lbwww/site/docs/install/x230_external.md

---
title: ThinkPad X230/X230T external flashing
x-toc-enable: true
...

Read the [Ivybridge/Haswell common guide](/docs/install/ivy_has_common.html) if you want more information.
All of the following instructions assume that you've cloned lbmk and are operating from the
root of that project. To do so, run

	git clone https://notabug.org/libreboot/lbmk
	cd lbmk

You can now follow the rest of the instructions.

Preparing a release Rom
-----------------------

You must patch the release rom with the necessary blobs *and then* flash it to your board.

Osbmk includes a script that will automatically inject the necessary blobs into a rom file.
The script can determine the board automatically if you have not changed the name, but you can also manually set the board name with the `-b` flag.

In order to inject the necessary blobs into a rom image, run the script from the root of lbmk and point to the rom image.
For example:

	./blobutil inject -r x230_libreboot.rom -b x230_12mb

Optionally, you can use this script to modify the mac address of the rom with the `-m` flag.
For example:

	./blobutil inject -r x230_libreboot.rom -b x230_12mb -m 00:f6:f0:40:71:fd

Splitting The Rom
-----------------

You can use `dd` to easily split your rom into the two separate portions for
external flashing.

	dd if=libreboot.rom of=top.rom bs=1M skip=8
	dd if=libreboot.rom of=bottom.rom bs=1M count=8

Flash the top chip with top.rom, and tho bottom chip with bottom.rom.
Don't worry about knowing which chip is which on a standard setup; flashrom will let you know if the 
image size is incorrect for the chip you're flashing.



Disassembly
-----------

Start by removing the battery.
Remove every screw from the bottom of the machine marked with a keyboard/touchpad indicator.

Pry up the keyboard and separate it from the palmrest.
![](https://av.libreboot.org/board/x230/palmrest.jpg)

Unplug the ribbon cable from the palmrest and pry it off as well.
![](https://av.libreboot.org/board/x230/palmrest_cable.jpg)

Pull up the protective cover to reveal the two soic chips for flashing.
![](https://av.libreboot.org/board/x230/chipLocation.jpg)