xref: /aosp_15_r20/external/flashrom/doc/classic_cli_manpage.rst (revision 0d6140be3aa665ecc836e8907834fcd3e3b018fc)
1Manual page
2===========
3
4
5NAME
6----
7
8**flashrom** - detect, read, write, verify and erase flash chips
9
10
11SYNOPSIS
12--------
13
14| **flashrom** [-h|-R|-L|-z|
15|          -p <programmername>[:<parameters>] [-c <chipname>]
16|            (--flash-name|--flash-size|
17|             [-E|-x|-r <file>|-w <file>|-v <file>]
18|             [(-l <file>|--ifd|--fmap|--fmap-file <file>)
19|               [-i <include>[:<file>]]]
20|             [--wp-status] [--wp-list] [--wp-enable|--wp-disable]
21|             [--wp-range <start>,<length>|--wp-region <region>]
22|             [-n] [-N] [-f])]
23|         [-V[V[V]]] [-o <logfile>] [--progress]
24
25
26DESCRIPTION
27-----------
28
29**flashrom** is a utility for detecting, reading, writing, verifying and erasing flash chips.
30It's often used to flash BIOS/EFI/coreboot/firmware images in-system using a supported mainboard.
31However, it also supports various external PCI/USB/parallel-port/serial-port based devices which can program flash
32chips, including some network cards (NICs), SATA/IDE controller cards, graphics cards, the Bus Pirate device,
33various FTDI FT2232/FT4232H/FT4233H/FT232H based USB devices, and more.
34
35It supports a wide range of DIP32, PLCC32, DIP8, SO8/SOIC8, TSOP32, TSOP40, TSOP48, and BGA chips,
36which use various protocols such as LPC, FWH, parallel flash, or SPI.
37
38
39OPTIONS
40-------
41
42You can specify one of ``-h``, ``-R``, ``-L``, ``-z``, ``-E``, ``-r``, ``-w``, ``-v`` or no operation.
43If no operation is specified, **flashrom** will only probe for flash chips. It is recommended that if you try **flashrom** the
44first time on a system, you run it in probe-only mode and check the output.
45Also you are advised to make a backup of your current ROM contents with ``-r`` before you try to write a new image.
46All operations involving any chip access (probe/read/write/...) require the ``-p/--programmer`` option to be used (please see below).
47
48
49**-r, --read <file>**
50        Read flash ROM contents and save them into the given **<file>**.
51        If the file already exists, it will be overwritten.
52
53
54**-w, --write (<file>|-)**
55        Write **<file>** into flash ROM. If **-** is provided instead, contents will be read from stdin.
56        This will first automatically erase the chip, then write to it.
57
58        In the process the chip is also read several times. First an in-memory backup is made for disaster recovery and to be
59        able to skip regions that are already equal to the image file.
60        This copy is updated along with the write operation. In case of erase errors it is even re-read completely.
61        After writing has finished and if verification is enabled, the whole flash chip is read out and compared with the input image.
62
63
64**-n, --noverify**
65        Skip the automatic verification of flash ROM contents after writing. Using this option is **not** recommended,
66        you should only use it if you know what you are doing and if you feel that the time for verification takes too long.
67
68        Typical usage is::
69
70                flashrom -p prog -n -w <file>
71
72        This option is only useful in combination with ``--write``.
73
74
75**-N, --noverify-all**
76        Skip not included regions during automatic verification after writing (cf. ``-l`` and ``-i``).
77        You should only use this option if you are sure that communication with the flash chip is reliable
78        (e.g. when using the **internal** programmer).
79        Even if **flashrom** is instructed not to touch parts of the flash chip, their contents could be damaged
80        (e.g. due to misunderstood erase commands).
81
82        This option is required to flash an Intel system with locked ME flash region using the **internal** programmer.
83        It may be enabled by default in this case in the future.
84
85
86**-v, --verify (<file>|-)**
87        Verify the flash ROM contents against the given **<file>**.
88        If **-** is provided instead, contents will be written to the stdout.
89
90
91**-E, --erase**
92        Erase the flash ROM chip.
93
94
95**-x, --extract**
96        Extract every region defined on the layout from flash ROM chip to a file with the same name as the extracted region
97        (replacing spaces with underscores).
98
99
100**-V, --verbose**
101        More verbose output. This option can be supplied multiple times (max. 3 times, i.e. ``-VVV`` ) for even more debug output.
102
103
104**-c, --chip <chipname>**
105        Probe only for the specified flash ROM chip. This option takes the chip name as printed by ``flashrom -L`` without the
106        vendor name as parameter. Please note that the chip name is case sensitive.
107
108
109**-f, --force**
110        Force one or more of the following actions:
111
112        * Force chip read and pretend the chip is there.
113        * Force chip access even if the chip is bigger than the maximum supported size for the flash bus.
114        * Force erase even if erase is known bad.
115        * Force write even if write is known bad.
116
117
118**-l, --layout <file>**
119        Read ROM layout from **<file>**.
120
121        **flashrom** supports ROM layouts. This allows you to flash certain parts of the flash chip only.
122        A ROM layout file contains multiple lines with the following syntax::
123
124                startaddr:endaddr imagename
125
126        ``startaddr`` and ``endaddr`` are hexadecimal addresses within the ROM file and do not refer to any physical address.
127        Please note that using a 0x prefix for those hexadecimal numbers is not necessary, but you can't specify decimal/octal numbers.
128        ``imagename`` is an arbitrary name for the region/image from ``startaddr`` to ``endaddr`` (both addresses included).
129
130        Example::
131
132                00000000:00008fff gfxrom
133                00009000:0003ffff normal
134                00040000:0007ffff fallback
135
136        If you only want to update the image named **normal** in a ROM based on the layout above, run::
137
138                flashrom -p prog --layout rom.layout --image normal -w some.rom
139
140        To update only the images named **normal** and **fallback**, run::
141
142                flashrom -p prog -l rom.layout -i normal -i fallback -w some.rom
143
144        Overlapping sections are not supported.
145
146
147**--fmap**
148        Read layout from fmap in flash chip.
149
150        **flashrom** supports the fmap binary format which is commonly used by coreboot for partitioning a flash chip.
151        The on-chip fmap will be read and used to generate the layout.
152
153        If you only want to update the **COREBOOT** region defined in the fmap, run::
154
155                flashrom -p prog --fmap --image COREBOOT -w some.rom
156
157
158**--fmap-file <file>**
159        Read layout from a **<file>** containing binary fmap (e.g. coreboot roms).
160
161        **flashrom** supports the fmap binary format which is commonly used by coreboot for partitioning a flash chip.
162        The fmap in the specified file will be read and used to generate the layout.
163
164        If you only want to update the **COREBOOT** region defined in the binary fmap file, run::
165
166                flashrom -p prog --fmap-file some.rom --image COREBOOT -w some.rom
167
168
169**--ifd**
170        Read ROM layout from Intel Firmware Descriptor.
171
172        **flashrom** supports ROM layouts given by an Intel Firmware Descriptor (IFD).
173        The on-chip descriptor will be read and used to generate the layout. If you need to change the layout,
174        you have to update the IFD only first.
175
176        The following ROM images may be present in an IFD:
177
178                | ``fd``    - the IFD itself
179                | ``bios``  - the host firmware aka. BIOS
180                | ``me``    - Intel Management Engine firmware
181                | ``gbe``   - gigabit ethernet firmware
182                | ``pd``    - platform specific data
183
184
185**-i, --include <region>[:<file>]**
186        Read or write only **<region>** to or from ROM.
187        The **-i** option may be used multiple times if the user wishes to read or write multiple regions using a single command.
188
189        The user may optionally specify a corresponding **<file>** for any region they wish to read or write.
190        A read operation will read the corresponding regions from ROM and write individual files for each one.
191        A write option will read file(s) and write to the corresponding region(s) in ROM.
192
193        For write operations, files specified using ``-i`` take precedence over content from the argument to ``-w``.
194
195        Examples:
196                To read regions named **foo** and **bar** in layout file **<layout>** into region-sized files **foo.bin** and **bar.bin**, run::
197
198                        flashrom -p prog -l <layout> -i foo:foo.bin -i bar:bar.bin -r rom.bin
199
200                To write files **foo.bin** and **bar.bin** into regions named **foo** and **bar** in layout file **<layout>** to the ROM, run::
201
202                        flashrom -p prog -l <layout> -i foo:foo.bin -i bar:bar.bin -w rom.bin
203
204
205**--wp-status**
206        Prints the flash's current status register protection mode and write protection range.
207
208
209**--wp-list**
210        Prints a list of all protection ranges that the flash supports.
211
212
213**--wp-enable**
214        Enables hardware status register protection (SRP) if the flash supports it.
215        Once SRP is enabled, operations that change the flash's status registers (including ``--wp-disable`` and ``--wp-range``)
216        can only be performed if the flash's #WP pin is at an inactive logic level.
