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The Intel® Integrator Toolkit is a utility for PC OEMs and professional system integrators building systems with Intel® Desktop Boards. This application helps streamline and automate the manufacturing process while allowing replication of customized system configurations.
NOTICE: Intel Integrator Toolkit allows customization of system BIOS settings and is intended for use only by professional PC system integrators. Incorrect system BIOS settings may affect system stability/functionality.
Frequently Asked Questions
Known Issues
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I download Intel Integrator Toolkit?
The Intel Integrator Toolkit software is available for download at http://support.intel.com/design/motherbd/software/itk/.
Which Intel desktop boards support the Intel Integrator Toolkit?
Your system must include an Intel Desktop Board based on an Intel® 865 or newer chipset. Refer to the ITK download page for a list of currently supported boards.
Which version of the ITK should I use?
There are four separate ITK applications.
Intel® Integrator Toolkit Framework Edition
This Windows*-based version should be used when the chipset in the system's desktop board has an Intel® 945 or higher chipset. It allows you to configure CMOS and SMBIOS settings, deploy custom splash screens and create .INI and .BIO files without the need for a Reference system. This feature requires an Integrator Toolkit-enabled BIOS (an .ITK file in the BIOS package).
Intel Integrator Toolkit
This Windows-based version should be used when the chipset in the system's desktop board is within the range of an Intel 865 chipset through an Intel® 925 chipset. It allows you to configure CMOS and SMBIOS settings, deploy custom splash screens and create .INI and .BIO files without the need for a Reference system. This feature requires an Integrator Toolkit-enabled BIOS (an .ITK file in the BIOS package).
Tool for DOS
The DOS-based interface allows you to extract BIOS settings, SMBIOS and bill-of-material (BOM) information from a reference system into an INI file and to also install the INI file settings onto target systems. Editable tokenized settings also permit extracting and installing only the CMOS settings that are needed when the systems desktop board has an Intel 945 or higher chipset.
Tool for Windows* PE
The Windows PE-based interface allows you to extract BIOS settings and SMBIOS information from a reference system into an INI file and to also install the INI file settings onto target systems. This tool is supported only with desktop boards with an Intel 945 or higher chipset.
What can I do with the Intel® Integrator Toolkit?
The toolkit allows you to:
- Replicate custom BIOS and SMBIOS across multiple systems.
- Make sensitive BIOS settings tamper-resistant (via the lock/hide feature).
- Use SMBIOS for individual system identification.
- Promote integrator's brand with a custom splash image and by co-branding with Intel.
- Extract and verify a Bill-Of-Materials (BOM) to report contents of a finished system as well as compare against a standard reference configuration.
- Optimize system settings for stability and performance.
For complete information on these and other features, refer to the toolkit software's Help Topics (F1 function key).
How do I obtain the .ITK file needed to customize the BIOS?
The .ITK file needed for Intel Integrator Toolkit is included with a board's BIOS update package. Depending on the board, it will be included with either the iFlash BIOS Update package or the Integrator Toolkit BIOS Files package.
Instructions for the iFlash BIOS Update package (example filename: BX97510J.86A.1378.IB.EXE):
- From Intel's Download Center, download the iFlash BIOS Update for your desktop board and copy it to a temporary location (example: C:/TEMP/).
- Double-click the filename to extract files to the temporary directory, one of which is SW.EXE.
- Double-click SW.EXE to extract additional files, including the .BIO and .ITK files.
Instructions for the Integrator Toolkit BIOS Files package (example filename: MQ96510J.86A.1176.BI.ZIP):
- From Intel's Download Center, download the Integrator Toolkit BIOS Files for your desktop board and copy it to a temporary location (example: C:/TEMP/).
- Double-click the filename to unzip files to the temporary directory, including the .BIO and .ITK files.
Important: Both the .BIO file and the .ITK file must be together in the same directory.
What type of image files may I use for a customized logo (splash screen)?
The Platform Innovation Framework BIOS supports .bmp graphics files. If your system is not based on the Platform Innovation Framework, you must use .jpg graphics files. If you do not know which BIOS your system is based on, and you have tried using one format of graphics file and it failed to load, try using the other format type.
.jpg files - For BIOSs that accept .jpg files, any file smaller than 1024x768 is supported. The display resolutions are limited to 1024x768, 800x600, 640x480. If the image size doesn't match the display resolution, the BIOS centers the image.
.bmp files - For BIOSs that accept .bmp files, the display resolutions is limited to 800x600. Only .bmp files with 8 or 24 bits per pixel are supported (not 1, 4, 16, or 32 bits per pixel).
If you have inadvertently used an unsupported file type, any of the following symptoms may occur:
- Intel Integrator Toolkit may close unexpectedly.
- The customized image may NOT appear at reboot.
- The original Intel splash screen may not appear at reboot.
To make an embedded .jpg file compatible with the toolkit, save it using a basic image editor, such as Microsoft* Paint. More advanced image editors can be used, but the option to remove the embedded jpg must be selected.
How do I customize my PC's bootup logo (splash screen)?
This section describes how to install a custom splash screen for Intel Desktop Boards based on Intel® 865 chipsets and later. If you wish to customize the splash screen on Intel Desktop Boards with an Intel® 845 chipset, refer to Custom Splash Screen / Logos.
To customize your PC's logo:
- Download the latest Intel® iFlash BIOS Update for your desktop board.
- Extract the files to a directory (for example C:/Temp).
- Run the iFlash BIOS executable file to extract BIOS files, one of which is SW.EXE.
- Run SW.EXE to extract additional files, including the .BIO and .ITK files.
