[ubuntu-uk] Update BIOS with dual boot
James Morrissey
morrissey.james1 at gmail.com
Wed Jul 18 08:09:37 UTC 2012
Hi Anton,
-contacting lenovo about that matter may be a good starting point
I'll be on it when they open this morning.
However having a quick look
> (choosing a lenovo x121e on the site) and going through the 6 step process
> to select the OS (chose win7) it comes back with a "bios update bootable cd
> iso"-have you tried that method?
That's what i am trying to do! I can't get a bootloader onto the USB.
As i understand, this is what i have to do as the ISO doesn't contain
one. Someone please tell me if i am wrong.
also the lenovo site
> cautions against updating it (in the readme.txt along with the files) if it
> is running fine
Its not running fine: I have lost use of function keys, fan has
stopped working and shutdown on lid close doesn't work.
Something to research/ask potentially- if for some reason
> the windows update method (from within win7 that failed on you) doesnt like
> grub or something like that isnt there an easy way to delete grub (backing
> it up first), hence fooling the system that it is only a single boot and
> then running the update? after that booting from a live cd and reinstalling
> grub???
This looks tricky. I'll save it for a last resort, but surely i should
be able to get a bootloader onto the USB so that i can run the update
from there.
Will let you know what Lenovo say.
Thanks again,
j
On 18 July 2012 07:25, Anton Kanishchev <antonk20117 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi James,
>
> I have had a chat with my friend regarding updating the bios on a dual boot.
> what model of thinkpad do you have? He has never had to go through grub4dos
> to update his, so unfortunately he cant help there.He has updated dual boot
> setups via windows as you mentioned in your first email(worked in his
> case)-contacting lenovo about that matter may be a good starting point.It
> may just be a corrupt file or something. However having a quick look
> (choosing a lenovo x121e on the site) and going through the 6 step process
> to select the OS (chose win7) it comes back with a "bios update bootable cd
> iso"-have you tried that method? Since it is booting from the cd (please
> correct me someone if the following is wrong) it doesnt really matter if it
> is a multi boot set up or not as it is only taking files from the bootable
> cd and updating the bios on the laptop. if you do (have) download(ed) the
> bios disk is there a md5sum you can check for errors? also the lenovo site
> cautions against updating it (in the readme.txt along with the files) if it
> is running fine. Something to research/ask potentially- if for some reason
> the windows update method (from within win7 that failed on you) doesnt like
> grub or something like that isnt there an easy way to delete grub (backing
> it up first), hence fooling the system that it is only a single boot and
> then running the update? after that booting from a live cd and reinstalling
> grub???
>
> On 17 July 2012 21:50, Kris Douglas <krisdouglas at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> On 17 July 2012 21:07, James Morrissey <morrissey.james1 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > Hi all,
>> >
>> > Digging up an old thread as i am still trying to solve this problem.
>> > Hoping someone can help me update my BIOS from a live USB.
>> >
>> > After having these problems come back
>> > http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=12106970#post12106970; i got
>> > the reply which falls at the bottom of the thread.
>> >
>> > So i am now trying to update my BIOS, from 1.15 to 1.16.
>> >
>> > Having tried to use the native windows client as i did last time my
>> > machine remains on 1.15. Getting the files for the 1.16 from here:
>> > http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/default.page? and following
>> > the instructions here:
>> > http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/8quj09us.txt, i
>> > don't get any on-screen instructions for step 14("Select 'Update
>> > ThinkPad BIOS' and follow the instructions on the screen.") and when i
>> > check system information in Win7 i still see the BIOS are 1.15.
>> >
>> > So now i am trying to follow the instructions for creating a live ISO
>> > contained here:
>> >
>> > http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/BIOS_Upgrade#Using_grub4dos_.28also_for_Linux.29.
>> > My sense is that it would also be good to learn how to do this update
>> > without windows.
>> >
>> > So now:
>> >
>> > I have formatted my pen drive to FAT32.
