Desktop Board BIOS Flash Initiated Within Windows – Caveat

When flashing a desktop board with TXT (Trusted Execution Technology) enabled in the BIOS an update to the BIOS initiated within Windows will fail.

Prior to initiating the BIOS update reboot and disable TXT then run the update.

Once the update has completed and the system has finished its post update boot shut the system down. Pull the power and let it sit for a minute.

Power the system up and F2 or DEL into the BIOS. Verify that the update did not change any of the settings and enable TXT.

We enable TXT before installing the operating system by default. We also make sure the drive mode is set to AHCI.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

Intel Desktop Board 7 Series BIOS Update Caveats – Important

We’ve been building a lot of our corporate desktop systems based on the Intel DQ77KB and the Core i5-3470S with either an 80GB or 120GB Intel 320 Series SSD installed.

We normally finish of a system install with the most recent BIOS update and then a run through the settings post update boot.

This last board stopped dead during the reboot to BIOS update process.

A call into Intel and we discovered why (from their support technician’s e-mail we requested):

In this particular case, for the 7 Series Chipset based motherboards like the Intel® Desktop Board DQ77KB it is extremely necessary to have the BIOS 0044 before applying the latest version. This is because BIOS 0044 contains the update version 8.1.2.1318 for the Intel® Management Engine which corrects possible problems with USB3.0 front panel headers.

All of the Intel® 7 Series Chipset Based motherboards require this Intel® Management Engine firmware update so here is a list of the required BIOS version to accomplish this fix based on the motherboard number:

Motherboard model BIOS with the Management Engine firmware update

DP75EN 0039

DH77DF / DH77KC 0102

DH77EB 0096

DQ77KB 0044

DQ77CP / DQ77MK 0052

DZ75ML-45K 0010

DZ77BH-55K 0093

DZ77GA-70K / DZ77RE-75K 0057

DZ77SL-50K 0089

You can continue updating the BIOS version once you have reached the one having the Management Engine firmware update

As we can see, we need to step our BIOS updates.

UPDATE: Put “77” in the original title. Corrected to “7 Series”.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

Intel DQ45EK BIOS Update Available

A while back we posted about a hiccup with the Intel Desktop Board DQ45EK where we could not get an OS installed (previous post) with 4GB of RAM (2x 2GB) installed.

After a _lot_ of troubleshooting, it turned out to be the BIOS. We backed the BIOS off and were greeted with an OS load and the type of system response times we would expect from that configuration.

Intel has released a new version of the BIOS, version 0115. The problematic version was 0111 with the downgraded version we used being 0109.

• Intel DownloadFinder: DQ45EK

We will begin testing the setup to see if the new BIOS indeed resolves the problem.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Intel Desktop Board DQ45EK – BIOS Recovery No OS Load On BIOS 111

We have a new Mini-ITX Intel Desktop Board DQ45EK based desktop that needs to go out to a client site this week.

For some odd reason the Windows 7 Enterprise x64 OS will not load properly while the two 2GB Kingston RAM sticks are installed for a total of 4GB.

So, we changed out the RAM one at a time and then both sticks. Sill no joy. The system seemingly ran slower than a 386 running Windows 95!

We changed out the desktop board and still had the same behaviour. Today, we picked up some Crucial RAM to replace the Kingston RAM to see if perhaps that there was a new unknown problem with the Kingston products. Again, no joy.

Now, we have _a lot_ of systems out there with this configuration, so this is very puzzling indeed.

The only other possibility that could be causing the problem is the BIOS update we did to production 111.

So, we went to back the BIOS off to production 109 and the update choked.

To recover a desktop BIOS, we needed to follow the instructions on Intel’s Web site:

• Intel Support: Desktop Boards: Instructions for Recovery BIOS update.

We used the production 109 BIOS version as the basis for recovery.

1. Unplug the system.
2. Pull the recovery jumper off by the CPU.
• Note the original position of the jumper.
3. Copy the needed CB0xxx.BIO onto a USB flash drive.
• The file needs to be in the root of the drive.
4. Plug the system in and power it up.
5. BIOS recovery will run.
6. Once complete, power down and pull the plug.
7. Replace the jumper onto pins 1-2.
8. Plug in and power up the system.
• Make sure to verify the BIOS settings for things like RAID or AHCI and others before booting the system.