217
218
219**--wp-disable**
220        Disables status register protection if the flash allows it.
221
222
223**--wp-range <start>,<length>**
224        Configures the flash to protect a range of addresses from <start> to (<start> + <length> - 1), bounds inclusive.
225        The range must be supported by the flash, see ``--wp-list``.
226
227
228**--wp-region <region>**
229        Same as ``--wp-range`` but protects the range occupied by an image region.
230        This option requires a image layout to be specified, see ``--layout``.
231        The region must be supported by the flash, see ``--wp-list``.
232
233
234**--flash-name**
235        Prints out the detected flash chip's name.
236
237
238**--flash-size**
239        Prints out the detected flash chip's size.
240
241
242**--flash-contents <ref-file>**
243        The file contents of **<ref-file>** will be used to decide which parts of the flash need to be written.
244        Providing this saves an initial read of the full flash chip.
245        Be careful, if the provided data doesn't actually match the flash contents, results are undefined.
246
247
248**-L, --list-supported**
249        List the flash chips, chipsets, mainboards, and external programmers (including PCI, USB, parallel port, and serial port based devices)
250        supported by **flashrom**.
251
252        There are many unlisted boards which will work out of the box, without special support in **flashrom**.
253        Please let us know if you can verify that other boards work or do not work out of the box.
254
255        **IMPORTANT**:
256        For verification you have to test an ERASE and/or WRITE operation, so make sure you only do that if you have proper means to recover from failure!
257
258
259**-z, --list-supported-wiki**
260        Same as ``--list-supported``, but outputs the supported hardware in MediaWiki syntax,
261        so that it can be easily pasted into the `supported hardware wiki page <https://flashrom.org/Supported_hardware>`_.
262        Please note that MediaWiki output is not compiled in by default.
263
264
265**-p, --programmer <name>[:parameter[,parameter[,parameter]]]**
266        Specify the programmer device. This is mandatory for all operations involving any chip access (probe/read/write/...).
267        Currently supported are:
268
269        * ``internal``            (for in-system flashing in the mainboard)
270        * ``dummy``               (virtual programmer for testing **flashrom**)
271        * ``nic3com``             (for flash ROMs on 3COM network cards)
272        * ``nicrealtek``          (for flash ROMs on Realtek and SMC 1211 network cards)
273        * ``nicnatsemi``          (for flash ROMs on National Semiconductor DP838* network cards)
274        * ``nicintel``            (for parallel flash ROMs on Intel 10/100Mbit network cards)
275        * ``gfxnvidia``           (for flash ROMs on NVIDIA graphics cards)
276        * ``drkaiser``            (for flash ROMs on Dr. Kaiser PC-Waechter PCI cards)
277        * ``satasii``             (for flash ROMs on Silicon Image SATA/IDE controllers)
278        * ``satamv``              (for flash ROMs on Marvell SATA controllers)
279        * ``atahpt``              (for flash ROMs on Highpoint ATA/RAID controllers)
280        * ``atavia``              (for flash ROMs on VIA VT6421A SATA controllers)
281        * ``atapromise``          (for flash ROMs on Promise PDC2026x ATA/RAID controllers)
282        * ``it8212``              (for flash ROMs on ITE IT8212F ATA/RAID controller)
283        * ``ft2232_spi``          (for SPI flash ROMs attached to an FT2232/FT4232H/FT232H family based USB SPI programmer)
284        * ``serprog``             (for flash ROMs attached to a programmer speaking serprog, including some Arduino-based devices)
285        * ``buspirate_spi``       (for SPI flash ROMs attached to a Bus Pirate)
286        * ``dediprog``            (for SPI flash ROMs attached to a Dediprog SF100)
287        * ``rayer_spi``           (for SPI flash ROMs attached to a parallel port by one of various cable types)
288        * ``raiden_debug_spi``    (For Chrome EC based debug tools - SuzyQable, Servo V4, C2D2 & uServo)
289        * ``pony_spi``            (for SPI flash ROMs attached to a SI-Prog serial port bitbanging adapter)
290        * ``nicintel_spi``        (for SPI flash ROMs on Intel Gigabit network cards)
291        * ``ogp_spi``             (for SPI flash ROMs on Open Graphics Project graphics card)
292        * ``linux_mtd``           (for SPI flash ROMs accessible via /dev/mtdX on Linux)
293        * ``linux_spi``           (for SPI flash ROMs accessible via /dev/spidevX.Y on Linux)
294        * ``usbblaster_spi``      (for SPI flash ROMs attached to an Altera USB-Blaster compatible cable)
295        * ``nicintel_eeprom``     (for SPI EEPROMs on Intel Gigabit network cards)
296        * ``mstarddc_spi``        (for SPI flash ROMs accessible through DDC in MSTAR-equipped displays)
297        * ``pickit2_spi``         (for SPI flash ROMs accessible via Microchip PICkit2)
298        * ``ch341a_spi``          (for SPI flash ROMs attached to WCH CH341A)
299        * ``ch347_api``           (for SPI flash ROMs attached to WHC CH347)
300        * ``digilent_spi``        (for SPI flash ROMs attached to iCEblink40 development boards)
301        * ``jlink_spi``           (for SPI flash ROMs attached to SEGGER J-Link and compatible devices)
302        * ``ni845x_spi``          (for SPI flash ROMs attached to National Instruments USB-8451 or USB-8452)
303        * ``stlinkv3_spi``        (for SPI flash ROMs attached to STMicroelectronics STLINK V3 devices)
304        * ``realtek_mst_i2c_spi`` (for SPI flash ROMs attached to Realtek DisplayPort hubs accessible through I2C)
305        * ``parade_lspcon``       (for SPI flash ROMs attached to Parade Technologies LSPCONs (PS175))
306        * ``mediatek_i2c_spi``    (for SPI flash ROMs attached to some Mediatek display devices accessible over I2C)
307        * ``dirtyjtag_spi``       (for SPI flash ROMs attached to DirtyJTAG-compatible devices)
308        * ``asm106x``             (for SPI flash ROMs attached to asm106x PCI SATA controllers)
309
310        Some programmers have optional or mandatory parameters which are described in detail in the
311        **PROGRAMMER-SPECIFIC INFORMATION** section. Support for some programmers can be disabled at compile time.
312        ``flashrom -h`` lists all supported programmers.
313
314
315**-h, --help**
316        Show a help text and exit.
317
318
319**-o, --output <logfile>**
320        Save the full debug log to **<logfile>**.
321        If the file already exists, it will be overwritten. This is the recommended way to gather logs from **flashrom**
322        because they will be verbose even if the on-screen messages are not verbose and don't require output redirection.
323
324
325**--progress**
326        [Experimental feature] Show progress percentage of operations on the standard output.
327
328
329**-R, --version**
330        Show version information and exit.
331
332.. _programmer-specific information:
333
334PROGRAMMER-SPECIFIC INFORMATION
335-------------------------------
336Some programmer drivers accept further parameters to set programmer-specific parameters. These parameters are separated
337from the programmer name by a colon. While some programmers take arguments atfixed positions, other programmers use a
338key/value interface in which the key and value is separated by an equal sign and different pairs are separated by a
339comma or a colon.
340
341
342internal programmer
343^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
344
345
346**Board Enables**
347        Some mainboards require to run mainboard specific code to enable flash erase and write support
348        (and probe support on old systems with parallel flash).
349        The mainboard brand and model (if it requires specific code) is usually autodetected using one of the following mechanisms:
350        If your system is running coreboot, the mainboard type is determined from the coreboot table.
351        Otherwise, the mainboard is detected by examining the onboard PCI devices and possibly DMI info.
352        If PCI and DMI do not contain information to uniquely identify the mainboard (which is the exception),
353        or if you want to override the detected mainboard model, you can specify the mainboard using the::
354
355                flashrom -p internal:mainboard=<vendor>:<board>
356
357        syntax.
358
359        See the **Known boards** or **Known laptops** section in the output of ``flashrom -L`` for a list of boards
360        which require the specification of the board name, if no coreboot table is found.
361
362        Some of these board-specific flash enabling functions (called **board enables** ) in **flashrom** have not yet been tested.
363        If your mainboard is detected needing an untested board enable function, a warning message is printed and the board enableis not executed,
364        because a wrong board enable function might cause the system to behave erratically, as board enable functions touch the
365        low-level internals of a mainboard.
