[LinuxBIOS] Intel SE440BX support

[Peter Stuge]

On Thu, Mar 29, 2007 at 04:06:56PM +0200, Oscar Molin wrote:
> Hi Peter
> I said in an email to Corey about unbricking, that I think it might
> be possible to use the recovery part of the bios, appending that
> file from Intels own bios with a linuxbios.
> I'm not 100% sure that works but it might. I forgot to forward that
> message to the mailing list.

I recognize it, I think I'm just replying a few days late.


> Intels bios structure
[..]
> If I can include these recvery files, and place the linuxbios in
> the regular bios files (with intels header info to make their
> flash-program accept it), I don't see a reason why it shouldn't
> work.

Could work, but reverse engineering the BIOS format may need quite
an effort.


> Intels flasher also has a function that checks validity of the
> files before flashing, so if there is a checksum or something in
> the header that has to match, I would be able to solve it or even
> bruteforce it to make it accept my files instead.
> The reason I'm looking at this way of handling things, and not just
> soldering a socket the first thing I do, is:
> 1) I'm lazy
> 2) This is the way it has to be done if there is ever going to be
> Intel OEM support, since their flasher is AFAIK the only one that
> can flash there chips.

flashrom already supports two Intel chips and I don't see why more
couldn't be added?


> Regular users can't be expected to solder bios chips.

Certainly not.


> Thanks for the offer about the socket, but I'm too far away so I'll
> have to do it myself.

All right.


> If the working assembler code can be put in with the C code, and
> then change it line by line until it stops working, you should be
> able to pinpoint the problem right?
> Maybe my thinking is flawed, I'm not a good programmer.

Nope, it makes sense.


//Peter