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Firmware update

The following documentation describes the process of Dasharo open-source firmware update. The update process may be different, depending on which firmware version is currently installed on your device.

Boot time after update

The first boot after updating firmware may take a longer time than usual, due to memory being re-trained. Generally, first boot time increases according to the amount of installed RAM in the system. A system with 96 GB of RAM may take over 2 minutes to boot.

After first boot, memory training settings are cached, and subsequent boot times should be much lower.

Prerequisites

Your firmware version can be checked by entering the Dasharo Setup Menu using the F2 key while booting.

Advanced users can also build and/or flash the binaries themselves by following the steps under the Manual update section.

Capsule Update via fwupd

fwupd and Capsule Update are available starting with the following versions:

Generation Version
11th 1.6.0
12th 1.8.0
14th 1.0.0

Note

Capsule updates are only available when Intel ME is HAP-Disabled and the AC adapter is connected to the laptop

See this Knowledge Base article for information about disabling the ME, or Issue #1302 for more context.

To update your firmware, run the following commands:

$ sudo fwupdtool refresh
$ sudo fwupdtool update

or use any other fwupd front-end of your choice, like GNOME Firmware Update. Then, reboot your machine to apply the update.

Warning

Powering off instead of rebooting as instructed by fwupd will result in aborting the update.

Firmware Update Mode

Firmware Update Mode is available starting with the following versions:

Generation Version
11th 1.5.0
12th 1.7.0
14th Any

To update using Firmware Update Mode, follow the generic Firmware Update documentation.

Check out our YouTube video for a demonstration of Firmware Update Mode.

Updating older versions

  1. First, ensure that UEFI Secure Boot has been disabled.

  2. Boot to the Dasharo Tools Suite. We recommend the network boot option.

  3. In the main menu of Dasharo Tools Suite, select option 5 to proceed with the installation of the firmware update.

  4. In case you want to know more about the firmware update option in Dasharo Tools Suite, please check out the features section of the dedicated Dasharo Tools Suite documentation page.

Manual update

This update method is for advanced users only and is not recommended for regular end users.

Ensure that the firmware protections are disabled (1) in Dasharo Security Options. Both BIOS boot medium lock and Enable SMM BIOS write protection should be unchecked. UEFI Secure Boot must be disabled as well (uncheck Attempt Secure Boot if Current Secure Boot State does not say Disabled). To apply changes, you will need to reboot.

  1. These options were introduced in v1.5.0 for TGL models and v1.7.0 for ADL models. You can skip these steps if you are using an older firmware version.

Follow the manual update procedure described in the DTS firmware update documentation.

Please make sure you that you update the BIOS firmware and the EC firmware respectively, as the laptop will power off after the EC firmware flash.

Please also note that network boot must be enabled if you want to boot to the Dasharo Tools Suite over a network connection.

Firmware update

Build or download Dasharo Heads firmware, and proceed with the official Heads update documentation.