366        Not executing a board enable function (if one is needed) might cause detection or erasing failure.
367        If your board protects only part of the flash (commonly the top end, called boot block),
368        **flashrom** might encounter an error only after erasing the unprotected part, so running without the board-enable function
369        might be dangerous for erase and write (which includes erase).
370
371        The suggested procedure for a mainboard with untested board specific code is to first try to probe the ROM
372        (just invoke **flashrom** and check that it detects your flash chip type) without running the board enable code
373        (i.e. without any parameters). If it finds your chip, fine. Otherwise, retry probing your chip with the board-enable code running, using::
374
375                flashrom -p internal:boardenable=force
376
377        If your chip is still not detected, the board enable code seems to be broken or the flash chip unsupported.
378        Otherwise, make a backup of your current ROM contents (using ``-r``) and store it to a medium outside of your computer,
379        like a USB drive or a network share. If you needed to run the board enable code already for probing, use it for reading too.
380        If reading succeeds and the contents of the read file look legit you can try to write the new image.
381        You should enable the board enable code in any case now, as it has been written because it is known that writing/erasing
382        without the board enable is going to fail. In any case (success or failure), please report to the **flashrom** mailing list, see below.
383
384**Coreboot**
385        On systems running coreboot, **flashrom** checks whether the desired image matches your mainboard.
386        This needs some special board ID to be present in the image.
387        If **flashrom** detects that the image you want to write and the current board do not match,
388        it will refuse to write the image unless you specify::
389
390                flashrom -p internal:boardmismatch=force
391
392
393**ITE IT87 Super I/O**
394        If your mainboard is manufactured by GIGABYTE and supports DualBIOS it is very likely that it uses an
395        ITE IT87 series Super I/O to switch between the two flash chips.
396        Only one of them can be accessed at a time and you can manually select which one to use with the::
397
398                flashrom -p internal:dualbiosindex=chip
399
400        syntax where ``chip`` is the index of the chip to use (0 = main, 1 = backup).
401        You can check which one is currently selected by leaving out the ``chip`` parameter.
402
403        If your mainboard uses an ITE IT87 series Super I/O for LPC<->SPI flash bus translation, **flashrom** should autodetect that configuration.
404        If you want to set the I/O base port of the IT87 series SPI controller manually instead of using the value provided by the BIOS,
405        use the::
406
407                flashrom -p internal:it87spiport=portnum
408
409        syntax where ``portnum`` is the I/O port number (must be a multiple of 8).
410        In the unlikely case **flashrom** doesn't detect an active IT87 LPC<->SPI bridge, please send a bug report so we can diagnose the problem.
411
412
413**AMD chipsets**
414        Beginning with the SB700 chipset there is an integrated microcontroller (IMC) based on the 8051 embedded in every AMD southbridge.
415        Its firmware resides in the same flash chip as the host's which makes writing to the flash risky if the IMC is active.
416        Flashrom tries to temporarily disable the IMC but even then changing the contents of the flash can have unwanted effects:
417        when the IMC continues (at the latest after a reboot) it will continue executing code from the flash.
418        If the code was removed or changed in an unfortunate way it is unpredictable what the IMC will do.
419        Therefore, if **flashrom** detects an active IMC it will disable write support unless the user forces it with the::
420
421                flashrom -p internal:amd_imc_force=yes
422
423        syntax. The user is responsible for supplying a suitable image or leaving out the IMC region with the help of a layout file.
424        This limitation might be removed in the future when we understand the details better and have received enough feedback from users.
425        Please report the outcome if you had to use this option to write a chip.
426
427        An optional ``spispeed`` parameter specifies the frequency of the SPI bus where applicable
428        (i.e.SB600 or later with an SPI flash chip directly attached to the chipset).
429        Syntax is::
430
431                flashrom -p internal:spispeed=frequency
432
433        where ``frequency`` can be ``'16.5 MHz'``, ``'22 MHz'``, ``'33 MHz'``, ``'66 MHz'``, ``'100 MHZ'``, or ``'800 kHz'``.
434        Support of individual frequencies depends on the generation of the chipset:
435
436        * SB6xx, SB7xx, SP5xxx: from 16.5 MHz up to and including 33 MHz.
437          The default is to use 16.5 MHz and disable Fast Reads.
438        * SB8xx, SB9xx, Hudson: from 16.5 MHz up to and including 66 MHz.
439          The default is to use 16.5 MHz and disable Fast Reads.
440        * Yangtze (with SPI 100 engine as found in Kabini and Tamesh): all of them.
441          The default is to use the frequency that is currently configured.
442
443        An optional ``spireadmode`` parameter specifies the read mode of the SPI bus where applicable (Bolton or later).
444        Syntax is::
445
446                flashrom -p internal:spireadmode=mode
447
448        where ``mode`` can be ``'Normal (up to 33 MHz)'``, ``'Normal (up to 66 MHz)'``, ``'Dual IO (1-1-2)'``, ``'Quad IO (1-1-4)'``,
449        ``'Dual IO (1-2-2)'``, ``'Quad IO (1-4-4)'``, or ``'Fast Read'``.
450
451        The default is to use the read mode that is currently configured.
452
453
454**Intel chipsets**
455        If you have an Intel chipset with an ICH8 or later southbridge with SPI flash attached, and if a valid descriptor was written
456        to it (e.g. by the vendor), the chipset provides an alternative way to access the flash chip(s) named **Hardware Sequencing**.
457        It is much simpler than the normal access method (called **Software Sequencing**), but does not allow the software to
458        choose the SPI commands to be sent. You can use the::
459
460                flashrom -p internal:ich_spi_mode=value
461
462        syntax where ``value`` can be ``auto``, ``swseq`` or ``hwseq``. By default (or when setting ``ich_spi_mode=auto``) the
463        module tries to use swseq and only activates hwseq if need be (e.g. if important opcodes are inaccessible due to lockdown;
464        or if more than one flash chip is attached). The other options (swseq, hwseq) select the respective mode (if possible).
465
466        ICH8 and later southbridges may also have locked address ranges of different kinds if a valid descriptor was written to it.
467        The flash address space is then partitioned in multiple so called "Flash Regions" containing the host firmware,
468        the ME firmware and so on respectively. The flash descriptor can also specify up to 5 so called **Protected Regions**,
469        which are freely chosen address ranges independent from the aforementioned **Flash Regions**.
470        All of them can be write and/or read protected individually.
471
472        If you have an Intel chipset with an ICH2 or later southbridge and if you want to set specific IDSEL values for a
473        non-default flash chip or an embedded controller (EC), you can use the::
474
475                flashrom -p internal:fwh_idsel=value
476
477        syntax where ``value`` is the 48-bit hexadecimal raw value to be written in the IDSEL registers of the Intel southbridge.
478        The upper 32 bits use one hex digit each per 512 kB range between 0xffc00000 and 0xffffffff, and the lower 16 bits
479        use one hex digit each per 1024 kB range between 0xff400000 and 0xff7fffff.
480        The rightmost hex digit corresponds with the lowest address range. All address ranges have a corresponding sister range
481        4 MB below with identical IDSEL settings. The default value for ICH7 is given in the example below.
482
483        Example::
484
485                flashrom -p internal:fwh_idsel=0x001122334567
486
487
488**Laptops**
489        Using **flashrom** on older laptops that don't boot from the SPI bus is dangerous and may easily make your hardware unusable
490        (see also the **BUGS** section). The embedded controller (EC) in some machines may interact badly with flashing.
491        More information is `in the wiki <https://flashrom.org/Laptops>`_.
492        Problems occur when the flash chip is shared between BIOS and EC firmware, and the latter does not expect **flashrom**
493        to access the chip. While **flashrom** tries to change the contents of that memory the EC might need to fetch new
494        instructions or data from it and could stop working correctly. Probing for and reading from the chip may also irritate
495        your EC and cause fan failure, backlight failure, sudden poweroff, and other nasty effects. **flashrom** will attempt to
496        detect if it is running on such a laptop and limit probing to SPI buses. If you want to probe the LPC bus anyway at your own risk, use::
497
498                flashrom -p internal:laptop=force_I_want_a_brick
499
500        We will not help you if you force flashing on a laptop because this is a really dumb idea.
501
502        You have been warned.
503
504        Currently we rely on the chassis type encoded in the DMI/SMBIOS data to detect laptops. Some vendors did not implement
505        those bits correctly or set them to generic and/or dummy values. **flashrom** will then issue a warning and restrict buses like above.
