thinkpad-ec VS IVprep

Hi all, some of you might be familiar with the T430 classic keyboard hack. I seem to be stuck. I followed the instructions here to physically modify the keyboard. I downgraded my BIOS to the 2.81 version. I installed Linux Mint on a spare SSD, booted into it, and followed the github instructions here to create the bootable USB. However, when I boot the USB to modify the firmware, I run into an error message before it starts. I'm not quite sure what it means or how to get it to proceed. Does anyone have any experience with this?

If your notebook is a thinkpad from the xx30 series you can do a custom keymap for the embedded controller with thinpad-ec - you'd need to flash back bios, update EC, flash back coreboot. I've done that to have a native dvorak keyboard with control on the right position.

In regards to unlocking third-party batteries on the Ivy Bridge ThinkPad laptops, this is handled by the embedded controller firmware, stored on a completely separate chip from the system firmware. On these systems, coreboot is not concerned with the embedded controller functionality at all. There is a separate project that handles this: thinkpad-ec

Link to EC Flash: https://github.com/hamishcoleman/thinkpad-ec

I bought an aliexpress battery and have gone through the process of the battery patch. I can now run with the battery, and get a decent 6ish hours off of it. Fantastic.

You can downgrade the X230 BIOS to version 2.60 from Windows using IVPrep.

If your Bios is above the vulnerable version, you need IVprep, this only works on Windows10 (or above), maybe using Freedos too, but no guide online I could find.

Installed thinkpad-ec patch and coreboot (with skulls/ivyrain) on my x230t but I reverted back to the stock keyboard so I don't want thinkpad-ec anymore. I tried to flash back the stock bios to get rid of it with [this]( IVprep/X230t.FL1 at master · n4ru/IVprep · GitHub ) FL1 file converted to a ROM with dd, but flashrom says that my chip size doesn't match and is 12MB. I've looked online for a while and extracted an FL1 file from a Lenovo BIOS update but none I can find are 12MB. Does anyone have any links to one?

I think that just pushes a UEFI capsule too, at least that is what this suggests.

And IVprep https://github.com/n4ru/IVprep/

if you want to install https://github.com/lynxis/thinkpad-ec so that you can use a *20 keyboard and a *20 battery on *30 or if you want to prepare to that with https://github.com/n4ru/IVprep/ or if you want to install https://github.com/n4ru/1vyrain after that to gain more options in BIOS and/or be able to use non-Lenovo-approved Wi-Fi card - you don't need a hardware flasher; you don't need it for either of these 3 projects; all 3 use normal software flashing; I also understand all 3 are fairly safe to use; lots of people have used them and I haven't seen much complains

Once you run IVprep you should be on BIOS version 2.64 on the T430.