ThinkWiki - User contributions [en]

BIOS Upgrade

2015-12-22T15:22:44Z

Berto: /* Manually creating a USB Flash drive in Linux */ I flashed an X230 using this USB Flash drive method.

{| width="100%"
|style="vertical-align:top;padding-right:20px;width:10px;white-space:nowrap;" | __TOC__
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This page is meant to describe ways to update the BIOS on a ThinkPad that only runs Linux for users that don't have ready access to Windows. If you have Windows on your ThinkPad you can just boot into it and follow instructions on the Lenovo website.

Updating the BIOS in Linux (with few exceptions) '''is not officially supported''' by Lenovo. However there are work arounds.

 
{{WARN|By following any of the instructions here you are accepting the '''very real risk''' of turning your ThinkPad into a big expensive paper weight, as a firmware update gone wrong can create unfix-able problems.

'''Proceed at your own risk!'''}}
|}

= [[Custom BIOS]] =

Some ThinkPad fans have created Custom BIOSes to remove whitelists, disable annoying errors, do Fn-Ctrl keyswaps, and add more functionality. Check the [[Custom BIOS]] wikipage for more information.

* '''X200, X60, T60, Macbook 2,1''' - [http://libreboot.org Libreboot] - Based on Coreboot, this BIOS (approved by the FSF) removes all proprietary blobs to create Free Libre Open Source Laptops, where everything from the motherboard to the computer can use Open Source Software. Richard Stallman famously uses a Libreboot X60.
* Sovem's Whitelist Removed BIOSes - A famous user from BIOS-mods.com, that removes mPCI whitelists from BIOSes upon request.
* '''T61, R61, X61/X61s/X61T, X300''' - [[Middleton's BIOS]] - Enables SATAII, removes whitelist, thermal fixes, Fn-Ctrl swap.
* '''T43/T43p, R52, X41/X41T''' - [[Problem with non-ThinkPad hard disks#Use unofficial modified BIOS|TTav134's BIOS]] - Removes Error 2010 for aftermarket hard drives, and the BIOS whitelist.

== [[Middleton's BIOS]] ==

A user on NotebookReview named 'Middleton' made these alternative BIOSes to enable SATA2 on certain Thinkpad models (X61/T61/R61/X300). These ThinkPads are limited to SATA1 in their BIOS even though the hardware is SATA2. This is a huge drawback for anyone wanting to use SSDs, because it is so much slower.

Also, it is not possible to install some wireless cards, because only certain models are whitelisted by IBM/Lenovo. [[Middleton's BIOS]] removes this limitation as well.

'''See the wikipage [[Middleton's BIOS]] for installation instructions, downloads, and more description.'''

Note: If your BIOS-Update tool says that no update is needed, then simply downgrade the Bios first: On Lenovo's drivers download page, the old Bios files are listed at the very bottom of the page.

= Downloading New Firmware =
{{WARN|Flashing the wrong firmware for your hardware may cause permanent damage to your ThinkPad. It is up to you to confirm that the firmware you are using is correct.}}

A list of links to firmware downloads can be found at [[BIOS Upgrade Downloads]] for most Thinkpad models. You can also check the Lenovo Support website's [http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/default.page?#|ThinkPad driver matrix].

Lenovo/IBM provides firmware upgrades in a variety of packages:
* Diskette
* Non-diskette
* Linux diskette
* BIOS Utility
* Bootable CD

Not every type of package is available for every model.

The ''BIOS Utility'' and ''Bootable CD'' packages combine the BIOS and ECP firmwares. For the other packages, there is one for each firmware.
{| align="right" style="width:20em;"
| {{HELP|Can an image be extracted from a "Linux diskette" .exe file?}}
|}

The ''Linux diskette'' is just the ''Diskette'' package that runs on Linux instead of Windows/DOS. It's unknown if a boot image can be extracted from it.

You may need to try different packages to find the one from which you can extract a boot image.

== Two Firmwares: BIOS and ECP ==
{{WARN|Flashing incompatible firmwares, or flashing them in the wrong order, may cause permanent damage to your ThinkPad.}}

It is important to understand that Thinkpads from IBM have two separate firmwares: the BIOS, and the Embedded Controller Program (ECP).

A given BIOS version will require a certain version of the ECP. You must read the Lenovo website and/or .txt files to confirm which BIOS is compatible with which ECP, and '''the order in which to update them'''.

=== Update Order ===
The Lenovo/IBM documentation is sometimes unclear about the order in which these two firmwares should be updated. When in doubt (i.e. IBM didn't provide specific instructions for your model or a particular firmware update), '''update the ECP first, and then the BIOS'''. Also, make sure to do the two updates '''immediately one after the other'''.

The EC firmware is usually much better at backwards compatibility than the BIOS.

{{NOTE|Updaters for newer models take care of both BIOS and EC, and use automatically whatever sequence is needed, so you don't have to worry about it.}}

== Installed Firmware ==
You can check the current BIOS and ECP versions on your ThinkPad by using '''dmidecode'''. For example:

{{cmdroot|dmidecode -s bios-version}}

1RETDRWW (3.23 )

{{cmdroot|dmidecode -t 11}}

# dmidecode 2.9
SMBIOS 2.33 present.
Handle 0x0029, DMI type 11, 5 bytes
OEM Strings
String 1: IBM ThinkPad Embedded Controller -[1RHT71WW-3.04 ]-

Showing BIOS version 3.23 (1RETDRWW) and ECP version 3.04 (1RHT71WW).

===DMI IDs===
Please consider updating the [[List of DMI IDs]] before (and after) updating your BIOS.

= Updating Firmware =

Firmware flasher program can run on DOS (Lenovo PC DOS) or Windows but, unfortunately, not Linux. So ''in theory'' there are two basic steps to update the firmware (either the BIOS or the ECP) on a ThinkPad not running Windows:
# Get or create a bootable image with supported OS
# Boot that image and, if not started automatically, ran flasher program

Recent Thinkpads have firmwares available as ''Bootable CD'' image, e.g., FILENAME.iso. If you have an optical drive there is no need to read this page any further: just download .iso image, burn it and boot to flash bios. If you are not that lucky, read on.

First you need to realize that there are different ways to boot DOS on PC (theoretically it is possible to boot Windows to ran flasher, but why?...): from internal hard drive, CD drive, USB Flash drive or, as the last resort, floppy drive. Easiest way is from internal hard drive, but you'd better avoid touching it until you don't want to loose files there. [[Booting from a Floppy]] is not recommended, so there are two best options to boot: CD drive or USB Flash drive.

Sparse instructions below provide you guidance how to do different parts of this pazzle but it's your duty to understand what to do and how to do that.

== Create a bootable image ==

In case Lenovo does not provide your laptop with ''Bootable CD'' it is possible to create one from *discket packages.

=== Extracting an update image ===
{{WARN|Though this process has been successfully tested on many versions of .exe files found on IBMs website, that doesn't mean it will work for all of them. '''Proceed at your own risk'''. Consult the testing tables farther down of this page to see other users' experience with your model Thinkpad.}}
{{NOTE|Lenovo has changed the packaging format. Old bios can be extracted with [http://freshmeat.net/projects/cabextract/ '''cabextract'''], new ones with [http://innoextract.constexpr.org/ '''innoextract'''].}}
Older .exe installers from Lenovo mostly appear to be just a wrapper license program around Windows .cab files (see [[How_to_change_the_BIOS_bootsplash_screen|BIOS-Bootsplash]]). If you install the Linux program [http://freshmeat.net/projects/cabextract/ '''cabextract'''] you can expand these .cab files directly. For example, if you downloaded {{path|1iuj13us.exe}} from Lenovo:

:{{cmduser|cabextract 1iuj13us.exe}}

Extracting cabinet: 1iuj13us.exe
extracting 1IUJ13US.IMG
extracting BIOSUPTP.EXE
extracting DOBOOT.EXE
extracting DOSBOOT.COM
extracting DOSBOOT.SYS
extracting DOSBOOT.VXD
extracting DOSBOOT2.COM
extracting ECTLUPTP.EXE
extracting EFLASHAS.SYS
extracting HDFWUPTP.EXE
extracting IBMTPI.XML
All done, no errors.

