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SCSI MO Drive Firmware Update Tool (xstm Online Help)

The Firmware Update Tool allows you to update the firmware on a SCSI MO drive.

Introduction

MO (Magneto Optical) drives contain "firmware" which is special software for devices that controls the operation of the hardware contained in the drive. The firmware controls such critical things as the communication to the host, the process of reading and writing data, and many other things.

Over the lifetime of a drive, this firmware gets updated to fix problems that have been found after the drives were shipped and/or add new features that have been developed. If an newer version of a firmware becomes available, it is distributed as a file that contains all the program code and data. This file needs to be installed into the drive with special commands that are sent over the SCSI bus. This tool manages this process and makes the installation of a new firmware revision in a MO Drive easy.

Not only does this tool install new firmware into the drive, but it also verifies that the firmware file matches the drive you are downloading to, that the firmware revisions are correct, and many other conditions. This prevents the user from making mistakes that can make a drive unusable by updating it with the wrong firmware code.

Before you start using this tool, please make sure that you have already obtained the firmware file that you will need to install the firmware into the drive.

Read the Step-By-Step Instructions for Unlicensed Tool section for a detailed description of the process of installing the new firmware before you continue.

If you experience problems during the process of updating your drive firmware, consult the What do you if it doesn't work help topic for recommended actions.

Step-By-Step Instructions for Unlicensed Tool

This section provides a detailed description of all the steps required to update the firmware on an MO drive.

Step-By-Step Instructions for Licensed Tool

This section provides a detailed description of all the steps required to update the firmware on an MO Drive using the Licensed (or "Advanced") menu.

Obtaining the MO Drive Firmware File

Before you can start the process of updating the firmware on your drive, you first need to make sure that the file that contains the new firmware is present on your system.

CAUTION: If you are using the user interface on a system other than the unit under test (UUT), or if you use remote access the firmware files must be present on the UUT system, not the system that the user interface is running on.

Firmware files for this tool are generally located in the directory /var/tmp, but they can be stored under any directory. Firmware files for STM firmware update modules end in the extension ".frm".

If you do not have the firmware file for the MO Drive, you can download it from the extern website at:

http://www.hp.com/support/optical

This website provides firmware for multiple products and in multiple file formats for each product. Make sure you are following the instructions on the website on how to obtain the file for MO drives and in the STM format.

Changing Firmware File Directory Path

Firmware files for this tool are generally located in the directory /var/tmp, but they can be stored under any directory. The directory path used by both the licensed and unlicensed tools is displayed on the first line of the dialog menus. These menus simply display the path; they cannot change the directory path. To change the directory path, follow these directions:

What do you do if it doesn't work

If the tool is experiencing problems it should explain the problems in messages that are displayed in dialog boxes and in the window of the tool. Extensive messages are also logged into the Test Activity Log. Please make sure that you read these messages carefully - they are normally the best source of information about the problem and what to do about it.

Following are some general checkpoints when the download doesn't work:

Glossary

downgraded
'downgrading' refers to installing a firmware revision in a drive that is identical or lower/older than the firmware revision currently present in the drive.
autoload
'autoload' refers to the process of the firmware update tool proceeding directly to the 'Perform Update' function without major user interaction. This is mainly a convenience feature.
Test Activity Log
This is a log file maintained by STM that contains messages about the progress and problems encountered by the tool as it executes. To view the log file select the 'View Activity Log' menu item belonging to this device from the STM main window.

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URL: http://docs.hp.com/hpux/onlinedocs/diag/stm/help/fw_update/scsi_mo_drx.htm
Last updated: Wed May 23 14:24:50 PDT 2001