If you do some searching around automating this then it’s quite bare but I did come across this PDF from 2014 (pre Windows 10!) which can be used for some guidance and understanding of the parameters within the platform.ini file. This configuration includes parameters for a silent install. In here we have the ROM file which is the actual firmware update, an exe and 2 dll files which carry out the actual firmware flash, then finally a file named platform.ini which contains a variety of parameters which can be pre-configured to your desire. Whilst this is obviously fine for piecemeal upgrades, it’s no use for an automated upgrade through something like a Configuration Manager task sequence.įear not, after a little tinkering I saw that the original executable extracted a number of files and when checking the %temp% folder you will see that there are a number of files extracted. From there, the user can hit upgrade, interact with any prompts such as AC power missing etc and then the upgrade kicks in, restarts and completes after a few minutes. This tool simply instigates a comparison between the existing firmware and the version included within the supplied executable.

I understand this is used with a variety of other manufacturers too including Lenovo for some devices. Regardless, the customer was given a single executable which when launched ran an interactive utility called the Insyde Flash Firmware utility. These particular devices are well integrated with the firmware in that some of the software that runs on them can be part configured through the BIOS/UEFI setup utility.

In the absence of online updates being available my customer had contacted Getac and obtained a firmware update.

The devices I was working with were Getac RX10’s and they look something like this. That’s all good and fine when you’re using the major vendors such as Dell, Hp and Lenovo but sometimes things can get a little more ‘exotic’ when using low volume or specialised devices.

The project I was working on was a Windows 10 upgrade and as part of that upgrade, as any good desktop admin knows, we should be updating the BIOS/UEFI firmware as part of any operating system upgrade. I did some work recently with an organisation who use specialised ‘tough’ tablets from a company named Getac.

Insyde bios flash utility