hi all
I've tried to boot my linux Shuttle XPC from a USB stick but the option does not seem to be available so i guess it's time to update the BIOS.
My box is a Shuttle XPC SN21G5.
I've downloaded the flashrom program and I have a couple of doubts before I can start.
1.- do I need a .rom type file ?
I've visited the Shuttle bios download page and everything there seems to be .bin files, for windows flash utilities. Do you know where I can find bios file that falshrom can use ?
2.- running flashrom in probe mode I get
Found chip set "NVIDIA MCP51". This chip set is marked as untested.
but I guess that means I just have to go ahead and try.
BR, Eduardo
On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 20:39:41 +0100 Eduardo de Juan eduardo.de-juan@adslmail.es wrote:
I've downloaded the flashrom program and I have a couple of doubts before I can start.
Hello Eduardo!
1.- do I need a .rom type file ?
I've visited the Shuttle bios download page and everything there seems to be .bin files, for windows flash utilities. Do you know where I can find bios file that falshrom can use ?
There is no such thing as rom or bin "file type". These are just names. Important is the binary data within files and their names may hint to one thing or another but are in no way conclusive. If the file provided by shuttle is exactly as big as the flash chip in question, it is probably just fine to feed into flashrom. If not then more investigation is needed.
2.- running flashrom in probe mode I get
Found chip set "NVIDIA MCP51". This chip set is marked as untested.but I guess that means I just have to go ahead and try.
Yes, and other versions of the same chipset work just fine.
Hi Stefan
Thanks for your reply.
I've verified, as you stated, that the file I downloaded from Shuttle's web page has the same size as the bios file I backed up, exactly the same, 524.288 !
I've also found that the versión from the web seems to be the same as I already have installed,
BIOS Information Vendor: Phoenix Technologies, LTD Version: 6.00 PG Release Date: 02/14/2006 Address: 0xE0000 Runtime Size: 128 kB ROM Size: 512 kB
Is it normal that the BIOS has not neede to be updated since 2006 ?
Can it be that my box is so old that it's not able to boot from a USB stick ? I've tried to boot my office laptop with the same USB and it booted.
BR, Eduardo
On 12/20/2014 10:36 PM, Stefan Tauner wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 20:39:41 +0100 Eduardo de Juan eduardo.de-juan@adslmail.es wrote:
I've downloaded the flashrom program and I have a couple of doubts before I can start.
Hello Eduardo!
1.- do I need a .rom type file ?
I've visited the Shuttle bios download page and everything there seems to be .bin files, for windows flash utilities. Do you know where I can find bios file that falshrom can use ?
There is no such thing as rom or bin "file type". These are just names. Important is the binary data within files and their names may hint to one thing or another but are in no way conclusive. If the file provided by shuttle is exactly as big as the flash chip in question, it is probably just fine to feed into flashrom. If not then more investigation is needed.
2.- running flashrom in probe mode I get
Found chip set "NVIDIA MCP51". This chip set is marked as untested.but I guess that means I just have to go ahead and try.
Yes, and other versions of the same chipset work just fine.
On Mon, 22 Dec 2014 19:46:41 +0100 Eduardo de Juan eduardo.de-juan@adslmail.es wrote:
Hi Stefan
Thanks for your reply.
I've verified, as you stated, that the file I downloaded from Shuttle's web page has the same size as the bios file I backed up, exactly the same, 524.288 !
I've also found that the versión from the web seems to be the same as I already have installed,
BIOS Information Vendor: Phoenix Technologies, LTD Version: 6.00 PG Release Date: 02/14/2006 Address: 0xE0000 Runtime Size: 128 kB ROM Size: 512 kBIs it normal that the BIOS has not neede to be updated since 2006 ?
It is normal that manufacturers do not provide updates very long due to economical reasons and because they simply don't care... (that's one the big advantages of coreboot ;)
Can it be that my box is so old that it's not able to boot from a USB stick ? I've tried to boot my office laptop with the same USB and it booted.
There are a number of ways to boot from USB devices and compatibility problems are (or at least were) quite common. The hardware is able to boot from USB for sure, but the firmware might have some quirks...
Hi Stefan
Thanks for your feedback. Please see my extra questions within the mail body further down.
BR, Eduardo
On 12/24/2014 01:43 AM, Stefan Tauner wrote:
On Mon, 22 Dec 2014 19:46:41 +0100 Eduardo de Juan eduardo.de-juan@adslmail.es wrote:
Hi Stefan
Thanks for your reply.
I've verified, as you stated, that the file I downloaded from Shuttle's web page has the same size as the bios file I backed up, exactly the same, 524.288 !
I've also found that the versión from the web seems to be the same as I already have installed,
BIOS Information Vendor: Phoenix Technologies, LTD Version: 6.00 PG Release Date: 02/14/2006 Address: 0xE0000 Runtime Size: 128 kB ROM Size: 512 kBIs it normal that the BIOS has not neede to be updated since 2006 ?
It is normal that manufacturers do not provide updates very long due to economical reasons and because they simply don't care... (that's one the big advantages of coreboot ;)
You mean I could replace by present BIOS with coreboot ? Would that provide me with a better (more functional) BIOS (firmware) ? I.e. would it then be able to boot from USB ?
However I've checked the suported boards but I think mine is not there.
According to the dmidecode output my board is a
Base Board Information Manufacturer: Shuttle Inc Product Name: FN21V10 Version: Serial Number:
............
Processor Information Socket Designation: Socket 939 Type: Central Processor Family: Athlon 64 Manufacturer: AMD
Output from flasrom
Found chipset "NVIDIA MCP51". This chipset is marked as untested. If you are using an up-to-date version of flashrom *and* were (not) able to successfully update your firmware with it, then please email a report to flashrom@flashrom.org including a verbose (-V) log. Thank you! Enabling flash write... OK. Found SST flash chip "SST49LF004A/B" (512 kB, FWH) at physical address 0xfff80000. No operations were specified.
Can it be that my box is so old that it's not able to boot from a USB stick ? I've tried to boot my office laptop with the same USB and it booted.
There are a number of ways to boot from USB devices and compatibility problems are (or at least were) quite common. The hardware is able to boot from USB for sure, but the firmware might have some quirks...
On Fri, 26 Dec 2014 20:20:00 +0100 Eduardo de Juan eduardo.de-juan@adslmail.es wrote:
On 12/24/2014 01:43 AM, Stefan Tauner wrote:
On Mon, 22 Dec 2014 19:46:41 +0100 Eduardo de Juan eduardo.de-juan@adslmail.es wrote:
Is it normal that the BIOS has not neede to be updated since 2006 ?
It is normal that manufacturers do not provide updates very long due to economical reasons and because they simply don't care... (that's one the big advantages of coreboot ;)
You mean I could replace by present BIOS with coreboot ? Would that provide me with a better (more functional) BIOS (firmware) ? I.e. would it then be able to boot from USB ?
However I've checked the suported boards but I think mine is not there.
Hi,
sorry for stirring any hopes but I meant that in a more general sense. In general coreboot (together with seabios) would allow any computer (with a support USB controller) to boot from USB. The hard part is to get coreboot on to a board first ;) That all won't help you, but I wanted to make clear that the firmware vendor is to blame and not the hardware.
-
Eduardo de Juan -
Stefan Tauner