The file we want is '''FILENAME.IMG''', with "FILENAME" being the .exe. you downloaded. E.g., {{path|1IUJ13US.IMG}}.

If this does not work for the Non-diskette .exe, try it on the Diskette .exe. It's reported, for example, that the Non-diskette .exe for BIOS version 3.23 for the T41p was not extractable, but the Diskette .exe worked perfectly, with {{cmduser|cabextract}} delivering a .IMG file.

==== If cabeextract/innoextract fails ====

Diskette .exe for some older models can't be extracted using cabextract. For example for the latest BIOS of 390E one gets
spsdilc9.exe: no valid cabinets found
There is a simple way to solve this, by stripping the header off from the Non-diskette version. To do this, first you need to find the index for the first occurance of '''MSCF''' in the downloaded executable. This can be done with the following
strings -a -t d NO-DISKETT.EXE | awk 'offset=index($2,"MSCF"), (offset != 0) {print $1+offset-1}' | head --lines 1
4196
The command adds the byte offset of the matching line plus the index for the start of the '''MSCF''' on that line, thus the byte offset of '''MSCF''', this number is usually '''4196''' Now we need to cut these header bytes off, this is done by a standard dd cut, the following cuts away the first 4196 bytes.
dd if=NO-DISKETTE.EXE of=out.cab iflag=skip_bytes skip=4196
The newly created '''out.cab''' should now work with '''cabextract'''
cabextract out.cab

A second alternative is to use Windows XP (works in VirtualBox too) together with [http://sourceforge.net/projects/vfd/ Virtual Floppy Drive]. Rund vfdwin.exe, go to the Driver tab and hit Install and Start. Then go to the Drive0 tab, click on Change and select A:. Finally, click on Open/Create, and click Create. This should give you a virtual floppy drive the .exe file will extract files to.

A third solution is to use QEMU with a DOS diskette image to run the disk extractor.

==== Testing the Image ====

You can test that FILENAME.IMG is really a floppy image by running:

{{cmdroot|mkdir /tmp/mntfloppy}}

{{cmdroot|mount -o loop FILENAME.IMG /tmp/mntfloppy}}

If a '''ls''' command on the image returns what looks like a DOS floppy, and no read errors were displayed, you have a pretty good chance that the image is usable. For example:

{{cmdroot|ls /tmp/mntfloppy}}
$0195000.FL1 069580.PAT 06d2.HSH IBMDOS.COM TPCHKS.EXE
0691.HSH 06D0.PAT 06d6.HSH LOGO.BAT UPDTFLSH.EXE
0691.PAT 06D1.PAT 06d8.HSH LOGO.SCR UPDTMN.EXE
0694.HSH 06D2.PAT CHKBMP.EXE PHLASH16.EXE USERINT.EXE
0694.PAT 06D6.PAT COMMAND.COM PREPARE.EXE UTILINFO.EXE
0695.HSH 06D8.PAT CONFIG.SYS PROD.dat lcreflsh.bat
0695.PAT 06d0.HSH FLASH2.EXE QKFLASH.EXE
069580.HSH 06d1.HSH IBMBIO.COM README.TXT

Unmount the image after you are done testing:

{{cmdroot|umount /tmp/mntfloppy}}

== Booting from update image ==
Now that you have a bootable image for the correct update for you hardware, you need to do is boot from that image to install the update.

There are different ways to do that:
* [[#Booting from a CD|Boot from a CD]]
* [[#Booting_using_GRUB|Boot image using bootloader (e.g. GRUB)]]
* [[#Booting_from_a_USB_Flash_drive|Boot from a USB Flash drive]]
* [[#Booting_from_a_floppy|Boot from a floppy]]

=== Booting from a CD ===
{| align="right" style="width:40em;"
|{{HINT|If there is a ''Bootable CD'' image available, e.g., FILENAME.iso, just download that, instead of mucking around with image files.}}
|}
If you are going to update the firmware by booting from a CD, you need to turn FILENAME.IMG that you extracted above into an .iso file.

The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Torito_%28CD-ROM_standard%29 El Torito Bootable CD Specification] is a wonderful thing. Thanks to it, a bootable CD can be made with a bootable floppy image in such as way that the CD believes that it is a 2.88 MB floppy drive. This allows you to replace a boot floppy by a boot CD in nearly all situations.

It is very easy to create such a bootable CD ISO image in Linux using the '''mkisofs''' tool{{footnote|1}}. Run a command as follows:

{{cmdroot|genisoimage -b 1WUJ25US.IMG -c boot.catalog -o bootcd.iso 1WUJ25US.IMG}} #or older mkisofs

Where *.IMG is the name of the image file extracted above. This creates a CD with one file on it and marks that file as the boot image.

You can now burn the {{path|bootcd.iso}} to a CD in your favorite CD-burning program.
{{WARN|By following any of the instructions here you are accepting the '''very real risk''' of turning your ThinkPad into a big expensive paper weight, as a firmware update gone wrong can create unfix-able problems. '''Proceed at your own risk!'''}}

Boot from the CD to update your firmware. Remember to have [[BIOS_Upgrade#Two_Firmwares:_BIOS_and_ECP|both BIOS and ECP firmware boot-CDs]] ready, as needed, and use them in the [[BIOS_Upgrade#Update_Order|proper order]].

{| align="center"
| {{HELP|Please, report your success/failure with flashing BIOS from the manually cooked CD (from .IMG file) here: [[BIOS_Upgrade_success_failure#Booting_from_CD]]}}
|}

=== Booting using GRUB ===
{|
| style="width:75%" | {{WARN|Many have warned '''not''' to use the SYSLINUX image-loader '''memdisk''' to boot firmware update images.}}
| style="font-size:80%" | {{HELP|Who are these "many"? Link to a discussion?}}
|}
Once the bootable image, FILENAME.IMG, is extracted from the .exe, it can be booted directly through GRUB without the need of burning a CD, using the [http://syslinux.zytor.com/ SYSLINUX] image-loader '''[http://syslinux.zytor.com/memdisk.php memdisk]'''.

Locate the '''memdisk''' file from the syslinux package. You can search for it with '''find''':

{{cmdroot|find /usr -name memdisk}} #or just use "dlocate memdisk" or "locate memdisk" if these programs are installed

If {{path|/usr/.../memdisk}} is not present, syslinux is not installed. You will need to install it to boot a .IMG from GRUB.

Copy both the '''FILENAME.IMG''' and '''memdisk''' files into {{path|/boot}} directory. For example:

{{cmdroot|cp ./FILENAME.IMG /usr/share/syslinux/memdisk /boot/}}

Open {{path|/boot/grub/menu.lst}} in your favourite editor. '''Copy''' the active section into a '''new section''', and edit the new section:
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2"
! Parameter
! Instructions
! Example
|-
| ''title'' || Pick a name for the new section. This will show up in the GRUB boot menu. || <tt>title IBM ECP Update</tt>
|-
| ''root'' || Do not change. This is the partition containing the {{path|/boot}} directory || <tt>root (hd0,0)</tt>
|-
| ''kernel'' || '''/boot/memdisk''' will allow you to boot an image file. || <tt>kernel /boot/memdisk</tt>
|-
| ''initrd'' || This is the name of the firmware-updater image file, e.g., 1IUJ13US.IMG || <tt>initrd /boot/1IUJ13US.IMG</tt>
|}

Do '''not''' modify the original section in {{path|/boot/grub/menu.lst}}, or you might not be able to boot back to the operating system.

If you have [[#Two_Firmwares:_BIOS_and_ECP|two firmware updates to do]], you will need a section for each firmware's FILENAME.IMG in {{path|/boot/grub/menu.lst}}.

