a BIOS image from the

786D BIOS family. Minor version numbers are incremented to indicate minimal changes to the BIOS

source code typically involving minor problem fixes. Major version number changes indicate a greater

degree of change to the BIOS source code such as new feature additions, additional hardware support,

or significant POST modifications.

Can the BIOS POST splash screen be modified?

The Image Flash (Flashi.exe) utility can be used to replace the POST splash image stored in the BIOS part

or save the current image. This DOS utility is typically provided for re-sellers who may want to be able to

put their own logo in place of the standard Hewlett-Packard image. Error checking is done to insure that

an image that does not meet the requirements above cannot be flashed into the ROM part. The utility

allows browsing through directories on the current disk. The images found can be viewed and a back-

ground color and a foreground color can be chosen from the colors in the image's palette. The utility also

has a command line option to quickly flash a new image.

The image stored in the BIOS will be compressed with RLE4. If the image being flashed is already in

RLE4, the image flashed will be identical to the original except the second byte in the Bitmap Header will

be a checksum. If an uncompressed bitmap is flashed, the Image Flash Utility will encode it using RLE4

and save it. Therefore, when using the save (

) feature to get the current image, the newly saved image

will be in RLE4 format, regardless of the format of the original image.

Usage to Flash Image:

Normal:

Flashi.exe

Command Line Mode:

Flashi.exe [Image_File] [Foreground_Color] [Background_Color]

The normal execution method will provide the user with additional interaction so that the image can be

selected from various files and a preview can be seen before the image is committed to the BIOS.

There is only a command line mode to save the current image. You cannot save the current image under

an existing file name.

Usage to Save Current Splash Image (command line only):

Command Line Mode:

Flashi.exe /s name