Is it possible to access and modify Bios from the OS?

[pcfan]

Hello friends! I have a laptop (lenovo idea pad S400) with a broken screen. In order to have video I use and HDMI (only output here) - VGA adapter. However it is impossible to get video during booting time, so I cannot access the BIOS. I only get image when the OS is up . I have been searching a lot on the web, some people advice to unplugged the video Flex cord from the motherboard , or from the screen, etc. I have tried every combination possible there. No success.
I also learned, that is it possible to get BIOS information in Windows from a console. I did that, but there isn't much to see or to do.
I was wondering if it is possible to access to that information from MX Linux and also to make some configurations.

If we think logicaly I don't think BIOS can be fully accessed from the OS , because they are Two different things... I know this... but I cannot think of anything else to overcome this issue.

For those who are thinking about "spare parts" , that cannot happen in my country. Lenovo moved away, they don't provide supplies, not even buying from Brazil. *PS Bios in this machine can be access by pressing an small side button , then a 3 or 4 option display should be shown, in order to select Bios option.

[j2mcgreg]

Have you searched your local market for a used Ideapad S400 that you could use as a donor machine?

[BitterTruth]

you can try:

1) removing the bios battery first for a few minutes - this might reset the bios to default settings and display on the external monitor. Sometimes bioses have 3 settings for display:
i) internal
ii) auto
iii) external

hopefully by removing the battery you can change from internal --------->

2) If that doesn't work you need to disconnect the laptop screen connector. You don't need to remove the screen, just disconnect the connector. The bios will try to display on the first screen it finds. If you disconnect the laptop screen, then it should go to the external one.

############# WARNING !
YOU MUST NOT BE CONNECTED TO POWER WHEN YOU DISCONNECT THE SCREEN. MAKE SURE TO REMOVE THE CHARGER AND THE BATTERY FIRST OTHERWISE YOU MIGHT SHORT SOMETHING OR BLOW A FUSE
######################

[Kermit the Frog]

... But... what's the main purpose (at this time) of accessing the Bios? Are you willing to reset it to factory defaults (for whatever reason) or trying to upgrade ?

Though we don't have the QSI : If you're trying to reset it:

Code: Select all

sudo modprobe nvram ; sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/nvram

will work on most (non-uefi) systems.

Meanwhile, on my very old 32 bit HP it was ok with a VGA connection (either when the video flex cord was plugged and not).. so, it's probably due to HDMI there ...

Also (if you're still able to boot with a live usb, if boot sequence lets you) you can boot with Hiren's BootCD (CD is just the name) and upgrade Bios (if there's an exe / setup file for XP ) from there....

[j2mcgreg]

If your monitor also has a DVI-D port in addition to the VGA port, you would probably be better off with one of these adapter cables instead:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B07D6RL3V ... d3d10&th=1
because that would give you a digital to digital connection rather than digital to analog,

[Kermit the Frog]

Meanwhile there was a " nvramtool " (just for you asked that question), but it was available for Buster for the last time, maybe you can use on MX-21 live session.

Code: Select all

nvramtool — read/write coreboot-related information

Synopsis

nvramtool [OPTS] [-n] -r NAME
nvramtool [OPTS] -e NAME
nvramtool [OPTS] -a
nvramtool [OPTS] -w NAME=VALUE
nvramtool [OPTS] -p INPUT_FILE
nvramtool [OPTS] -i
nvramtool [OPTS] -c [VALUE]
nvramtool [OPTS] -l [ARG]
nvramtool [OPTS] -d
nvramtool [OPTS] -Y
nvramtool [OPTS] -b OUTPUT_FILE
nvramtool [OPTS] -B INPUT_FILE
nvramtool [OPTS] -x
nvramtool [OPTS] -X DUMPFILE
nvramtool [OPTS] -v
nvramtool [OPTS] -h

Description

nvramtool is a utility for reading/writing coreboot parameters and displaying information from the coreboot table.

The coreboot table resides in low physical memory.  It is created at boot time by coreboot, and contains various system information such as the type of mainboard in use.  It specifies locations in the CMOS (nonvolatile RAM) where the coreboot parameters are stored.

