Patching embedded code

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ISSUE 22.08 • 2025-02-24 PATCH WATCH By Susan Bradley I’m here to state that patching firmware is easy. Easy, that is, if you can get over a big hurdl
[See the full post at: Patching embedded code]

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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lmacri, fisher75, Great Lake Bunyip, IBM1130, windbg, DLivesInTexas, 280park, dataman1701, Alex5723

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Here’s what I see when I click the This story also appears in our public Newsletter link.

And, if I click the Read this article online button, it returns me to the exact same place.

I experience the same loop if I use the Newsletters/Alerts link at the top of the main page and click the FREE EDITION: Patching embedded code link.

So, where’s the Free Edition article?

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Will Fastie

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I have the same issue. Even after disabling Privacy Badger and DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials, I end up in a constant loop-back to the same page as the original poster.

Is AskWoody crafted so that it only works correctly with Microsoft Edge? That would be a shame for those of us running Linux where the default browser is Firefox. This isn’t strictly an AskWoody problem, as I’ve noted other sites that will not work correctly unless the site is loaded in Edge. (I do keep one dual-boot machine strictly for tax preparation and managing my MP3 players, so I have tested this…but avoid using Windows as much as possible.)

 

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Will Fastie

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Great Article Susan,

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My BIOS was last updated in 2023. Am I safe? I bought this Desktop from a computer store built to my specifications/

System-Information-of-Desktop

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n0ads wrote:

Here’s what I see when I click the This story also appears in our public Newsletter link.

Fixed. Thanks for letting us know.

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n0ads, Susan Bradley

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While not intentional – may I point out you are missing out on lots of good stuff in the plus newsletter

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Eric K wrote:

Is AskWoody crafted so that it only works correctly with Microsoft Edge?

Absolutely not. Nothing we publish attempts to determine which browser our readers are using. Our content may be Microsoft-centric, but our website is not.

We use modern CSS 3. I’ve checked the major browsers on Windows, Mac, iPhone, and Android and found no significant rendering problems. (I can’t control everything a browser does, which is why I say “significant.”)

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Cybertooth

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I visit AskWoody.com on Pale Moon, one of the fussier browsers around, and it renders AW pages just fine.

 

Keep Running Windows 7 Safely for Years to Come  
Make Windows 10 look and work like Windows 7

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satrow

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Hi Susan…   A word of caution regarding updating firmware in printers.  I buy non-OEM ink cartridges for my Canon and Epson printers.  I have run into problems in the past when the printer firmware was updated and thereafter did not recognize the ID chips in the ink cartridges.   The ink vendor warned me of this the first time that it happened, and now I never update the printer firmware.   It’s a choice.  And I’ve never had problems with them.

Peter

 

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As I state in the article, only do it if there is some error code that specifically needs a firmware update.

“Printers often need updates to perform better or fix a security issue. Unfortunately, vendors take advantage by using that printer as a means of forcing you to purchase only their product and nothing else. The cheaper the printer, the more overt these firmware updates often are — the vendors are trying to get you to a subscription model, a “pay to print” situation. If you encounter this, stop. Search our forum to see whether anyone else has had a similar experience, or post your own question to get help. Don’t let yourself get locked in.”

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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satrow, Alex5723

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“Firmware is nothing more than software. It’s just like the Windows and Apple updates we regularly install. However, it is different in an important way. You’re always aware when an OS or security update is available.”

While I agree that it’s essentially the same as software, it seems to me that it’s different in at least one other way.

I can usually recover from a “normal software” update by restoring a system backup.  I always fear that I won’t be able to do anything about a bad firmware update.

 

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“Most of the time, you’ll notice something is working and start to look for solutions. ”

Sounds like a government operation. “It’s working, we have to find out why and stop it.”

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Cybertooth

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Bob Coleman wrote:

I always fear that I won’t be able to do anything about a bad firmware update.

My desktop Asus x299 motherboard has a special USB port in the back for re-flashing the bios if you brick your machine.  Thankfully, I’ve never had to use it.  I’ve installed 7 bios updates since 2020. All installs were flawless but I’ll admit I’m always a little nervous when updating the bios.

Also, I archive all the bios update files so if one doesn’t work, I can fall back to the previous one.

Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

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