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

[torsionbar28]

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.

Same here, do all my updates via USB floppy drive. When it comes to selecting a good Linux mobo, I normally go with a server/workstation board, like those from SuperMicro. A server/workstation board is going to have official manufacturer support for RHEL, SuSE, and VMware, so you'll never be stuck in some broken Microsoft-only crapland. Server/workstation boards will always have hardware that's very stable and well supported by Linux.

[Zan Lynx]

This will be great. If it works.

Based on history though, vendors will manage to find every way to interpret the specification except the correct one. It will almost sort of work for Windows but will have so many untested code paths that it will explode if you even look at it funny.

It will probably require EFI variables set that only Windows sets. With memory maps that only Windows configures. And it will probably only work in Secure Boot mode with the default Microsoft signed keys installed.

[Kano]

I don't think that those will be the real problem but protected memory regions. Thats something that flashrom can not handle - same applies to fpt. In the end i don't espect a huge change but tools that just create a DOS USB key should not be Windows only, it is fairly easy to use syslinux to boot freedos - which can be written in Linux without any problem. Btw. nobody needs USB floppy drives. Test my script i mentioned on page 1.

[yuhong]

FYI, I did not really like it when Chromebooks used Coreboot, but I agree that UEFI has to be done properly and a support lifecycle for example is needed.

[CTown]

Glad to see that flashing your firmware is on Linux won't be nearly impossible...

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.

I know how you feel. I once wiped a Vista based laptop by installing Windows 7 and then a Linux distribution. Then, I learned that on Linux I had to update the BIOS to use the function keys (who doesn't love shift+F4 to open a terminal window from Dolphin!). I couldn't make BIOS update utility install in Windows 7. So, I reinstalled the OEM's version of Vista, updated the BIOS (using some Toshiba branded app I believe), and had to start over again...

[armetuz]

I do not understand why vendors keep using proprietary UEFI implementation. There are open-source firmware implementation that work great (yes I am talking about Coreboot).

[jaxxed]

Asus is the only vendor that allows updating on a bare metal.

my MSI laptop has a BIOS entry for updating/flashing the BIOS. I even used it twice to repair some major issues with me trying to be too clever with EFI entries, that botched the machine. I think that the MSI support site still recommends booting from flashing device (USB I think.)

Just make BIOS updating through the BIOS menu itself a mantadory option

Not sure which regulations body has the authority to make something like that mandatory. EU maybe?

[edit: for bad engrish]

[Adarion]

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.

Not entirely true. Asus had called it Z-flash? Or q-flash. Others have similar things just with a different name. Gigabyte definitely has this also, for quite some time. And I think other, too. Still, I was very fond of that feature on my ASUS boards years ago. Just have some VFAT media with the BIOS image and there you go. That was actually a treat.
On older boards I was happy when you could at least use FreeDOS. Though some actually said to use a floppy when there was no floppy (e.g. on laptops). That was "awesome". One thin client would not boot from USB, had no floppy so I had to set up a hard disk with free dos at the IDE just to update.


But why isn't Red Hat working right on the real thing? Why not have coreboot + payload on systems? That would be even better. And get drivers made for those pesky Super-IOs/ECs. But then, it is a good start. Though I fear, since it is UEFI, it will explode sooner or later. And people will blame Linux again for errors that are clearly the fault of UEFI or its implementation.
And why Gnome? Why EFFING Gnome? Can't we just have something independent?

[Paul-L]

Not entirely true. Asus had called it Z-flash? Or q-flash. Others have similar things just with a different name. Gigabyte definitely has this also, for quite some time. And I think other, too. Still, I was very fond of that feature on my ASUS boards years ago. Just have some VFAT media with the BIOS image and there you go. That was actually a treat.
On older boards I was happy when you could at least use FreeDOS. Though some actually said to use a floppy when there was no floppy (e.g. on laptops). That was "awesome". One thin client would not boot from USB, had no floppy so I had to set up a hard disk with free dos at the IDE just to update.


But why isn't Red Hat working right on the real thing? Why not have coreboot + payload on systems? That would be even better. And get drivers made for those pesky Super-IOs/ECs. But then, it is a good start. Though I fear, since it is UEFI, it will explode sooner or later. And people will blame Linux again for errors that are clearly the fault of UEFI or its implementation.
And why Gnome? Why EFFING Gnome? Can't we just have something independent?

Actually most BIOSes have a common way (and rather obscure) to be updated, which, as you mentioned, involves booting FreeDOS, and then executing the utility the BIOS maker (AMI, Award, Phoenix, Insyde, all of them have something like this) and most OEMs use to modify the SLIC tables for Windows pre-activations. It should work universally, well, as long as you can find the BIOS file inside whatever the OEM uses.

UEFI is quite similar, as in, the BIOS makers (again, AMI, Award, Phoenix, blah) all have a pretty similar way to flash their BIOS/UEFI's into their chips, which, involves booting into FreeDOS (or something else) and, again, executing some obscure tool to flash the BIOS/UEFI file from there, maybe afuflash.exe will get you some hits on Google (I don't actually remember the tools names), also, using the "recovery procedures" (when you screw up a BIOS flash, all BIOSes have a standard recovery procedure, which works as long as you didn't screw up the boot block, which is normally untouched unless you specify overwritting it while flashing) also allows you to flash your BIOS without even needing more than pressing some keys and probably inserting a CD, or USB flash drive.

[Thaodan]

Why don't just use Qt? So the tool could be used across every os (ok low level war needs to change atleast for Windows), even on Linux GTK is loosing its use.