506        In this case you can use::
507
508                flashrom -p internal:laptop=this_is_not_a_laptop
509
510        to tell **flashrom** (at your own risk) that it is not running on a laptop.
511
512
513dummy programmer
514^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
515
516The dummy programmer operates on a buffer in memory only. It provides a safe and fast way to test various aspects of
517**flashrom** and is mainly used in development and while debugging.
518It is able to emulate some chips to a certain degree (basic identify/read/erase/write operations work).
519
520An optional parameter specifies the bus types it should support. For that you have to use the::
521
522        flashrom -p dummy:bus=[type[+type[+type]]]
523
524syntax where ``type`` can be ``parallel``, ``lpc``, ``fwh``, ``spi`` in any order. If you specify bus without type,
525all buses will be disabled. If you do not specify bus, all buses will be enabled.
526
527Example::
528
529        flashrom -p dummy:bus=lpc+fwh
530
531The dummy programmer supports flash chip emulation for automated self-tests without hardware access.
532If you want to emulate a flash chip, use the::
533
534        flashrom -p dummy:emulate=chip
535
536syntax where ``chip`` is one of the following chips (please specify only the chip name, not the vendor):
537
538* ST           ``M25P10.RES``      SPI flash chip (128 kB, RES, page write)
539* SST          ``SST25VF040.REMS`` SPI flash chip (512 kB, REMS, byte write)
540* SST          ``SST25VF032B``     SPI flash chip (4096 kB, RDID, AAI write)
541* Macronix     ``MX25L6436``       SPI flash chip (8192 kB, RDID, SFDP)
542* Winbond      ``W25Q128FV``       SPI flash chip (16384 kB, RDID)
543* Spansion     ``S25FL128L``       SPI flash chip (16384 kB, RDID)
544* Dummy vendor ``VARIABLE_SIZE``   SPI flash chip (configurable size, page write)
545
546Example::
547
548        flashrom -p dummy:emulate=SST25VF040.REMS
549
550To use ``VARIABLE_SIZE`` chip, ``size`` must be specified to configure the size of the flash chip as a power of two.
551
552Example::
553
554        flashrom -p dummy:emulate=VARIABLE_SIZE,size=16777216,image=dummy.bin
555
556
557**Persistent images**
558        If you use flash chip emulation, flash image persistence is available as well by using the::
559
560                flashrom -p dummy:emulate=chip,image=image.rom
561
562        syntax where ``image.rom`` is the file where the simulated chip contents are read on **flashrom** startup and where the
563        chip contents on **flashrom** shutdown are written to.
564
565        Example::
566
567                flashrom -p dummy:emulate=M25P10.RES,image=dummy.bin
568
569
570**SPI write chunk size**
571        If you use SPI flash chip emulation for a chip which supports SPI page write with the default opcode,
572        you can set the maximum allowed write chunk size with the::
573
574                flashrom -p dummy:emulate=chip,spi_write_256_chunksize=size
575
576        syntax where ``size`` is the number of bytes (min.\& 1, max.\& 256).
577        Example::
578
579                flashrom -p dummy:emulate=M25P10.RES,spi_write_256_chunksize=5
580
581
582**SPI blacklist**
583        To simulate a programmer which refuses to send certain SPI commands to the flash chip, you can specify a blacklist of
584        SPI commands with the::
585
586                flashrom -p dummy:spi_blacklist=commandlist
587
588        syntax where ``ommandlist`` is a list of two-digit hexadecimal representations of SPI commands.
589        If commandlist is e.g. 0302, **flashrom** will behave as if the SPI controller refuses to run command 0x03 (READ) and command 0x02 (WRITE).
590        commandlist may be up to 512 characters (256 commands) long.
591        Implementation note: **flashrom** will detect an error during command execution.
592
593
594**SPI ignorelist**
595        To simulate a flash chip which ignores (doesn't support) certain SPI commands, you can specify an ignorelist of SPI commands with the::
596
597                flashrom -p dummy:spi_ignorelist=commandlist
598
599        syntax where ``commandlist`` is a list of two-digit hexadecimal representations of SPI commands.
600        If commandlist is e.g. 0302, the emulated flash chip will ignore command 0x03 (READ) and command 0x02 (WRITE).
601        ``commandlist`` may be up to 512 characters (256 commands) long.
602        Implementation note: **flashrom** won't detect an error during command execution.
603
604
605**SPI status register**
606        You can specify the initial content of the chip's status register with the::
607
608                flashrom -p dummy:spi_status=content"
609
610        syntax where ``content`` is a hexadecimal value of up to 24 bits. For example, ``0x332211`` assigns 0x11 to SR1,
611        0x22 to SR2 and 0x33 to SR3. Shorter value is padded to 24 bits with zeroes on the left.
612        See datasheet for chosen chip for details about the registers content.
613
614
615**Write protection**
616        Chips with emulated WP: **W25Q128FV**, **S25FL128L**.
617
618        You can simulate state of hardware protection pin (WP) with the::
619
620                flashrom -p dummy:hwwp=state
621
622        syntax where ``state`` is ``yes`` or ``no`` (default value). ``yes`` means active state of the pin implies that chip is
623        write-protected (on real hardware the pin is usually negated, but not here).
624
625**Frequency**
626	Frequency can be specified in ``Hz`` (default), ``KHz``, or ``MHz`` (not case sensitive).
627	If ``freq`` parameter is passed in from command line, commands will delay for certain time before returning,
628	so that to emulate the requested frequency.
629
630	Valid range is [1Hz, 8000Mhz] and there is no delay by default.
631
632	The delay of an SPI command is proportional to the number of bits send over SPI bus in both directions
633	and is calculated based on the assumption that we transfer at 1 bit/Hz::
634
635		flashrom -p dummy:emulate=W25Q128FV,freq=64mhz
636
637
638nic3com, nicrealtek, nicnatsemi, nicintel, nicintel_eeprom, nicintel_spi, gfxnvidia, ogp_spi, drkaiser, satasii, satamv, atahpt, atavia, atapromise, it8212 programmers
639^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
640
641These programmers have an option to specify the PCI address of the card your want to use, which must be specified if
642more than one card supported by the selected programmer is installed in your system. The syntax is::
643
644        flashrom -p xxxx:pci=bb:dd.f
645
646where ``xxxx`` is the name of the programmer, ``bb`` is the PCI bus number, ``dd`` is the PCI device number, and ``b``
647is the PCI function number of the desired device. Example::
648
649        flashrom -p nic3com:pci=05:04.0
650
651Some of these programmers have more info below.
652
653atavia programmer
654^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
655
656Due to the mysterious address handling of the VIA VT6421A controller the user can specify an offset with the::
657
658        flashrom -p atavia:offset=addr
659
660syntax where ``addr`` will be interpreted as usual (leading 0x (0) for hexadecimal (octal) values, or else decimal).
661For more information please see `its wiki page <https://flashrom.org/VT6421A "its wiki page>`_.
662
663
664atapromise programmer
665^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
666
667This programmer is currently limited to 32 kB, regardless of the actual size of the flash chip. This stems from the
668fact that, on the tested device (a Promise Ultra100), not all of the chip's address lines were actually connected.
669You may use this programmer to flash firmware updates, since these are only 16 kB in size (padding to 32 kB is required).
670
671nic3com programmer
672^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
673
674flashrom supports some 3Com network cards to reflash the (parallel) flash attached to these cards,
675but it is also possible to use these cards to reflash other chips which fit in there electrically.
676Please note that the small number of address lines connected to the chip may make accessing large chips impossible.
677The maximum supported chip size is 128KB.
678
679nicintel_spi programmer
680^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
681
682Programmer for SPI flash ROMs on Intel Gigabit network cards. Tested on 32-bit hardware/PCI only.
683
684nicintel_eeprom programmer
685^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
686
687This is the first programmer module in **flashrom** that does not provide access to NOR flash chips but EEPROMs mounted on
688gigabit Ethernet cards based on Intel's 82580 NIC. Because EEPROMs normally do not announce their size nor allow
689themselves to be identified, the controller relies on correct size values written to predefined addresses within the chip.
690**Flashrom** follows this scheme but assumes the minimum size of 16 kB (128 kb) if an unprogrammed EEPROM/card is detected.
691Intel specifies following EEPROMs to be compatible:
692Atmel AT25128, AT25256, Micron (ST) M95128, M95256 and OnSemi (Catalyst) CAT25CS128.
693
694gfxnvidia programmer
695^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
696
697Flashrom supports some Nvidia graphic cards to reflash the (parallel) flash attached to these cards,
698but it is also possible to use these cards to reflash other chips which fit in there electrically.