>> >
>> > sudo fdisk -l gives:
>> >
>> > Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
>> > /dev/sda1 * 2048 2459647 1228800 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
>> > /dev/sda2 2459648 109043711 53292032 7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
>> > /dev/sda3 109045758 625141759 258048001 5 Extended
>> > /dev/sda5 109045760 608542719 249748480 83 Linux
>> > /dev/sda6 608544768 625141759 8298496 82 Linux swap /
>> > Solaris
>> >
>> > Disk /dev/sdc: 4011 MB, 4011851776 bytes
>> > 124 heads, 62 sectors/track, 1019 cylinders, total 7835648 sectors
>> > Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
>> > Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
>> > I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
>> > Disk identifier: 0x0004629e
>> >
>> > Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
>> > /dev/sdc1 * 62 7834071 3917005 c W95 FAT32 (LBA)
>> >
>> >
>> > Following the instruction on grub4dos
>> >
>> > (http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/BIOS_Upgrade#Using_grub4dos_.28also_for_Linux.29),
>> > i navigate the terminal, to the gub4dos-0.4.4 folder and try:
>> >
>> > ~/grub4dos-0.4.4$sudo ./bootlace.com /dev/sdc1
>> >
>> > But i get the error:
>> >
>> > "Error: Invalid partition table. Must specify --floppy explicitly for
>> > floppy.
>> > BOOTLACE writes GRLDR BOOT RECORD to MBR or to the boot area of a file
>> > system.
>> > Usage: bootlace.com [OPTIONS] DEVICE_OR_FILE
>> > Options: --read-only, --floppy[=N], --boot-prevmbr-first,
>> > --boot-prevmbr-last,
>> > --no-backup-mbr, --force-backup-mbr, --mbr-enable-floppy,
>> > --mbr-disable-floppy,
>> > --mbr-enable-osbr, --mbr-disable-osbr, --duce, --time-out=T,
>> > --hot-key=K,
>> > --preferred-drive=D, --preferred-partition=P, --sectors-per-track=S,
>> > --heads=H,
>> > --start-sector=B, --total-sectors=C, --install-partition=I, --lba,
>> > --chs,
>> > --fat12, --fat16, --fat32, --vfat, --ntfs, --ext2, --serial-number=SN,
>> > --restore-mbr, --mbr-no-bpb, --chs-no-tune
>> > DEVICE_OR_FILE: Filename of the device or image. For DOS, a BIOS drive
>> > number
>> > (in hex 0xHH or decimal DDD format)can be used to access the drive."
>> >
>> > I see that someone
>> > (http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-1163031.html) has
>> > suggested that the command should be: sudo
>> > /boot/Grub4DOS/stage2/bootlace.com --floppy=7 /dev/sdb7, but since i
>> > am worried about wiping my whole hard disk i am worried about
>> > experimenting (i don't want "sudo /boot/Grub4DOS/stage2/bootlace.com
>> > --floppy=1 /dev/sdc1" to write to sda1 as opposed to sdc1).
>> >
>> > I have been overwhelmed by the grub4dos readme file, so if anyone as
>> > any ideas on either 1) how to get grub4dos working, or 2) how i make a
>> > live usb from the Lenovo ISO to update my BIOS, i'd appreciate it.
>> >
>> > Sorry for the long and complicated issue.
>> >
>> > Thanks,
>> >
>> > j
>> >
>> >
>> > On 31 January 2012 21:32, James Morrissey <morrissey.james1 at gmail.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >> Thanks for all the help on this.
>> >>
>> >> I ended up using the windows utility and the whole process was
>> >> painless. Instructions were here:
>> >> http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/8quj08us.txt
>> >>
>> >>> I've just had a look at BIOS updates for my Thinkpad Edge 11 and
>> >>> they're
>> >>> delivered as a bootable CD so there will presumably be a similar
>> >>> option for
>> >>> the Thinkpad X121e.
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >> Yes, one is available here:
>> >> http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?DocID=DS019251,
>> >> but the windows route seemed easier.
>> >>
>> >> Thanks again.
>> >>
>>
>> Hello, did you try running the bios flash utility as administrator on
>> windows by explicitly right-clicking it. That's always a good way for
>> it to fail.
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Kris Douglas.
>> www.krisd.eu
>>
>> --
>> ubuntu-uk at lists.ubuntu.com
>> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk
>> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
>
>
>
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