![usb spi programmer tool usb spi programmer tool](https://sc04.alicdn.com/kf/HTB12fmIeqmgSKJjSsplq6yICpXa9.jpg)
3) Locate the BIOS chip on the motherboard While connecting the IC to the programmer, make sure the motherboard is powerless and the programmer is not connected to USB either as this could potentially corrupt/erase or even break the BIOS chip. As you can see, this is more towards the middle: top row, 4th pin from left to right, of the pin layout for a SPI/BIOS chip (type 25). On the CH341a MiniProgrammer, there is also an indication to where pin 1 should be inserted. The rest of the connections should follow the same rule. When doing so, you need to carefully pay attention that the red wire, indicating pin 1, matches with the side of the IC that has a small dot, indicating pin 1 on chip side. The clip, as you can see above, can be placed on top of the chip on the board.
![usb spi programmer tool usb spi programmer tool](https://z.nooncdn.com/products/tr:n-t_240/v1602594102/N40931721A_2.jpg)
This avoids the need to remove the chip from the motherboard and the risk to potentially damage other components. If it’s soldered on the board you will either need to de-solder it or use a clamp/clip that fits the package type of your BIOS chip.Īlthough desoldering this type of IC is not very hard, it’s still a lot easier to use a clip that is suited for the package type. In case your BIOS chip is socketed, you can remove the chip from the board and place it on top of the programmer (with an adapter). This device allows a variety of options to program/flash SPI flash or BIOS chips but also other types of EEPROMs of type 24XX and 25XX which are found in various devices like routers, access points, videocards,… and is suited to program the SOIC-8 BIOS chips that are used in a lot of systems these days. There are a lot of different types of programmers out there but a popular model, most likely due it’s wide availability for low prices on Ebay, Amazon or Aliexpress, is the CH341a MiniProgrammer: In order to read and write the contents on our BIOS chip, we will need a programmer that can physically connect with it and perform those actions. This was the case for the Lenovo X1 yoga but also for the Dell Precision T1700 MT and some other systems I checked. Today, in my experience, most of the times, a SOIC-8 package is used. If this is no longer the case, you will need to reprogram the BIOS using another device.īIOS chips come in several different packages. Obviously, for that to work, the system still has to be able to boot. The BIOS is mostly only used during the initial boot time and can safely be reflashed on a started system. The easiest is by running a BIOS update/programming tool directly on your working machine. There are several ways to (re-)program the contents on your BIOS chip.
![usb spi programmer tool usb spi programmer tool](https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/4f1dcd66-2130-4bf4-9e22-d44b863afc66.9a2947117d75d5eb7fb6eebabcb08c14.jpeg)
If you prefer classic text, you can just follow the rest of this article: If you are interested, I also created a YouTube video from this blogpost. For this article, I will repeat the steps I took, on a Dell Precision T1700 MT.
![usb spi programmer tool usb spi programmer tool](https://my-live-05.slatic.net/p/e09fb08aa3cc213b01794fa0841fb11f.jpg)
In this post you can find the documented steps I took to reflash the BIOS and bring my laptop back to life.Īs mentioned in the introduction, the BIOS chip from my Lenovo X1 Yoga laptop got corrupt and I managed to repair things by reflashing it with a working BIOS ROM. To fix this, I purchased the CH341a MiniProgrammer. Recently I got in the situation where the BIOS chip in my Lenovo X1 Yoga got corrupt. To fix this situation but also for other reasons like simply a backup, tuning, modding or enabling hidden features, flashing your BIOS ROM is interesting. In some rare cases, the BIOS chip in your system can become corrupt, which will return your system completely unusable. Without a working BIOS, even the most powerful hardware can’t be brought to life.