- Open the Intel® Integrator Toolkit software program (Start > Programs > Intel > Intel Integrator Toolkit > Intel Integrator Toolkit).
- In the ITK File menu, select New Workspace and browse to the directory where the .ITK and .BIO files were saved. Select the .ITK file and open it.
- Expand the tree on the left side of the display and select Flex Modules.
- On the right side of the display, right click the DPSD Default Logo Image and select Edit Module.
- Click File > Open; browse to and select the .JPG image you want to use for your splash screen.
- To display the Intel Badge at boot:
Click Badge > Display Badge.
Click Badge > Edit Badge Location > Lower Left (or desired position).
- Click File > Update BIOS File.
- Click File > Exit to exit the module.
- From the main File menu, click File > Generate BIOS File. Name the BIOS file and save it (example: MYLOGO.BIO).
- Copy the following files onto a bootable floppy disk:
- iFlash.exe (can be extracted from the BIOS update file)
- MYLOGO.BIO
- (Note: Due to the size of the .BIO file for D875PBZ, the command line utility iFlash2.exe can be used to fit both files on a single disk)
- Insert the floppy disk in the disk drive and boot the PC to a command prompt.
- At the command prompt, type 'iFlash /pf MYLOGO.BIO and press Enter. (Note: if using iFlash2, then type 'iFlash2 /p MYLOGO.BIO').
- The PC will go to a black screen and while the BIOS update is in process.
- Once the BIOS settings are successfully installed, reboot the PC and view the new splash screen.
How do I restore the original Intel logo?
If you have loaded a customized logo and wish to revert to the original Intel logo image, you must perform a BIOS recovery or update.
For desktop boards with a chipset in the range of Intel 865 through 925:
- Copy the original unaltered .BIO file to a floppy diskette.
- Insert the diskette into the floppy drive of the target system.
- Remove the BIOS configuration jumper on the desktop board. See the Technical Product Specification for details on the location of this jumper.
- Turn on the system and wait for the BIOS recovery process to occur.
- When complete, return the configuration jumper back to its original position and turn on the computer.
For desktop boards with a chipset of Intel 945 or higher:
- Create a bootable disk containing the original unaltered .BIO file and IFLASH.EXE.
- Insert the disk into the floppy drive of the target system.
- Turn on the system and wait until the prompt is displayed.
- Type Iflash /md /pf <BIO File Name> and press Enter. Wait for the BIOS update process to occur.
Is there a limit of how many items can be locked and/or hidden?
For desktop boards with an Intel 925 chipset and earlier, you are limited to 24 locks and 24 hides. Boards with the Intel 945 chipset and higher are not limited.
Can I upgrade the BIOS and make custom settings changes simultaneously?
The Intel® Integrator Toolkit does not allow you to simultaneously upgrade your PC's BIOS version and implement custom settings.
Example: Your PC currently has BIOS version P12. You create a custom .BIO file with the toolkit using a new BIOS (P14) that contains customized settings. You cannot install this custom .BIO file on your PC have the custom changes 'stick'. You must first update the BIOS to P14 and then apply the custom changes.
Restoring original BIOS settings
Once you have customized BIOS settings with ITK, those settings are considered to be the factory defaults. To change all customized BIOS settings back to the 'real' original settings:
- Create a bootable floppy disk and copy the file ITOOLKIT.EXE to it (from \program files\intel\intel integrator toolkit folder).
- With the floppy disk in the floppy drive, boot up the PC to the DOS prompt.
- At the command prompt from A:\, type itoolkit remove and press Enter.
Using the toolkit on boards without a floppy interface
For Intel desktop boards that support ITK but do not include a floppy diskette interface, you can use either a USB thumb/key drive or a CD to install the customized BIOS settings to a target system.
Known Issues
Custom logo won't appear
There is a known issue with iFlash version 5.9 where a custom logo created with the toolkit will not flash to a target system. This affects any board where the BIOS update file includes iFlash version 5.9.
Workaround: When flashing the logo to your PC, use the following command line switches: A:>iflash /rb /pf <.bio file>
iFlash v.6.0 will fix this problem and will be rolled into upcoming BIOS versions as they become available.
Can't lock or hide Boot Device Priority
You can use the toolkit to customize the Boot Device Priority, however, you cannot lock or hide this setting. This is by design. There is no way to predict what boot devices are on the target system so locking or hiding this would jeopardize even booting the system up if a device like CD-Rom has been chosen for all three and then locked where nothing else can be chosen.
Flex Modules not an optional component
Both the .BIO file and the .ITK file must be together in the same directory when opening a new workspace in the Integrator Toolkit or else the Flex Modules component will not appear as a choice.
Error when opening a New Workspace
If you are using the incorrect version of ITK for your board's BIOS, you may see one of the following errors:
"The BIOS file you selected cannot be opened with this version of Intel Integrator Toolkit. To use the selected BIOS file, you must use a newer version of Intel Integrator Toolkit."
"The BIOS file you selected cannot be opened with this version of Intel Integrator Toolkit. To use the selected BIOS file, you must use an older version of Intel Integrator Toolkit."
Refer to Which Version of the ITK Should I Use to determine the correct version.
Files are too large for a floppy diskette
Some customized BIOSs are too large to fit on a floppy disk along with IFLASH.EXE, ITOOLKIT.EXE and other files that may be placed on the floppy. Use the following hints if needed:
- If the customized BIOS is too large, copy the files to a portable USB drive (such as a thumb drive or key drive). Then use the USB drive to install the files to the target system.
- If the customized BIOS is small enough, copy only the customized .BIO file and IFLASH.EXE to the floppy. Use the command IFLASH /PF filename.BIO to install the customized BIOS to the target system.
This applies to:
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