can't update the bios on this PE1750, same after reboot.

[Michael E Brown]

On Mon, May 07, 2007 at 10:39:51AM +0200, Martin Hamant wrote:
> Hi !
> 
> I get this message (after a fresh reboot):
> 
> # update_firmware --yes
> 
> Searching storage directory for available BIOS updates...
> 
> Checking system_bios(ven_0x1028_dev_0x014a) - a10
>         Found Update: system_bios(ven_0x1028_dev_0x014a) - a12
> Checking pci_firmware(ven_0x1028_dev_0x000f_subven_0x1028_subdev_0x014a) - 412w
>         Found Update: pci_firmware(ven_0x1028_dev_0x000f_subven_0x1028_subdev_0x014a) - 422a
> 
> Found out of date packages.
> 
> Running updates...
> Installing system_bios(ven_0x1028_dev_0x014a) - a12
> Installation failed for package: system_bios(ven_0x1028_dev_0x014a) - a12
> aborting update...
> 
> The error message from the low-level command was:
> 
> Could not update the system BIOS.
> 
> Many times, this is due to memory constraints. The BIOS update can require from
> 1 to 4 megabytes of physically contiguous free RAM in order to do the update.
> Because memory can become fragmented, this is not always available. To correct
> this, try rebooting and running the update immediately after reboot.
> 
> The output from the low-level bios update command was:
> 
> Supported RBU type for this system: (MONOLITHIC)
> Using RBU v1 method: MONOLITHIC
> Prep driver for data load.
> writing (0) to file: /sys/firmware/rbu/packetdatasize
> writing (524380) to file: /sys/firmware/rbu/rbudatasize
> 
> An Error occurred. The Error message is: 
>     Cannot allocate memory
> 
> Problem updating BIOS. Common problems are:
> 
>     -- Insufficient permissions to perform operation.
>        Try running as a more privileged account.
>           Linux  : run as 'root' user
>           Windows: run as 'administrator' user
> 
>     -- dell_rbu device driver not loaded.
>        Try loading the dell_rbu driver
>           Linux  : insmod dell_rbu
>           Windows: dell_rbu driver not yet available.
> 
> Writing RBU data (4096bytes/dot): 
> 
> 
> PS: I can still do tests for maybe 30min, after this I have to put the
> server back in production ^^

Hmmm. The only thing I can recommend is to try rebooting and trying it
again. This memory problem is a real pain in the butt, but there isnt
much I can do about it. You can also try disabling some services and
boot into runlevel 1 or 2 to try to resolve it. It may take a boot or
three before the update works. For some reason I dont know, some systems
have physical memory fragmentation issues that there is no way to
resolve without rebooting.
--
Michael