I have a Dell R610.
- I want to update the firmware (BIOS, NIC, iDRAC, etc..)
- I can’t update the firmware using the built in Lifecycle Controller because it’s too old (as of 2012) to recognize the signatures on the current Dell firmware updates.
- I can’t update using a USB drive with the updates for the same reason (signature not recognized).
- The only path forward is to install from a host environment (Windows or Linux)
- I happened to have a Windows 7 installer on a USB thumb drive, and I only need the OS running for about 20 minutes, so I chose Windows, because then it can natively run the the Dell Repository Manager, which fetches the firmware updates.
- After installing Windows 7, I can’t install Dell Repository Manager because .NET 4 isn’t installed.
- I can’t install .NET 4 because SP1 is installed.
- I can’t install SP1 yet. Maybe because these 103 other patches need to be installed first.
- First attempt to install patches fails.
- Install a half dozen patches. Reboot. Install 25 more. (Repeat 4x)
PS: After a few dead ends, the solution to getting all the updates applied was booting the system onto Windows and installing a newer (v1.5.X) Lifecycle Controller. Once that is accomplished, booting into it via F10 at the BIOS POST, and let the lifecycle controller upgrade everything else directly from ftp.dell.com.