{{NOTE|If both BIOS and ECP are to be updated, be sure to update them in the [[#Proper_Order|proper order]].}}

{{WARN|By following any of the instructions here you are accepting the '''very real risk''' of turning your ThinkPad into a big expensive paper weight, as a firmware update gone wrong can create unfix-able problems. '''Proceed at your own risk!'''}}

Reboot your computer, entering the GRUB menu and selecting ''IBM BIOS Update'', or whatever you named the new section in {{path|/boot/grub/menu.lst}}.

==== Booting image with GRUB2 ====
===== GRUB2: booting floppy Image =====
With grub2, one would ''append'' the following to ''/boot/grub/grub.cfg'' :
menuentry "My BIOS Upgrade" {
set root=(hd0,0) #should match the others in your grub.cfg
linux16 /boot/memdisk
initrd16 /boot/1WUJ25US.IMG #or whatever yours is
}

{| align="center"
| {{HELP|Please, report your success/failure with flashing BIOS from the manually cooked CD (from .IMG file) here: [[BIOS_Upgrade_success_failure#GRUB2:_Booting_floppy_Image]]}}
|}

===== GRUB2: booting CD Image =====
You must first download the bootable iso file from the Lenovo Website.

===== On Debian and Ubuntu =====
Then, on Debian and Ubuntu, you can install the grub-imageboot package, then you just have to copy the iso file in /boot/images and run update-grub:
<pre>
sudo apt-get install grub-imageboot
sudo mkdir -p /boot/images
sudo cp /home/youruser/Downloads/6uuj12uc.iso /boot/images
sudo update-grub
</pre>

===== Manual method =====
Otherwise, copy the file 'memdisk' from the syslinux package to /boot. Also create a symlink, so you do not have to change the grub configuration for each bios upgrade:
<pre>
sudo su -
cd /boot
cp /home/youruser/Downloads/6uuj12uc.iso .
cp /usr/share/syslinux/memdisk .
ln -s 6uuj12uc.iso biosupgrade.iso
</pre>
Now create the boot entry:
<pre>
cat >> /etc/grub.d/40_custom <<EOF
menuentry "Lenovo BIOS Upgrade" {
set root=(hd0,1) # <-- check for correct numbering
linux16 /boot/memdisk iso
initrd16 /boot/biosupgrade.iso
}
EOF
update-grub
</pre>
Reboot an Select "Lenovo BIOS Upgrade".

For the next Bios Upgrade you'll just need to copy the new iso file to /boot and adjust the symlink.

{| align="center"
| {{HELP|Please, report your success/failure with flashing BIOS from the manually cooked CD (from .IMG file) here: [[BIOS_Upgrade_success_failure#GRUB2:_Booting_CD_Image]]}}
|}

=== Booting from a USB Flash drive ===

==== Updating the BIOS in MS-DOS mode ====
(This process works for most Thinkpad models that has Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 OS)

1. Using HP USB Boot Utility, [http://blogs.oreilly.com/digitalmedia/2004/10/utility-to-make-usb-flash-driv.html create a bootable USB flash drive [http://www.bay-wolf.com/utility/usbkey/win98boot.zip DOS using Windows 98 Boot Disk Floppy Image].

2. Extract the (*.ima) from the ISO BIOS image (e.g. [http://www.rarsoft.com WinRAR] will do this).

3. Using a tool that can open .IMA files (such as [http://www.winimage.com/ WinImage]), extract all files to a temporary folder.

4. Run the HP tool, select the USB device, I used FAT32, create a DOS bootable disk and point at the win98boot folder - then "Start". Warning: this '''formats''' the USB flash drive and all data will be erased!

5. Once complete (you could test if it boots at this point), copy the extracted BIOS files from the temporary folder you created to the USB flash drive.

6. Boot from USB flash drive by pressing F11 within the BIOS boot logo. At the DOS command prompt, type "updflsh" and then follow the prompts by pressing "Y" or Enter. Make sure that you have a fully charged battery pack and the AC Adapter is firmly plugged before proceeding with the BIOS update.
'''DO NOT Power off the laptop or unplug the USB flash drive while the update is in progress or else update will fail and your computer will be unable to boot and system board may need to be serviced.'''

This process takes around 1-2 minutes. A long beep followed by a short beep will notify you that the update is complete and the system will automatically power off.

7. Power on the laptop then enter the BIOS setup by pressing F1 and Load BIOS defaults.

==== Using grub4dos (also for Linux) ====

[http://grub4dos.sourceforge.net/wiki/ grub4dos] is a GNU GRUB fork with interesting features. One of them is the ability to boot ISO images directly off USB flash drives. Contrary to the name, GRUB for DOS works fine on Linux. Follow these steps:
* Download the latest grub4dos package at http://download.gna.org/grub4dos/ (I needed 0.4.4 for my USB2 drive - 0.4.3 did not work.)
* Unpack
* Insert your FAT-32 formatted pendrive
* Run <code>sudo ./bootlace.com /dev/sdX</code>, where /dev/sdX is the device name assigned to your pendrive (use <code>sudo fdisk -l</code> to figure this out). Be very careful to get the device correct or else you could overwrite your hard drive! This creates grub4dos boot sector in MBR of the flash drive.
* Copy the files <code>grldr</code> and <code>menu.lst</code> to the root directory of your pendrive.
* Convert the ThinkPad .IMG file to a .ISO file using <code>genisoimage -b 1yuj18us.img -c boot.catalog -o 1yuj18us.iso 1yuj18us.img</code>
* Copy the ISO image to the root directory of your pendrive (e.g. <code>1yuj18us.iso</code>).
* Edit <code>menu.lst</code> on the pendrive and include the following section (of course putting the appropriate ISO image name):
<pre>
title thinkpad-bios
map (hd0,0)/1yuj18us.iso (hd32)
map --hook
chainloader (hd32)
boot
</pre>
* Reboot and press F12 to select booting from USB.
* If all went well, you should be able to boot the Thinkpad's ISO image and flash the BIOS. I tested it successfully on T400.

==== Manually creating a USB Flash drive in Linux ====

Use "geteltorito" to extract the update image from ISO image, downloaded from Lenovo's drivers page. Write the extracted image to a USB Flash drive using dd. "geteltorito" is available in Ubuntu (at least in Trusty, 14.04) from package "genisoimage".
* Install the genisoimage package: <code>sudo apt-get install genisoimage</code>
* Extract the boot image from the ISO: <code>geteltorito g6uj14us.iso > biosupdate.img</code>
* Install the boot image to USB Flash drive, make sure to install to the correct device! (device for me was /dev/sdb): <code>sudo dd if=biosupdate.img of=/dev/<yourusbflashdevice> bs=512K</code>
* Reboot and press F12 to select booting from USB.
* If all went well, you should be able to boot the Thinkpad's ISO image and flash the BIOS. Tested successfully on: X1 Carbon, X230.

=== Booting from a Floppy ===
{{WARN|Using a floppy disk '''is NOT recommended'''.}}

This is how IBM/Lenovo intended it. Use their .exe files to create a bootable floppy with the flash update on it. Boot from the floppy and there you go.

So, why is it not recommended?
# If something goes wrong, your ThinkPad may be permanently damaged
# Floppy disk drives are not reliable
# Floppy disks are not reliable
# It only works with /dev/fd0, meaning it won't work with a USB floppy

So, even though Lenovo is now offering "Linux diskette" updaters, that will create a bootable floppy under Linux, using a floppy is still not recommended. Besides, many people don't even ''have'' a floppy drive on their ThinkPad.

If you really want to do it with a floppy, some tips:
* Use a clean (in the physical sense) floppy drive
* Use new floppies
* Test floppies for errors before starting update process
* Have multiple copies of the update disks ready--if one should fail, replace it with a copy
* Should DOS complain of a read error, '''only''' respond wth "Retry"

{{NOTE|Should the system encounter a disk read error during the flash process, and you select "Abort", your system could be permanently damaged.}}

==== Using UNetbootin ====

Unetbootin 422 worked with the image files unpacked with cabextract on my x31.