699
700satasii programmer
701^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
702
703Flashrom supports some SiI ATA/SATA controllers to reflash the flash attached to these controller cards,
704but it is also possible to use these cards to reflash other chips which fit in there electrically.
705Please note that the small number of address lines connected to the chip may make accessing large chips impossible.
706
707ft2232_spi programmer
708^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
709
710This module supports various programmers based on FTDI FT2232/FT4232H/FT232H chips including the DLP Design DLP-USB1232H,
711openbiosprog-spi, Amontec JTAGkey/JTAGkey-tiny/JTAGkey-2, Dangerous Prototypes Bus Blaster, Olimex ARM-USB-TINY/-H,
712Olimex ARM-USB-OCD/-H, OpenMoko Neo1973 Debug board (V2+), TIAO/DIYGADGET USB Multi-Protocol Adapter (TUMPA), TUMPA Lite,
713GOEPEL PicoTAP, Google Servo v1/v2, Tin Can Tools Flyswatter/Flyswatter 2 and Kristech KT-LINK.
714
715An optional parameter specifies the controller type, channel/interface/port it should support. For that you have to use the::
716
717        flashrom \-p ft2232_spi:type=model,port=interface
718
719syntax where ``model`` can be ``2232H``, ``4232H``, ``232H``, ``jtagkey``, ``busblaster``, ``openmoko``, ``arm-usb-tiny``,
720``arm-usb-tiny-h``, ``arm-usb-ocd``, ``arm-usb-ocd-h``, ``tumpa``, ``tumpalite``, ``picotap``, ``google-servo,
721``google-servo-v2``, ``google-servo-v2-legacy`` or ``kt-link``.
722``interface`` can be ``A``, ``B``, ``C``, or ``D``. The default model is ``4232H``, the default interface is ``A`` and
723GPIO is not used by default.
724
725If there is more than one ft2232_spi-compatible device connected, you can select which one should be used by specifying
726its serial number with the::
727
728        flashrom -p ft2232_spi:serial=number
729
730syntax where ``number`` is the serial number of the device (which can be found for example in the output of lsusb -v).
731
732All models supported by the **ft2232_spi** driver can configure the SPI clock rate by setting a divisor. The expressible
733divisors are all **even** numbers between 2 and 2^17 (=131072) resulting in SPI clock frequencies of 6 MHz down to about
73492 Hz for 12 MHz inputs (non-H chips) and 30 MHz down to about 458 Hz for 60 MHz inputs ('H' chips). The default divisor
735is set to 2, but you can use another one by specifying the optional ``divisor`` parameter with the::
736
737        flashrom -p ft2232_spi:divisor=div
738
739syntax. Using the parameter ``csgpiol`` (DEPRECATED - use ``gpiol`` instead) an additional CS# pin can be chosen,
740where the value can be a number between 0 and 3, denoting GPIOL0-GPIOL3 correspondingly. Example::
741
742        flashrom -p ft2232_spi:csgpiol=3
743
744The parameter ``gpiolX=[HLC]`` allows use of the GPIOL pins either as generic gpios with a fixed value during flashing
745or as additional CS# signal, where ``X`` can be a number between 0 and 3, denoting GPIOL0-GPIOL3 correspondingly.
746The parameter may be specified multiple times, one time per GPIOL pin. Valid values are ``H``, ``L`` and ``C``:
747
748* ``H`` - Set GPIOL output high
749* ``L`` - Set GPIOL output low
750* ``C`` - Use GPIOL as additional CS# output
751
752Example::
753
754        flashrom -p ft2232_spi:gpiol0=H
755
756**Note** that not all GPIOL pins are freely usable with all programmers as some have special functionality.
757
758
759serprog programmer
760^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
761
762This module supports all programmers speaking the serprog protocol. This includes some Arduino-based devices as well as
763various programmers by Urja Rannikko, Juhana Helovuo, Stefan Tauner, Chi Zhang and many others.
764
765A mandatory parameter specifies either a serial device (and baud rate) or an IP/port combination for communicating with
766the programmer. The device/baud combination has to start with ``dev=`` and separate the optional baud rate with a colon.
767For example::
768
769        flashrom -p serprog:dev=/dev/ttyS0:115200
770
771If no baud rate is given the default values by the operating system/hardware will be used.
772For IP connections you have to use the::
773
774        flashrom -p serprog:ip=ipaddr:port
775
776syntax. In case the device supports it, you can set the SPI clock frequency with the optional ``spispeed`` parameter.
777The frequency is parsed as hertz, unless an ``M``, or ``k`` suffix is given, then megahertz or kilohertz are used respectively.
778Example that sets the frequency to 2 MHz::
779
780        flashrom -p serprog:dev=/dev/device:baud,spispeed=2M
781
782Optional ``cs`` parameter can be used to switch which chip select number is used. This allows connecting multiple
783chips at once and selecting which one to flash by software means (rather than rewiring)::
784
785        flashrom -p serprog:dev=/dev/device:baud,cs=0
786
787The particular programmer implementation needs to support this feature, for it to work. If the requested chip
788select isn't available, flashrom will fail safely.
789
790More information about serprog is available in this document: :doc:`/supported_hw/supported_prog/serprog/serprog-protocol`.
791
792
793buspirate_spi programmer
794^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
795
796A required ``dev`` parameter specifies the Bus Pirate device node and an optional ``spispeed`` parameter specifies the
797frequency of the SPI bus. The parameter delimiter is a comma. Syntax is::
798
799        flashrom -p buspirate_spi:dev=/dev/device,spispeed=frequency
800
801where ``frequency`` can be ``30k``, ``125k``, ``250k``, ``1M``, ``2M``, ``2.6M``, ``4M`` or ``8M`` (in Hz).
802The default is the maximum frequency of 8 MHz.
803
804The baud rate for communication between the host and the Bus Pirate can be specified with the optional ``serialspeed``
805parameter. Syntax is::
806
807        flashrom -p buspirate_spi:serialspeed=baud
808
809where ``baud`` can be ``115200``, ``230400``, ``250000`` or ``2000000`` (``2M``).
810The default is ``2M`` baud for Bus Pirate hardware version 3.0 and greater, and 115200 otherwise.
811
812An optional pullups parameter specifies the use of the Bus Pirate internal pull-up resistors. This may be needed if you
813are working with a flash ROM chip that you have physically removed from the board. Syntax is::
814
815        flashrom -p buspirate_spi:pullups=state
816
817where ``state`` can be ``on`` or ``off``.
818More information about the Bus Pirate pull-up resistors and their purpose is available
819`in a guide by dangerousprototypes <http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Practical_guide_to_Bus_Pirate_pull-up_resistors>`_.
820
821When working with low-voltage chips, the internal 10k pull-ups of the Bus Pirate might be too high. In such cases, it's necessary to create an external pull-up using lower-value resistors.
822
823For this, you can use the ``hiz`` parameter. This way, the Bus Pirate will operate as an open drain. Syntax is::
824
825        flashrom -p buspirate_spi:hiz=state
826
827where ``state`` can be ``on`` or ``off``.
828
829The state of the Bus Pirate power supply pins is controllable through an optional ``psus`` parameter. Syntax is::
830
831        flashrom -p buspirate_spi:psus=state
832
833where ``state`` can be ``on`` or ``off``.
834This allows the bus pirate to power the ROM chip directly. This may also be used to provide the required pullup voltage
835(when using the **pullups** option), by connecting the Bus Pirate's Vpu input to the appropriate Vcc pin.
836
837An optional aux parameter specifies the state of the Bus Pirate auxiliary pin.
838This may be used to drive the auxiliary pin high or low before a transfer.
839Syntax is::
840
841        flashrom -p buspirate_spi:aux=state
842
843where ``state`` can be ``high`` or ``low``. The default ``state`` is ``high``.
844
845
846pickit2_spi programmer
847^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
848
849An optional ``voltage`` parameter specifies the voltage the PICkit2 should use. The default unit is Volt if no unit is specified.
850You can use ``mV``, ``millivolt``, ``V`` or ``Volt`` as unit specifier. Syntax is::
851
852        flashrom \-p pickit2_spi:voltage=value
853
854where ``value`` can be ``0V``, ``1.8V``, ``2.5V``, ``3.5V`` or the equivalent in mV.
855
856An optional ``spispeed`` parameter specifies the frequency of the SPI bus. Syntax is::
857
858        flashrom -p pickit2_spi:spispeed=frequency
859
860where ``frequency`` can be ``250k``, ``333k``, ``500k`` or ``1M`` (in Hz). The default is a frequency of 1 MHz.
