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Clone CMOS Settings (Woodpecker, Robin)

 
Applicable for

Article updated at 24 Sep 2012

The AWARD Phoenix BIOS for the Robin and Woodpecker Module saves the CMOS settings atomatically to the flash. This function has two advantages:

  • Battery less operation If the RTC is not used, no backup battery is needed to store the CMOS settings. If the battery is not present, the backup settings are restored from the flash.
  • Clone CMOS settings On a master system, the the CMOS settings are configured to the desired values. The BIOS image including the backup CMOS settings of this system can be stored to a file. With this file, the BIOS of the clone systems can be flashed. IMPORTANT: since the Woodpecker Z5xx and the Robin Z5xx do not have the same BIOS image, use the stored BIOS image only for equal module types.

This document describes how to clone the CMOS settings of your system.

Preparation

  • Contact Toradex (robin@toradex.com or woodpecker@toradex.com) for getting the latest Award BIOS and TorFlash or AwdFlash tools.
  • Create a bootable USB stick with installed DOS or FreeDOS.
  • Copy the TorFlash tool and the latest Award BIOS to the USB stick.
  • Update the BIOS of your master system with the latest Award BIOS according the update procedure description delivered with the BIOS image.

Getting the BIOS Clone Image

  • Configure the BIOS settings of your master system according your needs.
  • Boot the master system with the USB DOS stick and run the TorFlash (or AwdFlash) tool without any further options.
  • The tool asks for the file name to program. Enter the file name of the provided Award BIOS image (e.g. R0P91014.bin).
  • The tool asks for saving the BIOS. Press Y
  • Enter a name for the your BIOS image (e.g. clone.bin).
  • Press N when the tool has finished saving the image and asks for programming the BIOS.

Example 3 of the AwdFlash User Guide describes how to save the BIOS image to a file by using the option awdflash /pn oldbios.bin. Unfortunately, this example is not working.

Updating the Clone Systems with the Image

  • Boot the clone system with the USB DOS stick
  • Run the TorFlash tool with the following option: TORFLASH clone.bin /nab /py /sn /qi /wb /cd /cc /cp
  • Done. Reboot the clone system.

Warning: Do not used a cloned CMOS settings from Robin Z530 for Z510 modules and viceversa.

Change temporary the Boot Order

Maybe the system needs to be set to boot from the internal SSD but the DOS for getting the clone image is located on a USB drive. In this case, it is useful to boot temporary from a different device without changing the boot order setting in the BIOS. This can be done by pressing the ESC key during the booting when the Toradex logo appears. This opens a temporary boot order menu. The boot device you select in this menu is only valid once, next time the system is booted, the boot order of the BIOS will be used again.