{{HELP|How exactly did you do this? It failed for me. Does it work only with .IMG files that are converted to .ISO files, or can .ISO files provided by Lenovo also work (how?)}}

=== Booting from a Network Boot Image ===
BIOS, ECP, CD/DVD and Harddisk firmware disks can be booted over the network with [http://syslinux.zytor.com/pxe.php PXELINX] as part of the [http://syslinux.zytor.com/ SYSLINUX] package. This requires that you have a DHCP and tftp server configured and setup properly on your network, and is probably not for the faint of heart.

Make sure the firmware bootdisk is in linux 'dd' format, as the self-extracting .exe disks from the IBM website cannot be booted directly as such.

This worked on the {{R31}}, {{X22}}, {{T21}}, {{T30}} and {{T41p}} with various firmware updates. On the {{X22}}, it worked with ECP 1.30 but '''not''' with BIOS 1.32

=After updating=
Lenovo recommends reseting your BIOS settings to their factory defaults after a firmware update.

Also, please consider updating the [[List of DMI IDs]] after updating your BIOS.

= Special Cases =
* In one case, see ([[APM setup on a type 2379 ThinkPad T40]]), it was not possible to upgrade the BIOS from Windows XP; a downgrade to Windows 98 was required to successfully run the BIOS upgrade app. The symptoms in this case were that, once the files had been extracted to the hard disk, and the machine was to reboot into the upgrade app, it would beep and hang just before reboot, requiring a power cycle. Once the power was cycled, it would simply reboot back into XP without performing any BIOS upgrade actions. So even if you have Windows, you may still need to use the info on this page.

== Updating Thinkpad X Series ==
The special update instructions for {{X_Series}} Thinkpads are quite long. You can find them at the page [[BIOS_Upgrade/X_Series]].

== Updating without battery or with dead battery ==

This is a last-resort approach. Use this only if everything else fails.

The BIOS updater may refuse to update a BIOS without a battery, or if the battery charge is too low. In that case, extract the disk image with cabextract as per instructions above and dd it to an usb stick. (This will destroy the data on it, of course.) Acquire a pure DOS boot cd such as Windows 98 recovery CD and boot that.

Use F8 to abort the boot sequence of a windows 98 boot CD. If you need CD-ROM support, load CD-related things but say no to everything else. In particular, avoid loading himem.sys and doskey, as the presence of either program causes Phoenix bios flash tool phlash16.exe to abort.

Change to the volume where flash2.exe and other tools are installed, and execute "flash2.exe /u". This should bypass the battery check and perform the flashing. If that doesn't work, check if the update disk contains a tool called "phlash16.exe". This can be used directly to flash the image, and the invocation is typically "phlash16 /exit $01c80000.fl1".

This method won't work for the Thinkpad {{560X}} (and likely other older models). Since the 560X is a bit older, it won't be a big surprise if the battery is as dead as a dodo. Here's how to update the bios in this case: download the spsdi833 bios update and create the update floppy. If you have trouble creating this disk, [http://www.mediafire.com/?36o5a8buvbjx07o download an archive with the files] and put them on a floppy. Don't worry about making it bootable. Also, you will need a DOS bootdisk. A Windows 98 bootdisk will be fine. Boot the system with the W98 bootdisk, do not load CD-rom support. Remove the W98 bootdisk and put the disk with the BIOS update in the drive. If you would now run UPDTFLSH you would get the battery message, so don't do that. If you open UPDTFLSH.exe with a text editor, you would find some lines about UPDTROM. UPDTROM is the actual flash tool, but you can't simply run it just like that. Run the following:

*updtrom /np /prep1
*updtrom /np /prep2
*updtrom /np /prep3
*updtrom /np /romcmp /romflsh /prep4
*updtrom /np /h8flsh /h8img /model

Yes, you need to run updtrom five times. Hold your breath and reboot the machine. It's done.

Perhaps not all these lines are necessary, but to be sure I ran them all, and this worked for me. So I suggest you do the same. This could probably be done from the harddisk as well, but I did not test that.

For the {{i1400}} follow instructions on [http://www.motherboardpoint.com/flash-ibm-thinkpad-bios-w-o-battery-t143180.html this] website. It works not only for 2611 but for 2621 types too.

----

{{footnotes|
# For lots of detail on making and burning .iso files, see The Linux Documentation Project (tldp.org): [http://tldp.org/HOWTO/CD-Writing-HOWTO-3.html#ss3.1 3.1 Writing CD-ROMs (pure data)].
}}

Microphone Mute Button

2014-01-10T19:42:58Z

Berto: /* F20 */ Explanation about the ACPI mapping.

== General ==
Some Thinkpads come with a Microphone Mute Button possibly with an led.

It does not work on Ubuntu, a bug has been reported and a patch has been proposed: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/udev/+bug/408903

If you don't have {{path|/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute}}, you'll need to patch your kernel with
[http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.linux.drivers.platform.x86.devel/1962 this patch].

== Workaround using acpid ==
Pressing the mic mute button will generate a acpi event
$ acpi_listen
button/micmute MICMUTE 00000080 00000000 K
Depending on your model and your version of acpid it may generate a different event
$ acpi_listen
ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 0000101b
add a acpid rule to handle this event in {{path|/etc/acpi/events/lenovo-mutemic}}:
event=button/micmute MICMUTE 00000080 00000000 K
action=/etc/acpi/lenovo-mutemic.sh
the script ({{path|/etc/acpi/lenovo-mutemic.sh}}) to toggle the mice look like this:
<pre>
#!/bin/bash

led="/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute/brightness"
user=$(who | awk '/0\.0/{print $1; exit;}')
[[ -z $user ]] && user=root
if [[ $(amixer sget Capture) == *"[on]"* ]]; then
logger "Microphone is now muted (for $user) $USER"
amixer sset Capture nocap
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 1 > $led
sudo -u $user DISPLAY=":0.0" notify-send -i microphone-sensitivity-muted-symbolic "Microphone" "Microphone is now MUTED"
else
logger "Microphone is now on (for $user)"
amixer sset Capture cap
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 0 > $led
sudo -u $user DISPLAY=":0.0" notify-send -i microphone-sensitivity-high-symbolic "Microphone" "Microphone is now ON"
fi
</pre>
Explanation:
* <tt>led</tt> contain the path to the led in the mute button (see below)
* <tt>user</tt> is the name of the user, which is currently signed in in X11 and <tt>notify-send</tt> will send a notification to that user. Remove these lines if you don't like it.
* Pressing the button will toggle the state of the ALSA capture device, which is maybe not optimal in all cases as it disables all capture devices. <tt>Mic</tt> would be another choice, but on some thinkpads it is named <tt>Internal Mic</tt>.

ALSA will not remember the state of the led at startup, so one need another small start-up script:
<pre>
#!/bin/bash

led="/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute/brightness"
if [[ $(amixer sget Capture) == *"[off]"* ]]; then
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 1 > $led
fi
</pre>
and put it in {{path|/etc/local.d/lenovo-mutemic.sh}}.

== F20 ==

If you have a recent version of udev/systemd (see [http://cgit.freedesktop.org/systemd/systemd/commit/keymaps?id=1563c0c35a8005f5b71f04abe32c95d849efb420 this patch]) the acpi trick will not work. The mic mute button will be mapped to F20 (keycode 190), which you should be able to configure normally using the GNOME keyboard settings or similar.

The ACPI mapping is defined in {{path|/lib/udev/keymaps/module-lenovo}}, there you can see if 0x1A is mapped to micmute or F20.

==Needed for models==
{{T410}}, {{T410s}}, {{X230}}

Microphone Mute Button

2013-09-25T07:36:59Z

Berto:

== General ==
Some Thinkpads come with a Microphone Mute Button possibly with an led.

It does not work on Ubuntu, a bug has been reported and a patch has been proposed: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/udev/+bug/408903

If you don't have {{path|/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute}}, you'll need to patch your kernel with
[http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.linux.drivers.platform.x86.devel/1962 this patch].