861
862
863dediprog programmer
864^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
865
866An optional ``voltage`` parameter specifies the voltage the Dediprog should use. The default unit is Volt if no unit is specified.
867You can use ``mV``, ``milliVolt``, ``V`` or ``Volt`` as unit specifier. Syntax is::
868
869        flashrom -p dediprog:voltage=value
870
871where ``value`` can be ``0V``, ``1.8V``, ``2.5V``, ``3.5V`` or the equivalent in mV.
872
873An optional ``device`` parameter specifies which of multiple connected Dediprog devices should be used.
874Please be aware that the order depends on libusb's usb_get_busses() function and that the numbering starts at 0.
875Usage example to select the second device::
876
877        flashrom -p dediprog:device=1
878
879An optional ``spispeed`` parameter specifies the frequency of the SPI bus. The firmware on the device needs to be 5.0.0 or newer.
880Syntax is::
881
882        flashrom -p dediprog:spispeed=frequency
883
884where ``frequency`` can be ``375k``, ``750k``, ``1.5M``, ``2.18M``, ``3M``, ``8M``, ``12M`` or ``24M`` (in Hz).
885The default is a frequency of 12 MHz.
886
887An optional ``target`` parameter specifies which target chip should be used. Syntax is::
888
889        flashrom -p dediprog:target=value
890
891where ``value`` can be ``1`` or ``2`` to select target chip 1 or 2 respectively. The default is target chip 1.
892
893
894rayer_spi programmer
895^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
896
897The default I/O base address used for the parallel port is 0x378 and you can use the optional ``iobase`` parameter to
898specify an alternate base I/O address with the::
899
900        flashrom -p rayer_spi:iobase=baseaddr
901
902syntax where ``baseaddr`` is base I/O port address of the parallel port, which must be a multiple of four.
903Make sure to not forget the "0x" prefix for hexadecimal port addresses.
904
905The default cable type is the RayeR cable. You can use the optional ``type`` parameter to specify the cable type with the::
906
907        flashrom -p rayer_spi:type=model
908
909syntax where ``model`` can be ``rayer`` for the RayeR cable, ``byteblastermv`` for the Altera ByteBlasterMV,
910``stk200`` for the Atmel, ``STK200/300``, ``wiggler`` for the Macraigor Wiggler, ``xilinx`` for the Xilinx Parallel Cable III (DLC 5),
911or ``spi_tt`` for SPI Tiny Tools-compatible hardware.
912
913More information about the RayeR hardware is available at `RayeR's website <http://rayer.g6.cz/elektro/spipgm.htm>`_.
914The Altera ByteBlasterMV datasheet can be obtained from `Altera <http://www.altera.co.jp/literature/ds/dsbytemv.pdf>`_.
915For more information about the Macraigor Wiggler see `their company homepage <http://www.macraigor.com/wiggler.htm>`_.
916The schematic of the Xilinx DLC 5 was published in `a Xilinx guide <http://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/user_guides/xtp029.pdf>`_.
917
918
919raiden_debug_spi programmer
920^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
921
922Some devices such as the GSC knows how it is wired to AP and EC flash chips, and can be told which specific device to talk to using the ``target`` parameter::
923
924        flashrom -p raiden_debug_spi:target={ap,ec}
925
926Other devices such as Servo Micro and HyperDebug are generic, and do not know how they are wired, the caller is responsible for first configure the appropriate MUXes or buffers, and then tell the debugger which port to use (Servo Micro has just one SPI port, HyperDebug is the first of this kind to have multiple)::
927
928        flashrom -p raiden_debug_spi:target=N
929
930where ``N`` is an non-negative integer (default ``0``).
931
932The default is to use the first available servo. You can use the optional ``serial`` parameter to specify the servo
933USB device serial number to use specifically with::
934
935        flashrom -p raiden_debug_spi:serial=XXX
936
937The servo device serial number can be found via ``lsusb``.
938Raiden will poll the ``ap`` target waiting for the system power to settle on the AP and EC flash devices.
939
940The optional ``custom_rst=true`` parameter alters the behavior of the reset process::
941
942        flashrom -p raiden_debug_spi:custom_rst=<true|false>
943
944syntax, where:
945
946``custom_rst=false`` is the implicit default timeout of 3ms
947
948and ``custom_rst=true`` set ``RAIDEN_DEBUG_SPI_REQ_ENABLE_AP_CUSTOM`` instead of ``RAIDEN_DEBUG_SPI_REQ_ENABLE_AP``.
949This custom reset will modify the timeout from 3ms to 10ms and will not set ``EC_RST_L``, meaning neither the EC nor the AP will be reset. With this setting, it's the user's responsibility to manage the reset signal manually or by configuring the GPIO.
950Failure to handle the reset signal appropriately will likely result in flashing errors.
951
952More information about the ChromiumOS servo
953hardware is available at `servos website <https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromiumos/third_party/hdctools/+/HEAD/docs/servo_v4.md>`_.
954
955
956pony_spi programmer
957^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
958
959The serial port (like /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyUSB0 on Linux or COM3 on windows) is specified using the mandatory ``dev``
960parameter. The adapter type is selectable between SI-Prog (used for SPI devices with PonyProg 2000) or a custom made
961serial bitbanging programmer named "serbang". The optional ``type`` parameter accepts the values ``si_prog`` (default)
962or ``serbang``.
963
964Information about the SI-Prog adapter can be found at `its website <http://www.lancos.com/siprogsch.html>`_.
965
966An example call to **flashrom** is::
967
968        flashrom -p pony_spi:dev=/dev/ttyS0,type=serbang
969
970Please note that while USB-to-serial adapters work under certain circumstances, this slows down operation considerably.
971
972
973ogp_spi programmer
974^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
975
976The flash ROM chip to access must be specified with the ``rom`` parameter::
977
978        flashrom -p ogp_spi:rom=name
979
980Where ``name`` is either ``cprom`` or ``s3`` for the configuration ROM and ``bprom`` or ``bios`` for the BIOS ROM.
981If more than one card supported by the **ogp_spi** programmer is installed in your system, you have to specify the PCI
982address of the card you want to use with the ``pci=`` parameter as explained in the **nic3com** et al. section above.
983
984
985linux_mtd programmer
986^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
987
988You may specify the MTD device to use with the::
989
990        flashrom -p linux_mtd:dev=/dev/mtdX
991
992syntax where ``/dev/mtdX`` is the Linux device node for your MTD device. If left unspecified the first MTD device found
993(e.g. /dev/mtd0) will be used by default.
994
995Please note that the linux_mtd driver only works on Linux.
996
997
998linux_spi programmer
999^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1000
1001You have to specify the SPI controller to use with the::
1002
1003        flashrom -p linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidevX.Y
1004
1005syntax where ``/dev/spidevX.Y`` is the Linux device node for your SPI controller.
1006
1007In case the device supports it, you can set the SPI clock frequency with the optional ``spispeed`` parameter.
1008The frequency is parsed as kilohertz. Example that sets the frequency to 8 MHz::
1009
1010        flashrom -p linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidevX.Y,spispeed=8000
1011
1012Please note that the linux_spi driver only works on Linux.
1013
1014
1015mstarddc_spi programmer
1016^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1017
1018The Display Data Channel (DDC) is an I2C bus present on VGA and DVI connectors, that allows exchanging information
1019between a computer and attached displays. Its most common uses are getting display capabilities through EDID
1020(at I2C address 0x50) and sending commands to the display using the DDC/CI protocol (at address 0x37).
1021On displays driven by MSTAR SoCs, it is also possible to access the SoC firmware flash (connected to the Soc through another SPI bus)
1022using an In-System Programming (ISP) port, usually at address 0x49. This **flashrom** module allows the latter via Linux's I2C driver.
1023
1024**IMPORTANT:**
1025Before using this programmer, the display **MUST** be in standby mode, and only connected to the computer that will run
1026**flashrom** using a VGA cable, to an inactive VGA output. It absolutely **MUST NOT** be used as a display during the procedure!
1027
1028You have to specify the DDC/I2C controller and I2C address to use with the::
1029
1030        flashrom -p mstarddc_spi:dev=/dev/i2c-X:YY
1031
1032syntax where ``/dev/i2c-X`` is the Linux device node for your I2C controller connected to the display's DDC channel, and
1033``YY`` is the (hexadecimal) address of the MSTAR ISP port (address 0x49 is usually used).
1034Example that uses I2C controller /dev/i2c-1 and address 0x49::
1035
1036        flashrom -p mstarddc_spi:dev=/dev/i2c-1:49
1037
1038It is also possible to inhibit the reset command that is normally sent to the display once the **flashrom** operation is
1039completed using the optional ``noreset`` parameter. A value of 1 prevents **flashrom** from sending the reset command.
