P o q e t F l a s h U t i l i t y U s e r ' s G u i d e Revision 3.052-a July 6, 1994 This document describes the Poqet Flash Utility (FLASHUTY), version 1.05 that is part of release 3.052 of the Plus Series System Software. In usage syntax descriptions, optional arguments for the utilities are enclosed in brackets ("[" and "]"). The Poqet Flash Utility (FLASHUTY) can be used to read, write, and erase the Flash ROM which holds the Plus Series BIOS as well as the contents of drive D:. The Flash Utility can also be used to convert DOS file structures into image files that can be programmed onto the Flash disk (drive D:) inside the Plus Series products. Because the Flash Utility can overwrite the BIOS of the Poqet Plus Series products, extreme care should be taken when using this utility. If used improperly, the Flash Utility will destroy the BIOS in the product. Because of this danger, this utility should not be generally distributed outside of Fujitsu Personal Systems and well-qualified VARs. The general command line syntax for the Poqet Flash Utility is: Display Flash ROM: FLASHUTY /Dstart_addr[-end_addr] Erase Flash ROM: FLASHUTY /Estart_block[-end_block] Write Flash ROM: FLASHUTY /Wstart_block filename Create File Image: FLASHUTY /M[:size] pathname imagefile Reading Flash ROM ----------------- When used with the "/D" option, the Flash Utility will display the contents of the specified address range on the screen. Usage: FLASHUTY /Dstart_addr[-end_addr] Parameters: start_addr: The address at which the Flash Utility should start reading the Flash ROM. end_addr: The address at which the Flash Utility should stop reading the Flash ROM. Notes: After displaying a block of Flash ROM, the Flash Utility will pause. Pressing the ESC key will exit the Flash Utility, while pressing any other key will display the next block of Flash ROM. The internal Flash drive (drive D:) of the Plus Series product occupies addresses 00000h - DFFFFh. The BIOS of the Plus Series product occupies addresses E0000h - FFFFFh Example: To display the contents of the internal Flash drive, issue the following command at the DOS prompt: FLASHUTY /d00000 Erasing Flash ROM ----------------- When used with the "/e" option, the Flash Utility will erase a section of the Flash ROM. Usage: FLASHUTY /Estart_block[-end_block] Parameters: start_block: The block address at which the Flash Utility should start erasing the Flash ROM. end_block: The block address at which the Flash Utility should stop erasing the Flash ROM. Notes: A block address is a single digit that specifies a 64 KB block of Flash ROM to operate on. Specifying block 0 will erase bytes 00000h - 0FFFFh, specifying block 1 will erase bytes 10000h - 1FFFFh, and so on, up to block F, which will erase bytes F0000h - FFFFFh. The BIOS occupies blocks E and F. The internal Flash drive (D:) occupies blocks 0 - D. When erasing the Flash ROM, power management must be disabled, and external power must be applied to the unit. Example: To erase the contents of the internal Flash drive, issue the following command from the DOS prompt: FLASHUTY /e0-D Programming Flash ROM --------------------- When used with the "/W" option, the Flash Utility will read a binary file and program the contents of that file into the Flash ROM. Use the "/W" parameter to update the BIOS of a Poqet Plus Series product, or to create or change the contents of the internal Flash drive (drive D:). Usage: FLASHUTY /Wstart_block filename Parameters: start_block: The block address at which the Flash Utility should start writing the Flash ROM. filename: The name of the image file with which to program the Flash ROM. Notes: A block address is a single digit that specifies a 64 KB block of Flash ROM to operate on. Specifying block 0 will program bytes 00000h - 0FFFFh, specifying block 1 will program bytes 10000h - 1FFFFh, and so on, up to block F, which will program bytes F0000h - FFFFFh. The BIOS is located in blocks E and F. The internal Flash drive (D:) is located in blocks 0 - D. When writing the Flash ROM, power management must be disabled, and external power must be applied to the unit. The Flash ROM does not have to be erased before being programmed with the "/W" option. For detailed instructions on programming the internal Flash drive and the BIOS of the Plus Series products, see below. Example: To write data from a file named BIOS.BIN into blocks E and F, which contain the Plus Series BIOS, issue the following command from the DOS prompt: FLASHUTY /we bios.bin After executing this command, you