Specifications

BIOS Update Support QSSC-S4R Technical Product Specification
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18. BIOS Update Support
18.1 BIOS Update and Recovery
One Boot Flash Update refers to the ability to update the BIOS while the server is online and operating.
If an update to the system BIOS is not successful or if the system fails to complete POST and the BIOS is unable to
boot an OS, it may be necessary to run the BIOS recovery procedure.
To place the server board into recovery mode, move the boot option jumper located on the server board, to the
recovery position. The BIOS is then able to execute the recovery BIOS (also known as the boot block) instead of the
normal BIOS.
This is the mode of last resort, used only when the main system BIOS will not boot. In recovery mode operation, the
boot block executes and start an EFI shell to allow the system to run iFlash to update the system BIOS.
Note: The entire process takes two to four minutes.
18.1.1 Performing BIOS Recovery
The following procedure boots the recovery BIOS and flashes the normal BIOS:
1. Turn off the system power.
2. Move the BIOS recovery jumper to the recovery state.
3. Insert a bootable BIOS recovery media containing the new BIOS image files.
4. Turn on the system power.
The BIOS POST screen appears displaying the progress, and the system boots to the EFI shell. The EFI shell then
executes the Startup.nsh batch file to start the flash update process. The user should then switch off the power and
return the recovery jumper to its normal position. The user should not interrupt the BIOS POST on the first boot after
recovery.
When the flash update completes:
1. Remove the recovery media.
2. Turn off the system power.
3. Restore the jumper to its original position.
4. Turn on the system power.
5. Re-flash any custom blocks, such as OEM block.
The system should now boot using the updated system BIOS.
18.2 OEM Binary
A firmware volume is reserved for OEMs. The OEM firmware volume is used to contain the OEM logo and is updated
independently of other firmware volumes. The OEM firmware volume hosts a firmware file system. The size of the
OEM firmware volume is 192 KB.
18.2.1 OEM Splash Logo
The OEM Firmware Volume (FV) can include the OEM splash logo. If an OEM logo is located in the firmware volume, it
is used in place of the standard Intel logo. The logo file can be identified by the file name.
The logo file must follow the standard framework format for graphical images. The size must not exceed 800 x 512
pixels. The number of colors cannot exceed 256, although the actual number of colors may be much fewer due to
image size constraints.