This program is intended for (x86-based) systems that use coreboot.  For information about coreboot, see
https://www.coreboot.org/.

Parameters

[-n] -r NAME
Show the value of the coreboot parameter given by NAME. If -n is specified, show only the value.  Otherwise show both parameter name and value.

-e NAME
Show all possible values for parameter given by NAME.

-a
Show the names and values for all coreboot parameters.

-w NAME=VALUE
Assign VALUE to coreboot parameter given by NAME.

-p INPUT_FILE
Assign values to coreboot parameters according to the contents of INPUT_FILE. The format of this file is described below.

-i
This is similar to the -p option, except that the contents of the input file are taken from standard input.

-c [VALUE]
If VALUE is present then set the CMOS checksum for the coreboot parameters to VALUE. Otherwise, show the checksum value.

-l [ARG]
If ARG is present then show information from the coreboot table as specified by ARG. Otherwise show all possible values for ARG.

-d
Do a low-level dump of the coreboot table.

-Y
Write CMOS layout information to standard output.  If redirected to a file, the layout information may be used as input for the '-y LAYOUT_FILE' option (see below).

-b OUTPUT_FILE
Write the contents of CMOS memory to the binary file OUTPUT_FILE. The first 14 bytes of OUTPUT_FILE do not contain actual CMOS data, and are always written as zeros.  This is because the first 14 bytes of the CMOS area do not contain CMOS memory.  These bytes are involved with the functioning of the real time clock.

-B INPUT_FILE
Read binary data from INPUT_FILE and write the data to CMOS memory.  The first 14 bytes of INPUT_FILE are skipped and data is written to CMOS starting at the 15th byte of the CMOS area.  This is because the first 14 bytes of the CMOS area do not contain CMOS memory.  These bytes are involved with the functioning of the real time clock.

-x
Show a hex dump of all CMOS data.  The first 14 bytes of the dump do not contain actual CMOS data, and are always shown as zeros.  This is because the first 14 bytes of the CMOS area do not contain CMOS memory.  These bytes are involved with the functioning of the real time clock.

-X DUMPFILE
Read binary data from DUMPFILE (presumably a CMOS dumpfile created using the -b OUTPUT_FILE option) and show a hex dump of the data.

-v
Show version information for this program.

-h
Show a help message for this program.

Options
In all cases above, [OPTS] evaluates to the following:

   [-y LAYOUT_FILE | -t]

The '-y LAYOUT_FILE' option tells nvramtool to obtain CMOS layout information from the contents of LAYOUT_FILE. Likewise, the '-t' option tells nvramtool to obtain CMOS layout information from the CMOS option table (contained within the coreboot table).  If neither option is specified, the CMOS option table is used by default. LAYOUT_FILE follows the format of the cmos.layout files provided by coreboot.

If the coreboot installed on your system was built without specifying CONFIG_HAVE_OPTION_TABLE, then the coreboot table will not contain a CMOS option table.  In this case, the '-y LAYOUT_FILE' option must be used.

These two options are silently ignored when used in combination with other options (such as -h, for instance) for which they are not applicable.

File Format
For the -p option, INPUT_FILE must consist of a sequence of lines such that each line is either a blank line, a comment, or an assignment.  A blank line consists only of zero or more whitespace characters (spaces and tabs).  A comment is constructed as follows:

   [ws]#[text]

Here, [ws] indicates optional whitespace characters and [text] indicates optional text.  Blank lines and comments are both ignored.  An assignment is constructed as follows:

   [ws]NAME[ws]=[ws]VALUE[ws]

Here, NAME is the name of a coreboot parameter and VALUE is the value that will be assigned to NAME. VALUE is allowed to contain whitespace characters, but it must begin and end with nonwhitespace characters.  Note that each comment must appear on a line by itself.  If you attempt to add a comment to the end of an assignment, then the comment will be interpreted as part of VALUE. It is useful to observe that the output produced by both the -a and the '[-n] NAME' options (without -n specified) adheres to this file format.

Bugs
This program does not implement any type of synchronization to ensure that different processes don't stomp on each other when trying to access the nonvolatile RAM simultaneously.  Therefore, corruption of the BIOS parameter values may occur if multiple instances of this program are executed concurrently.

