System and method for performing remote BIOS updates

• US 6,732,267 B1
• Filed: 09/11/2000
• Issued: 05/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Wu, Frank L., Rao, Anil, Martinez, Armando Jaime, Blood, Roger M.
• Primary Examiner(s): BUTLER, DENNIS
• Application Number:
  US09/658,981
• Time in Patent Office: 1,331 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/2, 713/100
• US Class Current: 713/100
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality

Abstract

A system and method for remotely updating a system BIOS. The method includes the steps of providing an updated BIOS to the remote computer system, storing the updated BIOS in a storage device of the remote computer system, setting a BIOS update indicator, rebooting the remote computer system and determining that the BIOS update indicator has been set, replacing the system BIOS with the updated BIOS, and rebooting the remote computer system again. The storage device may be hard drive, with the updated BIOS being stored in an EFI partition of the hard drive.

Claims

1. A method for remotely updating a system BIOS of a computer system comprising the steps of:

providing an updated BIOS to said computer system;

storing said updated BIOS in a predetermined partition in a writable non-volatile storage device in said computer system;

setting a BIOS update indicator;

placing a storage location identifier in said predetermined partition of said storage device identifying the location of said updated BIOS;

rebooting said computer system, during said rebooting step said computer system determining that said BIOS update indicator has been set;

retrieving said updated BIOS from said predetermined partition in said storage device;

replacing said system BIOS with said updated BIOS; and

rebooting said computer system.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in said retrieving step said updated BIOS is located using said storage location identifier.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said computer system is part of a network, and wherein a centralized computer system on said network is coupled to said computer system by a communication link, and wherein said centralized computer system provides said updated BIOS to said computer system via said communication link.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said updated BIOS is stored in an Extensible Firmware Interface partition of said storage device.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said BIOS update indicator is a bit located in said Extensible Firmware Interface partition of said storage device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said system BIOS is stored in non-volatile flash memory in said computer system.

7. A computer system in a network, said computer system being coupled to at least one centralized computer system in said network via a communication link, said computer system comprising:

a central processing unit;

a system BIOS; and

a writable non-volatile storage device;

said computer system being capable of receiving an updated BIOS image from said centralized computer system via said communication link, storing said updated BIOS image in a partition of said storage device, placing a storage location identifier in said partition to identify the location of said updated BIOS image, rebooting said computer system, and subsequently replacing said system BIOS with said updated BIOS and rebooting.

8. A method for remotely updating a system BIOS of a computer system comprising the steps of:

sending an updated BIOS image to said computer system via a communication link coupled to said computer system;

storing an updated BIOS image in a predetermined partition of a writable non-volatile storage device in said computer system;

placing a storage locating identifier in said predetermined partition of said storage device to identify the location of said updated BIOS image;

rebooting said computer system; and

replacing said system BIOS with said updated BIOS.