Category Archives: bootloader

I2C Bootloader for ATtiny85 Lets Other Micros Push Firmware Updates

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There are a few different ways of getting firmware onto one of AVR’s ATtiny85 microcontrollers, including bootloaders that allow for firmware to be updated without the need to plug the chip into a programmer. However, [casanovg] wasn’t satisfied with those so he sent us a tip letting us know he wrote an I2C bootloader for the ATtiny85 called Timonel. It takes into account a few particulars of the part, such as the fact that it lacks a protected memory area where a bootloader would normally reside, and it doesn’t have a native I2C interface, only the USI (Universal Serial …read more

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SMART Response XE Gets Wireless Bootloader

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A few months back we first brought word of the progress being made in unlocking the SMART Response XE, an ATmega128RFA powered handheld computer that allowed teachers to create an interactive curriculum in the days before all the kids got Chromebooks. Featuring 2.4 Ghz wireless communication, a 384×160 LCD, and a full QWERTY keyboard, schools paid around $100 each for them 2010. Now selling for as little as $5 on eBay, these Arduino-compatible devices only need a little coaxing and an external programmer to get your own code running.

The previous post inspired [Larry Bank] to try his hand at …read more

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CD Image Via Twitter: A Handcrafted Game Disc

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Humans can turn anything into a competition. Someone always wants to be faster or drive a ball farther. Technical pursuits are no different, which is why a lot of people overclock or play regular expression golf. [Alok Menghrajani] sets himself some odd challenges. A few years ago, he hand-built a bootable floppy image that had a simple game onboard and managed to fit it in a Twitter message. Twitter has increased their number of characters, so — you guessed it — this time he’s back with a CDROM image.

His tweet is a command line that starts with perl. The …read more

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Unbricking A 3D Printer The Hard Way: By Writing a Bootloader

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There’s a sinking feeling when a firmware upgrade to a piece of equipment goes wrong. We’ve all likely had this happen and  bricked a device or two. If we are lucky we can simply reapply the upgrade or revert to a previous version, and if we’re unlucky we have to dive into a serial debug port to save the device from the junk pile. But what happens when both those routes fail? If you are [Arko], you reverse-engineer the device and write your own bootloader for it.

The offending bricked object was a Monoprice MP Mini Delta 3D printer to …read more

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Over The Air Updates For Your Arduino

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An Arduino and a data radio can make a great remote sensor node. Often in such situations, the hardware ends up installed somewhere hard to get to – be it in a light fitting, behind a wall, or secreted somewhere outdoors. Not places that you’d want to squeeze a cable repeatedly into while debugging.

[2BitOrNot2Bit] decided this simply wouldn’t do, and decided to program the Arduinos over the air instead.

Using the NRF24L01 chip with the Arduino is a popular choice to add wireless communications to a small project. By installing one of these radios on both the remote hardware …read more

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Write Your Own x86 Bootloader

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What if you want to make a very lean machine and do without any operating system? Or maybe you want to try to write your own OS, even just for the challenge or fun? Maybe you were reading up on a cool OS architecture and thought to yourself, “I can write that!”. Well, before diving into your code, you’d first have to write something called a bootloader.

A bootloader is code that runs early on in a PC’s, Mac’s, Raspberry Pi’s or microcontroller’s boot sequence, before anything like an operating system is up. Often its job is to set up …read more

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Write Your Own x86 Bootloader

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What if you want to make a very lean machine and do without any operating system? Or maybe you want to try to write your own OS, even just for the challenge or fun? Maybe you were reading up on a cool OS architecture and thought to yourself, “I can write that!”. Well, before diving into your code, you’d first have to write something called a bootloader.

A bootloader is code that runs early on in a PC’s, Mac’s, Raspberry Pi’s or microcontroller’s boot sequence, before anything like an operating system is up. Often its job is to set up …read more

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Multiple Vulnerabilities Found in NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Huawei Bootloaders

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Researchers find six previously unknown memory corruption and unlock-bypass vulnerabilities in major chipset vendors’ firmware code. Continue reading Multiple Vulnerabilities Found in NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Huawei Bootloaders→

Mobile Bootloaders From Top Manufacturers Found Vulnerable to Persistent Threats

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Security researchers have discovered several severe zero-day vulnerabilities in the mobile bootloaders from at least four popular device manufacturers that could allow an attacker to gain persistent root access on the device.

A team of nine security r… Continue reading Mobile Bootloaders From Top Manufacturers Found Vulnerable to Persistent Threats→