Stand-Alone BIOS Flash6 Program Command Line Interface
May 20, 2003
The DOS-based Flash6 engine is a command line utility. The engine runs in
"silent" mode and requires no user interaction. All parameters are passed
in from the command line. The name of the executable is "Flash6.exe".
Follow the steps below to upgrade the BIOS on the adapter card:
1. On the DOS prompt, type 'flash6 -scan' to display all the Adaptec SCSI devices.
Get the bus # and Device # for the adapter card to be upgraded.
For example, bus #0, Device #b
2. Issue 'flash6 -bus # -dev # -w <biosImage>' to upgrade.
For example, to upgrade the BIOS image (39320a.rom) on bus #0 Dev #b card,
type 'flash6 -bus 0 -dev b -w 39320a.rom'
The usage of the utility is as follows:
Flash6.exe [-version] [-scan] [-verbose] [-bus #] [-dev #] [-r] [-s]
[-w] [-hv] [-bv] [-checksum] <romimage>
Flash6.exe Report to console the usage of the utility.
All other options are ignored.
Flash6.exe -? Report to console the usage of the utility.
All other options are ignored.
Flash6.exe /? Report to console the usage of the utility.
All other options are ignored.
Flash6.exe -version Report to console, the version number of the program.
All other command line options are ignored.
Flash6.exe -scan Scans all the Adaptec SCSI devices and displays
information about them.
Flash6.exe -r [-bus #] [-dev #]
Read the current BIOS. Calculate and display the checksum.
The bus # and device # (if they are specified) are hexadecimal numbers.
Example: Flash6.exe -r -bus 0 -dev f
Flash6.exe -s [-bus #] [-dev #] <romimage>
Read the current BIOS and save it in the file. Calculate and display
the checksum. All other options are ignored.
If a filename is specified, then the BIOS content is saved to the file.
Otherwise, the default filename "8bios.com" is used.
Flash6.exe [-bus #] [-dev #] -w <romimage>
Update the BIOS with the image specified in the file.
Always read the BIOS back after the flash and report the error if the
read-back image does not match the file.
If "-bus" or "-dev" are specified, then update only the matched adapter.
By default, the program updates all the adapters that match the
Vendor ID and Device ID in the new BIOS image.
Flash6.exe [-checksum] <romimage>
Calculate the checksum of the file specified in the argument and
display the result.
Flash6.exe [-bus #] [-dev #] -hv
Display hardware version information about the host adapter.
Flash6.exe [-bus #] [-dev #] -bv
Display version information about the BIOS on the host adapter.
Flash6.exe -hv <romimage>
Display hardware version information embedded in the supplied
<romimage> file.
Flash6.exe -bv <romimage>
Display BIOS version information embedded in the supplied
<romimage> file.
When no arguments are specified, the utility will display its usage.
The arguments can appear in any order. If an argument requires a parameter,
it must appear immediately after the argument. For example, a valid hexadecimal
number must immediately follow either the "-dev" or "-bus" option.
When the program receives the "-verbose" option, it prints. Otherwise,
it reports the status of the execution.
The "-version" option has the highest precedence. If this option is present,
then all others are ignored. The -scan option has the next precedence.
The "-r" option has the precedence after that. The program will read the
current BIOS when this option is present.
The "-verbose" option does not apply if the "-version" option is present.
Upon exit, the program returns the status of the execution. The possible
return values are listed in the table below.
Status Code Meaning
0 Program ran successfully.
1 Command line syntax error.
Possible cause is invalid option at the command line.
2 Invalid parameter following the argument.
3 File System error.
Reasons:
1) Cannot open BIOS image file.
2) Cannot read from or write to the specified file.
4 Invalid BIOS image file.
Reasons:
1) BIOS image size may be incorrect.
2) BIOS signature (55AA as first two bytes) may be incorrect.
3) BIOS image size may be greater than installed expansion ROM.
5 Unable to determine PCI BIOS support.
The underlying hardware may not be supporting PCI interface.
6 Memory allocation error (Unable to allocate sufficient memory).
7 Expansion ROM is not present.
The adapter card doesn't have an expansion ROM.
8 Verification failed (Unable to verify the updated Expansion ROM image).
9 Unable to read or write the configuration registers.
Probable cause may be problem with a PCI BIOS interrupt.
10 Device not present. Adaptec SCSI devices are not found on the PCI bus.
11 File System write error (Insufficient disk space encountered).
12 Unable to flash any of the host adapter.
13 Unable to flash some of the host adapters.
14 Unable to retrieve information for BIOS version less than 2.20.
15 No valid memory address available for memory mapping.
Following Host Adapters are supported by the Flash6 utility.
1) AHA-2940UW, AHA-2940U
AHA-3940UW, AHA-3940UWD, AHA-3940U, AHA-3944UWD
2) AHA-2944UW
3) AHA-4944UW
4) AHA-2940UW Pro
5) AHA-2940U Dual, AHA-2940UW Dual, AHA-3940AUWD, AHA-3940AUW,
AHA-3940AU, AHA-3944AUWD
6) AHA-2940U2B, AHA-2940U2 OEM, AHA-2940U2W, AHA-2950U2B
7) AHA-2930U2
8) AHA-3950U2B
9) AHA-3950U2D
10) Trident I host adapter (AHA-2960W/SCSI Card 29160)
11) Trident II host adapter (AHA-3960D/SCSI Card 39160)
12) Trident I host adapters (SCSI Card 19160, SCSI Card 29160N,
SCSI Card 20160LP)
13) Harpoon I based host adapters (SCSI Card 29320, SCSI Card 29320A,
SCSI Card 29320B, SCSI Card 29320LP)
14) Harpoon II based host adapters (SCSI Card 39320, SCSI Card 39320D,
SCSI Card 39320A)
15) HostRAID cards
16) Harpoon II (Rev B) based host adapters (SCSI Card 39320, SCSI Card 39320D)
Additional Notes:
1) Flash6 utility cannot run when "EMM386.EXE" is active. Please
disable "EMM386.EXE" by running "EMM386.EXE OFF" at the DOS prompt
before running Flash6.
2) Flash6 utility is a DOS-based program and should be run under
a pure DOS environment.
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.