What's going on with the BIOS?

WereCatf
WereCatf New Member Posts: 201 ✭
in UP Squared BIOS & FPGA
We just received UPA1AM21 BIOS like a little over a week ago and now it has been replaced with the previous version, ie. UPA1AM18, in the downloads-section? Why? I have the UPA1AM21-version installed on my UP2, am I supposed to downgrade?
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  • Aling
    Aling Guest Posts: 561 admin
    Hi ,

    We are going to upload UPA1AM21 again with more thorough release note. There will be different update procedure to upgrade from UPA1AM18 and from UPA1AM13. The action expects to be done in 1-2 days.
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  • Bernard
    Bernard New Member Posts: 12 ✭
    ?
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  • David Rolfe
    David Rolfe New Member Posts: 98 ✭
    edited September 2017
    I must say that this does not seem to be a very professional way to go about things.

    We are first given a BIOS update to Version 2.1, and are all encouraged to upgrade to this latest version.

    The wiki is then updated to show a far better presented and more understandable way to carry out the upgrade.

    So far, so good!

    Suddenly, and without any warning or real explanation, this latest BIOS is removed from the download page, and is eventually replaced with the older 1.8 version…. why not 2.1 ?

    Although it has been mentioned that a further update is shortly to be released, we are now being told that 2.1 will be uploaded again (which it has not yet been), but with more thorough release notes… despite the recently updated wiki.

    Surely, we are entitled to an honest explanation of exactly what has happened here, and if a genuine mistake has been made, or something has been deleted or removed by accident, then why not tell us that?

    I am sure that users would be far more understanding if the UP team were being a bit more open and honest with us, and I for one am looking forward to the next update.
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  • David Rolfe
    David Rolfe New Member Posts: 98 ✭
    This is a very long 1-2 days, as Version 1.8 is currently still the only option available on your Download page.

    Is there a problem with 2.1 which we are not being told about, or is a later version about to be released ?

    An update on this subject would really be appreciated please!
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  • Aling
    Aling Guest Posts: 561 admin
    Hi ,

    Due to the code base difference, and also BIOS 2.1 only update part of BIOS. So there is some specific procedure to follow. We will provide the update procedure soon....sorry for the date, we just want to have more thorough verification.
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  • Watherson
    Watherson New Member Posts: 5 ✭
    Does it mean for all who have already updated to 21 have to "re-flash/update" the 21 version followed by your new update instruction after the new one has been released? (you said the old one only updated a part of the bios)

    Regards
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  • WereCatf
    WereCatf New Member Posts: 201 ✭
    He/She/It is says that you can't upgrade from a very old BIOS straight up to the 21-version, you have to upgrade to the 18-version first and from there to the 21, because the 21-version only updates portions of the BIOS and not the whole thing.
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  • David Rolfe
    David Rolfe New Member Posts: 98 ✭
    edited October 2017
    Following on from what "yushen0407" has already asked, I too would like a bit more clarification on what procedures (if any) those of us who have already upgraded from 1.8 to 2.1 should follow, and also whether we currently have a fully updated BIOS or not?

    Thanks!
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  • David Rolfe
    David Rolfe New Member Posts: 98 ✭
    Hi,

    Hopefully the email which i received from you earlier today, advising me that " our BIOS engineer in Taiwan flew to Ireland last week to work with our Linux partner, Emutex. After a 72-hour intensive co-working session, we finally got our BIOS version ready for mass production!" was not referring just to the UP Core project, but that some time was also spent on sorting out the BIOS for the UP Squared board.

    This has taken far too long to get sorted out, and I hope that you will have some good news for us soon, as it is all becoming very frustrating.
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  • Aling
    Aling Guest Posts: 561 admin
    Dear all,

    Finally BIOS2.1 is back online with a clear instruction.
    https://up-community.org/downloads/download/29-uefi-bios/82-upa1am21
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  • David Rolfe
    David Rolfe New Member Posts: 98 ✭
    Thank you for the update,

    I have actually asked this question in another thread also, but would like to know what is for the best course of action is for those of us who have already upgraded the BIOS on our UP Squared boards to the previously released version of 2.1, which i understand may not have installed completely.

    Should we 'downgrade' back to version 1.8 first, or is it OK to 'upgrade' straight to the 'new' version, which has just been released?

    Thanks!
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  • Aling
    Aling Guest Posts: 561 admin
    Hi ,

    This V2.1 BIOS is the same one which we released earlier.
    We just added the description more clear for people who had V1.3 BIOS.

    If you are already in V2.1, you don't need to do anything, you have the latest one.
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  • Aling
    Aling Guest Posts: 561 admin
    Hi ,

    This V2.1 BIOS is the same one which we released earlier.
    We just added the description more clear for people who had V1.3 BIOS.

    If you are already in V2.1, you don't need to do anything, you have the latest one.
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  • David Rolfe
    David Rolfe New Member Posts: 98 ✭
    Thank you for the confirmation.

    However, the reason for my question was your earlier statement, in which you told us that "Due to the code base difference, and also BIOS 2.1 only update part of BIOS. So there is some specific procedure to follow. We will provide the update procedure soon....sorry for the date, we just want to have more thorough verification."

