2021-05-18 12:21:48 +00:00
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title: ThinkPad T60 Recovery guide
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x-toc-enable: true
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...
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2024-01-27 22:35:38 +00:00
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NOTE: Libreboot standardises on [flashprog](https://flashprog.org/wiki/Flashprog)
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now, as of 27 January 2024, which is a fork of flashrom.
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2021-05-18 12:21:48 +00:00
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This section documents how to recover from a bad flash that prevents
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your ThinkPad T60 from booting.
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This section documents how to recover from a bad flash that prevents
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your ThinkPad X60 from booting.
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2022-11-14 02:31:12 +00:00
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ROM images for this machine are well-tested in libreboot, so bricks are rare.
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The most common cause of a brick is operator error, when flashing a ROM image.
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In *most* cases, the cause will be that there is no bootblock, or an invalid
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one.
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Brick type 1: bucts not reset. {#bucts_brick}
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==============================
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2022-11-14 02:31:12 +00:00
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You still have Lenovo BIOS, or you had libreboot running and you flashed
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2021-05-18 12:21:48 +00:00
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another ROM; and you had bucts 1 set and the ROM wasn't dd'd.\* or if
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Lenovo BIOS was present and libreboot wasn't flashed.
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2021-05-18 12:21:48 +00:00
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There are *2* 64KiB bootblocks possible, in the upper part of the ROM image.
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By default (bucts set to 0), the top one is used. If bucts is set to 1, the
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lower one (the one before the top one) is used. This bootblock is the first
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code that executes, during *romstage* as per coreboot hardware initialization.
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BUC is short for *Backup Control* and TS is short for *Top Swap*. This is a
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special register on Intel platforms. Lenovo BIOS sets PRx registers, preventing
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software re-flashing, but there is a bug in the protection, allowing everything
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*except* the upper 64KiB from being flashed. By default, coreboot only puts a
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bootblock in the upper region. If you flash such a ROM, while bucts is set to 1,
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the system won't boot because there's not a valid bootblock; this is common if
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you're re-flashing when coreboot is already installed, and you didn't set bucts
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back to 0.
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When you install on X60/T60 the first time, you set this bucts bit to 1, then
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you re-flash a second time and set it back to 0.
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In this case, unbricking is easy: reset BUC.TS to 0 by removing that
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yellow cmos coin (it's a battery) and putting it back after a minute or
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two:\
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\*Those dd commands should be applied to all newly compiled T60 ROM
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images (the ROM images in libreboot binary archives already have this
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applied!):
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2023-01-08 01:22:04 +00:00
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dd if=coreboot.rom of=top64k.bin bs=1 skip=$[$(stat -c %s coreboot.rom) - 0x10000] count=64k
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dd if=coreboot.rom bs=1 skip=$[$(stat -c %s coreboot.rom) - 0x20000] count=64k | hexdump
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dd if=top64k.bin of=coreboot.rom bs=1 seek=$[$(stat -c %s coreboot.rom) - 0x20000] count=64k conv=notrunc
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(doing this makes the ROM suitable for use when flashing a system that
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still has Lenovo BIOS running, using those instructions:
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<http://www.coreboot.org/Board:lenovo/x60/Installation>. (it says x60,
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but instructions for t60 are identical)
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Brick type 2: bad ROM image {#recovery}
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===========================================
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In this instance, you might have flashed a ROM without the top bootblock copied
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to the lower 64KiB section in the ROM, and you flashed the ROM for the first
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time (from Lenovo BIOS), in which case there is not a valid bootblock.
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In this scenario, you compiled a ROM that had an incorrect
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configuration, or there is an actual bug preventing your system from
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booting. Or, maybe, you set BUC.TS to 0 and shut down after first flash
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while Lenovo BIOS was running. In any case, your system is bricked and
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will not boot at all.
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"Unbricking" means flashing a known-good (working) ROM. The problem:
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you can't boot the system, making this difficult. In this situation,
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external hardware (see hardware requirements above) is needed which can
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flash the SPI chip (where libreboot resides).
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Remove those screws and remove the HDD:\
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Lift off the palm rest:\
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Lift up the keyboard, pull it back a bit, flip it over like that and
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then disconnect it from the board:\
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Gently wedge both sides loose:\
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Remove that cable from the position:\
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Now remove that bezel. Remove wifi, nvram battery and speaker connector
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(also remove 56k modem, on the left of wifi):\
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Remove those screws:\
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Disconnect the power jack:\
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Remove nvram battery:\
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Disconnect cable (for 56k modem) and disconnect the other cable:\
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Disconnect speaker cable:\
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Disconnect the other end of the 56k modem cable:\
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Make sure you removed it:\
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Unscrew those:\
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Make sure you removed those:\
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Disconnect LCD cable from board:\
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Remove those screws then remove the LCD assembly:\
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Once again, make sure you removed those:\
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Remove the shielding containing the motherboard, then flip it over.
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Remove these screws, placing them on a steady surface in the same layout
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as they were in before you removed them. Also, you should mark each
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screw hole after removing the screw (a permanent marker pen will do),
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this is so that you have a point of reference when re-assembling the
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system:
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This photo shows the flash chip, near the RAM, with numbers of pins written:
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Refer to the external flashing guide:
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[Externally rewrite 25xx NOR flash via SPI protocol](spi.md)
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NOTE: Do not use the 3.3v rail from your SPI programmer. Leave that disconnected.
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For 3.3v, plug your charger into the mainboard (but do not power on the mainboard)
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when the clip is connected. Before removing the clip, disconnect the charger.
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This will provide adequate 3.3v DC at correct current levels. The SPI flash on an
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X60 shares a common 3.3V rail with many other components on the mainboard,
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which all draw a lot of current, more than your flasher can provide.
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Example command:
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2024-01-27 22:35:38 +00:00
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sudo ./flashprog -p linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev0.0,spispeed=4096 -w libreboot.rom -V
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2024-01-27 22:35:38 +00:00
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If flashprog complains about multiple flash chips detected, just pass the `-c`
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option as it suggests, and pick any of the chips it lists. `spispeed=4096` or
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lower (e.g. `spispeed=512`) is recommended on this board. The flashing becomes
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unstable, on this machine, when you use higher speeds.
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Reverse the steps to re-assemble your system, after you've flashed the chip.
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2024-01-27 22:35:38 +00:00
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It should be `Verifying flash... VERIFIED` at the end. If flashprog
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complains about multiple flash chip definitions detected, then choose
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one of them following the instructions in the output.
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Put those screws back:\
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Put it back into lower chassis:\
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Attach LCD and insert screws (also, attach the lcd cable to the board):\
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Insert those screws:\
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On the CPU (and there is another chip south-east to it, sorry forgot to
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take pic) clean off the old thermal paste (with the alcohol) and apply
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new (Artic Silver 5 is good, others are good too) you should also clean
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the heatsink the same way\
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Attach the heatsink and install the screws (also, make sure to install
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the AC jack as highlighted):\
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Reinstall that upper bezel:\
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Do that:\
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Re-attach modem, wifi, (wwan?), and all necessary cables. Sorry, forgot
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to take pics. Look at previous removal steps to see where they go back
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to.
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Attach keyboard and install nvram battery:\
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Place keyboard and (sorry, forgot to take pics) reinstall the palmrest
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and insert screws on the underside:\
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It lives!\
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Always stress test ('stress -c 2' and xsensors. below 90C is ok) when
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replacing cpu paste/heatsink:\
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