Once the recovery finished, we jumped into the BIOS to set up the needed settings and Windows 7 booted as expected.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Updating The Asus Eee PC’s BIOS

To update the Eee PC’s BIOS is a pretty simple affair with a few catches:

1. Download the latest BIOS from Asus’ Web site.
2. Extract the BIOS ROM file.
• 
3. Rename the file to 1000HE.ROM
4. Make sure the Eee PC A/C adapter is plugged in.
5. Copy the 1000HE.ROM file to the root of a FAT32 USB flash drive.
6. Power down the Eee PC.
7. Power up the Eee PC.
8. Press ALT + F2 key combination at the BIOS/Splash screen.
9. The built-in flash utility will pick up the 1000HE.ROM file and flash it.
10. Once finished, power down the Eee PC.
11. Pull the USB flash drive.
12. Power the unit up.
13. Press F2 to enter setup (may need F1 after that).
14. Verify that the BIOS version is the same as downloaded.

We are flashing the 1000HE because the newer BIOS firmware has added support for Windows 7 features.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Intel BIOS and Firmware Updates in EFI Shell

When it comes to updating some of the Intel server configurations that we have put together, we use the EFI Shell to update any server related BIOS and firmware.

The update being run on an Intel Server System SR1560SF this evening choked. It turned out to be some bad files on the USB Flash drive.

The benefit to using the EFI Shell was the ability to pull the USB flash drive, update the files on it, and plug it back in without losing connection to the drive.

Once we forced the BMC update to run we had things up to where we wanted them to be and were able to move on.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

Vista - A New Question for Troubleshooting - iTunes 8?

It seems that Apple is surreptitiously delivering and installing software without a user's permission.

One of the components of the recent iTunes 8 "update" is a known bad driver ... GEARAspiWDM.sys ... you draw your own conclusions on that one. BSODs are also indicating usbaapl64.sys as per the forum posts linked below.

Now, when we are receiving complaints about erratic behaviours, especially lately, we need to ask if the user has iTunes 8 installed and recently updated.

If iTunes 8 is installed, we need to remove the software and reinstall it, remove any unneeded software that was installed with the so-called update, then replace the bad drivers with known good ones or use System Restore to back things off.

Links to more:

• Ed Bott: An inside look at Apple’s sneaky iTunes 8 upgrade (original heads up).
• Ed Bott: Apple's sneaky iTunes 8 install pictorally.
• Apple Forums: Itunes 8 - Connecting Ipod cause Blue Screen on Vista.
• Live search for the offending driver: GEARAspiWDM.sys

We do not have a high iTunes install base with our clients, but we will be paying particular attention to whether a user has it installed or not until Apple fixes things.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Intel DX38BT Critical BIOS Update Available

Intel released a new BIOS update for the DX38BT Extreme motherboard.

This particular update is rather critical as it resolves a number of important issues.

• Intel DX38BT BIOS Updates
• Intel DX38BT BIOS Update 1554 Release Notes (PDF document)

This is definitely one update to add to the Technician's Thumb Drive.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

SR1530AH + PCI-E Riser = SRCSASRB RAID Capable

In the current SR1530HSH/SH line of 1U uniprocessor server systems we no longer need to deal with a standard and LX version of the product.

The 1U SR1530HSH/SH server systems come in 2 SKUs and both have the same motherboard (MB):

• SR1530SH: With fixed hard drives
• SR1530HSH with 3 Hot Swap Drive Bays

The cost differential between the fixed hard drive and hot swap hard drive models is relatively small in comparison to the previous generation's steps:

• SR1530AH: Base model with S3000AH MB and fixed drives
• SR1530AHLX: Base model with S3000AHLX MB and fixed drives
• SR1530HAHLX: Premium model with S3000AHLX MB and 3 hot swap drives

The cost differential between the base AH model and the hot swap AHLX model was quite a bit steeper than the current SH models.

So, in some cases we have configured the SR1530AH model with the add-in PCI-E PCB and subsequently an SRCSASRB Intel RAID controller for better drive performance without the need for the LX or hot swap features.

There is a proper sequence for installing and updating the RAID controller's firmware:

1. Install the Intel RAID controller into the PCI-E Riser card.
2. Install the riser into the 1U server.
3. Boot the server and connect to the RAID controller BIOS.
4. Setup the RAID array(s).
5. Reboot.
6. Download the newest SRCSASRB firmware.
7. Boot to a bootable USB flash drive.
8. Update the firmware.
9. Reboot and check into the SRCSASRB settings.
10. Download the newest S3000AH BIOS.
11. Boot to a bootable USB flash drive.
12. Update the BIOS
13. Reboot and verify the SRCSASRB shows up in the BIOS' hard drive boot order.
14. Boot into the Windows Server 2008 setup.
15. Install the SRCSASRB drivers and go from there.

