Conference nesbit::modular

    I've just completed updating the AlphaBIOS on an old K2.  I followed
    the instructions found on the Ayr support WEB page:
    
    	o copied the .rom file to a FAT floppy
    	o selected the update AlphaBIOS
    	o the system read the image from the floppy, then sort of went away
    	for awhile
    	o finally the video came up but there was a video sync. problem.  I
    	could see text, but couldn't read it.  I assumed it was at the
    	command prompt, so I blindly typed in "update ARC"
        o when it seemed to stop scribbling text to the screen, I typed
        EXIT
        o I re-powered and the latest AlphaBIOS was installed.
        
        Two questions, please:
        
        	1 - how does one get clean video during this process?
                2 - I tried connecting a dumb terminal to Com A but got no
        	output to it.  I tried 4800, 9.6, 19.2K baud to no avail. 
        	Is there a trick?
        
        Just curious.
        
        Thanks,
        Steve
        
        P.S.  Thanks Dave Pierson for your help!
                      

Steve,

>        o copied the .rom file to a FAT floppy
>        o selected the update AlphaBIOS
>        o the system read the image from the floppy, then sort of went away
>        for awhile
>        o finally the video came up but there was a video sync. problem.  I
>        could see text, but couldn't read it.  I assumed it was at the
>        command prompt, so I blindly typed in "update ARC"

If you are using the ROM file then you are using the alphaBIOSs own firmware 
update routines. i.e. it does not use the APU program that you're assuming 
above. If you'd copied the APU program to a FAT format floppy with the 
filename "fwupdate.exe" then this would have allowed you to run the APU. 

The alphaBIOS checks for the presence of a file called LGK2AB.ROM on the 
CDROM then floppy, it if finds it it uses it as data for it's own built in 
update utility. Otherwise, it searches for fwupdate.exe. If it find that 
then it boots it and the APU utility runs.

In some instances a dialog box gives an informational message after the .ROM 
file has been read. Maybe this was showing when you typed 'update 
arc<return>' and it proceeded after the return key. BTW you didn't mention 
pressing 'y' to continue with the APU update.

>        o when it seemed to stop scribbling text to the screen, I typed
>        EXIT
>        o I re-powered and the latest AlphaBIOS was installed.
        
Luckily it wasn't still updating the flash!!

>        Two questions, please:
>        
>                1 - how does one get clean video during this process?
>                2 - I tried connecting a dumb terminal to Com A but got no
>                output to it.  I tried 4800, 9.6, 19.2K baud to no avail. 
>                Is there a trick?

1 - What is your hardware config and monitor type? If you escalate to 
support then someone will try to reproduce. It's always worked fine when 
I've done the above. It will also depend on your old AlphaBIOS code - if 
it's an old K2 then maybe the AlphaBIOS was some old proto code. Did you 
make a note of the old version numbers and build dates? (support will need 
this data)

There is a facility in AlphaBIOS to use the serial line but it's not like 
the way the SRM uses the serial line. 


Gordon

    I had talked to Steve on this earlier.
    
    I think he was at 5.12-proto AlphaBios.
    
    He had an OLDE board and i dunno what SROM (ie: how well the COMA
    approach works.)  I've had significant grief with olde SROMS and COMA.
    
    The COMA on released SROM SHOULD Come alive without problems at
    96008/1sb and is very reliable, in my experiemce.
    
    (I wonder if the scrambled display was a 'tga-syc-green' problem?
    
    regards
    	dwp

                             
    I think Dave means SRM here rather than SROM. The SROM doesn't talk to
    COMA. 
    
    tga_sync_green is a possibility but the way steve describes it it would
    have to re-init or reset the TGA card when he hit the 'Update
    AlphaBIOS' button. Does it happen now with the newer AlphaBIOS when you
    repeat the same manouver.
    
    AlphaBIOS alledgedly does provide a simple serial line interface,
    although I have never used it - just saw it pop up on a terminal I had
    connected to a K2 with the keyboard unplugged.
    
    
    Gordon

    Yep.  I meanr SRM in that case.
    
    I, too, have seen the serial line version of alphabios.
    
    NOT real user friendly.  Not that i tried to do anything with it..
    
    But Steve's update efforts SHOUld Have brought up the FWUDATE.EXE (?)
    which uses the display in 'SRM like mode'.  (or should run from COMA
    in usable fashion).  I'm _guessing_ (based on the documentation
    which sez that SRM and ALPHABios have their own areas of NVM) that
    the tga_sync_green value was never init'ed on this one, so no sync,
    so....
    
    	thanks
    	dwp

    
    AlphaBIOS doesn't use sync_on_green as we know it. I've no idea how
    they do it. I'll guess that they stick to tried and trusted PC
    methodologies like NEVER using sync on green!
    
    Steve said that he put the .rom file onto the floppy disk to update.
    That won't bring up the update utility. If it did come up to the update
    utility then it would have used the sync_on_green ev that was setup the
    last time that the SRM was used. As it stands every monitor we have in
    the lab copes with the default setting of sync on green after the NVRAM
    has been cleared.
    
    BTW you cannot change from graphics head to COMA when running the
    update utility! It will take the last console ev used in the srm for
    that honour.
    
    
    Gordon
    

    
> 1 - What is your hardware config and monitor type? If you escalate to 
> support then someone will try to reproduce. It's always worked fine when 
> I've done the above. It will also depend on your old AlphaBIOS code - if 
> it's an old K2 then maybe the AlphaBIOS was some old proto code. Did you 
> make a note of the old version numbers and build dates? (support will need 
> this data)

    o using an old K2 (from Ron Sarkozy); Suckle, Atakama
    o PCXBV-KA monitor (17" energySTAR, SVGA, (autosync))
    o AlphaBIOS proto 5.12 (June, I think); now at 5.21 !
    
        
> Luckily it wasn't still updating the flash!!
    
    I was lucky!  But, I waited a pretty long time before I
    exited/powered-off.
    
    --Steve
    
    By the way, the AYR WEB suppport page was very useful.