    Hopefully you were referring here to problems which users who updated directly from 1.3 to 2.1 might have experienced, rather than those of us who updated from version 1.8 and who will therefore have had the whole BIOS updated, rather than only a part of it?

    Your clarification of this point would be appreciated.
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  • Bernard
    Bernard New Member Posts: 12 ✭
    Hi,
    I'm trying to update Bios to ver 2.1 but every time I boot the main bios setup screen apears.
    There is no access to shelll where I can select drive Fs1: or Fs0:
    Today I upgraded bios from 1.3 to 1.8 without issues. I copied content of the archive 'upa1am18.zip' to USB stick. From SHELL selected drive fs1: and GO.nsh and waited for upgrade. I thought that the same procedure I apply for 'upa1am21.zip'. But unfortunately it doesn't work for me. Please advise me what to do. How to activate Shell again. I had default bios setting for 1.8 and 2.1 update.
    Regards,
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  • WereCatf
    WereCatf New Member Posts: 201 ✭
    Do you press F7 to bring up the boot-selection menu?
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  • Bernard
    Bernard New Member Posts: 12 ✭
    edited October 2017
    Thanks WereCatf . I tried 'F7'. Have got USB bottable and USb Shell options but whatever I select its end with the same: main Bios screen.
    I also try to boot from eMMC where I have installed Linux based router/firewall distribution in theCSM mode but unfortunately I can't.
    To use CSM mode I select:
    Main/CRB Setup/CRB Advanced/CSMConfiguration/Boot option filter -legacy only
    and it worked somehow in 1.3 Bios version but doesn't work in 1.8.
    I cannot use my router/firewall on up square now....
    How can I back to 1.3 Bios version?
    question to developers:
    Is CSM mode was fully tested in the 1.8 version and 2.1 and works reliably with the access to eMMc and USB?
    TIA,
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  • Aling
    Aling Guest Posts: 561 admin
    For question from @Montala
    BIOS 1.3 has different code base from BIOS1.8 & BIOS 2.1 while BIOS1.8 & BIOS2.1 have the same code base.
    BIOS 2.1 only updates part of BIOS (main BIOS code) in BIOS1.8.
    Therefore upgrading from BIOS1.3 to BIOS 2.1 will not work. It will brick the board.

    I hope this is clear.
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  • David Rolfe
    David Rolfe New Member Posts: 98 ✭
    @AlingWu

    Thanks for your explanation.

    It would seem that I had not fully understood your earlier posts, and was under the (obviously mistaken) impression that an update from BIOS 1.8 to 2.1 would not have been completely successful, as it had only updated part of the BIOS, and I thought that was why had been removed from the Download page.

    However, I now appreciate that all is in fact well, in that I have a fully updated BIOS, and that no further action is necessary, until of course the next update is released, hopefully within the next week, or two.

    As my board was supplied with BIOS 1.8 already installed, details relating to the previous version (1.3) are of no concern to me, although they would have been useful to other customers who received their boards earlier.
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  • Bernard
    Bernard New Member Posts: 12 ✭
    bern wrote:
    Thanks WereCatf . I tried 'F7'. Have got USB bottable and USb Shell options but whatever I select its end with the same: main Bios screen.
    I also try to boot from eMMC where I have installed Linux based router/firewall distribution in theCSM mode but unfortunately I can't.
    To use CSM mode I select:
    Main/CRB Setup/CRB Advanced/CSMConfiguration/Boot option filter -legacy only
    and it worked somehow in 1.3 Bios version but doesn't work in 1.8.
    I cannot use my router/firewall on up square now....
    How can I back to 1.3 Bios version?
    question to developers:
    Is CSM mode was fully tested in the 1.8 version and 2.1 and works reliably with the access to eMMc and USB?
    TIA,
    I changed the USB stick and have tried update one more time and finally updated bios from 1.8 to 2.1
    This new bios surprised me since it seems that there is no CRB setup and CSM option at all so I can't use my board with installed software since cannot boot from eMMC.
    Please add bios ver 1.3 to bios download page.
    Thanks,
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  • Kabuli Chana
    Kabuli Chana New Member Posts: 10 ✭
    There is, but it has to be enabled by getting in with password from wiki.
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  • eduncan911
    eduncan911 Administrator, Moderator Posts: 157 admin
    bern wrote:
    I cannot use my router/firewall on up square now....
    If you are talking about pfSense, previous versions up to 2.3 only booted in Legacy/CSM mode. However, pfSense 2.4 supports EFI.

    https://up-community.org/wiki/PfSense

    Eric Duncan - UP Evangelist - My thoughts are of my own free will

    Answered? Please remember to mark the posted answered to highlight it for future visitors!

