On Sun, Nov 21, 2021 at 7:46 AM bernd1-1@web.de bernd1-1@web.de wrote:
Hi. I'd like to backup the chip of my ThinkPad X220 (notebook) and afterwards flash coreboot with SeaBIOS. I don't want to use a Raspberry Pi. I've got an old laptop. Which items could I use for reading/writing?
Hello again,
First, you need a programming clip to connect to the actual BIOS chip, regardless of the actual programmer you use. You can usually find them under the names "SOIC8 clip" or "Pomona clip" [1][2]. The Pomona ones are blue and are supposedly higher quality, and have pins on the end of the clip to connect jumper wires. Cheaper clips typically have black plastic, and may or may not have wires already connected to them. The ones without wires have pins on the end of them like the Pomona ones, but the spacing is narrower and likely won't fit all the jumper wires.
Next you need a programmer to actually communicate with the BIOS chip to read/write it. The "CJMCU-2232H" [3] has previously been suggested as a good choice, as it does not require as much configuration as other solutions like a Raspberry Pi or STM32. Many of them seem to have unsoldered pin headers, so you either need to have the ability to solder them on yourself, get someone to solder it for you, or find a version with the headers already soldered on.
You will also need some jumper wires to connect the clip to the programmer. These can be found under the name "dupont wire" [4]. Many of these sets come with male to male (pins on both ends), male to female (pin on one end and a socket on the other) and female to female (sockets on both ends). Depending on the actual programmer and clip you buy, the type of wires you actually need might be different, but it will likely be female to female or possibly female to male.
As a brief overview of how everything would be connected, the 2232h board would connect to your old laptop over usb, then the board would connect to the clip using the jumper wires, and the clip would connect to the flash chip on your X220. Then you would use the flashrom program (should be available on any Linux distribution) on your old laptop to backup the flash chip on the X220 and then write the coreboot rom onto it.
If you are unsure of whether a specific product listing would work, feel free to ask on IRC or this mailing list thread with the links.
Regards, Nicholas
Here are some listings for the items mentioned above, but consider these as more of a reference of what they look like and feel free to look at other sites/stores for similar products [1] https://www.amazon.com/XLX-Motherboard-Universal-Connector-Programmer/dp/B08... [2] https://www.amazon.com/Pomona-Electronics-5250-Plated-Spacing/dp/B00JJ4G13I/ [3] https://www.amazon.com/FT2232HL-Module-Channel-RS232-CJMCU-2232HL/dp/B07Q4K3... [4] https://www.amazon.com/Yueton-Multicolored-Female-Breadboard-Jumper/dp/B01DD...