1040Example that does not reset the display at the end of the operation::
1041
1042        flashrom -p mstarddc_spi:dev=/dev/i2c-1:49,noreset=1
1043
1044Please note that sending the reset command is also inhibited if an error occurred during the operation.
1045To send the reset command afterwards, you can simply run **flashrom** once more, in chip probe mode (not specifying an operation),
1046without the ``noreset`` parameter, once the flash read/write operation you intended to perform has completed successfully.
1047
1048Please also note that the mstarddc_spi driver only works on Linux.
1049
1050
1051ch341a_spi programmer
1052^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1053
1054The WCH CH341A programmer does not support any parameters currently. SPI frequency is fixed at 2 MHz, and CS0 is used
1055as per the device.
1056
1057
1058ch347_spi programmer
1059^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1060
1061An optional ``spispeed`` parameter could be used to specify the SPI speed. This parameter is available for the CH347T and CH347F device.
1062The default SPI speed is 15MHz if no value is specified.
1063Syntax is::
1064
1065        flashrom -p ch347_spi:spispeed=value
1066
1067where ``value`` can be ``60M``, ``30M``, ``15M``, ``7.5M``, ``3.75M``, ``1.875M``, ``937.5K``, ``468.75K``.
1068
1069
1070ni845x_spi programmer
1071^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1072
1073An optional ``voltage`` parameter could be used to specify the IO voltage. This parameter is available for the NI USB-8452 device.
1074The default unit is Volt if no unit is specified. You can use ``mV``, ``milliVolt``, ``V`` or ``Volt`` as unit specifier.
1075Syntax is::
1076
1077        flashrom -p ni845x_spi:voltage=value
1078
1079where ``value`` can be ``1.2V``, ``1.5V``, ``1.8V``, ``2.5V``, ``3.3V`` or the equivalent in mV.
1080
1081In the case if none of the programmer's supported IO voltage is within the supported voltage range of the detected flash
1082chip the **flashrom** will abort the operation (to prevent damaging the flash chip).
1083You can override this behaviour by passing ``yes`` to the ``ignore_io_voltage_limits`` parameter
1084(for e.g. if you are using an external voltage translator circuit). Syntax is::
1085
1086        flashrom -p ni845x_spi:ignore_io_voltage_limits=yes
1087
1088You can use the ``serial`` parameter to explicitly specify which connected NI USB-845x device should be used. You should
1089use your device's 7 digit hexadecimal serial number. Usage example to select the device with 1230A12 serial number::
1090
1091        flashrom -p ni845x_spi:serial=1230A12
1092
1093An optional ``spispeed`` parameter specifies the frequency of the SPI bus. Syntax is::
1094
1095        flashrom -p ni845x_spi:spispeed=frequency
1096
1097where ``frequency`` should a number corresponding to the desired frequency in kHz.
1098The maximum ``frequency`` is 12 MHz (12000 kHz) for the USB-8451 and 50 MHz (50000 kHz) for the USB-8452.
1099The default is a frequency of 1 MHz (1000 kHz).
1100
1101An optional ``cs`` parameter specifies which target chip select line should be used. Syntax is::
1102
1103        flashrom -p ni845x_spi:csnumber=value
1104
1105where ``value`` should be between ``0`` and ``7``. By default the CS0 is used.
1106
1107
1108digilent_spi programmer
1109^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1110
1111An optional ``spispeed`` parameter specifies the frequency of the SPI bus. Syntax is::
1112
1113        flashrom -p digilent_spi:spispeed=frequency
1114
1115where ``frequency`` can be ``62.5k``, ``125k``, ``250k``, ``500k``, ``1M``, ``2M`` or ``4M`` (in Hz).
1116The default is a frequency of 4 MHz.
1117
1118
1119dirtyjtag_spi programmer
1120^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1121
1122An optional ``freq`` parameter specifies the frequency of the SPI bus. Syntax is::
1123
1124        flashrom -p dirtyjtag_spi:spispeed=frequency
1125
1126where ``spispeed`` can be any value in hertz, kilohertz or megahertz supported by the programmer.
1127The default is a frequency of 100 KHz.
1128
1129
1130jlink_spi programmer
1131^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1132
1133This module supports SEGGER J-Link and compatible devices.
1134
1135The **MOSI** signal of the flash chip must be attached to **TDI** pin of the programmer, **MISO** to **TDO** and
1136**SCK** to **TCK**. The chip select (**CS**) signal of the flash chip can be attached to different pins of the
1137programmer which can be selected with the::
1138
1139        flashrom -p jlink_spi:cs=pin
1140
1141syntax where ``pin`` can be either ``TRST``, ``RESET`` or ``TMS``. The default pin for chip select is ``RESET``.
1142Note that, when using ``RESET``, it is normal that the indicator LED blinks orange or red.
1143
1144Additionally, the ``Tref`` pin of the programmer must be attached to the logic level of the flash chip.
1145The programmer measures the voltage on this pin and generates the reference
1146voltage for its input comparators and adapts its output voltages to it.
1147
1148Pinout for devices with 20-pin JTAG connector::
1149
1150          +-------+
1151          |  1  2 |     1: VTref     2:
1152          |  3  4 |     3: TRST      4: GND
1153          |  5  6 |     5: TDI       6: GND
1154        +-+  7  8 |     7: TMS       8: GND
1155        |    9 10 |     9: TCK      10: GND
1156        |   11 12 |    11:          12: GND
1157        +-+ 13 14 |    13: TDO      14:
1158          | 15 16 |    15: RESET    16:
1159          | 17 18 |    17:          18:
1160          | 19 20 |    19: PWR_5V   20:
1161          +-------+
1162
1163If there is more than one compatible device connected, you can select which one should be used by specifying its serial
1164number with the::
1165
1166        flashrom -p jlink_spi:serial=number
1167
1168syntax where ``number`` is the serial number of the device (which can be found for example in the output of ``lsusb -v``).
1169
1170The SPI speed can be selected by using the::
1171
1172        flashrom -p jlink_spi:spispeed=frequency
1173
1174syntax where ``frequency`` is the SPI clock frequency in kHz. The maximum speed depends on the device in use.
1175
1176The ``power=on`` option can be used to activate the 5 V power supply (PWR_5V) of the J-Link during a flash operation.
1177
1178
1179stlinkv3_spi programmer
1180^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1181
1182This module supports SPI flash programming through the STMicroelectronics STLINK V3 programmer/debugger's SPI bridge interface::
1183
1184        flashrom -p stlinkv3_spi
1185
1186If there is more than one compatible device connected, you can select which one should be used by specifying its
1187serial number with the::
1188
1189        flashrom -p stlinkv3_spi:serial=number
1190
1191syntax where ``number`` is the serial number of the device (which can be found for example in the output of ``lsusb -v``).
1192
1193The SPI speed can be selected by using the::
1194
1195        flashrom -p stlinkv3_spi:spispeed=frequency
1196
1197syntax where ``frequency`` is the SPI clock frequency in kHz. If the passed frequency is not supported by the adapter
1198the nearest lower supported frequency will be used.
1199
1200
1201realtek_mst_i2c_spi, parade_lspcon and mediatek_i2c_spi programmers
1202^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1203
1204These programmers tunnel SPI commands through I2C-connected devices. The I2C bus over which communication occurs must be
1205specified either by device path with the ``devpath`` option::
1206
1207        flashrom -p realtek_mst_i2c_spi:devpath=/dev/i2c-8
1208
1209or by a bus number with the ``bus`` option, which implies a device path like ``/dev/i2c-N`` where ``N`` is the specified
1210bus number::
1211
1212        flashrom -p parade_lspcon:bus=8
1213
1214
1215realtek_mst_i2c_spi programmer
1216^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1217
1218This programmer supports SPI flash programming for chips attached to Realtek DisplayPort MST hubs, themselves accessed
1219through I2C (tunneling SPI flash commands through the MST hub's I2C connection with the host).
1220
1221
1222In-system programming (ISP) mode
1223""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
1224
1225The ``reset_mcu`` and ``enter_isp`` options provide control over device mode changes, where each can be set to ``0``
1226or ``1`` to enable or disable the corresponding mode transition.
1227
1228``enter_isp`` defaults to ``1``, and if enabled will issue commands to the MST hub when beginning operation to put it
1229into ISP mode.
1230
1231``reset_mcu`` defaults to ``0``, and if enabled will issue a reset command to the MST hub on programming completion,
1232causing it to exit ISP mode and to reload its own firmware from flash.
