Updating the BIOS without rebooting the PC will soon be possible (on Linux)
A big step forward has been made with the advent of UEFI and motherboards capable of downloading UEFI ROMs via the internet, or reading them from USB without the need to use any operating system. One of the latest innovations in the Linux world is the fwupd tool, which allows you to distribute UEFI firmware updates as if they were system updates, exactly as happens today in Windows 10 (mainly on notebooks), where new firmware can be found as optional updates in Windows Update.
Intel has chosen to go a step further by working on a new tool called PFRUT (Platform Firmware Runtime and Telemetry), which will allow the operating system to use part of the ACPI specification to update the firmware UEFI without having to reboot the machine.
Unlike current software that deals with downloading and preparing the required files, by instructing the UEFI firmware to update at the next reboot, PFRUT will allow the operating system to manage every aspect of the update process, all in real time and without the need for a reboot.
if (jQuery ("# crm_srl-th_hardware_d_mh2_1"). is (": visible")) {console.log ("Edinet ADV adding zone: tag crm_srl-th_hardware_d_mh2_1 slot id: th_hardware_d_mh2"); } The operation of PFRUT Credit: Intel The tool for now will be exclusively intended for the server market, where the ability to perform this type of operation without the need to restart the machines is essential to offer high security standards, without blocking entire companies. PFRUT It is just the latest of the many projects aimed at ensuring updated software without the need to cause Downtime, just think that both Lin ux and BSD systems can even change parts of the Kernel or the entire Kernel without the need for reboot.
The development proceeds shipped with the code already included in "Linux Next" and therefore planned with the next release of the kernel, that is 5.17. As already said, the functionality works using the well-known ACPI specifications, also supported by Windows; it is reasonable to expect the arrival of this feature also in Microsoft operating systems, however we do not know if (or when) it will actually be implemented.
