More details on the Eden support

[GNUOrder]

On Wednesday 30 October 2002 17:44, Steve M. Gehlbach wrote:
> > > Aren't the bios chips soldered down on some of these boards? I
> >
> > was wondering
> >
> > > what alternatives you have, short of unsoldering the chip and finding a
> > > programmer, if something goes wrong in the flashing process or
> >
> > the linuxbios
> >
> > > code has a bug.
> >
> > you really should not buy a board with a bios soldered down ... there are
> > very few of them because failed bios flashes in essence destroy a board.
> >
> > ron
>
> A number of the Giga-byte boards seem to have the bios soldered, in
> particular the the GA-6VEML (the Walmart $199 computer).  The Via Eden
> appears to also but I am just looking at the photo.  For the EPIA, if you
> bongo the PLCC (socketed), you'll need another PLCC bios mobo to fix it and
> hot swapping a PLCC has got to require a deft touch.  Personally I prefer
> to use my Needham's programmer and I have never flashed on the mobo.  In
> the case of the GA-6VEML, I intend to install an SM socket (PLCC) if I ever
> get to putting linuxbios on that one.  But anyone considering linuxbios
> that does not have a programmer should think of their backup plan if there
> is a bug or flashing failure.
>
> The main point of my question, though, was if anyone was aware of another
> way to program the flash short of unsoldering it.  I wasn't aware of any,
> and maybe it seemed like a silly question, but if the mobo mfrs would start
> using the LPC interface flash, and put a header on the mobo to access it,
> you could program it from a PC-LPT interface with a specially wired cable
> (plus a few R's and D's).  This has been done on the Xbox and the software
> is available on the net.  

LinuxBIOS and kernel on the xbox?  Where do I get a copy.  I may have to pick 
up a used xbox.  I dont think we would get the kind of help with porting 
linuxbios to that than we have other platforms.  :)

> The LPC flash would also allow much larger memory
> in the same footprint, which is really useful.  The success of this can
> depend somewhat on how the other chips behave, though, while programming
> (mobo power is off).
>
> -Steve
>
>
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