== Workaround using acpid ==
Pressing the mic mute button will generate a acpi event
$ acpi_listen
button/micmute MICMUTE 00000080 00000000 K
Depending on your model and your version of acpid it may generate a different event
$ acpi_listen
ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 0000101b
add a acpid rule to handle this event in {{path|/etc/acpi/events/lenovo-mutemic}}:
event=button/micmute MICMUTE 00000080 00000000 K
action=/etc/acpi/lenovo-mutemic.sh
the script ({{path|/etc/acpi/lenovo-mutemic.sh}}) to toggle the mice look like this:
<pre>
#!/bin/bash

led="/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute/brightness"
user=$(who | awk '/0\.0/{print $1; exit;}')
[[ -z $user ]] && user=root
if [[ $(amixer sget Capture) == *"[on]"* ]]; then
logger "Microphone is now muted (for $user) $USER"
amixer sset Capture nocap
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 1 > $led
sudo -u $user DISPLAY=":0.0" notify-send -i microphone-sensitivity-muted-symbolic "Microphone" "Microphone is now MUTED"
else
logger "Microphone is now on (for $user)"
amixer sset Capture cap
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 0 > $led
sudo -u $user DISPLAY=":0.0" notify-send -i microphone-sensitivity-high-symbolic "Microphone" "Microphone is now ON"
fi
</pre>
Explanation:
* <tt>led</tt> contain the path to the led in the mute button (see below)
* <tt>user</tt> is the name of the user, which is currently signed in in X11 and <tt>notify-send</tt> will send a notification to that user. Remove these lines if you don't like it.
* Pressing the button will toggle the state of the ALSA capture device, which is maybe not optimal in all cases as it disables all capture devices. <tt>Mic</tt> would be another choice, but on some thinkpads it is named <tt>Internal Mic</tt>.

ALSA will not remember the state of the led at startup, so one need another small start-up script:
<pre>
#!/bin/bash

led="/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute/brightness"
if [[ $(amixer sget Capture) == *"[off]"* ]]; then
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 1 > $led
fi
</pre>
and put it in {{path|/etc/local.d/lenovo-mutemic.sh}}.

== F20 ==

If you have a recent version of udev/systemd (see [http://cgit.freedesktop.org/systemd/systemd/commit/keymaps?id=1563c0c35a8005f5b71f04abe32c95d849efb420 this patch]) the acpi trick will not work. The mic mute button will be mapped to F20 (keycode 190), which you should be able to configure normally using the GNOME keyboard settings or similar.

==Needed for models==
{{T410}}, {{T410s}}, {{X230}}

Microphone Mute Button

2013-09-20T07:56:56Z

Berto: /* Workaround using acpid */ Add new MICMUTE event from acpid 2.0.19

== General ==
Some Thinkpads come with a Microphone Mute Button possibly with an led.

It does not work on Ubuntu, a bug has been reported and a patch has been proposed: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/udev/+bug/408903

If you don't have {{path|/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute}}, you'll need to patch your kernel with
[http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.linux.drivers.platform.x86.devel/1962 this patch].

== Workaround using acpid ==
Pressing the mic mute botton will generate a acpi event
$ acpi_listen
button/micmute MICMUTE 00000080 00000000 K
Depending on your model and your version of acpid it may generate a different event
$ acpi_listen
ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 0000101b
add a acpid rule to handle this event in {{path|/etc/acpi/events/lenovo-mutemic}}:
event=button/micmute MICMUTE 00000080 00000000 K
action=/etc/acpi/lenovo-mutemic.sh
the script ({{path|/etc/acpi/lenovo-mutemic.sh}}) to toggle the mice look like this:
<pre>
#!/bin/bash

led="/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute/brightness"
user=$(who | awk '/0\.0/{print $1; exit;}')
[[ -z $user ]] && user=root
if [[ $(amixer sget Capture) == *"[on]"* ]]; then
logger "Microphone is now muted (for $user) $USER"
amixer sset Capture nocap
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 1 > $led
sudo -u $user DISPLAY=":0.0" notify-send -i microphone-sensitivity-muted-symbolic "Microphone" "Microphone is now MUTED"
else
logger "Microphone is now on (for $user)"
amixer sset Capture cap
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 0 > $led
sudo -u $user DISPLAY=":0.0" notify-send -i microphone-sensitivity-high-symbolic "Microphone" "Microphone is now ON"
fi
</pre>
Explanation:
* <tt>led</tt> contain the path to the led in the mute botton (see below)
* <tt>user</tt> is the name of the user, which is currently signed in in X11 and <tt>notify-send</tt> will send a notification to that user. Remove these lines if you don't like it.
* Pressing the button will toggle the state of the ALSA capture device, which is maybe not optimal in all cases as it disables all capture devices. <tt>Mic</tt> would be another choice, but on some thinkpads it is named <tt>Internal Mic</tt>.

ALSA will not remember the state of the led at startup, so one need another small start-up script:
<pre>
#!/bin/bash

led="/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute/brightness"
if [[ $(amixer sget Capture) == *"[off]"* ]]; then
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 1 > $led
fi
</pre>
and put it in {{path|/etc/local.d/lenovo-mutemic.sh}}.

==Needed for models==
{{T410}}, {{T410s}}, {{X230}}

Microphone Mute Button

2013-09-20T07:49:12Z

Berto: /* General */

== General ==
Some Thinkpads come with a Microphone Mute Button possibly with an led.

It does not work on Ubuntu, a bug has been reported and a patch has been proposed: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/udev/+bug/408903

If you don't have {{path|/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute}}, you'll need to patch your kernel with
[http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.linux.drivers.platform.x86.devel/1962 this patch].

== Workaround using acpid ==
Pressing the mic mute botton will generate a acpi event
$ acpi_listen
ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 0000101b
add a acpid rule to handle this event in {{path|/etc/acpi/events/lenovo-mutemic}}:
event=ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 0000101b
action=/etc/acpi/lenovo-mutemic.sh
the script ({{path|/etc/acpi/lenovo-mutemic.sh}}) to toggle the mice look like this:
<pre>
#!/bin/bash

led="/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute/brightness"
user=$(who | awk '/0\.0/{print $1; exit;}')
[[ -z $user ]] && user=root
if [[ $(amixer sget Capture) == *"[on]"* ]]; then
logger "Microphone is now muted (for $user) $USER"
amixer sset Capture nocap
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 1 > $led
sudo -u $user DISPLAY=":0.0" notify-send -i microphone-sensitivity-muted-symbolic "Microphone" "Microphone is now MUTED"
else
logger "Microphone is now on (for $user)"
amixer sset Capture cap
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 0 > $led
sudo -u $user DISPLAY=":0.0" notify-send -i microphone-sensitivity-high-symbolic "Microphone" "Microphone is now ON"
fi
</pre>
Explanation:
* <tt>led</tt> contain the path to the led in the mute botton (see below)
* <tt>user</tt> is the name of the user, which is currently signed in in X11 and <tt>notify-send</tt> will send a notification to that user. Remove these lines if you don't like it.
* Pressing the button will toggle the state of the ALSA capture device, which is maybe not optimal in all cases as it disables all capture devices. <tt>Mic</tt> would be another choice, but on some thinkpads it is named <tt>Internal Mic</tt>.

ALSA will not remember the state of the led at startup, so one need another small start-up script:
<pre>
#!/bin/bash

led="/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute/brightness"
if [[ $(amixer sget Capture) == *"[off]"* ]]; then
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 1 > $led
fi
</pre>
and put it in {{path|/etc/local.d/lenovo-mutemic.sh}}.

==Needed for models==
{{T410}}, {{T410s}}, {{X230}}

Microphone Mute Button

2013-09-20T07:47:22Z

Berto: /* General */ Add link to thinkpad_acpi kernel patch.

== General ==
Some Thinkpads come with a Microphone Mute Button possibly with an led.

It does not work on Ubuntu, a bug has been reported and a patch has been proposed: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/udev/+bug/408903

If you don't have <tt>/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute</tt>, you'll need to patch your kernel with
[http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.linux.drivers.platform.x86.devel/1962 this patch].

