BIOS upgrade? Or don't bother? Or Microcode ?

PieterGen · 2014-05-03 13:54:41

Hi all, I have a Thinkpad X220 with the original "stone age" (2011) BIOS. I don't have problems with the laptop, but I don't want to miss possible later optimalisations. (The only problem I have is the fan going wild from time to time, I'm looking into "thinkfan" solutions, so I consider that solved)

What do you guys advise regarding the BIOS? I am torn:

a) Upgrade it to the latest Lenovo bios

b) Leave it alone: "don't fix it if it ain't broken"

c) Microcode. Per the Arch Wiki: " .... . Intel releases microcode updates to correct processor behavior .....While the regular approach to getting this microcode update is via a BIOS upgrade, Intel realizes that this can be an administrative hassle. The Linux operating system and VMware ESX products have a mechanism to update the microcode after booting....."

[ d) coreboot. Unfortunately, flashing it is hard and it misses lot of functions.... This would have been the best solution, maybe later, when (if) the image is improved.... http://www.coreboot.org/Board:lenovo/x230 So I dismiss this solution for now ]

My idea is a): just upgrade to a newer BIOS. What would you advise me?

Spider.007 · 2014-05-03 14:32:33

c is the most simple fix; just install intel-ucode and reboot.

PieterGen · 2014-05-04 18:02:42

Thanks Spider, I will do Microcode.

brebs · 2014-05-04 20:21:28

I would recommend *both* (a) & (c).

I expect that Lenova wouldn't have gone to the bother of releasing a new BIOS version, unless it's a worthwhile upgrade. Also, google for user feedback on the BIOS upgrade.

Efka · 2014-05-10 18:51:13

i just flashed my T61 with middletons ... so if ,middleton done bios update to x220 i would do this ... on my t61 it unlocks sata speeds, whitelists parts... try to get info from thinkpad forum mate, they will know
good luck with your machin... thinkpads are the best
p.s flashing bios could end up bad...so take this into consideration.

sitquietly · 2014-05-10 19:14:03

PieterGen wrote:

Hi all, I have a Thinkpad X220 with the original "stone age" (2011) BIOS. I don't have problems with the laptop, but I don't want to miss possible later optimalisations. (The only problem I have is the fan going wild from time to time, I'm looking into "thinkfan" solutions, so I consider that solved)

What do you guys advise regarding the BIOS? I am torn:
a) Upgrade it to the latest Lenovo bios
.....

I recently upgraded the Intel bios on a Sandy Bridge board (an Intel board with sandy bridge i5, somewhat like yours). It bricked the board. Opinion in the Intel support forums was that the latest firmware would detect some sandy bridge boards as if they were Ivy Bridge and that _maybe_ my board would be able to boot if I upgraded the processor. It's cheaper to upgrade the board so I ended up tossing a perfectly good but unbootable motherboard into the trash. (and for the record, I am VERY happy with my new Gigabyte Z77 board -- GA-Z77X-UD3H). You have been warned.

clfarron4 · 2014-05-10 19:17:29

Ucode first.

I'd always be wary of BIOS upgrades, because even official upgrades can break things.

orschiro · 2014-05-11 05:14:37

As the others say, go for Microcode and only do the BIOS if you encounter any serious issues.

In may case for instance I could not get rid of a warning on boot if my battery was close to empty. This drove me crazy because I want to decide on myself if I am willing to boot into a system with 10% battery capacity left.

Asked out of interest: If you upgrade your BIOS and break it, can you claim warranty or is flashing a BIOS always on your own risk?

clfarron4 · 2014-05-11 10:41:58

orschiro wrote:

Asked out of interest: If you upgrade your BIOS and break it, can you claim warranty or is flashing a BIOS always on your own risk?

That's a difficult one... If it's a Lenovo provided updater, then maybe, but still check.

The Toshiba Update Manager on my Windows installation on my Toshiba laptop keeps on telling me I have a BIOS update, so if I update and stuff breaks, I can play the dumb card and blame them for it. Whether I'd get a replacement is unknown because Toshiba won't tell me, but if I pushed it, I'd probably win my case because I can claim "they forced the update".

Last edited by clfarron4 (2014-05-11 10:43:01)

jheller · 2015-12-16 17:05:21

My advice: don't update. From experience: Lenovo added write protection features from bios 2.53 and up (for the E130 that is). This makes it impossible to downgrade or flash non-whitelisted bios versions via software. Had to flash using SPI via ISP.

WorMzy · 2015-12-17 00:07:44

Your advice comes a bit late for this thread. Please take note of the last post's date before posting.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Fo … bumping.22

Closing.

Arch Linux

#1 2014-05-03 13:54:41

BIOS upgrade? Or don't bother? Or Microcode ?

#2 2014-05-03 14:32:33

Re: BIOS upgrade? Or don't bother? Or Microcode ?

#3 2014-05-04 18:02:42

Re: BIOS upgrade? Or don't bother? Or Microcode ?

#4 2014-05-04 20:21:28

Re: BIOS upgrade? Or don't bother? Or Microcode ?

#5 2014-05-10 18:51:13

Re: BIOS upgrade? Or don't bother? Or Microcode ?

#6 2014-05-10 19:14:03

Re: BIOS upgrade? Or don't bother? Or Microcode ?

#7 2014-05-10 19:17:29

Re: BIOS upgrade? Or don't bother? Or Microcode ?

#8 2014-05-11 05:14:37

Re: BIOS upgrade? Or don't bother? Or Microcode ?

#9 2014-05-11 10:41:58

Re: BIOS upgrade? Or don't bother? Or Microcode ?

#10 2015-12-16 17:05:21

Re: BIOS upgrade? Or don't bother? Or Microcode ?

#11 2015-12-17 00:07:44

Re: BIOS upgrade? Or don't bother? Or Microcode ?

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