[RFC] flashrom as a payload requirements, for updating firmware without OS help.

[Tadas Slotkus]

Hi,

legacy BIOS provided flasher, to update firmware image to better one
(via floppy, usb, hdd...). Users were provided with working images, so
the possibility to brick was low. If our codebase is ready, I mean the
default settings build the right image, we may want to provide similar
tool too. When using SeaBios you can select another payload (flashrom)
to execute instead of loading OS. Also for payload development, little
trimmed SeaBios with CBFS support could be used - this invokes flashrom
or the development payload or even another full-featured SeaBios.

What do uefi experts think? I saw there are dozens of stuff in the
specification? But less about recovery.

Any comments?

Thanks,
Tadas

[Patrick Georgi]

Am Freitag, 15. Juli 2011 15:06:32, Tadas Slotkus schrieb:
> If our codebase is ready, I mean the
> default settings build the right image, we may want to provide similar
> tool too.

I fear this will only work reliably once we have vendor adoption 
(because they're free to change board designs while keeping the model 
name and things like that).
> When using SeaBios you can select another payload (flashrom)
> to execute instead of loading OS.  Also for payload development, little
> trimmed SeaBios with CBFS support could be used - this invokes flashrom
> or the development payload or even another full-featured SeaBios.

This works with FILO, too.
> What do uefi experts think? I saw there are dozens of stuff in the
> specification? But less about recovery.

The "standard" way of doing updates reserves the top 64KB and allows to 
swap them in hardware (at least that's the way on Intel). We have 
mechanisms with a more flexible (software-only) design, but they're 
under-develop
ed.

Patrick

[Tadas Slotkus]

> > When using SeaBios you can select another payload (flashrom)
> > to execute instead of loading OS.  Also for payload development,
>
> little
> > trimmed SeaBios with CBFS support could be used - this invokes
>
> flashrom
> > or the development payload or even another full-featured SeaBios.
>
> This works with FILO, too.

Hi Patrick,

thank you for quick response. I seem to remember having problems
launching other payload via FILO. It doesn't recognized it's format.

Thanks,
Tadas