== Workaround using acpid ==
Pressing the mic mute botton will generate a acpi event
$ acpi_listen
ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 0000101b
add a acpid rule to handle this event in {{path|/etc/acpi/events/lenovo-mutemic}}:
event=ibm/hotkey HKEY 00000080 0000101b
action=/etc/acpi/lenovo-mutemic.sh
the script ({{path|/etc/acpi/lenovo-mutemic.sh}}) to toggle the mice look like this:
<pre>
#!/bin/bash

led="/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute/brightness"
user=$(who | awk '/0\.0/{print $1; exit;}')
[[ -z $user ]] && user=root
if [[ $(amixer sget Capture) == *"[on]"* ]]; then
logger "Microphone is now muted (for $user) $USER"
amixer sset Capture nocap
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 1 > $led
sudo -u $user DISPLAY=":0.0" notify-send -i microphone-sensitivity-muted-symbolic "Microphone" "Microphone is now MUTED"
else
logger "Microphone is now on (for $user)"
amixer sset Capture cap
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 0 > $led
sudo -u $user DISPLAY=":0.0" notify-send -i microphone-sensitivity-high-symbolic "Microphone" "Microphone is now ON"
fi
</pre>
Explanation:
* <tt>led</tt> contain the path to the led in the mute botton (see below)
* <tt>user</tt> is the name of the user, which is currently signed in in X11 and <tt>notify-send</tt> will send a notification to that user. Remove these lines if you don't like it.
* Pressing the button will toggle the state of the ALSA capture device, which is maybe not optimal in all cases as it disables all capture devices. <tt>Mic</tt> would be another choice, but on some thinkpads it is named <tt>Internal Mic</tt>.

ALSA will not remember the state of the led at startup, so one need another small start-up script:
<pre>
#!/bin/bash

led="/sys/devices/platform/thinkpad_acpi/leds/tpacpi::micmute/brightness"
if [[ $(amixer sget Capture) == *"[off]"* ]]; then
[[ -f $led ]] && echo 1 > $led
fi
</pre>
and put it in {{path|/etc/local.d/lenovo-mutemic.sh}}.

==Needed for models==
{{T410}}, {{T410s}}, {{X230}}

User:Berto

2011-10-25T09:28:36Z

Berto:

I'm a ThinkPad X61s user from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galicia_%28Spain%29 Galicia].

Talk:HDAPS

2011-06-27T23:33:33Z

Berto: /* Careful with Gnome HDAPS applet */

== Smackpad and Compiz ==

There are a few references to scripts that will switch the workspace when you tap the laptop on the side. I googled for a while and all I could find was pretty old stuff.

A few of the links I found are:

[http://wiki.compiz.org/Plugins/Smackpad Compiz Smackpad Plugin] This one looks very interesting but how do you install it?

[http://www.eugen-feller.de/?p=12 Compiz Smackpad] I could not clone the software.

[http://blog.micampe.it/articles/2006/06/04/here-comes-the-smackpad Here comes the smackpad] No luck here either.

Etc...

So, has anyone got this working recently? How?

Thanks! --[[User:Lunatico|Lunatico]] 18:15, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

== Careful with Gnome HDAPS applet ==

This applet polls /sys/block/sda/device/unload_heads and loads the corresponding icon from disk '''every 10th of a second'''. I'd like to talk to the upstream developer and fix that, but I wouldn't recommend its usage meanwhile. I guess we should warn users in the wiki page? --[[User:Berto|Berto]] 14:40, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

--[[User:Lunatico|Lunatico]] 17:45, 21 April 2010 (UTC) Can you elaborate more on this? I'm using the gnome applet and haven't had any perceivable issues.

:You can take a look at the source code (<tt>gnome-hdaps-applet.c</tt>, v20081204), it's very small and easy to see. <tt>g_timeout_add()</tt> installs the timer that wakes the process every 100 milliseconds, even if nothing happens (which will be the case 99.9% of the time). Even if the impact is not dramatic, this is not what I would recommend for a laptop considering that this program is going to be always running in background. --[[User:Berto|Berto]] 01:33, 28 June 2011 (CEST)

--[[User:peepingtom|peepingtom]] Try running powertop to observe this. I just turned off the GUI monitoring stuff, you can hear the head park anyway

== Question regarding the example udev rule ? ==
The example udev rule is as follows.
* KERNEL=="event[0-9]*", ATTRS{phys}=="hdaps/input1", ATTRS{modalias}=="input:b0019v1014p5054e4801-*", SYMLINK+="input/hdaps/accelerometer-event"

Where is the '''b0019v1014p5054e4801''' being taken from?

It is from "udevinfo --attribute-walk --name /dev/input/event9" (only with the tp_smapi module)

{{HINT|Lucid does not have udevinfo. Instead, use:
udevadm info
}}

== Where can one find the recent hdapsd version mentioned in the article ? ==
The article mentions "New interface (requires hdapsd dated 2008-10-04 or newer)" without giving any clue about where one can find such a version, I looked in repositories, google and elsewhere in this very site and found an outdated http://www.dresco.co.uk/hdaps/ , as a newcomer here, it eludes me completely. [[User:Bugmenot1|Bugmenot1]] 21:38, 28 November 2008 (CET)

:I had the same problem, I think I found it via [[How_to_protect_the_harddisk_through_APS#Manual_compilation_from_source]], it links to a mailing list post at [http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.drivers.hdaps.devel/1040] which has an attached source file at [http://cache.gmane.org//gmane/linux/drivers/hdaps/devel/1040-001.bin], this can be compiled easily with ''gcc -o hdapsd hdapsd.c''. Why this is not released cleanly on the original homepage eludes me as well... --[[User:Centic|Centic]] 12:34, 30 November 2008 (CET)

== "Reduced Power" hdapsd Consuming More Power ==

There is a link to a "reduced power" version of hdapsd, which is supposed to lower the number of timer interrupts (thereby reducing the power consumed by the daemon). From my experiments (using powertop), however, this program requires about twice as many interrupts to operate in "low power" mode as it does using the (older) sysfs interface. It also consumes enough CPU cycles to force my CPU back on periodically, consuming more power. Has anybody else had this experience?

--[[User:Mbsullivan|Mbsullivan]] 05:41, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

:Well, not really. With tp_smapi 0.31 and older hdapsd I had wakeups from hdapsd and from the hdaps module, now powertop only shows about 50wakeups from hdapsd (which are really from the module, but this is a bug in powertop, it tells who first called a function, not whose function it is [it's a function in the module code]). So I get a lower power consumption with the newer pair of tpsmapi and hdapsd
:--[[User:Zhenech|Zhenech]] 07:26, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

== I hawe a problem ==

I tray to start working my IBM x40 with hdaps function but I can't make it right.

The main problem is in a not hanging variables when I read
/sys/devices/platform/hdaps/position

==I also have this problem!==
Hi, I also have this problem that on my X40 the device/platform/hdaps/position does not give the right response. It is simply constant (128,1).
Does anyone have a clue? I use the suse kernel 2.6.16.13-4-default from suse10.1. the hdaps sources in that kernel are the same as in the original kernel.
thanks in advance,
----

Does the HDAPS sensor work under Windows (as observed from actual disk parking, or the graphical animation)?
Also, try loading [[tp_smapi]], it includes some patches for the hdaps driver. Does it help?

--[[User:Thinker|Thinker]] 16:45, 8 June 2006 (CEST)
----

HI Again,
HDAPS does work under windows. When I had windows running and then reboot the machine, hdaps is running under suse10.1 also. If I, however, turn off the machine and restart it, then, hdaps does *not* work anymore.
I remember that with suse 10.0 and the separate module, hdaps did work.
HDAPS now works with tp_smapi as suggested above.
Still, where does the problem derive from?

----

The hdaps in the vanilla kernel has some bugs (i.e., in doesn't talk to the hardware correctly) which tp_smapi fixes. Looks like you've hit one of these.

