flashio(1M)							   flashio(1M)

NAME    [Toc]    [Back]

     flashio - reprogram the flash PROM	hardware on Everest-based machines

SYNOPSIS    [Toc]    [Back]

     flashio [-s slot] [-q] [-f] promfile.bin
     flashio -v

DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]

     flashio allows a user to manage the flash PROMs on	the IO4	board of
     Everest-based high-end systems (the Challenge L/XL, PowerChallenge	L/XL,
     Onyx L/XL,	and PowerOnyx L/XL are all based on the	Everest	architecture).
     Normally, flashio is executed automatically during	the installation of a
     new release of IRIX; as a result, a customer should rarely	need to	use it
     directly.

     flashio can perform two major tasks: it can alter the contents of the
     flash PROMs by transferring the contents of a file	into them, and it can
     display the revision of the firmware currently stored in the flash	PROMs.
     When the -v switch	is used, flashio displays the current firmware
     revisions contained in the	flash PROMs of all the IO4 boards in the
     system.  All the flash PROMs should contain the same firmware revision as
     a rule.

     By	default, if no command-line switches are specified, flashio tries to
     reprogram all of the IO4 flash PROMs in the system	with the contents of
     the binary	file specified on the command line.  In	current	versions of
     IRIX, the only valid IO4 PROM firmware binary file	is
     /usr/cpu/firmware/io4prom.bin.  Future versions of	IRIX may ship
     additional	firmware binaries, however, and	occasionally the system's
     service provider might provide an optional	file.

     Firmware binary files contain a version number that flashio uses to
     determine whether or not to load the binary into the flash	PROMs.
     Normally, if a binary file's revision number is lower than	or equal to
     the firmware revision that	is currently in	a flash	PROM, flashio displays
     a warning message and refuses to overwrite	the newer firmware.  To	force
     flashio to	overwrite the contents of the flash PROMs regardless of	the
     firmware revisions, use the -f (for force)	command-line switch.

     The following switches can	be used	to alter flashio's behavior:

     -s	slot   Limits flash PROM reprogramming to specific boards.  If,	for
	       example,	you want to only reprogram the flash PROMs on board 3,
	       you can type flashio -s 3 io4prom.bin.  The -s switch can be
	       specified multiple times, once for each board that should be
	       programmed.  In the absence of this switch, flashio reprograms
	       the flash PROMs on all of the IO4 boards	in the system.	This
	       switch has no meaning when specified in conjunction with	the -v
	       switch.





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flashio(1M)							   flashio(1M)



     -f	       Forces flashio to reprogram the flash PROMs regardless of the
	       revision	numbers.  Normally, you	use this switch	only if	you
	       are reverting to	a previous version of the operating system and
	       want to ensure that the firmware	matches	the operating system
	       being run.  Because the kernel/firmware interface rarely
	       changes,	however, reverting the flash PROMs to a	previous
	       version should not be necessary.

     -T	       Obsolete.

     -v	       Causes flashio to display the revision numbers of the firmware
	       that is currently programmed in the flash PROMs.

FILES    [Toc]    [Back]

     /usr/cpu/firmware/io4prom.bin   contains the binary image of the firmware
				     currently installed

WARNINGS    [Toc]    [Back]

     The flashio command is not	intended for casual use.  If used incorrectly,
     it	can render a system unbootable and greatly decrease the	lifetime of
     the system's IO4 boards.  Silicon Graphics	strongly recommends that this
     command only be used under	the supervision	of a support representative.


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