Hallo,
I'm new to BIOS-flashing and have some questions and hopefully you can help me out. I got a Galep5 programmer with a DIL32 to PLCC32 Adapter and samples of some flash-memory chips SST 49LF004B (33-4C-NHE). These samples are from Gneral Software Inc. and Insyde Software. I backup the original BIOS to files and delete the chip after that I wrote my linuxbios.rom to the chip(s) and put it to the motherboard (AMD LX DB800), but nothing happen. After that I wrote the original BIOS back to the chip (compare shown ok) and put these into the MB but nothing happen (again). The MB is ok (I tested with other samples). Now my question: Its possible these samples have some "protection" against use with other BIOS (linuxbios :-) ) or how can I find the error?
Thanx for answers. Thomas
On Tue, Aug 14, 2007 at 03:00:18PM +0200, Thomas Buschhardt wrote:
I'm new to BIOS-flashing and have some questions and hopefully you can help me out. I got a Galep5 programmer with a DIL32 to PLCC32 Adapter and samples of some flash-memory chips SST 49LF004B (33-4C-NHE).
Good stuff.
These samples are from Gneral Software Inc. and Insyde Software. I backup the original BIOS to files and delete the chip after that I wrote my linuxbios.rom to the chip(s) and put it to the motherboard (AMD LX DB800), but nothing happen.
This could quite possibly be because the linuxbios.rom file just doesn't work for the board. (Have you seen that file work on another db800 board?)
After that I wrote the original BIOS back to the chip (compare shown ok) and put these into the MB but nothing happen (again).
This is on the other hand rather strange.
The MB is ok (I tested with other samples). Now my question: Its possible these samples have some "protection" against use with other BIOS (linuxbios :-) )
Not really.
or how can I find the error?
Compare contents of the restored flash with one of the other samples. If different, try putting the new contents into the restored flash chip and see if it works. If not, you have a very strange situation indeed, where one flash chip works and another does not, when they both have the same contents. Are the flash chips the exact same model? Compare all the letters and numbers on them.
Did you successfully boot the board using the restored chip before flashing it with LB? If you didn't try this, the contents may just not have been appropriate for the board.
//Peter
Hallo Peter, thanks for your answer
This could quite possibly be because the linuxbios.rom file just doesn't work for the board. (Have you seen that file work on another db800 board?)
OK its really possible the rom I build is broken.
Compare contents of the restored flash with one of the other samples. If different, try putting the new contents into the restored flash chip and see if it works. If not, you have a very strange situation indeed, where one flash chip works and another does not, when they both have the same contents. Are the flash chips the exact same model? Compare all the letters and numbers on them.
Oh my god - I find the error - like you suggest, I compare the contents and it differ. It differ on all chips on all burnsessions. Hmm its only 2 options - the chips are damage or the programmer (Galep) Greetz Thomas
On Wed, Aug 15, 2007 at 08:50:49AM +0200, Thomas Buschhardt wrote:
Compare contents of the restored flash with one of the other samples.
Oh my god - I find the error - like you suggest, I compare the contents and it differ. It differ on all chips on all burnsessions.
It is quite likely that the different sample BIOS images from the vendors are different, even if for the same hardware.
But if you erase the chip, write an image, and then verify fails - there is something wrong indeed. (Don't forget erase first!)
Hmm its only 2 options - the chips are damage or the programmer (Galep)
The GALEP 5 seems to be a really good piece of hardware so it seems unlikely to be the problem.
Can you get a few other flash chips for further testing?
//Peter
Hallo Peter
It is quite likely that the different sample BIOS images from the vendors are different, even if for the same hardware.
Of course they differ, but if I read 1 chip 3 times and compare the bin's - they differ too :-(
The GALEP 5 seems to be a really good piece of hardware so it seems unlikely to be the problem.
Can you get a few other flash chips for further testing?
Today I telephone with the Galep producer and he said - some chip vendors use a "writeprotection technic" that u cant use the free samples to burn your own image on it. I order some new (clean ;-)) chips. I understand these method, because one of these vendor (www.insydesw.com) offer 50 chips for free - its quite a lot of money (1 chip is about 5.90 EUR).
Cheers Thomas
* Thomas Buschhardt ml@saxnet.de [070815 13:54]:
Of course they differ, but if I read 1 chip 3 times and compare the bin's - they differ too :-(
Have you tried erasing the chip (a couple of times)?
It sounds like the chip is no good.
Stefan
Hey,
On Wed, Aug 15, 2007 at 01:54:59PM +0200, Thomas Buschhardt wrote:
It is quite likely that the different sample BIOS images from the vendors are different, even if for the same hardware.
Of course they differ, but if I read 1 chip 3 times and compare the bin's - they differ too :-(
Ouch. Do they differ a lot? Can you run xxd on them and then diff?
Bit errors indeed start showing when the chip has been through (quite) a few erase/rewrite cycles. I had not heard about that write protection idea before.
Can you get a few other flash chips for further testing?
Today I telephone with the Galep producer and he said - some chip vendors use a "writeprotection technic" that u cant use the free samples to burn your own image on it. I order some new (clean ;-)) chips. I understand these method, because one of these vendor (www.insydesw.com) offer 50 chips for free - its quite a lot of money (1 chip is about 5.90 EUR).
If you are a company and have a budget for more than just a few chips you can usually get a decent deal for 30 chips (one tube) from the local component distributors.
Price goes down a lot when quantity goes up, so I doubt Insyde is paying very much.. :)
//Peter
Hallo Peter,
in the short: the timing of the read/write-process was wrong and the galep-producer change his software ;-) its so easy sometimes .... ...no protection
Thomas
Peter Stuge schrieb:
Hey,
On Wed, Aug 15, 2007 at 01:54:59PM +0200, Thomas Buschhardt wrote:
It is quite likely that the different sample BIOS images from the vendors are different, even if for the same hardware.
Of course they differ, but if I read 1 chip 3 times and compare the bin's - they differ too :-(
Ouch. Do they differ a lot? Can you run xxd on them and then diff?
Bit errors indeed start showing when the chip has been through (quite) a few erase/rewrite cycles. I had not heard about that write protection idea before.
Can you get a few other flash chips for further testing?
Today I telephone with the Galep producer and he said - some chip vendors use a "writeprotection technic" that u cant use the free samples to burn your own image on it. I order some new (clean ;-)) chips. I understand these method, because one of these vendor (www.insydesw.com) offer 50 chips for free - its quite a lot of money (1 chip is about 5.90 EUR).
If you are a company and have a budget for more than just a few chips you can usually get a decent deal for 30 chips (one tube) from the local component distributors.
Price goes down a lot when quantity goes up, so I doubt Insyde is paying very much.. :)
//Peter
On Thu, Aug 23, 2007 at 02:21:31PM +0200, Thomas Buschhardt wrote:
in the short: the timing of the read/write-process was wrong and the galep-producer change his software ;-)
Excellent.
its so easy sometimes .... ...no protection
I was quite surprised that the manufacturer would let those chips out with the same model number printed on them but incompatible logic inside.
I'm glad it got worked out!
//Peter
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Peter Stuge -
Stefan Reinauer -
Thomas Buschhardt