On our first build we updated the SRCSASRB firmware without touching the S3000AH BIOS. In this case, the motherboard revision was a couple of steps back.

After the firmware update and subsequent boot into the Windows Server 2008 setup we kept getting an error message indicating that there was no controller associated with the hard disks listed. The error is identical to the one experienced in a previous Windows Vista setup problem.

In this case though, we rebooted back into the BIOS and sure enough the RAID controller was not listed as one of the boot device options.

Once we updated the board's BIOS we were good to go ... the SRCSASRB showed up in the BIOS as a bootable device and Windows Server 2008 was happy to be installed on the configured array.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

New Acer XP SP2 + Office 2007 SBE = 1GB Microsoft Updates!

This has to be a record for us!

Microsoft Update is 1GB!

Included in the updates is Office 2007 SP1, Office 2003 SP3, SQL 2005 Express SP2, and a couple of other larger ones.

This is a new Acer TravelMate 7720 that has been downgraded to XP Pro SP2 with Office 2007 Small Business Edition installed.

The actual download volume may be a lot less depending on how the Office 2007 SP1 download comes down. In the list it is indicated at 697MB!

We have mentioned about our Workbench Bandwidth Saver before, however what we have discovered is that it is only working with XP loads.

Windows Vista seems to have its own way about getting the updates and that way seems to bypass the caching feature of ISA 2000.

So, what that means is we are not plugging in any Vista machines that will be delivered to client sites where they have WSUS installed.

The other option for us is to use the suggestion that Chris mentioned in the comments of the above earlier post: Import the registry settings for our WSUS server and wuauclt /resetauthorization /detectnow until the system has gone through all of the necessary install and reboot cycles.

We place the above wuauclt command into a batch file that is on our Technician's Thumb Drive and copied to the desktop on any system we are installing. A copy of the batch file also resides on the client's WSS Companyweb site along with a share \\MySBS\Company\Network Admin\ folder that we keep somewhere on the network.

This is the registry settings for Windows Vista to import:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate]
"WUServer"="http://MYSBS-SBS01:8530"
"WUStatusServer"="http://MYSBS-SBS01:8530"
"ElevateNonAdmins"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU]
"NoAutoUpdate"=dword:00000000
"AUOptions"=dword:00000004
"RescheduleWaitTimeEnabled"=dword:00000001
"RescheduleWaitTime"=dword:00000001
"RebootWarningTimeoutEnabled"=dword:00000001
"RebootWarningTimeout"=dword:00000005
"RebootRelaunchTimeoutEnabled"=dword:00000001
"RebootRelaunchTimeout"=dword:0000000a
"DetectionFrequencyEnabled"=dword:00000001
"DetectionFrequency"=dword:00000001
"AutoInstallMinorUpdates"=dword:00000001
"UseWUServer"=dword:00000001
"NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers"=dword:00000000
"ScheduledInstallDay"=dword:00000000
"ScheduledInstallTime"=dword:00000003

Note that MYSBS-SBS01 would be your own internal or workbench server.

You could always export the settings from one of the Vista workstations on the domain hosting WSUS v3 that is to be used as an update source. If the domain is workbench based, or a new setup for the workbench, and no Vista machines have touched it yet then a vanilla Vista VM would work to at least connect to the WSUS v3 server and get all Vista related updates cached.

Here is a screen shot of a vanilla Windows Vista registry before importing the above settings:

Vanilla Vista install. No Windows Update Key

Once all of the install cycles have completed, delete the above imported registry settings, force a GP refresh, reboot, and the system should connect to Microsoft's update site with no problems.

For those systems that are going to be installed in a peer to peer or stand-alone situation, make sure to run "Windows Update" from the Search field and upgrade the system's update source to Microsoft Update to catch updates for Microsoft Office and the like.

Thanks Chris for the initial pointer. It looks like we will be using this method to update Vista as we go forward. We just need to figure out if we are going to install a separate WSUS v3 instance on the workbench LAN.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

System Builder Tip: Intel DQ965GF Series BIOS update 2007-11-27

A new set of updates for the DQ965GF:

• Intel Desktop Board DQ965GF - All Downloads
• Intel Desktop Board DQ965GF - BIOS Update 6002 [CO96510J.86A] (All - you choose)
• Intel Desktop Board DQ965GF - BIOS Update 6002 [CO96510J.86A] (BIOS File - direct)

We always download the BIOS file to a bootable Technician's Thumb Drive and run it from a DOS prompt. The other update methods include a Windows Executable that one runs after downloading. Note that it will automatically reboot the system into a BIOS update session.

