Add the Gigabyte MC12-LE0 article

content/blog/2024-12-09-updating-bios-and-bmc-firmware-gigabyte-mc12-le0/index.md

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+title = "Updating the BIOS and BMC firmware on Gigabyte MC12-LE0" +++
+
+![Gigabyte MC12-LE0](images/motherboard.jpg)
+
+Gigabyte MC12-LE0 is an microATX AMD AM4 motherboard based on the B550 chipset.
+
+It has two PCIe 4.0 slots, 6 SATA slots, 6 (!) PWM fan connectors, and features an
+ASPEED KVM, which lets you control the motherboard remotely.
+It's also fairly inexpensive on the used market.
+
+The catch? Its BIOS update process.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+You can find the latest BMC firmware [here](https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Enterprise/Server-Motherboard/MC12-LE0-rev-1x#Support-Firmware),
+and the latest BIOS version [here](https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Enterprise/Server-Motherboard/MC12-LE0-rev-1x#Support-Bios).
+
+You'll need both regardless of the update method.
+
+In order to update the BIOS, you will also need a working CPU that is already recognized by the motherboard.
+The BIOS chip is only exposed to the BMC once the CPU is initialized and the system has POSTed, so you
+can't flash the BIOS with no CPU installed, like on some other AM4 motherboards.
+
+## The Good
+
+I'd like to preface by saying that on some BMC and BIOS versions,
+updating the firmware using BMC just works (tm) with no issues
+whatsoever. So I would encourage you to try and update your
+motherboard this way first.
+
+![BMC login screen](images/bmc_login_screen.png)
+
+Open the BMC's WebUI, and log in with your credentials. The default login is
+`admin`, and the password is a part of the motherboard's serial number after the slash.
+
+For example, if your motherboard's serial number is `4/I/DK3I5 456864`, the password is `DK3I5456864`.
+The serial number can be found on a sticker in the middle of the motherboard.
+
+After logging in, go to Maintenance > Firmware Update, and click on "Browse...".
+
+Here, you'll want to select the RBU file (RBU/image.rbu) from the **BIOS archive** (not the BMC one).
+
+After selecting the file, click on Start Firmware Update. You will be prompted to select the component to update.
+
+![BMC update screen](images/firmwareupdate_bmc.png)
+
+Select "BMC". You can additionally choose to preserve either the whole BMC configuration, or single configuration items
+(e.g. networking, authentication, etc.).
+
+Finally, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "Proceed to Flash".
+
+![Failed BMC update screen](images/firmwareupdate_failed_bmc.png)
+
+Well that didn't seem to work.
+
+However, if you're reading this article, chances are, you've already seen this message, and you've seen it coming.
+
+Luckily, this is not the only way to update the BMC/BIOS firmware.
+
+## The Bad
+
+Our backup strategy involves using the UEFI shell to perform the updates.
+
+For that, you'll want to copy the contents of the BMC firwmare archive to a
+flash drive (formatted as FAT32), and plug the drive it into the motherboard.
+
+![BMC firmware on the USB drive](images/usb_bmc_firmware_files.png)
+
+Power on the motherboard, either using the case button, or the BMC's WebUI.
+
+In the WebUI, go to Remote Control > Launch H5 Viewer. If you don't have any bootable device installed,
+you should already be seeing the UEFI Shell. If not, you can reboot the server, enter the BIOS settings
+and choose the UEFI Shell boot override.
+
+![BIOS Settings – UEFI Shell boot override](images/bios_settings.png)
+
+Once you are in the UEFI Shell, take a look at the file systems available. In my case, there's FS0 and FS1.
+
+Type `FS0:`, press Enter, and then type `ls`. This will list the contents of the file system. Repeat with all
+available file system until you see the BMC firmware files.
+
+![UEFI Shell – BMC update](images/uefi_shell_bmc.png)
+
+Now, type "bmc" and press Tab to autocomplete the command until you see `bmc_fw_update_uefi.nsh`.
+Press Enter to start the BMC firmware update process.
+
+Once the update has started, the WebUI will stop responding. Be patient, and wait for the BMC to become available
+on the same IP address. Keep in mind that if you chose not to preserve the settings, the motherboard will automatically
+grab an IP address from your router using DHCP.
+
+And after a few minutes, we're back in business!
+
+![Updated BMC firwmare](images/updated_bmc.png)
+
+It's time for the BIOS update.
+
+## The Ugly
+
+For some reason, the BIOS archive from the Gigabyte's website is missing
+the UEFI executable needed to flash the BIOS from the UEFI shell (SPI_UPD/AfuEfix64.efi).
+
+![No AfuEfix64.efi tool in the BIOS archive](images/no_afu_tool.png)
+
+However, there's no need to scour the shady darknet sites for a version of the executable.
+
+Looking at the contents of the BIOS archive, we can see that it includes _yet another_
+archive inside with a "zi\_" extension.
+
+![Another archive](images/another_archive.png)
+
+Once we rename it to "zip" and unpack it, it appears to be an identical copy of the
+main archive.
+
+However, lo and behold, this copy _does_ actually include the necessary executable to update the BIOS!
+
+![The AfuEfix64 utility](images/afu_tool.png)
+
+To avoid confusion, make sure to only copy the contents of the "inside" archive to the flash drive,
+but not before removing the BMC firmware files from it first.
+
+The rest is identical to the BMC update process – plug the USB drive into the motherboard,
+enter the UEFI shell, select the FS containing the update files (FS1: in my case).
+
+![UEFI Shell – BIOS update](images/uefi_shell_bios.png)
+
+Once you've found the update files, type `f.nsh`, and press Enter.
+
+You may see the following error:
+
+```
+THE ROM file information does not match the system BIOS
+```
+
+If that's the case, select the option "E" (Update Entire BIOS Region and Exit)
+when prompted.
+
+After the update is finished, the motherboard should reboot on its own. However, some users over at the STH forum
+report that their motherboard got stuck with no output after the process was finished. If that's the case for you,
+wait for ~30 minutes and reboot the board manually.
+
+Great Success!
+![Updated BIOS](images/bios_updated.png)