| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
i92guboj
Bodhisattva
Joined: 30 Nov 2004
Posts: 10315
Location: Córdoba (Spain)
|
 Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 5:22 am Post subject: [bios update] - Possible from Gentoo? - (discussion) |
 |
|
I wanted to know if someone managed to update his/her BIOS from within linux.
I know about projects like FreeDOS, which license is also GNU, so the thing is not that I'm worried about having to use a propietary system just to update my firmware, but I'm just curious about this thing.
I thougt many times about using dosemu or something like that to run the relevant DOS flashers to reprogram the BIOS, but never tried myself. I wonder also if there is a way to do so using some linux ancient tool... Well, you know, any advice will be greatly appreciated.
In case anyone got success with such a thing I'd also be pleased if you put the model (at least the manufacturer of the BIOS chip itself) and model of the mobo.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Qdot
Tux's lil' helper
Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 127
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 6:42 am Post subject: Re: [bios update] - Possible from Gentoo? - (discussion) |
|
|
| 6thpink wrote: | I wanted to know if someone managed to update his/her BIOS from within linux.
I know about projects like FreeDOS, which license is also GNU, so the thing is not that I'm worried about having to use a propietary system just to update my firmware, but I'm just curious about this thing.
I thougt many times about using dosemu or something like that to run the relevant DOS flashers to reprogram the BIOS, but never tried myself. I wonder also if there is a way to do so using some linux ancient tool... Well, you know, any advice will be greatly appreciated.
In case anyone got success with such a thing I'd also be pleased if you put the model (at least the manufacturer of the BIOS chip itself) and model of the mobo. |
Dosemu will not work (neither will dosbox, vmware, qemu) - it emulates the CPU, and it will likely crash and do nothing.
I remember there was a program to edit ROM code for AWARD bioses in P1 class computers... Anyway, flashing BIOS is bad thing to do from preemptible OS - you have to ensure your program will not be interrupted by scheduler.. so rather look for kernel threads/modules. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
lunarg
Guru
Joined: 07 Jan 2004
Posts: 508
Location: Peer, Belgium
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 3:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Usually flash utilities and roms are small enough to fit on a floppy or usb stick (if you can boot from that).
Download a boot floppy image from http://www.bootdisk.com/, and use that to boot. Then, use the DOS utils to flash it.
Always done it this way, and never failed once.
_________________
Registered linux user #341804
Visit Black Manticore: http://www.blackmanticore.com/ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
i92guboj
Bodhisattva
Joined: 30 Nov 2004
Posts: 10315
Location: Córdoba (Spain)
|
| Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:19 pm Post subject: Re: [bios update] - Possible from Gentoo? - (discussion) |
|
|
| Qdot wrote: | | 6thpink wrote: | I wanted to know if someone managed to update his/her BIOS from within linux.
I know about projects like FreeDOS, which license is also GNU, so the thing is not that I'm worried about having to use a propietary system just to update my firmware, but I'm just curious about this thing.
I thougt many times about using dosemu or something like that to run the relevant DOS flashers to reprogram the BIOS, but never tried myself. I wonder also if there is a way to do so using some linux ancient tool... Well, you know, any advice will be greatly appreciated.
In case anyone got success with such a thing I'd also be pleased if you put the model (at least the manufacturer of the BIOS chip itself) and model of the mobo. |
Dosemu will not work (neither will dosbox, vmware, qemu) - it emulates the CPU, and it will likely crash and do nothing.
I remember there was a program to edit ROM code for AWARD bioses in P1 class computers... Anyway, flashing BIOS is bad thing to do from preemptible OS - you have to ensure your program will not be interrupted by scheduler.. so rather look for kernel threads/modules. |
Yeah! I think you have the point here, I did not thought of that. As you say the only solution from linux would be some kind of kernel patch to arrange the scheduler and a few more things. So this really looks something not so easy as I first thought.
| lunarg wrote: |
Usually flash utilities and roms are small enough to fit on a floppy or usb stick (if you can boot from that).
Download a boot floppy image from http://www.bootdisk.com/, and use that to boot. Then, use the DOS utils to flash it.
Always done it this way, and never failed once.
|
Yes, I know, but if you reread the initial post the point I was looking for was some way to do it from linux, and not from a DOS disk. But this seems something imposible for now on, as Qdot pointed above. Anyway thanks for pointing that, maybe will be usefull for anybody. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
lunarg
Guru
Joined: 07 Jan 2004
Posts: 508
Location: Peer, Belgium
|
| Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2005 3:19 pm Post subject: Re: [bios update] - Possible from Gentoo? - (discussion) |
|
|
| 6thpink wrote: | | Yes, I know, but if you reread the initial post the point I was looking for was some way to do it from linux, and not from a DOS disk. But this seems something imposible for now on, as Qdot pointed above. Anyway thanks for pointing that, maybe will be usefull for anybody. |
For Toshiba laptops without legacy bios, it would theorically be possible to use the /dev nodes to read out the BIOS (if one compiles the proper kernel module). Not sure whether this includes writing.
And then again, such things are highly experimental, and doubt if it'll work properly.
My suggestion is to avoid linux, until someone figures out to write a decent flash tool for BIOSes.
_________________
Registered linux user #341804
Visit Black Manticore: http://www.blackmanticore.com/ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
Kernel & Hardware
