Bios Update w/o Battery

Framework Laptop 13
1

This guide is risky. Please only use if you understand the risks associated w/ a bios update.

Hey folks,

I have an 11th gen mainboard in a cooler master case and couldn’t update the bios using the .exe provided by framework. So I did my own thing.

  1. run the .exe. When you get the battery error, facepalm, but leave that window open.
    The .exe extracts all the files you need, but deletes them when it closes, so you need that window open.

  2. go to C:\Users{your username}\AppData\Local\Temp\7zS83BF0563
    If you don’t have that folder (which may be possible if you are installing a different bios than me) open the task manager and inspect the properties of the installer application (that you definitely didn’t close because I told you not to) and go to whatever folder it is running out of.

  3. edit platform.ini

you will find the following text

Flag=3
BatteryCheck=1

change it to this, then save

Flag=0
BatteryCheck=0

  1. copy the 7s folder somewhere safe, and close the H2O application w/ the battery complaint.

  2. run H2OFFT-W.exe from your safe copied folder.

voila.

This guide is risky. Please only use if you understand the risks associated w/ a bios update.

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2

This assumes you already are able to boot. Any tips when you need to update the bios but the Mainboard doesn’t boot?

3

At that point, you may need to do it manually with a flash programmer and a chip clip or pogo pin adapter. How to prepare for reflashing firmware
Not certain which chip holds the BIOS firmware though.

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5

Shouldn’t Framework allow firmware updates without a battery for the situation where people have this motherboard in the Cooler Master case? I feel that’s a better solution. Hopefully it their support and engineers was made aware of this situation.

2 Likes
6

yeah,

I had planned to buy 12th gen chrome OS mainboard and Cooler Master case as my first FW device.

The plan is cooling off based on reading about the current state of bios updates.

7

Framework Chromebook Laptop (and mainboard) updates are not administered by Framework Computer, and it runs a completely different system firmware than the other Framework devices. It is not susceptible to the same vulnerabilities. The update cadence is much different from the one you may be referring to for the standard 12th Generation Intel Core mainboard.

Discussing the update cadence is also largely off-topic for this thread :slightly_smiling_face:

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8

To confirm what you are implying, bios updates (even if provided by Google, or “Not FW”), are possible when the 12th gen intel Chromebook mainboard is in the CM case w/o a battery?

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9

They should be, yes.

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10

7/10/24 update after updating an 11th gen board to 3.20 - there’s been some changes in the installer structure and process, here are my observations.

1- The following field now needs to be edited in platform.ini:

[AC_Adapter]
Flag=3 (change to Flag=1)

2- The update process ran and at the very end, the board threw an error saying there is no battery and the update failed. I shut down, waited a few seconds, booted as normal, and the firmware menu and Windows showed the latest version.

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11

Has anyone tried to use the FORCEIT command in the Cmd terminal like in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsXqGZ_qNiI

I using an 11th gen board in a cooler master case and would like to update the bios but don’t want to brick the computer. I am not super savvy with all of this but the solution in that video looks simple enough.
Is there a reason why this might not work?

Many thanks, y’all!!

1 Like