Linux BIOS/UEFI Updating Is Going To Get Much Better With UEFI 2.5

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Linux BIOS/UEFI Updating Is Going To Get Much Better With UEFI 2.5

The forthcoming UEFI 2.5 specification has an addition that will be exciting for many Linux enthusiasts... BIOS/UEFI updating from the Linux desktop will be a real and stable feature regardless of motherboard vendor and their general lack of Linux utilities...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=UEFI-2.5-Better-Linux-Updates

[garegin]

Phoronix: Linux BIOS/UEFI Updating Is Going To Get Much Better With UEFI 2.5

The forthcoming UEFI 2.5 specification has an addition that will be exciting for many Linux enthusiasts... BIOS/UEFI updating from the Linux desktop will be a real and stable feature regardless of motherboard vendor and their general lack of Linux utilities...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...-Linux-Updates

Just make BIOS updating through the BIOS menu itself a mantadory option. Few days ago I had to install Vista just to update an HP desktop. Asus is the only vendor that allows updating on a bare metal.

[Kano]

flashrom is only for experienced users, would not suggest that a noob should use it. There are more generic flash tools out there, like "fpt -savemac -f BIOS.bin" which can flash more or less anything on Intel based boards but saves at least the network mac adress. If you can do that without a dos boot key this is nice. But basically several boards already have integrated flash tools - some with direct DL feature. The Problem is that most tools just do not update the ME part, annoying when you should do that with a Windows tool like Asus or MSI...

[dragonn]

Just make BIOS updating through the BIOS menu itself a mantadory option. Few days ago I had to install Vista just to update an HP desktop. Asus is the only vendor that allows updating on a bare metal.

MSI Desktop boards have this option too, but sometimes it doesn't just work, freezers at updateting BIOS-ME 100% :/ then you need any Windows machine to create a bootable USB drive with DOS and update BIOS through it :/.

[Kano]

Well if you just need a dos key it would be no problem. I wrote a little script to create a freedos key years ago. But why can't they put the files directly on the webpage?

http://kanotix.com/files/fix/create-syslinux-3-freedos-usb-drive.sh

[r1348]

Just make BIOS updating through the BIOS menu itself a mantadory option. Few days ago I had to install Vista just to update an HP desktop. Asus is the only vendor that allows updating on a bare metal.

My ASRock motherboard and my HP laptop also have that option, HP though forces you to use a Windows program to create the USB key... herp derp. Well, at least Windows doesn't have to be on the laptop itself so hurray! I guess...

[dragonn]

Well if you just need a dos key it would be no problem. I wrote a little script to create a freedos key years ago. But why can't they put the files directly on the webpage?

http://kanotix.com/files/fix/create-...s-usb-drive.sh

I think it should work but I used MSI forum hq usb flashing tool with is special create an automatic freedos BIOS installer for MSI motherboards. I think this way is easier and more safe.

[adler187]

Not to be pedantic, but please don't conflate BIOS and firmware. BIOS and UEFI are both firmware (as are Coreboot, OpenFirmware, etc.), but BIOS is not UEFI and UEFI is not BIOS.

It's about the same as the south (in the US) calling all carbonated sugar-water beverages "Coke" instead of "pop" or "soda."

Back on topic, I think this is a great initiative. This will be a welcome addition to be able to update my firmware easily from any OS I choose.

[schmidtbag]

BIOS updates, for both motherboards and GPUs, are pretty much the ONLY reason I still keep floppy drives around. I have yet to encounter something as simple, easy, and reliable as a floppy disk to perform firmware updates. It's ridiculous - it really shouldn't be that way. Sometimes I encounter motherboards with their own built-in utilities, and they usually work fine with a flash drive.

[nanonyme]

Just make BIOS updating through the BIOS menu itself a mantadory option. Few days ago I had to install Vista just to update an HP desktop. Asus is the only vendor that allows updating on a bare metal.

This could end up more amusing though. Imagine if some day every Windows user running on older hardware wanting to update their UEFI must download a bootable Linux to do that