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  • Bernard
    Bernard New Member Posts: 12 ✭
    eduncan911 wrote:
    bern wrote:
    I cannot use my router/firewall on up square now....
    If you are talking about pfSense, previous versions up to 2.3 only booted in Legacy/CSM mode. However, pfSense 2.4 supports EFI.

    https://up-community.org/wiki/PfSense
    I never used PfSense.
    I use other Linux distribution (in CSM mode) where I have home router/firewall/NAS/Music server/multimedia server etc. installed.
    Now after Bios Update from 1.3 to 1.8/2.1 all blocked...
    Nowhere in the bios 1.8/2.1 announcement/information I haven't found information that CSM mode will not be working in the newer bios releases.,,
    Could someone from up-board explain this?
    As backer of Up-squared project I must admit that currently I'm disappointed with the approach to the customer. I reported a issue a few days ago and no one from up-board/Aeon bothered to answer.....
    I
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  • Kenneth Coley
    Kenneth Coley New Member Posts: 37 ✭
    Read through the various replys and the instructions on BIOS update, but still stuck on creating a bootable UEFI shell USB key.
    How does one do this? Instructions are very vague on this.
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  • Kenneth Coley
    Kenneth Coley New Member Posts: 37 ✭
    Nevermind, another engineer helped me.
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  • David Rolfe
    David Rolfe New Member Posts: 98 ✭
    konakcc wrote:
    Nevermind, another engineer helped me.
    Perhaps you would care to share the solution , so others on here may benefit also?

    Thanks!
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  • Kenneth Coley
    Kenneth Coley New Member Posts: 37 ✭
    Still dont have a solution for building a key. The engineer who loaned me his key does not know how to make one.
    He was going to look back through his notes. In the meantime, you might want to look at this:

    https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/63828/how-to-create-bootable-flash-for-efi-shell

    -Ken
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  • eduncan911
    eduncan911 Administrator, Moderator Posts: 157 admin
    konakcc wrote:
    Read through the various replys and the instructions on BIOS update, but still stuck on creating a bootable UEFI shell USB key.
    How does one do this? Instructions are very vague on this.
    konakcc wrote:
    Still dont have a solution for building a key. The engineer who loaned me his key does not know how to make one.
    He was going to look back through his notes. In the meantime, you might want to look at this:

    https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/63828/how-to-create-bootable-flash-for-efi-shell

    -Ken

    What is this "key" you are trying to make? A "USB Key" or "USB Stick"? Are you just wanting to create a usb stick to flash the bios?

    If so, you don't need to create an EFI Bootable Shell on a usb stick. The EFI shell is part of the BIOS itself on the board.

    The BIOS Update instructions in the wiki clearly say to create a simple Fat32 formatted stick under the Procedure heading:

    https://up-community.org/wiki/Bios_Update#Procedure

    Insert the usb stick and then boot your device. The instructions above should be followed step by step.

    Eric Duncan - UP Evangelist - My thoughts are of my own free will

    Answered? Please remember to mark the posted answered to highlight it for future visitors!

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  • eduncan911
    eduncan911 Administrator, Moderator Posts: 157 admin
    bern wrote:
    eduncan911 wrote:
    bern wrote:
    I cannot use my router/firewall on up square now....
    If you are talking about pfSense, previous versions up to 2.3 only booted in Legacy/CSM mode. However, pfSense 2.4 supports EFI.

    https://up-community.org/wiki/PfSense
    I never used PfSense.
    I use other Linux distribution (in CSM mode) where I have home router/firewall/NAS/Music server/multimedia server etc. installed.
    Now after Bios Update from 1.3 to 1.8/2.1 all blocked...
    Nowhere in the bios 1.8/2.1 announcement/information I haven't found information that CSM mode will not be working in the newer bios releases.,,
    My UP2 boards all started from the Kicker starter edition, which were always just EFI. The UP team has stated on the BIOS updating pages that the UP boards will only support EFI.

    The CSM "Legacy Boot" was stated as not supported, and hidden behind the "BIOS Admin Password." The wiki also said that you enter the admin password (or in my case, wiped the memory by disconnecting the battery - oops), you will gain access to the hidden options in BIOS 1.8 of the UP2 - that are not supported, could brick your device and will void the warranty.

    The 2.1 bios update I supposed just removed it as an option going forward.

    What "Linux Distro" are you trying to use? Everything I've ever used (and there are a lot) have all supported EFI over the last several years. Even FreeBSD does now.

    Eric Duncan - UP Evangelist - My thoughts are of my own free will

    Answered? Please remember to mark the posted answered to highlight it for future visitors!

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  • Kurt
    Kurt New Member Posts: 146 ✭✭
    I updated my bios (UP2) yesterday. It took several attempts to finally get something working.

    I formatted my USB stick to Fat32(default cluster size...). I unzipped the files to the Root... Nothing worked. I could not get to the menu you mentioned... I could get to the GRUB menu...

    So as a last resort, I again reformatted the stick. Then I downloaded a firmware package for the UP board and I unzipped it to the stick. Then I unzipped the UP2 one to it... This then gave me the other directory that was shown in some of the pictures.

    I then booted. It came up with something like it should, timed out, tried to run something... Finally hit the ESC key in the 4 second time out and got to the prompt that was mentioned.... I then ran through the command lines mentioned and was able to update my firmware... (I think) At least it ran all the way through. I have not booted to bios since then to verify...
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