T41 BIOS and Embedded Controller upgrades fail

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Gaula13 · #1 Post by **Gaula13** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 5:55 am

I am trying to update the BIOS and the Embedded Controller on a T41 running Windows XP. The current BIOS is 1.23 (1YET58WW) and the Embedded Controller is 1.03. The CPU is a Pentium M 1.8 GHz Dothian - I am unsure of the correct M number.

I do not have a floppy drive - only a CD/DVD RW+ drive. The hard drive has 3 partitions.

The system does not have the protected IBM partition - I deleted this to save space and did so following instructions off the net. All has been well for over a year now.

I have downloaded the update 1ruj37us.exe and I believe that I have run it as instructed. Having said that, the IBM upgrade migration path does seem to be overly complex yet not clearly explained in either the release notes or, indeed, the Installation Instructions.

The sequence of events that I get are as follows:

1 Various screens telling me to save data et al and that the system will reboot.

2 The system reboots and I get the BIOS upgrade splash screen. The odd thing is that it shows a version of 0.00

3 Then I get a simple screen with a message that "The diskette in the default drive will not run on this system. The system is locked........etc"

4 Press Ctl+Alt+Del and the system reboots into its old state - nothing has changed.

I have also tried to burn a CD ISO image of the .img file contained within 1ruj37us.exe but the system does not appear to recognise this as a bootable file. The CD is read on boot but ignored.

I have absolutely no idea what I am doing wrong - can anyone throw even a glimmer of light onto the subject please.

#2 Post by **jdhurst** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:24 am

That version of BIOS needs Embedded Controller V3.04 in order to update properly. Also, the file I have (that worked) is 1ruj37ud.exe. Now that may be the diskette version, because that is how I update BIOS and EC.

So download the Embedded Controller update (1rhj10ud.exe). The instructions for EC say to update EC first if you have to update both BIOS and EC. ... JDH

sarbin · #3 Post by **sarbin** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:01 am

^^^
i'm confused. everything i've seen before says bios first, the ec.

i looked at the text files for the diskette and non-diskette based updaters for this t41, for both bios and ec, and the only one that says "ec, then bios" is the readme for the diskette-based ec updater. is this unique to this update method for ec?

i gotta go look at my t43 pages...

#4 Post by **jdhurst** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:27 am

I agree about the confusion in instructions. I follow the EC instructions.

Actually, what I do (having done simultaneous BIOS and EC upgrades more than once) is make the two diskettes (BIOS and EC), run the EC update and let it shut off, then immediately run the BIOS update and let it finish. Then startup has always been correct and normal.

I have never tried the CD update on my T41. I have done a CD update on my Vista 64-bit machine because there is no other way. But all the updates fit on one CD and it seems to know what to do.

... JDH

sarbin · #5 Post by **sarbin** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:30 am

glad it works.

maybe that one t41 readme file is a typo, tho? all of the t43 readme files are consistent.

Gaula13 · #6 Post by **Gaula13** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 6:31 am

Many thanks for the rapid responses and input.

However, I regret that I remain deeply confused. This may be caused by a senior moment (or more) but ........................

I have read all of the relevant installation notes with care and they all state either that the BIOS must be updated before the Embedded Controller (EC) or, if one looks at only the EC packages, that they require a BIOS version higher than the one I have. Either way, they are consistent in stating that I must update the BIOS first.

My other problem - how to update either the BIOS or the EC without floppy drive - remains. None of the installation instructions give me any hint on what to do with the non-diskette .exe file versions. I have tried 2 methods as follows:

1 Run the .exe file from within Windows as would be normal. The result is as already described: I get taken through a number of screens within Windows, the PC shuts down and restarts. The BIOS Update splash screen is displayed (with version 0.00 displayed). Then the screen goes black and a message appears in the bottom RH corner "The diskette in the default drive will not run on this system. Your system is now locked. To restart your system, press Ctrl+Alt+Del". Pressing C+A+D reboots Windows and nothing has been updated. OK but it has not moved my PC's world forward into the 21st century!!

2 Since I do not have a diskette drive, I tried creating bootable CD's (BIOS and EC) using Nero and the diskette files from IBM. Both CD's boot but the results are identical to 1 above - regardless of whether I try to update the BIOS or the EC first.

I can find no explanation of what the message means or how to resolve any underlying issue that is causing it to be displayed. Perhaps this is the root of the problem rather than the BIOS/EC versions being used.

I have checked all of the existing BIOS settings and can find no reason for it to be preventing a BIOS flash or other update.

I remain at a complete loss and in resperate need of a solution. Please help!!!!!

#7 Post by **Harryc** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:31 am

If it were me I'd get a USB floppy drive from EBay. Done deal. I'm not sure what all the fhumpher-ing around with the EC is about in this thread, the instructions for the latest BIOS clearly state "If you need to update the Embedded Controller Program as well as the BIOS, update the BIOS first."

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-50273

Gaula13 · #8 Post by **Gaula13** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 8:16 am

The order in which to update the BIOS and the EC is a red herring. So is the lack of a floppy drive - otherwise why do IBM offer non-diskette updates?

The real issue to which I am seeking an answer is:

What causes the update(s) to fail with the message "The diskette in the default drive will not run on this system. Your system is now locked. To restart your system, press Ctrl+Alt+Del"?

Any helpful answers to this thorny little issue will be greatly appreciated.

I have discovered that it can be generated if the battery is not AOK. The one in this PC was replaced as a part of a recall by IBM some 12 - 18 months ago and holds its charge very well. So I doubt that this is the cause.

#9 Post by **Harryc** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 8:19 am

Gaula13 wrote:The order in which to update the BIOS and the EC is a red herring.

No, it is not. It is clearly stated in the BIOS update procedures for a T41, update the BIOS first. How is that a red herring? Just because someone stated otherwise in this thread does not make it so.

#10 Post by **Harryc** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 8:25 am

By the way, your problem is occurring because 1.23 is not a valid T41 BIOS. Where are you seeing that version number? That BIOS is for a T43. Was the systemboard (motherboard) changed in this machine?

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-52287

Gaula13 · #11 Post by **Gaula13** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 9:39 am

To clarify, the order of update is not relevant to this issue. I agree that it is BIOS first but that is what I was trying to do.

I am ashamed to admit that you hit the nail on the head. The reason for the error message was that it was the wrong BIOS update. When I used the one for the correct machine (T43 not T41) and used Nero to created the bootable CD's for each, it worked a treat!! As I suggested earlier, it was indeed a senior moment - but I thought that I was joking earlier!

Many thanks for your help and assistance - HarryC in particular. Updates now accomplished.

T41 BIOS and Embedded Controller upgrades fail

T41 BIOS and Embedded Controller upgrades fail

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