Hi guys,
I tried to update the BIOS on my Minix Z100-0db device so that I can boot a Linux UEFI from the NVME disk. Pls. see below:
1. As per https://theminixforum.com/index.php?threads/guide-updating-bios-uefi-using-g... I downloaded the newest image for Minix:AD0J0181.bin (well download zip, decompress) 2. I booted the device from an archlinux install USB and copied the new image there so I can access it 3. I installed flashrom to the arch install OS (pacman -S flashrom), the version is 1.5.1-1, compiled Dec 20 2024 4. I made a backup of the current version: flashrom -p internal -c "Opaque flash chip" -r my_backup_bios_AD0J0161.bin ... so far so good .. 5. I attempted to upload the new binary: flashrom -p internal -c "Opaque flash chip" -w my_backup_bios_AD0J0161.bin
issue follows:
Opened /dev/mtd0 successfully Found programmer flash chip "Opaque flash chip" linux_mtd_wp_read_cfg: ioctl Operation not supported Failed to unlock flash status reg with wp support. Reading old flash chip contents... done. Updating flash chip contents... linux_mtd_erase: MEMERASE ioctl call returned -, error: Input/output error Erase/write done from 0 to ffffff Write Failed!Uh oh. Erase/write failed. Checking if anything has changed. Reading current flash chip contents... done. Apparently at least some data has changed. Your flash chip is in an unknown state. Get help ...
Retried with -f, which in turn again changed something, but same outcome. I did not try to put back the original image so far, it would probably give me the same
The device is still on sitting in the arch install shell, I increased the install disk size and added a few packages to help with the possible fix, since I believe if I would try to reboot, the device would be lost, and I would likely have to replace it.
I am a long time linux user, can try any workaround or optionally even allow ssh access to the device. Can someone please give me some hints about where to go from here.
Appeciate your time, Robert