000037033 - BIOS firmware update for Dell PowerEdge R210 fails with error 'Cannot use a "-" BIOS in a "-"'

Document created by RSA Customer Support Employee on Dec 19, 2018
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Article Number000037033
Applies ToRSA Product Set: SecurID
RSA Product/Service Type: Authentication Manager
Platform: RSA SecurID hardware appliance on DellPowerEdge R210
IssueWhen trying to install the latest BIOS firmware advised by RSA v1.12.0 for Dell PowerEdge R210 as suggested in the RSA SecurID Hardware Appliance Component Updates advisory, released 10 December 2018, the following error is received and the update fails:

Cannot use a " -  " BIOS in a " -  "
ROM update not performed
CauseThis error occurs if the platform failed the pre-installation platform check. Meaning,  the firmware update script normally checks the machine type and the current firmware version of the hardware appliance for compatibility before applying the new firmware image.

The SecurID hardware appliance is preloaded with an OEM custom firmware image which causes it to fail that platform pre-installation check. 
Resolution
  1. Check to make sure that the model of the hardware appliance is correct.
    1. SSH into Authentication Manager using your rsaadmin credentials.
    2. Run the following command:


dmidecode | fgrep -i product


The output should be. 



Product Name: PowerEdge R210


  1. After confirming that the model is correct for the firmware that we are trying to install, boot into the upgrade media and follow these steps. 
    1. Exit the auto update. 
    2. The update file should be under the C:\ directory.


Directory of C:\

AUTOEXEC BAT           15  08-30-18  3:51p
C011200 EXE     1.930,962  08-30-18  3:37p
COMMAND.COM        56,861  05-25-06  8:59a
DELLBIO BIN        28,367  07-03-06  7:39a
DELLRMK BIN        31,994  07-03-06  7:39a
RELEASE TXT         2,949  08-30-18  2:49p
        6 file(s) 2,051,148 bytes
        0 dir(s) 6,649,856 bytes free


  1. Execute the update *.exe file with the /forcetype flag to bypass the pre-installation platform check.   In this case, the file is named C011200. So, the command should be.


C011200 /forcetype


  1. Follow the prompts on the screen till the firmware update is completed successfully. 

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