Firmware Updates
    Last Posting: Thursday, May 24, 2001
     

 

DEC 2000 AXP, DECpc AXP 150

Copy Firmware Release Notes

The release notes provide the name(s) of the firmware update utility file(s) you need to run on your Alpha system, and walk you through the firmware update procedure. From the table below, download the release notes:

Adobe Acrobat Postscript Text
dec2000_v22_fw_relnote.pdf dec2000_v22_fw_relnote.ps dec2000_v22_fw_relnote.txt

Choose a Method to Update Firmware

The firmware update methods supported for the DEC 2000 AXP, DECpc AXP 150 are shown in the table below. Click on a method for detailed instructions on updating the firmware using that method.

Update Method Special
Requirements		 Description
Update
Disk A		 FAT-formatted Floppy create a firmware update floppy disk to update firmware from either the ARC or AlpaBIOS console. This disk can be created on any system that can create a FAT floppy (Win NT, Win 95, DOS, etc.)
Bootable
Disk B		 OpenVMS create a bootable FILES11 (VMS file format) floppy disk
Bootable
Disk C		 Tru64 UNIX create a bootable floppy disk.
BOOTP Network access to Tru64 UNIX server to update firmware over a network using BOOTP protocol
MOP Network access to OpenVMS server to update firmware over a network using MOP protocol
System disk OpenVMS update firmware by copying the firmware files to the OpenVMS system disk and then booting the update utility directly from that disk

Important: The default settings on some browsers may cause downloading problems with filenames having the extensions *.sys, *.btp, and *.rom. If you experience difficulties downloading files of those types, please add those extensions to MIME type application/octet-stream.

Update Floppy A - FAT Floppy

  1. Extract the folllowing .zip file to a fat-formatted floppy diskette:
    Zip File
    dec2000_v2_2.zip

  2. ARC Console: Place the floppy in the target system, and from the ARC Console menu, select "Install new firmware".
    AlphaBIOS Console: Place the floppy in the target system, and from the AlphaBIOS menu, select "Update AlphaBIOS".
For more detailed instructions, please refer to the release notes.

Bootable Floppy B - Make a Bootable Floppy (OpenVMS systems)

  1. From the table below, download the appropriate firmware update image:
    Firmware Image
    dec2000_v2_2.exe

  2. Rename the downloaded file to fwupdate.exe.

    Note: If your floppy drive is named something other than dva0, use that name instead of dva0 in the following steps.

    Enter the following commands in the directory containing fwupdate.exe on an OpenVMS system to make a bootable floppy:

    $ set file/attr=(rfm:fix,lrl:512,mrs:512,rat:none) fwupdate.exe
    $ init/dens=HD/index=begin dva0: fwupdate
    $ mount dva0: fwupdate
    $ create/dir dva0:[dec2000]
    $ copy/contiguous fwupdate.exe dva0:[dec2000]
    $ mcr writeboot
    No
    Yes
    [enter AXP bootfile:] dva0:[dec2000]fwupdate.exe
    $ dismount dva0:

  3. Insert the floppy on the target system and boot it from the SRM console:

    P00>>> boot dva0

For more detailed instructions, please refer to the release notes.

Bootable Floppy C - Boot Floppy (Tru64 UNIX systems)

  1. From the table below, download the appropriate firmware update image:
    Firmware Image
    ES40LP_I27.exedec2000_v2_2.exe

    Rename the downloaded file to fwupdate.exe.

  2. Download mkbootfirm which is used to make a bootable floppy diskette.
  3. Format floppy diskette:
    # fddisk -fmt /dev/rfd0a

  4. Make a bootable floppy diskette:
    ./mkbootfirm fwupdate.exe | dd of=/dev/rfd0c bs=64k

    NOTE: This assumes the mkbootfirm executable is in the current directory and that the floppy is in drive zero.

  5. Insert the floppy on the target system and boot it from the SRM console:
    P00>>> boot dva0

For more detailed instructions, please refer to the release notes.

BOOTP - Network Update Using the BOOTP protocol (Tru64 UNIX systems)

  1. From the table below, download the appropriate firmware update image:
    Firmware Image
    dec2000_v2_2.btp dec2000_v2_2.exe

  2. Copy the downloaded file to a UNIX based network server for BOOTP booting on the target system. For details on configuring the BOOTP server, refer to Tru64 UNIX documentation or the target system's Firmware Release Notes document.

MOP - Network Update Using the MOP protocol (OpenVMS systems)

  1. From the table below, download the appropriate firmware update image:
    Firmware Image
    dec2000_v2_2.sys

  2. Copy the downloaded file to an OpenVMS based network server for MOP booting on the target system. For details on configuring the MOP server, refer to OpenVMS documentation or the target system's Firmware Release Notes document.

  3. To ensure that the downloaded file is in a proper VMS fixed record format, please use the following command before using the file for MOP booting:

    $ set file/attr=(rfm:fix,lrl:512,mrs:512,rat:none) "fwupdate.sys"

    NOTE: Replace "fwupdate.sys" with the name of the firmware image you downloaded.

System Disk - Boot the Update Utility from an OpenVMS System Disk

  1. From the table below, download the appropriate firmware update image:
    Firmware Image
    dec2000_v2_2.exe

    Rename the downloaded file to fwupdate.exe.

  2. Enter the following commands on the target OpenVMS system:

    $ set file/attr=(rfm:fix,lrl:512,mrs:512,rat:none) fwupdate.exe
    $ copy/contiguous fwupdate.exe "system_disk":[sys0.sysexe]

    NOTE: Insert the name of your system disk in place of "system_disk", for example dka100:.

  3. Shut down the operating system, to get to the console prompt.

  4. Boot the update utility from the console as follows:

    P00>>> boot dka100 -flags 0,80

    NOTE: Replace dka100 with the "system_disk" from previous step.

  5. After some printouts, you will be asked for the bootfile. Enter the directory and file name as follows :

    Bootfile: [sys0.sysexe]fwupdate.exe

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