--[[User:Thinker|Thinker]] 18:05, 12 June 2006 (CEST)
----

==laptop acpi problem with hdaps==
 UPDATE: the problem seems fixed in the version 0.21 
<s>
My my both IBM T42/T43 laptops freezes time to times with the follow:

kernel 2.6.16/sata patch 
hdaps build as a module from the kernel.
tp_smapi 0.20/hdapsd

The freez is quite common then I access CD-ROM,but it also might freez without touching anything. 
After the freez keyboard doesn't work or priting some character,power button doesn't work, however mouse might continue to work. 
KDE battery systray shows discarchged batteries. 
Still under investigation that cases the problem. 
The related software:
khdapsmon 0.1.2 
ibm-acpi build-in as a module from the kernel(for ksensors)
modified ksensors without lm_sensors with a patch
http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=116661

--noname 00:25, 13 June 2006 (CEST)Anton

----

You're the 2nd one reporting this. The fact you can reproduce it on two machines may be very helpful! Are these machines configured identically? Do they run the same software? Can you send your kernel .config, and precise kernel version + patches, to the e-mail address in the tp_smapi README? Please specify which hdaps or tp_smapi -related applications you're typically running.

BTW, if you have [[swsusp]] or [[Software Suspend 2]] installed, you can do a suspend-to-disk cycle to recover from the hang.

--[[User:Thinker|Thinker]] 11:53, 13 June 2006 (CEST)
----

I also have the follow
[[Problems_with_SATA_and_Linux#No_DMA_on_DVD_drive]].
So I switched cdrom driver from IDE to ATA and it fixed the problem.
However HDAPS has stared to freez a machine if I shake it then HDD is active.
The issue might be not related to ACPI but I'll log it here for now.

I'll send configs. Thank you.
ps. 0.21 is out so let me try the new version.
--noname 08:34, 22 June 2006 (CEST)Anton
</s>

== hdaps and /sys ==

Hey Fellas,

I've just upgraded from 2.6.15.2, where the patches all dropped in ok and all was well, to 2.6.17.6, where hdaps is built into the kernel.
the hdapsd daemon referenced on thinkwiki looks in /sys/block/<drive>/queue/protect to get started.
The default drivers that come with 2.6.17.6 for hdaps apparently dont put anything in /queue there, so there is no 'protect' directory.
Has anyone else experienced this? I'd love to get my drive protection back :)
ON THE UPSIDE! - the Ricoh card reader in my z60m came to life, and I can read sd cards (but not sony memory sticks, oddly enough)
Any input would be awesome!
dan@itkinetix.com

----

You need an extra kernel patch for "protect". Please read the page more carefully.

--[[User:Thinker|Thinker]] 00:24, 22 July 2006 (CEST)
----

== Gnome HDAPS-Applet and the new interface ==

I just installed my first linux kernel with the new hdaps disk protection interface. Since the file that controls the (un)parking of the disk heads has changed with this interface, you have to edit the GNOME HDAPS applet source before compiling to make it work. Simply replace the lines 
 
<nowiki>#define SYSFS_PROTECT_FILE_HDA "/sys/block/hda/queue/protect"</nowiki> 
<nowiki>#define SYSFS_PROTECT_FILE_SDA "/sys/block/sda/queue/protect"</nowiki> 
 
with these: 
 
<nowiki>#define SYSFS_PROTECT_FILE_HDA "/sys/block/hda/device/unload_heads"</nowiki> 
<nowiki>#define SYSFS_PROTECT_FILE_SDA "/sys/block/sda/device/unload_heads"</nowiki> 
 
Then proceed with the instructions in the included INSTALL file. 
 
Another hint: On Ubuntu 8.10, install the hdapsd package, then compile the new version of hdapsd and replace the binary in /usr/sbin. Afterwards edit the /etc/init.d/hdapsd file so it looks for the new interface. Otherwise it will never start hdapsd bcause it's looking for the /sys/block/<device>/queue/protect file which simply doesn't exist. You may want to use the init script I posted at https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/hdapsd/+bug/303915/comments/3 
And don't forget that udev-rule to create the symlink hdapsd needs to work!

Kind regards, 
--[[User:Gollo|Gollo]] 20:15, 18 December 2008 (CET)

== Older discussion ==

So, this is in the stable kernel now, but what userspace program do we need to actually park the heads?
--[[User:MrStaticVoid|MrStaticVoid]] 01:26, 30 Oct 2005 (CEST)
----
Yes the hdaps driver is in the 2.6.14 kernel, but support to park the heads quickly and freeze the disk queue (to prevent the heads from getting un-parked) is not. There is some disagreement into how that should be implemented.

In other words, the hdaps driver for the moment is rather useless, unless you want to use it to play games.

--[[User:Tonko|Tonko]] 02:10, 30 Oct 2005 (CEST)

----
I head rumours that you can make SDL handle this like a joystick, e.g. for playing Neverball. Can anyone confirm or deny that? Thanx --[[User:Nomeata|Nomeata]] 01:16, 16 Nov 2005 (CET)

Yes it is possible to use it as a joystick, as Tonko allready mentioned.
/dev/input/jsX modprobe joydev

Ozi

Thanks, I didn't have the joydev module. Rebuilding... --[[User:129.13.186.1|129.13.186.1]] 15:30, 16 Nov 2005 (CET)

----
Yeah, it's a pretty good party trick - set up the HDAPS joystick as xmame input. You can play Ms. Pac-man by tilting your laptop to make pac-man navigate the maze. You can imagine that the pac-man "rolls" downhill, just like those old wooden marble-puzzles that you see around. Heh, can actually clear a level or two.

Marble madness was strangely unsatisfying though, and just didn't work well (probably due to the diagonal nature of the screen in that game).

--[[User:gsmenden|gsmenden]] 20:10, 13 Jan 2006 (CEST)

----
Anyone got the queue freezing patch running on 2.6.16? I'm going to try to manually merge it but didn't want to duplicate someone else's work.

--[[User:Ajbarr|Ajbarr]] 19:12, 22 March 2006 (CET)

User:Berto

2010-04-03T14:44:11Z

Berto: About me

I'm a ThinkPad {{X61s}} user from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galicia_%28Spain%29 Galicia].

Talk:HDAPS

2010-04-03T14:40:48Z

Berto: Warning about GNOME HDAPS applet

== Careful with Gnome HDAPS applet ==

This applet polls /sys/block/sda/device/unload_heads and loads the corresponding icon from disk '''every 10th of a second'''. I'd like to talk to the upstream developer and fix that, but I wouldn't recommend its usage meanwhile. I guess we should warn users in the wiki page? --[[User:Berto|Berto]] 14:40, 3 April 2010 (UTC)

== Question regarding the example udev rule ? ==
The example udev rule is as follows.
* KERNEL=="event[0-9]*", ATTRS{phys}=="hdaps/input1", ATTRS{modalias}=="input:b0019v1014p5054e4801-*", SYMLINK+="input/hdaps/accelerometer-event"

Where is the '''b0019v1014p5054e4801''' being taken from?

It is from "udevinfo --attribute-walk --name /dev/input/event9" (only with the tp_smapi module)

== Where can one find the recent hdapsd version mentioned in the article ? ==
The article mentions "New interface (requires hdapsd dated 2008-10-04 or newer)" without giving any clue about where one can find such a version, I looked in repositories, google and elsewhere in this very site and found an outdated http://www.dresco.co.uk/hdaps/ , as a newcomer here, it eludes me completely. [[User:Bugmenot1|Bugmenot1]] 21:38, 28 November 2008 (CET)

:I had the same problem, I think I found it via [[How_to_protect_the_harddisk_through_APS#Manual_compilation_from_source]], it links to a mailing list post at [http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.drivers.hdaps.devel/1040] which has an attached source file at [http://cache.gmane.org//gmane/linux/drivers/hdaps/devel/1040-001.bin], this can be compiled easily with ''gcc -o hdapsd hdapsd.c''. Why this is not released cleanly on the original homepage eludes me as well... --[[User:Centic|Centic]] 12:34, 30 November 2008 (CET)

== "Reduced Power" hdapsd Consuming More Power ==

There is a link to a "reduced power" version of hdapsd, which is supposed to lower the number of timer interrupts (thereby reducing the power consumed by the daemon). From my experiments (using powertop), however, this program requires about twice as many interrupts to operate in "low power" mode as it does using the (older) sysfs interface. It also consumes enough CPU cycles to force my CPU back on periodically, consuming more power. Has anybody else had this experience?

