Upgrading the BIOS on an ichp Why do I need to upgrade? The new quad core i7 SBC fitted into the ichp currently has 2 BIOS version options, V1.06 or V1.07, and some early units have been shipped from our suppliers with the wrong version (V1.06) installed. What are the symptoms of having the incorrect BIOS version? The ichp will not recognise all of the PCI slots if V1.06 is fitted. For example, in the 4U unit, the 4 PCI slots to the left of the processor card when viewed from the rear will not be seen, and any cards fitted to these positions will not work. Where do I check the BIOS version? Switch on the unit and go into the BIOS by pressing the DEL key. On the main page the 7 th line down will show the information as follows:- Project Name SHB106V1.0x If x=6, then the BIOS should be upgraded. If x=7, then the BIOS is OK What is the procedure for upgrading the BIOS? The BIOS can only be upgraded using a DOS utility so the steps taken, in short, are listed below, but for detailed information see further down the document:- 1. Change the BIOS to disable hyper-threading 2. Change the BIOS to enable a single core only 1
3. Change the BIOS to boot from USB (if this method is being used) 4. Change the BIOS SATA configuration on the ADVANCED tab to be IDE instead of AHCI 5. Either a. Create bootable CD from iso image provided on ftp server OR b. Create bootable UBS from files provided on ftp server 6. Boot from either a. or b. Above 7. Type prog107 at the C:/ prompt The screen will display various messages during this process, and after PDR region does not exit is seen it will erase the current version... Erasing flash block 0-100%...then reprogram displaying the following Programming flash 0-100%...ending with FPT Operation Passed 8. Switch off power completely. (this step appears to be required to complete the upgrade) 9. Reboot, entering the BIOS to re-enable hyper-threading and all 4 cores, and put the SATA configuration on the ADVANCED page back to AHCI For step by step instructions on how to create the bootable USB or CD and re-program the BIOS refer to the relevant section below entitled Upgrade the BIOS using a bootable USB drive or Upgrade the Upgrade the BIOS using a bootable CD 2
Upgrade the BIOS using a bootable USB drive. 1. Create a bootable USB drive 1.1 Download to your laptop the following 3 files from the location below on the ftp server: 64.106.177.248, port 2021 (ftp://64.106.177.248:2021/) /Third_Party_Software/Axiomtek hpflash1.zip win98boot.zip i7_bios_v107.zip 1.2 Unpack the file hpflash1.zip 1.3 Create a temporary directory and unpack the contents of win98boot.zip to it 1.4 Double-click on the hpflash1.exe file to install the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool V2.0.6 1.5 Ensure your USB stick is plugged into one of the USB ports on your laptop. Note: the HP USB Disk tool will format your stick, so if there is anything on it that you need to keep then move all contents over to your laptop temporarily. 1.5 Select your USB device from the drop down 1.7 Check Quick Format 1.8 Check Create a DOS startup disk 1.9 Check using DOS system files located at 1.10 Use the browser button to select the directory in which the win98 files have been placed. 1.10 Click Start. 1.12 Make sure you have selected the correct device and click yes to the warning message. 3
1.13 A confirmation window will appear at the end of the process showing statistics for the drive. Click OK and then close the application. 1.14 You now have a DOS bootable USB drive, but there is nothing to be seen in it if you use Windows Explorer unless you have the option to see hidden system files enabled. 1.15 Using Windows Explorer, create a directory on the USB drive e.g Axiomtek, and copy the contents of the i7_bios_v107.zip file to it. 1.16 If you moved any files/directories off the USB drive to protect them while you made it bootable, you can now restore them if you want to. 2. Re-program BIOS from USB 2.1 With the ichp switched OFF, plug in the bootable USB drive to one of the USB sockets 2.2 Switch the unit ON, and press the DEL key to enter the BIOS 2.3 Use the right arrow key to tab across to the BOOT page 2.4 Move to the bottom of the page to highlight Hard Drive BBS Priorities and press ENTER 2.5 With Boot Option #1 highlighted press enter. 2.6 Use the up/down arrow keys to highlight your USB drive and the press ENTER to give it the top priority when booting. 2.7 Press ESC to go to the top level and move to the ADVANCED page. 2.8 Move down to the CPU Configuration and press ENTER. 2.9 Ensure that Hyper-threading is disabled and Active Processor Cores is set to 1. (This is a precaution to ensure nothing untoward happens whilst upgrading the BIOS) 2.10 2.10 Press ESC to go to the top level again and move to the Save & Exit page. 2.11 Highlight Save Changes and Exit, press ENTER, then again to confirm. 2.12 The ichp will now boot and display the C:\> prompt. 4
2.13 cd to the Axiomtek directory created earlier, and type prog107 to run the BIOS upgrade batch file. 2.14 1 or 2 pages of text will appear on the screen, and after PDR region does not exit is seen it will erase the current version... Erasing flash block 0-100%...then reprogram displaying the following Programming flash 0-100%...ending with FPT Operation Passed 2.15 Switch OFF and remove the USB drive 2.16 Switch ON and re-enter the BIOS. Check that the main page now shows Project Name SHB106V1.07 2.17 Go to the ADVANCED page and re-enable Hyper-threading and set Active Processor Cores to ALL. 2.18 Save changes and exit. 5
Upgrade the BIOS using a bootable CD 1. Create a bootable CD 1.1 Download to your laptop the following file from the location below on the ftp server: 64.106.177.248, port 2021 (ftp://64.106.177.248:2021/) /Third_Party_Software/Axiomtek DOS6.22_axiomtek.iso 1.2 Burn the ISO to a CD. ( If you do not have a utility to do this there is a copy of Active@ ISO Burner in the above location on the ftp server. Download the file IsoBurner-Setup.exe and install on your machine.) 2. Re-program BIOS from CD 2.1 Insert the CD into the ichp 2.2 Switch the unit ON, and press the DEL key to enter the BIOS 2.3 Use the right arrow key to tab across to the ADVANCED page 2.4 Move down to the CPU Configuration and press ENTER. 2.5 Ensure that Hyper-threading is disabled and Active Processor Cores is set to 1. (This is a precaution to ensure nothing untoward happens whilst upgrading the BIOS) 2.6 Press ESC to go to the top level again and move to the Save & Exit page. 2.7 Highlight Save Changes and Exit, press ENTER, then again to confirm. 2.8 The ichp will now boot to DOS and display the A:\> prompt. 2.9 Switch to the CD drive by typing R: followed by ENTER 2.10 cd to the Axiomtek directory created earlier, and type prog107 to run the BIOS upgrade batch file. 6
2.11 After a delay of several seconds 1 or 2 pages of text will appear on the screen, including an error message saying Error log is not created because tool is likely running on a read only media After PDR region does not exit is seen it will erase the current version... Erasing flash block 0-100%...then reprogram displaying the following Programming flash 0-100%...ending with FPT Operation Passed The same error message will be repeated at the end of the process 2.12 Remove the CD from the drive and switch OFF 2.16 Switch ON and re-enter the BIOS. Check that the main page now shows Project Name SHB106V1.07 2.17 Go to the ADVANCED page and re-enable Hyper-threading and set Active Processor Cores to ALL. 2.18 Save changes and exit. 7