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Intel To Drop Very Old Drivers/BIOS From Their Site, But The Linux Impact To Be Minimal

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  • #11
    The LVFS website caters to fwupd but also to other firmware for other update protocols are kept, see for example https://fwupd.org/lvfs/vendors/ I have talked to the maintainer a few times and the goal is broader than UEFI.

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    • #12
      Originally posted by Pander View Post
      The LVFS website caters to fwupd but also to other firmware for other update protocols are kept, see for example https://fwupd.org/lvfs/vendors/ I have talked to the maintainer a few times and the goal is broader than UEFI.
      Good to know, thanks.

      I still don't think Intel is going to load any of that into the LVFS repos though, most of the old firmwares required to reboot in FreeDOS to flash them with binary tools, and Intel only has testing accounts for Thunderbolt, Tianocore (aka UEFI firmware) and 3D NAND SSD firmware.

      So while there is hope for newer hardware, all the stuff that is dropped now is not in those categories (yes all Intel "BIOS" firmwares from around 2006 onwards are technically EFI of some sort even if they can only boot in BIOS mode, still treated as old unsupported crap)

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      • #13
        Originally posted by milkylainen View Post
        How hard can it be to stick them in a low maintenance open dirwalk http or ftp, indexed by product?
        Everybody just loves to overly complicate stuff. It's not like it's rocket-science to maintain a bunch of files for availability on the internet now is it?
        This is not done due to problem storing files, this is done for legal/management-decided reasons.

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        • #14
          Originally posted by starshipeleven View Post
          It's called planned obsolescence. Updating old BIOS to latest can still be useful to fix issues that old boards have.
          Yes, and that update probably happened already.
          I don't know why is there so much fuss, just make a backup and upload it to a cheap hosting service.
          Or better yet, make a torrent.
          Note that I don't see the point on dropping it from Intel's website either, but it's just unimportant.

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          • #15
            Originally posted by mrugiero View Post
            Yes, and that update probably happened already.
            No it does not. All second-hand stuff I get on ebay was never updated even if there were quirks and stuff.

            I don't know why is there so much fuss
            Because there is really no other reason for dropping it from Intel website, the only reason is to make life harder for those that still want to use this hardware, maybe with older Windows.

            just make a backup and upload it to a cheap hosting service.
            Or better yet, make a torrent.
            Why should I fix Intel's shit for free?

            Also I use Linux, and Intel boards have some total shit firmware with AMT/IME well before it was a thing for other vendors so I've always kept my distance from them. They belong in a raging fire pit, with VIA motherboards and realtek wifi hardware

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            • #16
              Originally posted by starshipeleven View Post
              No it does not. All second-hand stuff I get on ebay was never updated even if there were quirks and stuff.
              Odd buy, but fair point.

              Originally posted by starshipeleven View Post
              Because there is really no other reason for dropping it from Intel website, the only reason is to make life harder for those that still want to use this hardware, maybe with older Windows.
              We agree on not having a good reason. But the easiest explanation is they just didn't care.


              Originally posted by starshipeleven View Post
              Why should I fix Intel's shit for free?
              Because it's not their shit, it's yours. You own the computers, and the warranty is most likely long expired. That's how long they promised to support it, really.

              Originally posted by starshipeleven View Post
              Also I use Linux, and Intel boards have some total shit firmware with AMT/IME well before it was a thing for other vendors so I've always kept my distance from them.
              Yes, and it's totally off-topic.

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              • #17
                Originally posted by starshipeleven View Post
                Do something yourself, or shut up. We have already enough thoughts and prayers in this world.
                Sure, I'll shut up. I have no time to manage this anymore.

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                • #18
                  Originally posted by mrugiero View Post
                  Odd buy, but fair point.
                  Odd for you maybe, there is no real reason to buy anything remotely new for a lot of usecases, the used market is thriving.

                  I'm not an old hardware collector, I assemble or buy PCs in bulk for office and POS duties all the time as part of my job.
                  I don't see why we should pay 800+ euro for a new workstation (or thin client, lolololol) when you can get an older one that do the job exactly as the new one for like 50-200 euro.
                  The place I work with does not care about manufacturer warranty or support as the low prices we can get replacement hardware make that redundant. We can literally swap a full PC without even checking what's wrong with the old one. Our clients don't care either as they pay us to for any support they need.

                  We agree on not having a good reason. But the easiest explanation is they just didn't care.
                  The easiest explanation is always human error/ignorance, does not mean it is ALWAYS the best answer.
                  Or the only reason.

                  That's how long they promised to support it, really.
                  Dumping old downloads like that is still not a common practice for OEMs, this hardware becomes less interesting and useful for people that want to still use it.
                  For my usecase it's mostly firmware updates and service manuals (yes OEMs like Dell, HP and Lenovo have decent service manuals on their servers too, even for ancient shit from 2004), for people on older Windows versions it's drivers or software utilities at a specific version that is guaranteed to work with the onboard hardware.

                  Yes, and it's totally off-topic.
                  You don't get to decide that. I'm explaining my own personal usecase and why I don't like that behavior, which is perfectly on-topic. While I don't specifically care about Intel due to mentioned reasons, I would be very upset if other OEMs started doing the same.
                  Last edited by starshipeleven; 19 November 2019, 09:33 PM.

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                  • #19
                    If it's just Intel motherboards, I don't mind. The last Intel MB I bought (a Zappa board for Pentium 100, I think) went bad in the early 1990s. As for the board name, read the third-last paragraph https://newsroom.intel.com/editorial...chip-codenames

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