1233
1234``allow_brick`` defaults to ``no``, however must be set explicitly to ``yes`` to allow the driver to run if you are sure
1235you have a MST chip.
1236
1237The hub must be in ISP mode for SPI flash access to be possible, so it is usually only useful to disable ``enter_isp``
1238if an earlier invocation avoided resetting it on completion. For instance, to erase the flash and rewrite it with the
1239contents of a file without resetting in between (which could render it nonfunctional if attempting to load firmware
1240from a blank flash)::
1241
1242        flashrom -p realtek_mst_i2c_spi:bus=0,enter_isp=1,reset_mcu=0 -E
1243
1244        flashrom -p realtek_mst_i2c_spi:bus=0,enter_isp=0,reset_mcu=1 -w new.bin
1245
1246
1247parade_lspcon programmer
1248^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1249
1250This programmer supports SPI flash programming for chips attached to Parade Technologies DisplayPort-to-HDMI level
1251shifter/protocol converters (LSPCONs), e.g. the PS175. Communication to the SPI flash is tunneled through the LSPCON
1252over I2C.
1253
1254
1255mediatek_i2c_spi programmer
1256^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1257
1258This programmer supports SPI flash programming for chips attached to some Mediatek display controllers, themselves
1259accessed through I2C (tunneling SPI flash commands through an I2C connection with the host).
1260
1261The programmer is designed to support the TSUMOP82JUQ integrated display driver and scaler as used in the Google Meet
1262Series One Desk 27 (which runs a version of ChromeOS and uses **flashrom** in its ``tsum-scaler-updater`` scripts that ship
1263with the OS). Other chips may use compatible protocols but have not been tested with this programmer, and external chip
1264IOs may need to be controlled through other non- **flashrom** means to configure the chip in order for it to operate as expected.
1265
1266``devpath`` and ``bus`` options select the I2C bus to use, as described previously. ``allow_brick`` defaults to ``no``,
1267and must explicitly be set to ``yes`` in order for the programmer to operate. This is required because there is no
1268mechanism in the driver to positively identify that a given I2C bus is actually connected to a supported device.
1269
1270
1271EXAMPLES
1272--------
1273
1274To back up and update your BIOS, run::
1275
1276        flashrom -p internal -r backup.rom -o backuplog.txt
1277        flashrom -p internal -w newbios.rom -o writelog.txt
1278
1279Please make sure to copy backup.rom to some external media before you try to write. That makes offline recovery easier.
1280
1281If writing fails and **flashrom** complains about the chip being in an unknown state, you can try to restore the backup by running::
1282
1283        flashrom -p internal -w backup.rom -o restorelog.txt
1284
1285If you encounter any problems, please contact us and supply backuplog.txt, writelog.txt and restorelog.txt.
1286See section **BUGS** for contact info.
1287
1288
1289EXIT STATUS
1290-----------
1291
1292**flashrom** exits with 0 on success, 1 on most failures but with 3 if a call to mmap() fails.
1293
1294
1295REQUIREMENTS
1296------------
1297
1298**flashrom** needs different access permissions for different programmers.
1299
1300* internal
1301
1302        * needs raw memory access
1303        * PCI configuration space access
1304        * raw I/O port access (x86)
1305        * MSR access (x86)
1306
1307* atavia
1308
1309        * needs PCI configuration space access
1310
1311* nic3com, nicrealtek, nicnatsemi
1312
1313        * need PCI configuration space read access
1314        * raw I/O port access
1315
1316* atahpt
1317
1318        * needs PCI configuration space access
1319        * raw I/O port access
1320
1321* gfxnvidia, drkaiser, it8212
1322
1323        * need PCI configuration space access
1324        * raw memory access
1325
1326* rayer_spi
1327
1328        * needs raw I/O port access
1329
1330* raiden_debug_spi
1331
1332        * needs access to the respective USB device via libusb API version 1.0
1333
1334* satasii, nicintel, nicintel_eeprom, nicintel_spi
1335
1336        * need PCI configuration space read access
1337        * raw memory access
1338
1339* satamv, atapromise
1340
1341        * need PCI configuration space read access
1342        * raw I/O port access
1343        * raw memory access
1344
1345* serprog
1346
1347        * needs TCP access to the network or userspace access to a serial port
1348
1349* buspirate_spi
1350
1351        * needs userspace access to a serial port
1352
1353* ft2232_spi, usbblaster_spi, pickit2_spi
1354
1355        * need access to the respective USB device via libusb API version 1.0
1356
1357* ch341a_spi, dediprog
1358
1359        * need access to the respective USB device via libusb API version 1.0
1360
1361* dummy
1362
1363        * needs no access permissions at all
1364
1365* internal, nic3com, nicrealtek, nicnatsemi, gfxnvidia, drkaiser, satasii, satamv, atahpt, atavia, atapromise, asm106x
1366
1367        * have to be run as superuser/root
1368        * need raw access permission
1369
1370* serprog, buspirate_spi, dediprog, usbblaster_spi, ft2232_spi, pickit2_spi, ch341a_spi, digilent_spi, dirtyjtag_spi
1371
1372        * can be run as normal user on most operating systems if appropriate device permissions are set
1373
1374* ogp
1375
1376        * needs PCI configuration space read access and raw memory access
1377
1378* realtek_mst_i2c_spi, parade_lspcon
1379
1380  * need userspace access to the selected I2C bus
1381
1382On OpenBSD, you can obtain raw access permission by setting::
1383
1384        securelevel=-1
1385
1386in **/etc/rc.securelevel** and rebooting, or rebooting into single user mode.
1387
1388
1389BUGS
1390----
1391
1392You can report bugs, ask us questions or send success reports via our communication channels listed here:
1393`Contact <https://www.flashrom.org/Contact>`_
1394
1395Also, we provide a `pastebin service <https://paste.flashrom.org>`_ that is very useful to share logs without spamming
1396the communication channels.
1397
1398
1399Laptops
1400-------
1401
1402Using **flashrom** on older laptops is dangerous and may easily make your hardware unusable. **flashrom** will attempt to detect
1403if it is running on a susceptible laptop and restrict flash-chip probing for safety reasons. Please see the detailed
1404discussion of this topic and associated **flashrom** options in the **Laptops** paragraph in the **internal programmer**
1405subsection of the **PROGRAMMER-SPECIFIC INFORMATION** section and the information `in our wiki <https://flashrom.org/Laptops>`_.
1406
1407One-time programmable (OTP) memory and unique IDs
1408
1409Some flash chips contain OTP memory often denoted as **security registers**. They usually have a capacity in the range
1410of some bytes to a few hundred bytes and can be used to give devices unique IDs etc. **flashrom** is not able to read
1411or write these memories and may therefore not be able to duplicate a chip completely. For chip types known to include
1412OTP memories a warning is printed when they are detected.
1413
1414Similar to OTP memories are unique, factory programmed, unforgeable IDs. They are not modifiable by the user at all.
1415
1416
1417LICENSE
1418-------
1419
1420**flashrom** is covered by the GNU General Public License (GPL), version 2. Some files are additionally available
1421under any later version of the GPL.
1422
1423
1424COPYRIGHT
1425---------
1426Please see the individual files.
1427
1428
1429AUTHORS
1430-------
1431
1432Andrew Morgan, Anastasia Klimchuk, Carl-Daniel Hailfinger, Claus Gindhart, David Borg, David Hendricks, Dominik Geyer,
1433Edward O'Callaghan, Eric Biederman, Giampiero Giancipoli, Helge Wagner, Idwer Vollering, Joe Bao, Joerg Fischer,
1434Joshua Roys, Kyösti Mälkki, Luc Verhaegen, Li-Ta Lo, Mark Marshall, Markus Boas, Mattias Mattsson, Michael Karcher,
1435Nikolay Petukhov, Patrick Georgi, Peter Lemenkov, Peter Stuge, Reinder E.N. de Haan, Ronald G. Minnich, Ronald Hoogenboom,
1436Sean Nelson, Stefan Reinauer, Stefan Tauner, Stefan Wildemann, Stephan Guilloux, Steven James, Urja Rannikko, Uwe Hermann,
1437Wang Qingpei, Yinghai Lu and others, please see the **flashrom** git history for details.
1438
1439All still active authors can be reached via `the mailing list <flashrom\@flashrom.org>`_.
1440
1441This manual page was written by `Uwe Hermann <uwe\@hermann-uwe.de>`_, Carl-Daniel Hailfinger, Stefan Tauner and others.
1442It is licensed under the terms of the GNU GPL (version 2 or later).
1443