--[[User:Mbsullivan|Mbsullivan]] 05:41, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

:Well, not really. With tp_smapi 0.31 and older hdapsd I had wakeups from hdapsd and from the hdaps module, now powertop only shows about 50wakeups from hdapsd (which are really from the module, but this is a bug in powertop, it tells who first called a function, not whose function it is [it's a function in the module code]). So I get a lower power consumption with the newer pair of tpsmapi and hdapsd
:--[[User:Zhenech|Zhenech]] 07:26, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

== I hawe a problem ==

I tray to start working my IBM x40 with hdaps function but I can't make it right.

The main problem is in a not hanging variables when I read
/sys/devices/platform/hdaps/position

==I also have this problem!==
Hi, I also have this problem that on my X40 the device/platform/hdaps/position does not give the right response. It is simply constant (128,1).
Does anyone have a clue? I use the suse kernel 2.6.16.13-4-default from suse10.1. the hdaps sources in that kernel are the same as in the original kernel.
thanks in advance,
----

Does the HDAPS sensor work under Windows (as observed from actual disk parking, or the graphical animation)?
Also, try loading [[tp_smapi]], it includes some patches for the hdaps driver. Does it help?

--[[User:Thinker|Thinker]] 16:45, 8 June 2006 (CEST)
----

HI Again,
HDAPS does work under windows. When I had windows running and then reboot the machine, hdaps is running under suse10.1 also. If I, however, turn off the machine and restart it, then, hdaps does *not* work anymore.
I remember that with suse 10.0 and the separate module, hdaps did work.
HDAPS now works with tp_smapi as suggested above.
Still, where does the problem derive from?

----

The hdaps in the vanilla kernel has some bugs (i.e., in doesn't talk to the hardware correctly) which tp_smapi fixes. Looks like you've hit one of these.

--[[User:Thinker|Thinker]] 18:05, 12 June 2006 (CEST)
----

==laptop acpi problem with hdaps==
 UPDATE: the problem seems fixed in the version 0.21 
<s>
My my both IBM T42/T43 laptops freezes time to times with the follow:

kernel 2.6.16/sata patch 
hdaps build as a module from the kernel.
tp_smapi 0.20/hdapsd

The freez is quite common then I access CD-ROM,but it also might freez without touching anything. 
After the freez keyboard doesn't work or priting some character,power button doesn't work, however mouse might continue to work. 
KDE battery systray shows discarchged batteries. 
Still under investigation that cases the problem. 
The related software:
khdapsmon 0.1.2 
ibm-acpi build-in as a module from the kernel(for ksensors)
modified ksensors without lm_sensors with a patch
http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=116661

--noname 00:25, 13 June 2006 (CEST)Anton

----

You're the 2nd one reporting this. The fact you can reproduce it on two machines may be very helpful! Are these machines configured identically? Do they run the same software? Can you send your kernel .config, and precise kernel version + patches, to the e-mail address in the tp_smapi README? Please specify which hdaps or tp_smapi -related applications you're typically running.

BTW, if you have [[swsusp]] or [[Software Suspend 2]] installed, you can do a suspend-to-disk cycle to recover from the hang.

--[[User:Thinker|Thinker]] 11:53, 13 June 2006 (CEST)
----

I also have the follow
[[Problems_with_SATA_and_Linux#No_DMA_on_DVD_drive]].
So I switched cdrom driver from IDE to ATA and it fixed the problem.
However HDAPS has stared to freez a machine if I shake it then HDD is active.
The issue might be not related to ACPI but I'll log it here for now.

I'll send configs. Thank you.
ps. 0.21 is out so let me try the new version.
--noname 08:34, 22 June 2006 (CEST)Anton
</s>

== hdaps and /sys ==

Hey Fellas,

I've just upgraded from 2.6.15.2, where the patches all dropped in ok and all was well, to 2.6.17.6, where hdaps is built into the kernel.
the hdapsd daemon referenced on thinkwiki looks in /sys/block/<drive>/queue/protect to get started.
The default drivers that come with 2.6.17.6 for hdaps apparently dont put anything in /queue there, so there is no 'protect' directory.
Has anyone else experienced this? I'd love to get my drive protection back :)
ON THE UPSIDE! - the Ricoh card reader in my z60m came to life, and I can read sd cards (but not sony memory sticks, oddly enough)
Any input would be awesome!
dan@itkinetix.com

----

You need an extra kernel patch for "protect". Please read the page more carefully.

--[[User:Thinker|Thinker]] 00:24, 22 July 2006 (CEST)
----

== Gnome HDAPS-Applet and the new interface ==

I just installed my first linux kernel with the new hdaps disk protection interface. Since the file that controls the (un)parking of the disk heads has changed with this interface, you have to edit the GNOME HDAPS applet source before compiling to make it work. Simply replace the lines 
 
<nowiki>#define SYSFS_PROTECT_FILE_HDA "/sys/block/hda/queue/protect"</nowiki> 
<nowiki>#define SYSFS_PROTECT_FILE_SDA "/sys/block/sda/queue/protect"</nowiki> 
 
with these: 
 
<nowiki>#define SYSFS_PROTECT_FILE_HDA "/sys/block/hda/device/unload_heads"</nowiki> 
<nowiki>#define SYSFS_PROTECT_FILE_SDA "/sys/block/sda/device/unload_heads"</nowiki> 
 
Then proceed with the instructions in the included INSTALL file. 
 
Another hint: On Ubuntu 8.10, install the hdapsd package, then compile the new version of hdapsd and replace the binary in /usr/sbin. Afterwards edit the /etc/init.d/hdapsd file so it looks for the new interface. Otherwise it will never start hdapsd bcause it's looking for the /sys/block/<device>/queue/protect file which simply doesn't exist. You may want to use the init script I posted at https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/hdapsd/+bug/303915/comments/3 
And don't forget that udev-rule to create the symlink hdapsd needs to work!

Kind regards, 
--[[User:Gollo|Gollo]] 20:15, 18 December 2008 (CET)

== Older discussion ==

So, this is in the stable kernel now, but what userspace program do we need to actually park the heads?
--[[User:MrStaticVoid|MrStaticVoid]] 01:26, 30 Oct 2005 (CEST)
----
Yes the hdaps driver is in the 2.6.14 kernel, but support to park the heads quickly and freeze the disk queue (to prevent the heads from getting un-parked) is not. There is some disagreement into how that should be implemented.

In other words, the hdaps driver for the moment is rather useless, unless you want to use it to play games.

--[[User:Tonko|Tonko]] 02:10, 30 Oct 2005 (CEST)

----
I head rumours that you can make SDL handle this like a joystick, e.g. for playing Neverball. Can anyone confirm or deny that? Thanx --[[User:Nomeata|Nomeata]] 01:16, 16 Nov 2005 (CET)

Yes it is possible to use it as a joystick, as Tonko allready mentioned.
/dev/input/jsX modprobe joydev

Ozi

Thanks, I didn't have the joydev module. Rebuilding... --[[User:129.13.186.1|129.13.186.1]] 15:30, 16 Nov 2005 (CET)

----
Yeah, it's a pretty good party trick - set up the HDAPS joystick as xmame input. You can play Ms. Pac-man by tilting your laptop to make pac-man navigate the maze. You can imagine that the pac-man "rolls" downhill, just like those old wooden marble-puzzles that you see around. Heh, can actually clear a level or two.

Marble madness was strangely unsatisfying though, and just didn't work well (probably due to the diagonal nature of the screen in that game).

--[[User:gsmenden|gsmenden]] 20:10, 13 Jan 2006 (CEST)

----
Anyone got the queue freezing patch running on 2.6.16? I'm going to try to manually merge it but didn't want to duplicate someone else's work.

--[[User:Ajbarr|Ajbarr]] 19:12, 22 March 2006 (CET)