[PLUG] Ancient Thinkpad T61 BIOS

[Bryan Linton]

On 2020-06-20 21:19:11, John Jason Jordan <johnxj at gmx.com> wrote:
> On Sun, 21 Jun 2020 09:25:57 +0900
> Bryan Linton <plug at shoshoni.info> dijo:
> 
> >On 2020-06-20 11:35:44, John Jason Jordan <johnxj at gmx.com> wrote:
> >> I have placed the order for the replacement SSD drive, but some time
> >> before it gets here I want to update the BIOS. My motivation is that
> >> the T61 came with SATA at 1.5GB/s, and by updating to the 'Middleton'
> >> BIOS I can get 3.0GB/s. However, I am pretty lost when it comes to
> >> flashing a BIOS - I've only ever done it once, a long time ago.
> >> Lenovo's website doesn't seem to list mt computer, but I'm probably
> >> looking in the wrong place. The forums provide links for the new
> >> BIOS, and all of them are dead.
> >>
> >> Here are the details from the bottom of the case:
> >>
> >> 	Type 6460-7EU
> >> 	S/N L3-C3254 07/09
> >>
> >> (I think the 07/09 means September, 2007.)
> >>
> >> If anyone has ever flashed the BIOS on a T61 I could use some advice.
> >>
> >
> >Hello John,
> >
> >Updating the BIOS on a T61 should be fairly straightforward.
> >
> >I've updated the BIOS on a T60, X61t, T440p, and T460 and they're
> >all pretty much the same.
> >
> >I found these two links from Lenovo's website titled, "BIOS Update
> >Utility - ThinkPad R61 14.1inch widescreen with IEEE 1394,
> >ThinkPad T61, T61p"
> >
> >Windows EXE: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/jp/en/downloads/DS013832
> >Bootable CD: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/jp/en/downloads/migr-67989
> >
> >The text at the bottom lists a large number of supported models of
> >the R61, which includes "7Ex" which I'm assuming matches the "7EU"
> >of your model.
> >
> >For the T-series, it only lists "T61, T61p", which I'm assuming
> >means it supports all models of the T61.  IIRC, there was a 14.1"
> >and 15" model of the T60 and/or T61, and they needed separate
> >BIOSes.  Perhaps my memory is mistaken, or perhaps Lenovo found a
> >way to unify the BIOS updates somehow.
> >
> >The easiest way to update the BIOS would be to download the
> >bootable CD, burn it, and boot from it, following the prompts.
> 
> Thanks a million for your advice and suggestions.
> 

Happy to help!

> It's getting late, so I'll deal with this in more detail tomorrow. But
> I should mention that mine is a 15.6" model. I think I'd like to use
> the CD version. I'll try to figure it out tomorrow using your
> suggestions.
> 

I did some more research, and it appears that the T60 has two
separate BIOSes for the widescreen and non-widescreen versions,
but the T61 appears to be compatible with both.

https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/BIOS_Upgrade_Downloads#T_Series

> >Please let me know if you have any other questions!
> 
> I will probably have some. Buthopefully in the morning I'll be able to
> think better. :)
>

One thing I forgot to mention, you may want to consider installing
a third-party modified BIOS.  Indeed if SATA II is your goal, the
pages on ThinkWiki seem to imply that the official BIOS won't
enable SATA II speeds.

https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Middleton%27s_BIOS

	"SATA II Mod: While the X61/T61/R61/X300 possess a SATA
	II-interface (up to 3.0 GBit/s) they were limited to SATA
	I (up to 1.5 GBit/s) in the BIOS to maintain compatibility
	with older drives. Normal hard drives will rarely max out
	SATA I speeds, but nowadays, SSDs can handle the full 3.0
	GBit/s (and more)."

And indeed, on Lenovo's forums, I found this page:

https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-T61-and-prior-T-series-plus-Other-Legacy-ThinkPads/T61-Support-SATA-II/m-p/64464?page=6#97928

	"For Santa Rosa-based systems, the Intel ICH8 supports a
	SATA bus speed of up to 3.0 Gb/s. Lenovo made a design
	decision to prioritize maintaining compatibility with
	Ultrabay disk drives, which are connected via a
	SATA-to-PATA conversion chip which could not handle a 3.0
	Gb/s SATA bus speed reliably. Therefore the system was
	standardized to 1.5 Gb/s."

So it would seem that if SATA II is your goal, the only option is
to use a third-party BIOS.  Obviously, they aren't officially
supported by Lenovo and would void your warranty, though
considering the age of the T61 series, I'm sure any warranties on
them expired about a decade ago.

>From reading the above, you may sacrifice compatibility with
using a hard disk in the Ultrabay were you to install the
third-party BIOS.  I'm not sure if this would affect the CD-ROM
drive which is what is installed in the Ultrabay by default
though.

https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Ultrabay


The Middleton BIOS comes with a somewhat strong disclaimer:

	"DISCLAIMER: Use these modified bios at your own risk!

	These modified bios have been beta tested to confirm they
	do not brick the system after flash. However data
	integrity tests take time and it's up to the user to
	confirm there is no data loss due to the increased SATA-II
	interface speed. You will be solely responsible for any
	damage to your computer system or loss of data that
	results from flashing or using of the patched BIOS. "

However, there seem to be quite a large number of people who
report success using it, and it's been out for a decade now.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/t61-x61-sata-ii-1-5-gb-s-cap-willing-to-pay-for-a-solution.459591/page-9

Anecdotally, it seems to be reliable enough, though obviously only
you can decide whether or not to use it.

-- 
Bryan