Slow writing programmer

[saidbe]

Hi,

I use the cheap programmer but it is slow and gifs error.

What is the best / fast programmer for reprogramming bios?

Regards

[RethoricalCheese]

Re: Slow writing programmer

Fastest, very cheap but difficult to set up is raspberry + flashrom.

[ala_borbe]

Re: Slow writing programmer

or CH341A

https://www.instructables.com/CH341A-Programmer/

[piernov]

Re: Slow writing programmer

CH341A is the worst, and Raspberry Pi is a pain. Definitely cannot recommend that.

Look into T866II, RT809F, RT809H.

[munir100]

Re: Slow writing programmer

Fastest, very cheap but difficult to set up is raspberry + flashrom.

best programmer name i have rt809f tell me sir for lestast io/normal chip

[RethoricalCheese]

Re: Slow writing programmer

CH341A is the worst, and Raspberry Pi is a pain. Definitely cannot recommend that.

Look into T866II, RT809F, RT809H.

Yes, raspberry pi is a pain if you need to use it only a few times. But when you are dealing with hundreds or thousands of laptops, there is nothing better. It is very fast and most importantly, reliable, unlike CH341A, T866 or similar and even 1000€ programmers which I have used before.


Secondly, you can automate bios modification, which makes thing much faster. At first I used a 1000€ programmer and it usually took me 30-60 minutes to read, modifiy and rewrite just to unlock 1 HP laptop. Now it usually takes up to 30 seconds on most HP-s, only thanks to raspberry+flashrom.


So I do agree that T866II, RT809F, RT809H are easy to use, mostly reliable and not too expensive but if you know your way around a raspberry already and you are willing to spend the time to set it up, it's worth it.


Whatever you do, avoid CH341A Most people who run into random problems, use CH341A.

[piernov]

Re: Slow writing programmer

I'm not sure what reliability issue there is with TL866II. I use it, it works fine. If there's a communication issue while reading or writing, it tells me. If there is a contact issue with a pin, it tells me which one(s).
It can deal with a lot of different chips, not limited to 25-series SPI ROM, but also 24-series I2C ROM (CH341A can do it as well though), FHW ROM, lots of parallel ROMs in PLCC, TSOP48, DIP packages, etc… (supposedly it supports 1.8V natively but I didn't have to do that yet, I rarely have recent machines in front of me)

I was using the Raspberry Pi at first. I moved to RT809F then TL866II and I have no plan on going back.

As for automating, I get your point. I don't have a stack of shady laptops to unlock everyday though so it depends on the use case. Although the open-source minipro software on Linux recently added support for TL866II so I guess the same could be achieved. I didn't try it, I don't know if it's stable or not. (I use the official software in a virtual machine)

[paulo66]

Re: Slow writing programmer

I´ve been using a TL866II for years to update the firmware of vintage synths or simply burn the old quartz window EPROMs with the same code, since their information is held by tiny capacitors which, after a few decades of reliable service, eventually get discharged.

It´s also good for testing CMOS logic chips.

Usually the only error with these happens when a new EPROM with a different sufix or from a different manufacturer replaces the original. To get around with it we simply disable the Verify function, or change the programming voltage. I guess the "primitive" machine code these chips are meant to hold doesn´t care about certain subtleties.

The only real problem I ran into happened recently while trying to replace a possibly damaged Winbond with a new Gigadevice EEPROM. The error appeared, Verify was then disabled and the chip reflashed. Didn´t work out.
Later I tried the original chip. Program and verification ran successfully and it worked.

[paulo66]

Re: Slow writing programmer

Ummm nope. Mine is the CS. But whatever, mine serves me well. Autoelectric did a good job.

[RethoricalCheese]

Re: Slow writing programmer

Probably had trouble with onboard programming on some certain models when I used TL866II. Otherwise it was reliable. Couldn't use it much because I loaned it out a few weeks after I got it and never saw it again

"a stack of shady laptops to unlock everyday"
I guess you haven't bough as a bulk from different companies. They tend to be lazy enough to not remove passwords and it's usually a "security issue" to give out passwords for locked machines.

[saidbe]

Re: Slow writing programmer

Thanks all for your answers.

[saidbe]

Re: Slow writing programmer

Fastest, very cheap but difficult to set up is raspberry + flashrom.

THANKS for your replay.

Which flashrom is the best?

Is pingo adapter beter?

