flashio(1M)

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

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


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

WARNINGS
     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.