Thinkpad T420

Hello

I was trying to flash BIOS of Thinkpad T420 for my project when I 
noticed that version 1.0 of flashrom doesn't support it. From coreboot 
wiki I understood that it was supported at some point. Is there a way to 
bypass this or does older version of flashrom support it?

Aadu

[Ivan Ivanov]

Hi Aadu,
Maybe it doesn't support the "internal flashing", but it should be
always possible to tear down your laptop, and - using CH341A USB
programmer (its' supported by flashrom) together with SOIC8 test clip
- attach directly to the BIOS chip and flash it directly without any
soldering! Its' just the internal flashing is not direct, it could be
going through some chips like EC controller and its easy that
something could go wrong, thats why the direct physical flashing is
much preferred. Both tools are very cheap: CH341A = $2-$3 from
aliexpress with free shipping, SOIC8 test clip - about $5 I think ;
but if you need them right now you could overpay and get them locally.
Thats of course if your BIOS chip has SOIC8 format, you better google
for some photos of your motherboard to see what shape is your BIOS
chip, because if its not SOIC8 then SOIC8 test clip wouldn't be
compatible and you'd need some another test clip if it exists
Best regards,
Ivan

2018-03-17 1:15 GMT+03:00  :
> Hello
>
> I was trying to flash BIOS of Thinkpad T420 for my project when I noticed
> that version 1.0 of flashrom doesn't support it. From coreboot wiki I
> understood that it was supported at some point. Is there a way to bypass
> this or does older version of flashrom support it?
>
> Aadu
>
> flashrom mailing list
> [e-mail]
> https://mail.coreboot.org/mailman/listinfo/flashrom

[Nico Huber]

Hello Aadu,

On 16.03.2018 23:15, [e-mail] wrote:
> I was trying to flash BIOS of Thinkpad T420 for my project when I
> noticed that version 1.0 of flashrom doesn't support it. From coreboot
> wiki I understood that it was supported at some point. Is there a way to
> bypass this or does older version of flashrom support it?

the hardware of the T420 is generally supported. Though, you need an
option to force flashrom on a laptop (look for `force_I_want_a_brick`
in the manual page); it's safe to use on the T420.

But you can't flash the whole chip if you run the vendor BIOS. It write
protects its bootblock (upper 128KiB of the chip, IIRC). So it depends
on the changes you want to make if flashrom can succeed. If you need
full access, you have to do (the first flash at least) with an external
programmer.

Nico