Coreboot hacking: How to solder a PLCC socket on your board

This video shows how you can desolder a soldered-on PLCC BIOS ROM chip from your board, and then solder on a PLCC socket (SMD type) instead.

This is useful for recovering from a failed BIOS upgrade, and for coreboot (previously LinuxBIOS) users and developers.

See http://www.coreboot.org/Soldering_a_socket_on_your_board for details.

Note that I'm a total newbie when it comes to soldering and I still managed to do this. So there's no reason to be scared by this kind of stuff, everybody can learn how to do it.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• coreboot
• linuxbios
• bios
• rom
• chip
• plcc
• smd
• smt
• pcb
• solder
• flux
• wick
• desolder
• station
• hot
• air
• gun
• socket
• hacks

[arungordon1234]

did u use the original chip when you put it back in the socket or was it damaged by the heat gun? also, is there anyway i can remove the chip without a hot air gun? by cutting it carefully of the board maybe.

[uwehermann19]

Yes, all chips have survived the procedure so far.

[digitallyhere]

i tried some dumb ideas. i tinned the socket's pins then used hot air,only some pins stuck others were floating. increasing to 290C, melted socket surface. should have added solder to motherboard. used 60/40 solder. which type? lower temp?

so used iron. some pins didnt connect after some attempts, added alot of solder, worked, but damaged spring on the socket. next time i bend the tip of the pin downward so excess solder stays on the board. i used glue to keep chip up.

also needed a thinner tip.

[unluckyme23]

sorry if this question is noob can you do this on loptop??

[buchnermarkus]

@Tda7000 Depending on the Material the Socket is made of, it might soften and warp, rendering it useless. Thats also the reason why some ( e.g. most micro USB ) Connectors have the Brown Kapton covering, protecting the Plastic insert from the heat of the Reflow soldering.

[Tda7000]

Nice video... Why not use the hot air to put the socket on? maybe easier?

Anyway, I tried downloading the music but all I could find was "Techno Twang Mix" not "Dreamy Twang Mix" - is this the same thing or different? Can you send me a copy of the one you used?

[igrewold]

Thanx for being courageous and sharing your experience with us.

[alexbar76]

Hi can you tell me the tittle of the song!!!! many tks

[odv000]

you don't have to cut center of socket just use this heat gun to solder it

[openuas]

Thanks, that was very helpful.

[esdentem]

Very well done tutorial video! I know how much time it takes to put together. Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to more of such tutorials! :)