Updating bios and/or firmware on Dell servers running Debian or any unsupported OS

These instructions will help you update BIOS, BMC, PERC or any other system firmware on your Dell system running any supported or unsupported OS.

I finally got around to updating our servers to Debian Lenny. We have 1850's and 2850's. After lots of trial and error I figured out how to go about updating the bios and various device firmware without a Dell supported Linux environment installed on the server. You should note that instructions below still require basic Linux experience. Another note is that these instructions are OS agnostic and use a livecd which doesn't care what operating system you actually have installed on the machine itself.

The first step is running the Dell Content Manager to create a custom update repository for your severs. The fun part is actually getting your hands on the thing. You will need to download the Dell Systems Build and Update Utility. I should note that I wasn't able to get the download to work until I tried with a MS Windows desktop. When/If you are prompted for a Service Tag, just enter one for one of your own servers.

Once the ISO is downloaded you'll need to mount/copy or extract the 'contentmanager' directory onto your desktop. Assuming you are moving forward with the Windows desktop route you'll want to run the 'win\wincontent.exe' (there is also a 'lin\lincontent.tar' if you want to try that, I didn't). Now go find the new directory that was created. Edit the content.ini and change the 'ftp://' url to 'http://'. After you save that, run the 'contentmanager.exe'. Select 'Create Custom Server Update Utility' and 'Next.' Click 'Browse' and select a directory to dump this repository and click 'Next.' Wait for the program to download some meta-data and then un-check 'Windows' (leaving 'Linux' checked). Now control-click all the server models you need to upgrade and click 'Next.' Go get a soda and let it download everything. Once you've got your 'CustomRepository' go into the 'repository/sysman' directory and edit the .XML files in that directory with your favorite editor and look for the 'path=' attribute(s) (one for each system type). You'll see something like 'path="sysman\..."' change the slash to a '/' so it'll look like 'path="sysman/...". Save your changes and copy the contents (not the directory itself) of the 'CustomRepository' to the root of a FAT32 formatted usbkey.

Now you need to download the OpenManage Server Administrator. Burn it to a CD and then boot it in one of the servers you want to upgrade. Let it boot up all the way (this can take several minutes while network connectivity times out etc. and you answer a couple questions) and once you login as root you need to insert the usbkey. Mount it (you can check 'dmesg' output for the device and it'll be the first partition on there) with something like 'mkdir /media/disk; mount /dev/sdb1 /media/disk -o ro'. Change directory into '/media/disk' and run the following './suu -u'. Wait for it to analyze your system and update your system to the newest bios and firmwares. You'll probably see some notifications from snmpd and other stuff, they can be ignored. After you've completed all the updates type 'reboot'. Do not power down your system, some of the updates need the system to be rebooted to complete (such as BIOS updates).

You should now have up-to-date hardware bios/firmwares for your server. I should point out that under the Drivers section for your Service Tag on Dell's site you might also see something about 'SCSI Drives' firmware update. If you are using SCSI drives in your system you might want to get these out of the way as well. There is a Windows .exe you can download which will create a floppy or ISO image which you can boot in your server to update the drive firmware.

I hope this helps out, this was the simplest solution I could find given my environment (no DVD drives, no network connectivity, and the livecd not supporting X on the 1850's). Good luck! :)

Kenmore / Whirlpool dryer won’t stay running or heat?

We've got a Kenmore "Elite" dryer (actually made by Whirlpool) that stopped running when you release (let up) on the start button.  After doing some research I found out that there is a $5 relay (every other place you try to buy it is going to be $35-50 each) that USUALLY fixes this problem.

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for you spending $5 plus shipping on a part that doesn't fix the problem.

There are 2 of these relays in the control panel actually.  One is the motor relay and the other is the heat relay.  The motor relay was my problem.  Supposedly if your dryer isn't heating up then it is the heat relay. The part number for both relays is POTTER & BRUMFIELD/TYCO T9AP1D52-48-03 and the Kenmore part number is 3405281.   If you search around on the internet you'll come across a massive thread on Epinions dedicated to problems like this one.  Sears will happily send someone out and charge you $200 to fix this problem unless you have an extended warranty which they will sell you for $200 for a single year. Honestly, I can't believe there hasn't been a class action lawsuit against Sears for these relays.

