X200s: Libreboot with Linux-libre payload?
Hi,
i recently flashed libreboot to my X200s and i also ordered a AR5BHB112 wifi-module to replace the intel 5300 card.
Now i want to replace Linux Mint Debian Edition by Trisquel Mini. With the actual Grub2 payload it takes some time to load the kernel, so i am planing to use the Linux-libre kernel as a Libreboot payload. The 8MiB flash chip should be large enough but i am not sure how to install Trisquel for this configuration.
Can i expect a speedup with this setup or should i keep the Grub2 payload?
I am a translator!
So you bought a x200 on ebay or whatever and you managed to flash libreboot in it all by yourself?
If that is the case could you be so gentle as to post a guide that explains the process of flashing the bjatch?
Also how much money did you spend for your x200?
thx
I bought this demo-pool Thinkpad in 2009 for ~1000€ and a few weeks ago i noticed that the libreboot project supports this model. Since i lost the supervisor password i wanted to replace the bios anyway.
To replace the stock rom with libreboot, external flashing is necessary.
There are good tutorials on coreboot and libreboot for the x200s: https://www.coreboot.org/Board:lenovo/x200
http://libreboot.org/docs/install/x200_external.html
Compared to the X200, the external flashing for the x200s and the tablet is pretty nasty. The x200 has a SOIC-8 or SOIC-16 flash chip placed under the palm rest and can be accessed by the pomona 5252 clip. The flash chip used for the x200s has a WSON package, that can only be accessed by soldering thin wires to the chip. You need a narrow soldering iron and some patience to get it done right.
Additionally, the chip is mounted on the bottom layer of the mainboard, so you have to dismount the whole mainboard first. I used a buspirate and an external 3.3 V power supply to flash the chip. Due to the long wires, the chip was only detected for a low clock rate of 30 kHz. I used the libreboot x200_8mb.rom and updated the MAC-address before flashing. Since the reading of the ROM took about an hour, i left the setup flashing for 3 hours and it worked on first try. Finally, i removed the wires and reassembled the Laptop and powered it up. With the libreboot rom, internal flashing is possible, which is much faster and very easy.
So if you want to buy a x200, stay away from the s- and tablet versions and take a look at the compatibility list first:
http://libreboot.org/docs/hcl/x200.html
The actual Grub2 payload shows a lot of errors when loading the kernel and i dont know if i have to adjust the grub.cfg to speed it up.
With the recent Lenovo revelations, does a Thinkpad even make sense anymore?
On Thu Feb 19 2015 at 2:14:48 PM <name at domain> wrote:
> I bought this demo-pool Thinkpad in 2009 for ~1000€ and a few weeks ago i
> noticed that the libreboot project supports this model. Since i lost the
> supervisor password i wanted to replace the bios anyway.
>
> To replace the stock rom with libreboot, external flashing is necessary.
> There are good tutorials on coreboot and libreboot for the x200s:
> https://www.coreboot.org/Board:lenovo/x200
> http://libreboot.org/docs/install/x200_external.html
>
> Compared to the X200, the external flashing for the x200s and the tablet is
> pretty nasty. The x200 has a SOIC-8 or SOIC-16 flash chip placed under the
> palm rest and can be accessed by the pomona 5252 clip. The flash chip used
> for the x200s has a WSON package, that can only be accessed by soldering
> thin
> wires to the chip. You need a narrow soldering iron and some patience to
> get
> it done right.
> Additionally, the chip is mounted on the bottom layer of the mainboard, so
> you have to dismount the whole mainboard first. I used a buspirate and an
> external 3.3 V power supply to flash the chip. Due to the long wires, the
> chip was only detected for a low clock rate of 30 kHz. I used the libreboot
> x200_8mb.rom and updated the MAC-address before flashing. Since the reading
> of the ROM took about an hour, i left the setup flashing for 3 hours and it
> worked on first try. Finally, i removed the wires and reassembled the
> Laptop
> and powered it up. With the libreboot rom, internal flashing is possible,
> which is much faster and very easy.
>
> So if you want to buy a x200, stay away from the s- and tablet versions and
> take a look at the compatibility list first:
> http://libreboot.org/docs/hcl/x200.html
>
> The actual Grub2 payload shows a lot of errors when loading the kernel and
> i
> dont know if i have to adjust the grub.cfg to speed it up.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
What "revelations" are you talking about?
Superfish. Keep up with the news at all? Just look around for Lenovo
Superfish. Man-in-the-middle attack built right in.
On Thu Feb 19 2015 at 3:39:48 PM <name at domain> wrote:
> What "revelations" are you talking about?
>
Keep up with the news at all?
Still the patronizing tone? Even if, one more time, you do not know what you are talking about. Read again the news you are referring to: http://www.zdnet.com/article/lenovo-accused-of-pushing-superfish-self-signed-mitm-proxy/
First line:
Lenovo has been pilloried by a number of security experts for shipping software in its consumer Windows devices
Notice the end too:
The only remedy to removing Superfish appears to be reinstalling Windows from a non-Lenovo image, or moving to another operating system
Conclusion: Superfish is no concern to a computer running GNU/Linux.
NB: Arguments on anarchy or any other unrelated topic will be ignored.
I don't think that pre-installed windows software is a relevant threat for the users of this forum. You cant trust the manufacturer anyway so replacing the software and the bios is important. If you want coreboot support, there only a few alternatives to (used) thinkpads. They are also easy to repair and the case is very reliable.
Shouldn't we be pushing much harder and pouring more effort into the free
software/hardware community, rather than buying from lenovo? I mean, it's
fine by me, it just doesn't seem like much of a solution.
On Thu Feb 19 2015 at 5:19:49 PM <name at domain> wrote:
> I don't think that pre-installed windows software is a relevant threat for
> the users of this forum. You cant trust the manufacturer anyway so
> replacing
> the software and the bios is important. If you want coreboot support, there
> only a few alternatives to (used) thinkpads. They are also easy to repair
> and
> the case is very reliable.
>
Let say I need a laptop right now. What do you propose that would be better freedom-wise?
Absolutely valid. I really don't have a clue there, and there probably
isn't a current better choice. I just don't like that it seems like people
are thinking of it as a valid solution. It's a stop-gap. At least, I think
so.
On Thu Feb 19 2015 at 6:29:48 PM <name at domain> wrote:
> Let say I need a laptop right now. What do you propose that would be better
> freedom-wise?
>
Please don't turn this technical thread into a political discussion.
Again, i am looking for the fastest way to boot trisquel. Should i load the kernel from flash or can i optimize the grub2 config? Is there some kind of log for the errors that occur on booting?
I am a translator!
Just wanted to say that one should learn how to read before posting nonsense (casey)
Thinkpad was never affected by superfish
Thanks for that, maestro.
On Fri Feb 20 2015 at 4:59:48 PM <name at domain> wrote:
> Just wanted to say that one should learn how to read before posting
> nonsense
> (casey)
>
> http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/product_security/superfish?
> cid=ww:social:148321261:148321259:TWITTER:lenovo:*%
> 20Customer%20Service%20and%20Support&linkId=12461872
>
> Thinkpad was never affected by superfish
>
i found this page on the coreboot wiki:
http://www.coreboot.org/Payloads
coreboot is just libreboot but with non-free blobs
so as long as you make sure your not installing non-free
software the info on here is relevant to libreboot
i found this page on the coreboot wiki:
http://www.coreboot.org/Payloads
coreboot is just libreboot but with non-free blobs
so as long as you make sure your not installing non-free
software the info on here is relevant to libreboot