should perform a master reset of the Plus Series product by pushing the Reset key while holding down the On/Off key (the green ON key on the Poqet PC Plus, or the green key on the Poqet Pad Plus). Creating Disk Images -------------------- When used with the "/M" option, the Flash Utility will create an image of all of the files contained in a directory and its subdirectories. This image file can then be used with the Flash Utility "/W" parameter to program the Plus Series Flash drive (drive D:). Usage: FLASHUTY /m[:size] pathname imagefile Parameters: size: The size, in kilobytes, of the disk image to create. Valid parameters are 512, 576, 640, 704, 768, 832, and 896. If omitted, the size will default to 512 KB. pathname: The top directory of the directory structure which is to be assembled into a disk image. imagefile: The file into which the disk image is to be placed. Notes: When creating disk images, the Flash Utility can be run on any standard MS-DOS computer. This is the first step in creating the internal Flash drive on the Poqet Plus Series products. For detailed instructions on this procedure, see below. Example: Assume we have the following directory structure: C:\ | +-- DOS | +-- APPS | +-- WP | | | +-- IS | | | +-- AWORKS . . To create a 640 KB image of the directory structure starting with the APPS subdirectory, and then place that image in A:\DRIVE.IMG, issue the following command from the DOS prompt: FLASHUTY /m:640 c:\apps a:\drive.img This command will create the image file DRIVE.IMG and place the APPS, WP, IS, and AWORKS directories and their files in the image file. When the image file is programmed into the Flash (using the "/W" option), drive D: will have the same directory structure as the APPS subdirectory -- the root directory of drive D: will have three subdirectories: WP, IS, and AWORKS. Programming the Flash Drive of a Plus Series Product ---------------------------------------------------- As an example, assume that the files contained in "C:\APPS" and its subdirectories are to be programmed into the Flash drive (drive D:) of a PoqetPad, and that those files occupy 754,234 bytes of disk space. To program the Flash drive of a Plus Series product, perform the following steps. 1) Determine the amount of space required to hold all of the files that need to be placed on the Flash drive, and then decide which parameter to use with the "/M" option of the Flash Utility. EXAMPLE: Our files occupy 754,234 bytes, so the parameter to the "/M" option would be 768. 2) Make an image of the directory structure by using the "FLASHUTY /M" command. This step will be done on a desktop computer, with the image file being transferred to the PoqetPad Plus or Poqet PC Plus via a PCMCIA card inserted in a ThinCardDRIVE. EXAMPLE: Assuming that the ThinCardDRIVE is drive D: on our desktop computer, we issue the command: FLASHUTY /m:768 c:\apps d:\disk.img 3) Transfer the image file to a Poqet Plus Series product. 4) Disable power management on the Poqet Plus Series product and supply external power to it. 5) Use the Flash Utility to program the image onto the Flash drive of the Plus Series product. EXAMPLE: Assuming that the image files is on a RAM card in drive A: of the Poqet Plus Series product, we issue the command FLASHUTY /w0 a:\disk.img Updating the BIOS on a Plus Series Product ------------------------------------------ To update the BIOS on a Plus Series Product, perform the following steps. Exercise extreme caution when performing this procedure. If a mistake is made, the BIOS may be erased, rendering the computer unusable. 1) Obtain a file containing the version of the BIOS that you want to program into the Plus Series product. 2) Disable power management on the Poqet Plus Series product and supply external power to it. 3) Use the Flash Utility to program the BIOS into the Plus Series product with the following command (assuming that the BIOS is in a file named BIOS.BIN in drive A:): FLASHUTY /wE a:\bios.bin 4) Reset the computer to factory defaults by pressing the Reset key while holding the On/Off key (the green button on a PoqetPad Plus, or the green ON key on a Poqet PC Plus). Continue to press the On/Off key until the BIOS banner is displayed on the screen. WARNING: To avoid disastrous consequences, make sure that the first parameter to the Flash Utility command is "/wE". Also make sure that the file specified in the Flash Utility command has a valid BIOS image in it. Failure to do either one of these could result in the destruction of the computer's BIOS.