Just fix this yourself!

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility if you break your dryer even more.

On the sides of the front of the control panel you'll see these plastic moldings.  Pull back on the top and remove them (they snap into place) exposing 2 screws on the bottom.  Remove the screws and lift up on the front lower edge of the control panel CAREFULLY/SLOWLY and let it hang back on the soft plastic hinges.  Make sure you don't snag on that resistor coming off the motherboard.  You'll see the two identical black relays matching the spares you purchased (I bought 3 of them total for future use).  The one on the right is for the Motor and on the left is for the Heat.  Replace which ever one is the problem (be sure to hook the wires back up to the correct contacts).  Put it back together and fire it up.  Now, go take the $190 you didn't spend on fixing your dryer and save it for buying a non-Kenmore (do some research and avoid any manuf. that produces products for Sears completely out of spite).

Original Art

I recently started commissioning and collecting comic art. I'm also planning on learning how to picture frame. Once I get some time I'll scan (or take pictures) some of the work for everyone to see.

ComicBooker.com

ComicBooker is a side project I've been planning on designing for quite some time. There are lots of sites that have information on comic books and even a few that give you the ability to track you collection. The problem is that none of them have both or have powerful interfaces for managing your collection. The link to the site above may or may not be live at the time of your reading this but we'll have the initial version up soon. Here is a posting on Comic Book Resources' forums describing the project and asking for volunteers to help with managing the data once its in place. Gathering the data hasn't been easy but surprisingly it hasn't been that bad. As the number of users increase the data will become more accurate (include variant information etc) over time. If you are interested in helping out there is an email address in the forum post mentioned above.

Getting my comics organized

I recently bought a couple cases of Comic Book Drawer Boxes so that I could organize all my comics once and for all. I pretty much pre-order every independent/small publisher horror comic that comes out every month. What I'm planning on doing is blogging a short review of every one of those comics. I got into EverQuest in march of this year and haven't read a comic since (MMOs are too addictive). All that is about to change and I'm determined to get caught up on everything.

Comicbase 11

I recently purchased Comicbase 11 Professional. I'd always heard it was the ultimate comic book collection software. All I have to say is if that is truly the case then comic book collection software is in a sad state. Over the past week I've found several bugs in the software that are written off by the author as 'by design.'

Here is a perfect example that left me speechless. There are browsing arrows at the top of the screen which bring you from one title in your collection to the next. When you reach the beginning or end of your collection you would think that it would stop on the first or last title of you collection or loop around to the beginning or end. That isn't the case at all. The first/last titles in the database ("0/6, o6Po (Netcomics, 2005)" and "ZZZ, ZZM (Alan Bunce, 2000)") are displayed as a place holder so the software knows when to stop. So in summary you get to browse through your collection plus one title at the beginning/end that have nothing to do with your collection. I'm not joking and I was told by the author that this is "by design." I couldn't respond to him, I was left speechless. You would think that at version 11 a piece of software would be a relatively refined piece of work.

Perhaps I'm being a bit critical as I have been writing database driven applications for over a decade myself. I'm putting this in my blog for the search engines. Hopefully the next technically savvy person researching CB11 will google this post and think twice before spending way more than this software is worth. Before closing I'd like to offer some positive remarks on the software. The data itself (not the application which presents it) is very useful and detailed. It is so good that it almost (that's a big almost folks) makes the software worth the price tag.

Good comics I've been reading

I read pretty much every horror comic that comes out every week. I know that's a bold statement but its true. Now if only they were all actually worthy of reading :). One new comic that peaked my interest is called Archaic. The cover art on the first issue kinda reminded me of some of the cover art I've seen on Glen Danzig's Verotik site. The actual story reminded me of a couple stories I read in an issue of the now canceled Metal Hurlant. If you are a horror comic fan such as myself I'd recommend that you check it out.

Another comic I've become addicted to is Girls being published through Image Comics. The entire premise of the comic is just nuts (not even going to bother explaining it, just read it!) but I really like the flow of the story and the writing reminds me a bit of some other great monthly comics like Y - The Last Man and The Walking Dead.