While Intel provides a recovery BIOS setup if the system is downed during the flash, always have the system plugged into a UPS that will allow for at least 5 minutes of on-battery time while flashing the BIOS. This will save a lot of time and heartache if the power ever fluctuates or goes out on a client's system during the update.

Our workbench has two separate 20A circuits, each protected by an APC 1500VA RS series UPS. We have two more 20A circuits and additional APC 1500VA RS UPSs available if we have the need for more.

Once the update has completed, before booting the OS on the new BIOS version, always enter the BIOS after the update to verify that all of the settings are the same as they were before the update. A switched off RAID controller can cause havoc with the OS!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Intel - DQ35JOE has a new BIOS update - November 2nd

A quick FYI:

Intel DQ35JOE BIOS Update Nov. 2, 2007:

• BIOS Update 0708 [JOQ3510J.86A]
• Intel® Desktop Board DQ35JO Downloads (Vista 32bit)

They are updating quite frequently right now.

Time to update your Technician's Bootable Thumb Drive! :D

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Intel - Intel Technical Notifications - Email Update Notifications

Intel has a customizable notification service that notifies us by email when BIOS, driver, firmware, back plane, and other updates are available.

One has the ability to pick and choose which hardware and software products to be notified about. This gives us the ability to choose only those products we deal with directly.

Intel Technical Notifications.

Note that one needs to be at least a Registered Partner with Intel to receive this service.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

System Builder Tip: DQ35JOE BIOS Update and 4GB+ of RAM

It has been consistent now, with each build that we have done for our classroom systems: DQ35JOE will not accept more than 4GB out of the box.

Our board revision levels that we are working with:

• D8XXXX-800
• D8XXXX-702 (Sent direct from Intel for a TST special)

One should install 2GB of RAM first and then flash the BIOS.

Once the BIOS has been flashed:

1. Change BIOS settings as needed.
2. Turn on the RAID controller if needed.
3. Setup AMT.
4. Save & Reboot.
5. CTRL+I to setup the RAID array - start the key strokes just before the RAID configuration page as it goes by quick!

Intel's DQ35JOE BIOS download page:

• Intel DQ35JOE BIOS Downloads.

Please note that the BIOS file was just updated on October 24, 2007. So, it is relatively new. Update your bootable Flash Drive as appropriate.

UPDATE: Please be patient with this BIOS update. It seems to take a long time!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

System Builder Tip: Intel DQ965GF Series BIOS Update Released

The Intel DQ965GF Desktop Board has a recent BIOS update released on October 11, 2007.

The BIOS revision: CO96510J.86A.5975.2007.1010.1807

The downloads:

• DQ965GF BIOS Update
• The BIOS Update Readme (pdf)
• BIOS Update Release Notes (pdf)

From the Release Notes:

• October 11, 2007
• CO96510J.86A.5975.2007.1010.1807
• VBIOS info:
  Build Number: 1518 PC 14.27 07/06/2007 17:11:20.
• SATA RAID info:
  Intel(R) RAID for SATA - v6.1.1.1001
• SATA AHCI info:
  Version UPSD src 08-24-2007
• PXE Nahum info:
  Intel(R) Boot Agent GE v1.2.50
• ME firmware build:
  2.1.3.1031 production signed.

Time to update that bootable Technician's Thumb Drive (previous blog post).

We always update the BIOS on the first boot of a system or server we put together.

This one is pretty important.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

System Builder Tip: Intel S3000AH Server Board Series BIOS Updates Available

The Intel S3000AH series server board has received a recent BIOS update to version 42.

Product page can be found here: Intel S3000AH Server Board.

Gotta make sure that BIOS is up to date, especially in this case as we are installing a Xeon X3210 Quad Core processor into an existing server that had a Xeon 3050 installed.

Previous BIOS versions may not be compatible with Quad Core, so the BIOS should be updated before hand if possible.

For new system builds, having a Xeon 3000 series processor around can facilitate that.

That goes for any server board BTW.

A while back, we got caught with an early revision S5000PSL board that did not support the 5100 series processors we were installing into it. It was not a known issue at that time as the 5100 series Xeons were just released and we happened to get a couple of the early ones. It took a BIOS update to get things to spec, but we did not have a 5000 series processor to install in the board to update the BIOS!

It worked out in the end, as we were fortunate our supplier had later revision boards in stock, so we were no further behind on our build time! We had the replacement board next day.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists