uint8_t lpc_test(void) {

        nibble_hw_init();

        lpc_init();

        if (lpc_read_address(0xFFFFFFFF)==-1) return 0;

        return 1;

}

flashrom itself doesn't seem to care about that check (although I haven't looked in the source): it just probes for a bunch of chips anyway.

so I guess the thing to do would be to look for the first lines that are engaged, and see where failure starts.