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Firmware update

Introduction

This document is a guide for updating firmware on your Dasharo-powered device.

Tip

If your current firmware supports UEFI Update Capsules, there is a dedicated guide on their usage. If unsure, check out the compatibility table there.

Firmware Update Mode

Newer Dasharo releases support Firmware Update Mode, which performs updates automatically over the network.

Does my device support Firmware Update Mode?

Not sure if your device supports Firmware Update Mode? Check out the compatibility table in the Knowledge Base section.

To enter Firmware Update Mode:

  1. Enter the Setup Menu and navigate to Dasharo System Features:
  2. Navigate to Dasharo Security Options:
  3. Select Firmware Update Mode:
  4. When prompted, press Enter to accept. The device will reboot in Firmware Update Mode.
  5. After reboot, when prompted, press the indicated key on the keyboard. Alternatively, to abort Firmware Update Mode, press Enter instead or simply wait for the timeout to expire.

Once in Firmware Update Mode, proceed with the firmware update steps outlined in device-specific documentation.

After the firmware update is finished, the device will reboot automatically. If the update includes an Embedded Controller firmware update, it will be applied automatically after reboot and the device will reboot again.

Tip

Check out a more detailed explanation and rationale for Firmware Update Mode in the Knowledge Base section.

Manual update

Firmware versions without support for Firmware Update Mode have various update procedures. Check out your device's Firmware Update documentation for more information.

Known issues

Problem

Platform: MSI

The following warnings appear when updating Dasharo:

The firmware binary to be flashed contains Flash Descriptor (FD), but FD is not writable!
The firmware binary contains Management Engine (ME), but ME is not disabled!

Solution

The locked Flash Descriptor makes it impossible to unlock and flash the Management Engine. The problem is not critical and you may continue with the update process. Your firmware will contain old ME. However, we advise to perform additional steps to flash it, as the old ME may cause some issues in the future. To do that, you will have to flash firmware with FD and ME externally using FlashBIOS. This will bypass the locks on those regions. If you wish to proceed with this approach, please follow the steps in the recovery guide. Keep in mind that the memory will need to be trained again, and firmware settings will be reset.

Problem

Platform: MSI Z790-P DDR4

Dasharo version: Before v0.9.2

FlashBIOS does not work

Solution

The problem is likely caused by the fact that we changed the versioning scheme of firmware. Due to this mismatch, FlashBIOS only works for Z790-P DDR4 since v0.9.2. If you wish to update to that version, you will first need to flash the BIOS region with v0.9.2 firmware and then use FlashBIOS to flash everything, including ME. You can flash BIOS with the following command:

flashrom -p internal --noverify-all --ifd -i bios -w <firmware_file>