Authors
David S. Peterson <dsp@llnl.gov> <dave_peterson@pobox.com>
Stefan Reinauer <stepan@coresystems.de>

Info
September 2008

[Antediluvian]

For those who are thinking about "spare parts" , that cannot happen in my country. Lenovo moved away, they don't provide supplies, not even buying from Brazil.

I don't know what country you are in but is there a reason why you can't buy an aftermarket display directly from an electronics retailer or somewhere like AliExpress or Amazon? I've put aftermarket displays in a couple of Lenovo Thinkpads and they work fine. One time I got the exact LP part that Lenovo used.

[FullScale4Me]

Most laptops have a screen switching Function Key that changes from 1) Laptop display only. 2) External display only. 3) Both displays.

Have you tried this immediately after powering on?

[pcfan]

Dear Friends, I am so sorry I couldn't return here sooner. Thank you so very much for all your replies.

I will reply to you all here in the same post. Please have in mind: 1) english isn't my native language.

2) this is a broken laptop which I was successfully able to turn into a "desktop" computer :) sort of speaking.


@ j2mcgreg I tryied to get a spare part, I live in Argentina, Lnovo went away, all I could get a long time ago were screens with burned pixels. I am trying to work with what I've got at the reach of my hand.


@ BitterTruth I tried all kind of combinations regardig pluggin and unpluggin. Presing F"x" (x= number) , Bios seems not be capable of output video through HDMI, so that I cannot know what options I have there. Though I watched videos related and It seems this laptop model doesn't have many options regarding HDMI on its BIOS.

Good news is I separated the monitor form its slim controler card, plugged the cord in both ways (motherboard - monitor card) and got rid of the broken screen which bothered me. Here is a picture of what I did, hope it is ok, I am just a girl playing boy games. Suggestions are wellcome

WhatsApp Image 2024-12-06 at 15.13.13.jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2024-12-06 at 15.16.51.jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2024-12-06 at 15.13.41.jpeg

@ Kermit the Frog the main purpuse for me to enter the bios is to be able to install for instance new MX versions, or run any tool that needs to be boot before the OS.
To sum up I am not able to boot from USB due I don't have video to sellect the booting device for example. The only way I can think of doing this is to remove the SDD and run a live USB created with Belana etcher o something like that instead of Ventoy (which is what I use)

Currently I was able to install MX by placing the SDD on another laptop.

I cannot run right now the command you provided but I 'll do it as soon as I can.

@ j2mcgreg I don't have any monitors with DVI-D port. Sorry.


@Kermit the Frog I will try that nvramtool tool you mentioned. Though I have to study it first, but if it needs to be compilated I must tell that is very hard for me.

@ FullScale4Me yes, I tried that keys , it didn't work.


Friends, I have to copy here the reply I got from Lenovo (providing what they say is correct)


" Hi pcfan,

Dex_Lenovo posted a new post on a topic you subscribe to in the Re:BIOS through an external monitor on lenovo IdeaPad S400, is it possible? conversation on 2024-04-21 19:57:30. Please click the link below to see it.

Re:BIOS through an external monitor on lenovo IdeaPad S400, is it possible?

Hi pcfan,

You can try to access the BIOS/EFI screen by using the "Fn" + "F2" keys during the boot process. However, if your laptop's screen is broken, you will not be able to see the BIOS/EFI screen even with an external monitor. This is because the BIOS/EFI screen is usually displayed before the laptop's graphics drivers are loaded, which are required to output to an external monitor.

As for booting from a USB, you can try using the "Novo" button on your laptop. This button is usually located near the power button and can be used to access the boot menu directly without going through the BIOS/EFI screen. From there, you should be able to select your USB as the boot device.

If these steps don't work, you might need to consider getting your laptop's screen repaired. You can check the warranty status of your product here or find a local authorized service center here.

Best regards,
Dex_Lenovo"

[Kermit the Frog]

I, too thought about the "novo button" but didn't suggest that cause we keep coming back to the same point: your screen is broken and it's unable to display the bios on the external one, no matter how you access bios: using that button or pressing F2 or Fn+F2 or something else ...