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BIOS updates


Boden

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I noticed on the SmartDeploy website, in the customer reviews section, that one customer mentioned that SmartDeploy will "even update the BIOS." Is this true? How? Thanks!

Great question. SmartDeploy addresses BIOS updates the same way it does device drivers, with Platform Packs. Inside a Platform Pack downloaded from SmartDeploy.com you will find a BIOS folder that has the BIOS executable for the OEM. This is coupled with a preset task that queries the BIOS to get the version, then will run the update if it is needed. The great thing for customers using the packs from SmartDeploy.com is that this just happens, no need to make any modifications on your end. If you would like to add a BIOS to your own custom Platform Pack you can check out the SmartDeploy Enterprise User's Guide or the Creating Custom Platform Pack video here.

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Great question. SmartDeploy addresses BIOS updates the same way it does device drivers, with Platform Packs. Inside a Platform Pack downloaded from SmartDeploy.com you will find a BIOS folder that has the BIOS executable for the OEM. This is coupled with a preset task that queries the BIOS to get the version, then will run the update if it is needed. The great thing for customers using the packs from SmartDeploy.com is that this just happens, no need to make any modifications on your end. If you would like to add a BIOS to your own custom Platform Pack you can check out the SmartDeploy Enterprise User's Guide or the Creating Custom Platform Pack video here.

Thanks much!

You mention that this "just happens", however I don't think it's happening when I deploy here. How can I determine the actions that SmartDeploy has taken on a particular machine deployment?

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Thanks much!

You mention that this "just happens", however I don't think it's happening when I deploy here. How can I determine the actions that SmartDeploy has taken on a particular machine deployment?

If you want to see what level the BIOS will be updated too you can check the Platform Pack. Inside the Platform Pack, under the OS node you will see a folder called BIOS. Select the BIOS node and check the right hand pane for the version that is being queried. If the version on the machine is already higher than this it will not be updated. You could also check the Deploy.log that is in C:\ Windows\Debug after a deployment completes to see if the BIOS task was executed.

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If you want to see what level the BIOS will be updated too you can check the Platform Pack. Inside the Platform Pack, under the OS node you will see a folder called BIOS. Select the BIOS node and check the right hand pane for the version that is being queried. If the version on the machine is already higher than this it will not be updated. You could also check the Deploy.log that is in C:\ Windows\Debug after a deployment completes to see if the BIOS task was executed.

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

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  • 6 years later...
On 3/6/2013 at 4:41 PM, Erik said:

Great question. SmartDeploy addresses BIOS updates the same way it does device drivers, with Platform Packs. Inside a Platform Pack downloaded from SmartDeploy.com you will find a BIOS folder that has the BIOS executable for the OEM. This is coupled with a preset task that queries the BIOS to get the version, then will run the update if it is needed. The great thing for customers using the packs from SmartDeploy.com is that this just happens, no need to make any modifications on your end. If you would like to add a BIOS to your own custom Platform Pack you can check out the SmartDeploy Enterprise User's Guide or the Creating Custom Platform Pack video here.

Erik, is there a way to modify settings in the BIOS on deploy? For example, if a machine has both an integrated and discrete GPU, is there a way to set the option to only use the discrete GPU if the BIOS supports that option? Thanks!

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  • 1 month later...

One thing I noticed is the .ren file, but if you download the latest BIOS for like a HP machine (I did the ProBook 440 G6), there is no .ren file.  There's a .bin and .inf.

From the looks of it the .ren is basically the .inf file.

Should be as simple as going to the BIOS folder and saying here is the two new files to use.  Almost seems like you have to delete the current BIOS folder and upload a new one.

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  • 1 year later...

I would like to know how I can tell what version will a BIOS will be updated to. For example:

Dell Optiplex 7460-7760 AIO for Windows 10.ppk

Looking at what is in the BIOS folders I see a POSTIMAGE task that executes a script named DellBIOS. So I extracted the contents of the BIOS folder which contained the vb script and an exe file named OptiPlex_7760_7460_1.2.3.

My understanding is that if the machine being re-imaged is on a BIOS higher than 1.2.3 it will not be upgraded? Also if it is upgraded, what version would it be upgraded too?

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