[NC10] List of all the available BIOSes

[voria]

As we all (linux users) know, the official released BIOSes from Samsung are not usable with Linux, and this makes impossible to upgrade our NC10.
However, the flashrom utility seems to correctly detect and work with the NC10, so I think it would be a good thing to have all the BIOS versions available in a format usable with this great utility. Furthermore, flashrom allows us even to downgrade the BIOS, if we were to have such a need.

*
UPDATE:
It seems that flashrom is perfectly able to update the BIOS, but not the MICOM.
So, it's not really usable for doing a proper update, at least for now.
Thanks to ascari76 for the info.
*

What I'm trying to do is to collect them all, starting with the one extracted from my NC10.

Extracting the BIOS is not a risky operation. For this reason I'm asking the whole community to contribute to the collection, by extracting the BIOS if it's in a version not yet available in the list below.

These are the few steps needed to do that.

First of all, install the flashrom utility.
Ubuntu users can do it with the command:

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install flashrom

Then, use the following command to extract your BIOS:

Code: Select all

sudo flashrom -r <biosversion>.bin

where '-r' stands for 'read flash and save into file', and .bin is the name you want to use for the file. In my case, I used the name '07CA.bin'.

If flashrom exits with an error, you will need to add the 'nopat' option to the kernel command line.
Easy thing to do: restart your NC10, when the GRUB shows up, highlight your current kernel and press the 'e' key. In the new menu, highlight the line starting with 'kernel /...' and press the 'e' key again. Now add the nopat option at the end of the line, and press ENTER. Then press the 'b' key to boot the system. This little modification is not permanent and it will be lost when the system will be shutted down or restarted.
Now open a terminal and retry with the above command to extract the BIOS.

The size of the resulting file will be 2MB. Zip and post it here, and I'll add it to the list.

List of all the BIOSes extracted until now:

- 04CA (by tscheckoff)
- 04CD (by marcel_ms) (for NC10 with HSPA modem)
- 05CA (by okon3)
- 05CD (by Cezary) (for NC10 with HSPA modem)
- 07CA (by voRia)
- 09CA (by auceto)
- 10CA (by okon3)

[voria]

Version 05CA added (thanks to okon3).

[tscheckoff]

Here comes 04CA...


Regards

Tscheckoff

[voria]

Thanks! Added to main post.

[Maike05]

Hi ! If i want to upgrade my bios on ubuntu, I just need to download a zip from the list and then extract it to a folder and type : sudo flashrom -r .bin ?

Thanks

[okon3]

The "-r" is used to EXTRACT the bios and save in the .bin file, if you want to update, download a bios from the list above, extract and run:

Code: Select all

sudo flashrom -wv <biosversion>.bin

The process itself is fragile since any power fluctuation during a bios update may irrevocably corrupt the bios. Great care will need to be taken in order to safely accomplish this.

[voria]

An user in the italian section has tried to update the BIOS from 04CA to 07CA. The process went good (here the log), but the BIOS menu now shows:
BIOS version: 07CA
MICOM version: 04CA.

Trying to flash again has not changed the situation, so at this point I don't know if flashrom is capable to update MICOM too.
Anyway, it seems that the NC10 is perfectly working.

[voria]

Hi ! If i want to upgrade my bios on ubuntu, I just need to download a zip from the list and then extract it to a folder and type : sudo flashrom -r .bin ?

Thanks

As okon3 said, be cautious while updating the BIOS, it's a risky operation and it can make your NC10 unbootable. Be sure of what you're doing!

[Cezary]

05CD (for NC10 w/ HSPA modem)

[voria]

Added. Thanks!

[voria]

On samsungpc.com is finally available the 07CA updater for DOS.
If your NC10 is windows-free (be proud of that ) and you want to update, you can create a bootable DOS usbpen using this image made by me.

Extract the zip file, then from a terminal use this command:

Code: Select all

sudo dd if=usbdos.img of=/dev/sdX

where 'sdX' is the identifier of the usbpen you want to use.
Please note the 'dd' command will wipe out any previous content on the usbpen, so make a backup if needed.

[lukus]

Hi

I'm running the latest 07CA BIOS and MICOM - but I'd like to downgrade to 04CA, so that I can access the secret Intel menus... it seems that the newest BIOS doesn't allow this easter egg - and I miss being able to make my laptop quieter and the ability to give more ram to the graphics card.

The samsung BIOS utility won't allow downgrades.

Given the fact that flashrom will only flash my BIOS, does anyone know if running a 07CA MICOM and 04CA BIOS would be a problem?

(Also, what actually is MICOM?)

Cheers

[Cimi]

adding more ram to the videocard is totally useless, and maybe will slowdown your applications and video games

[lindien]

Hello,

You can Save,Upgrade,Downgrade your MICOM with this !!!;)
it's not a .bmp .... it's a .rar file !;)

[voria]

I suppose this is for windows, due to the fact it's an .exe file...