BIOS Setup Description (AN42)

Affected Products

All products featuring AMI Aptio® V UEFI firmware and released after 2018

Preface

This application note explains how to view the BIOS setup description of congatec products released after 2018 that feature an AMI Aptio® UEFI firmware by using the CgMlfViewer with a Menu Layout File (MLF). The CgMlfViewer is currently only available for Windows 10.

Terminology

Term	Description
MLF	Menu Layout File
POST	Power-On Self-Test

BIOS Setup Description

This application note explains how to view the BIOS setup description of a congatec product released after 2018 that feature an AMI Aptio® UEFI firmware using the CgMlfViewer with a Menu Layout File (MLF). Each MLF contains the BIOS setup description of a particular congatec product and can be viewed using the CgMlfViewer. The CgMlfViewer is currently only available for Windows 10.

Prerequisites

This section explains how to get the MLF and CgMlfViewer.

Menu Layout File (MLF)

Each MLF contains the BIOS setup description of a particular congatec product. It can be either downloaded from the congatec website or created by yourself if you have the particular congatec product with the desired BIOS revision.

If you have the congatec product, follow the steps below to generate the MLF:

1. Attach a FAT16 or FAT32 USB stick¹ to the system with the congatec product
2. During POST, press the key to enter the BIOS setup program
3. Navigate to the tab labeled "Save & Exit"
4. Select "Generate Menu Layout File"
5. Press <Enter>
6. A popup will appear showing the progress.

The MLF is now stored on the attached USB stick.

If you do not have the congatec product, follow the steps below to download the MLF:

1. Login to the restricted area at www.congatec.com
2. Click on "PCN Software/Firmware and Downloads"
3. Select the desired congatec product from the drop-down menu
4. Click on the desired BIOS revision.
5. Download the zip file (e.g. TA50R152.zip) listed below "Related Files"

The MLF is included² in the zip file.

Note:

¹Only USB sticks with a FAT16 or FAT32 file system are supported.

²MLF are only provided for Mass Production (MP) BIOS revisions. MP BIOS revisions released before 01.01.2020 may not include the MLF in the zip file.

CgMlfViewer

The CgMlfViewer is required to view an MLF. Follow the steps below to install it:

1. Open the congatec website www.congatec.com
2. Navigate to the web page of a congatec product
3. Click on the tab labeled "Software"¹
4. Download the CgMlfViewer²
5. Extract the file in a folder of your choice
6. Open the folder and follow the instructions in the readme

Note:

¹If the Software tab is not available, navigate to the web page of an older product. The CgMlfViewer is the same for every congatec product.

Note:

The CgMlfViewer is currently only available for Windows 10.

Opening the MLF in CgMlfViewer

Follow the steps below to open the MLF in the CgMlfViewer:

1. Start the CgMlfViewer (see section "CgMlfViewer":
2. Click on the button

3. Select and open the MLF (see section "Menu Layout File (MLF)"