System and method for performing remote BIOS updates

• US 7,203,831 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2004
• Issued: 04/10/2007
• 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 V., Martinez, Armando Jaime, Blood, Roger M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Butler; Dennis M.
• Application Number:
  US10/835,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20040205329A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 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. In a computer system comprising a processor, a memory, and a system BIOS, a method for remotely updating the system BIOS, comprising the steps of:

providing an updated BIOS to the computer system;

storing the updated BIOS in a predetermined partition in a storage location in the computer system;

setting a BIOS update indicator;

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

identifying that the BIOS update indicator has been set;

retrieving the updated BIOS from the predetermined partition in the storage device; and

replacing the system BIOS with the updated BIOS.

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

a central processing unit;

a system BIOS; and

a writable non-volatile storage device;

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

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

providing an updated BIOS image to the computer system;

storing the updated BIOS image in a predetermined partition of memory in the computer system;

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

determining that an updated BIOS image is available; and

replacing the system BIOS with the updated BIOS.