Thinkpad T580 - BIOS Update
Thinkpad T580 BIOS Update from Not-Windows
The Problem
Lenovo provides two ways to update the bios from their support website.
- A Windows .exe program
I don't use windows so this was a non starter
- A bootable CD ISO image
For some reason I just couldn't get this to work. Even after extracting the ISO file it just appeared empty on my system.
My Solution
I run Windows on Docker so I can access Windows apps as needed on my system. Running the Windows BIOS update program from there I selected Extract instead of Install and took a look at the files.
The extracted files included a README that said to run their script and point it at a FAT32 USB drive. I didn't want to pass through a USB so I took a look at the script. The only thing it does is copy select directories and files into the directory (in this case expecting a drive) you give it.
I pointed the script at a folder I made and transferred those files over to Linux. I made a GPT partition table with one FAT32 partition on my USB drive and copied the files onto it.
Suprisingly worked easier than I expected, but took a while to figure out the initial path of running the Windows EXE and using the extract feature. Booting the USB drive works as normal, make sure UEFI/both is selected for boot type in BIOS. All you have to do after booting the drive is select 2 and hit enter a few times following on screen prompts. MAKE SURE TO STAY PLUGGED IN AND HAVE A FULL BATTERY.