Updating the node's BIOS

Why we need update the BIOS?

The new BIOS fixes some bugs and provides better support to network boot and power management.

How to update the BIOS

Following is the detailed description of updating the BIOS of the motherboard (Model: MB770) in ORBIT node with USB driver.

Prepare the following items before you start off.

• A working USB drive
  
• One machine with Windows installed on it
  
• The new firmware and the BIOS update tool provided by Award
  
• One or more orbit nodes

Procedure

1. Make a Bootable USB Drive

Note: The procedure will completely format the USB drive

First, download a USB bootable drive maker from the Internet. We use 'USBoot v1.7' which has only the Chinese GUI. You may find other similar softwares on the internet, but make sure the OS that the USB bootable drive gets must be MS-DOS compatible. Linux kernel does not work for the BIOS update tool provided by Award.

Follow the instructions of the software. Choose the USB bootable type as USB-ZIP. You may also choose the other types such as USB-HDD or USB-FDD which may be supported by the motherboard (we have not yet tested those)

2. Copy the new firmware and the BIOS update tool in the new bootable USB drive

Copy the following files in the same directory in the USB drive:

​M770J2F.bat– the updating command
​M770J2F.BIN– the new firmware.
​AWDFLASH.EXE– the BIOS update tool

3. Change the settings of the BIOS of orbit nodes

All initial settings in the BIOS of orbit nodes are by default set to 'Fail-Safe defaults'. Hence USB booting is disabled.
Follow the instructions below to change the settings.

• Power on the orbit node. Press 'Del' key to enter the BIOS settings.
  
• Go to Advanced BIOS Features→First boot device. Set Hard Disk as the first boot device.
  
• Go to Integrated Peripherals→VIA On Chip PCI Device→USB Emulation. Turn on USB emulation.
  
• Go to Advanced BIOS feature→Hard Disk Priority. Set the first bootable device with Bootable Add-in Card or some other name the BIOS recognize your USB driver as.
  
• Press 'F10'. Save your changes and exit.
  

4. Updating the BIOS

After plugging in the USB drive in one of USB slots, reboot the orbit node. Now, the orbit node should boot from the USB drive. Run the file 'M770J2F.bat'. The tool will automatically update and then reboot the node.

Some reminds after update

The most obvious difference after updating the BIOS is nodes will not be turned on by pluging in the power cable. You must short a jumper to trigger the power switch. The jump, labelled with word "POWER", is connected to a pair of pins on the mother board with twist cable.

What's more, some settings in BIOS are lost after updating. The motherboard might report CRC error about BIOS. You must enter the BIOS again to restore the settings.