Cannonfodder Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Has anyone tried this package that replaces your bios with a linux bios and (I think) kernel? http://www.linuxbios.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 Woa, looks interesting! 2 things come to my mind seeing this: - must be good thing to have just in case, with all those TCPA, Palladium and "trusted" computer coming no ? - does the pc starts directly 32 bit ? Ok i didn't RTFM but if everybody RTFM no need for any forum isn't it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aRTee Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 I came across this before, but my mobo is not supported, else I'd give it a try. But only because I know that I can always flash my system back to the original bios that I'm running now (we have the equipment at work to do that, I checked)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannonfodder Posted April 9, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 What happens if you pull the battery out of the motherboard, does the bios reset to default code? Not very knowlegable here.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 What happens if you pull the battery out of the motherboard, does the bios reset to default code? Not very knowlegable here.. if you pull out the battery the bios reset to default setting. It clears only the data, _not_ the code. The code is read only (rom/flash) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmpatrick Posted April 9, 2004 Report Share Posted April 9, 2004 You gotta have nerves of steel to try this. I get nervous flashing the bios with the manufacturer's updates and the compatability list looks pretty short. I'm glad someone is working on it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plati Posted April 10, 2004 Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 I might actually try this on a reasonably old motherboard I have. It needs a BIOS flash (the current one is corrupt) and Im having trouble finding the BIOS image for a no-name brand motherboard. Might check out the compatibility list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aRTee Posted April 10, 2004 Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 pmpatrick, that is why I said I could try without risk, at work we have the necessary equipment to flash/program the mobo bios flash chip, and I have actually had an Asus technician on the phone once who told me that their bios updates are really just the binaries that one could use a prom programmer for to update. I also got some other very useful info from that guy, for instance: you can hotflash on asus motherboards with any mobo that uses the exact same flash eeprom, you don't need the exact same motherboard. (Hotflashing means: you 'killed' your mobo with a bad bios update, then use another mobo with working bios flash chip to reprogram the bad bios chip by booting to the point where you can flash the chip/upgrade the bios - then, very carefully you replace the bios flash eeprom chip of the working board with the one from the 'dead' board, and you flash it, with the file that should work on the board it is for.) Anyway, there are quite a few ways to recover your system should 'linux bios' not live up to your dreams and your system be unusable.. but all of them not pleasant.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannonfodder Posted April 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 Well, if I did this, could I use a utility from my bios (phoenix) to restore it if it doesn't work out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted April 10, 2004 Report Share Posted April 10, 2004 This sight has helped me in the past. I did a bad flash of a new mb and found their $25.00 cheaper than even the manufacturer. I messed up the flash, so I could not get a new bios under warranty. They will take a file that you send them and burn it for you. So I would get a tool, and two bioses if I were going to experiment with this. One with the new data and another with the original just in case I needed teh machine. Since my board is not listed, I won't. But I would do this in a heart beat if Epox were on the list! B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannonfodder Posted April 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2004 That's a nice website to keep in your bookmarks! I added it to Weblinks under Worthwhile Links B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aRTee Posted April 12, 2004 Report Share Posted April 12, 2004 Exactly the things they use to program the chips is what I have access to at work. And in general, if your bios flash fails, unless your mobo has 2 bios chips, you cannot fix your system without having a second system or prom programmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now