Bios update on PE1850 'McAfee SCM appliance'

[Dan Reagan]

Hi,

I've recently been handed a PE1850 which appears normal in all respects 
but one, it has a McAfee SCM appliance bios on it (rev A04). It is 
resisting my efforts to flash it to a more recent version, both with the 
DOS boot disk and native Linux tools.

Is it possible (and/or permissible) to flash this machine up to a more 
recent revision?

The DOS floppy upgrade method fails by explicitly stating:

   Cannot use a "" BIOS in a "McAfee, Inc. - SCM appliance"

I used this same upgrade floppy to do another PE1850 shortly afterwards 
so I'm sure that the floppy is functional and the error is pretty clear 
about what the problem is.

The linux upgrade method (dellBiosUpdate -u -f bios.hdr) works at the 
command line initially. After the reboot it starts the upgrade process 
which immediately fails and continues to boot.

It appears that there is some sort of protection mechanism in there for 
this OEM bios. I don't know whether it's there so people don't 
accidentally bung up their McAfee appliances or if it's there because 
you're not *allowed* to upgrade the bios on these boxes and I imagine 
that's going to be the sticking point if there is one.

I'm not sure that it'll be a functional problem for me (beyond whatever 
changes are available in A04->A06) as I was able to flash the RAID 
controller and the DRAC firmware with no problems. The splash screen is 
aesthetically displeasing which is an incentive though ;')

All that said, does anyone have any idea how I can get past this or am I 
pretty much out of luck? I don't want to trod on any contractual or 
legal toes if I'm not allowed but would like to get it done if possible.

Thanks,

Dan