Firmware Internet Readme - DECAXPPCI33

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 from the doc directory in the V5.6 CD area.

Adobe Acrobat	Postscript	Text
decaxppci33_v16_fw_relnote.pdf	decaxppci33_v16_fw_relnote.ps	decaxppci33_v16_fw_relnote.txt

The firmware update methods supported for the DECAXPPCI33 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
Bootable Disk A	FAT-formatted Floppy	create a bootable FAT-formatted (DOS) floppy disk. 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	Digital UNIX	create a bootable floppy disk.
BOOTP	Network access to Digital 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

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.

Bootable Floppy A - FAT Floppy

1. From the table below, download the appropriate firmware update image from the decaxppci33 directory in the V5.6 CD area

   Firmware Image

   decaxppci33_v1_6.exe

2. Copy the downloaded file to a blank FAT formatted floppy as a:\fwupdate.exe.

   IMPORTANT: The file must be named fwupdate.exe, and must be placed in the top-most level (root) directory on the floppy, or the image file will not be found properly.

3. 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".

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

1. From the table below, download the appropriate firmware update image from the decaxppci33 directory in the V5.6 CD area

   Firmware Image

   decaxppci33_v1_6.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:[decaxppci33]
   $ copy/contiguous fwupdate.exe dva0:[decaxppci33]
   $ mcr writeboot
   No
   Yes
   [enter AXP bootfile:] dva0:[decaxppci33]fwupdate.exe
   $ dismount dva0:

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

   P00>>> boot dva0

Bootable Floppy C - Boot Floppy (Digital UNIX systems)

1. From the table below, download the appropriate firmware update image from the decaxppci33 directory in the V5.6 CD area

   Firmware Image

   decaxppci33_v1_6.exe

   Rename the downloaded file to fwupdate.exe.

2. Download the file mkbootfirm.tar from the utilities directory in the top level of the firmware area.

   You can untar mkbootfirm on a Digital UNIX system with the command:

   tar xvf mkbootfirm.tar

3. Make sure you have a floppy that has been low-level formatted.

   For example, to low-level format a floppy in drive zero:

   fddisk -fmt /dev/rfd0a

4. Run mkbootfirm on the .exe firmware image that you downloaded.

   mkbootfirm uses a .exe firmware image to create a file that can be dd'd to a floppy.
   Enter the following command to create a bootable floppy from a downloaded .exe firmware image:

   ./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

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

1. From the table below, download the appropriate firmware update image from the decaxppci33 directory in the V5.6 CD area.

   Firmware Image

   decaxppci33_v1_6.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 Digital UNIX documentation or the target system's Firmware Release Notes document.