Regards

[flyingg]

Re: Slow writing programmer

Probably had trouble with onboard programming on some certain models when I used TL866II. Otherwise it was reliable. Couldn't use it much because I loaned it out a few weeks after I got it and never saw it again

"a stack of shady laptops to unlock everyday"
I guess you haven't bough as a bulk from different companies. They tend to be lazy enough to not remove passwords and it's usually a "security issue" to give out passwords for locked machines.

Hi I was wondering: Do you use an external PSU for ISP flashing of bios chips (of laptops f.e.) with your raspberry pi, if so how do you wire it? And does the raspberry pi version matter (3 or 4)? As for using the original power adapter there should be no question about that. Any tips though on how to reach high SPI speeds (>5MHz)? I think what can be reached differs per mobo right?

[RethoricalCheese]

Re: Slow writing programmer

I am not using an external PSU, just a random phone charger to power up raspberry.

Raspberry version matters only if you want other options like WiFi/BT, full size HDMI, USB ports etc to connect with it. I mostly use raspberry Pi Zero W because of its small form factor and it has BT/WiFi. And well, it was cheapest. Will upgrade to a newer version soon just to upgrade WiFi to 5GHz.

Flashrom enables you to specify speed using spispeed=xxxxx. I could get it to work with 40000 which is 40000 kHz or 40MHz. But since it doesn't work with every board, I reduced it to either 10 or 20MHz (can't remember right now ) and it has been very stable.

Here's a small tutorial on installing it. https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=43777
Be sure download source instead of using apt-get https://www.flashrom.org/Flashrom/1.2 to get the newest version which supports 256Mb chips aswell.

[flyingg]

Re: Slow writing programmer

I am not using an external PSU, just a random phone charger to power up raspberry.

Raspberry version matters only if you want other options like WiFi/BT, full size HDMI, USB ports etc to connect with it. I mostly use raspberry Pi Zero W because of its small form factor and it has BT/WiFi. And well, it was cheapest. Will upgrade to a newer version soon just to upgrade WiFi to 5GHz.

Flashrom enables you to specify speed using spispeed=xxxxx. I could get it to work with 40000 which is 40000 kHz or 40MHz. But since it doesn't work with every board, I reduced it to either 10 or 20MHz (can't remember right now ) and it has been very stable.

Here's a small tutorial on installing it. https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=43777
Be sure download source instead of using apt-get https://www.flashrom.org/Flashrom/1.2 to get the newest version which supports 256Mb chips aswell.

I've set everything up as you described. I've however had to go as low as 1.5MHz on some hp elitebook folio 9470m laptops. Some models have a (only recently supported) numonix N25Q128..3E chips which are harder to flash (require lower speeds) than the W25Q128 chips. And even the folios with winbond chips vary greatly, some I can read with speeds up to 30MHz without errors, however those are few and write speeds are lower in the range of 2MHz and even then I have to do it multiple times to get a good flash. I only managed to make it work faster by using bios modification with your tool (big thanks), as that doesn't require high write speeds.

Is this just a troublesome model or do you have a similar experience? Only thing I can think of is that the laptop pulls so much power it might have weakened (or damaged) raspi's SPI circuits, a few laptops can pull so much power the raspi reboots, even though I have a proper (5V, 2A+) power supply. That's not the case with the hp folio laptops I've had trouble with though. I'm using a ponoma soic8 test clip btw.

[RethoricalCheese]

Re: Slow writing programmer

Elitebooks never give trouble. You must do a power cycle.

Disconnect battery if it uses latches. Connect charger. Turn on laptop, go to F10 where it asks for password. Shut down laptop using power button. Do Not remove charger. Connect programmer and read. Always follow up with a verify.

On some Probooks you need to remove charger after connecting programmer. Always start with a power cycle. Only Dells seem to not need it.

[GMAN-2022]

Re: Slow writing programmer

I'm in the same boot.

I'm looking for a eMMC chip writer that is reliable and reasonable. I have a new SanDisk SDIN8DE2-8G BGA153 eMMC chip that I need to flash a Linux image on the eMMC chip.

The old eMMC chip is corrupted and I need to remove it from the circuit board. The chip is on a circuit board used for home automation (Control4).

[RethoricalCheese]

Re: Slow writing programmer

You probably already have a programmer for that - SD card reader. Only problem would be soldering it to a microSD -> SD adapter for example.

Here's a tidy version of this approach https://www.hklrf.com/eMMC-FBGA169-B...o-SD_5833.html