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<div id="thumb-container">
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<img src="//alemauri.eu/img/me.jpg" alt="me" id="thumb">
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</div>
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<div id="links">
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<a href="//alemauri.eu/index.html">Home</a>
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<a href="https://git.alemauri.eu/alema">Gitea</a>
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<a href="https://github.com/gunboy001">Github</a>
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<a href="https://liberapay.com/alemauri/donate"><img alt="Donate using Liberapay" src="https://liberapay.com/assets/widgets/donate.svg"></a>
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<a href="//alemauri.eu/atom.xml">Atom feed</a>
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</div>
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<p>
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Author: Alessandro Mauri
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<a href="mailto:alemauri001@tuta.io">alemauri001@tuta.io</a>
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<br>
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The content of this site is licensed under the
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<a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">
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Creative Commons CC0 Public Domain Dedication</a>
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<br>
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Special thanks to <a href="https://github.com/morhetz">Pavel Pertsev</a>
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for creating <a href="https://github.com/morhetz/gruvbox">Gruvbox</a>
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</p>
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@ -10,38 +10,64 @@ Windows 10 on it, it would just be an old slow laptop. But I want more, I want
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lightning fast boot times, I want a good experience and most of all I want
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freedom where I can get it.
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## [Libreboot][lboot]
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## [Coreboot][cboot]
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Yes! After some 5 years of dormancy the Libreboot project came out with a
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[new beta release][newboot] that [adds support for the x301][xboot].
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> coreboot is an extended firmware platform that delivers a lightning fast and
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> secure boot experience on modern computers and embedded systems. As an Open
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> Source project it provides auditability and maximum control over technology.
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Basically Libreboot is a BIOS replacement, it completely replaces all of the
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old BIOS stuff with a _libre_ alternative, which has many advantages:
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Basically coreboot is a platform that provides basic hardware initialization
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for other programs to run on and start your bootloader (or OS) of choice. Such
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programs are called payloads, I decided to go with [SeaBIOS][sbios] a free
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[BIOS][bios] implementation, but you can choose
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[from a variety of available payloads][payloads], there's even a linux distro
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in there!
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1. MUCH faster boot times
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2. Completely respects your freedom
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3. Completely disables the intel ME and replaces all proprietary firmware with
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libre software
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4. While being simpler (no menu, no live configuration, etc.) it actually
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allows for much greater flexibility in the boot process
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Now to the ones who know coreboot is a bit difficult to configure, that's why
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projects such as [Libreboot][lboot] and [Skulls][skulls] exist, but being the
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masochist I am, I decided to have a go at configuring it on my own and in the
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process also remove the [Intel Management Engine (ME)][ime] like Libreboot does.
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**I lied** this is not just software, unfortunately the flashing of the new BIOS
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cannot be done within the operating system, only official ones can be installed
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that way (at least on this machine), so to do this you'll need some things, some
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knownledge, and a lot of patience.
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Oh and [here's the coreboot page for the x301][corex301].
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Libreboot works by setting up a minimal environment, enough to load
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[GRUB][grub], then GRUB proceeds to load the OS or other things.
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Libreboot has also other _payload_ options like [SeaBIOS][sbios] or
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[Tianocore][tcore] (an open-source UEFI implementation), they allow to load
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other operating systems normally (not via GRUB) but generally this is slower.
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### Getting the stuff you'll need
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The method I will use is an hybrid, Libreboot will load GRUB, which when a key
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is pressed like shift, during the boot process, will load a menu of options
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containing all the operating systems, some diagnostic, Tianocore and SeaBIOS
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(everything needs to boot). Otherwise when no key is pressed it should boot
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straight into the first available OS.
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Disclaimer: I have not seen this elsewhere and although I think it should be
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possible, I don't really know.
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First of all one cannot go further in this intent witout some "basic" gear, what
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we need to do is find a chip on the mainboard of the laptop, access it's pins
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(in a way we're hijacking it), connect it to an external device called a
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programmer and load the new [firmware][fware] on that chip so that the machine
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can execute what's on it.
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There is one complication, the chip is in [WSON8][wson] package, which
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is not easy to work with since the pins do not exent to the side but on the
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bottom making them almost impossible to attach an [IC clip][icclip] to.
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Since if anything goes wrong during the next steps you'd want to reprogram
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the chip, and that cannot be easily done without a clip, you really want that
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old chip gone in favor of a new one. But that requires soldering.
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[lboot]: https://libreboot.org/
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[newboot]: https://libreboot.org/docs/release/libreboot20210522.html
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[xboot]: https://libreboot.org/docs/release/libreboot20210522.html#lenovo-thinkpad-x301
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[grub]: https://www.gnu.org/software/grub/
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So here's a handy list of everything you will need to proceed:
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1. A [Raspberry Pi][rpi], used for the actual programming; it is not strictly
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necessary but if you have it already it is the easiest method.
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An alternative method is by using a [CH341A][ch341a] programmer and applying
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[this fix][ch341fix] to avoid burning the whole board.
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2. A [SOIC8 IC clip][soicclip]
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[cboot]: https://www.coreboot.org/
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[sbios]: https://www.seabios.org/SeaBIOS
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[tcore]: https://www.tianocore.org/
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[bios]: https://wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS
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[payloads]: https://www.coreboot.org/Payloads
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[lboot]: https://libreboot.org/
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[skulls]: https://github.com/merge/skulls
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[ime]: https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Management_Engine
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[corex301]: https://doc.coreboot.org/mainboard/lenovo/x301.html
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[fware]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firmware
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[wson]: https://blog.mbedded.ninja/pcb-design/component-packages/wson-component-package/
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[icclip]: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13153
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[rpi]: https://www.raspberrypi.org/
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[ch341a]: https://www.amazon.it/Programmatore-Youmile-CH341A-Burner-EEPROM/dp/B07YDFNYDS
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[ch341fix]: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/ch341a-serial-memory-programmer-power-supply-fix/
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[soicclip]: https://www.amazon.it/WINGONEER-eeprom-programmazione-circuit-adattatori/dp/B012VSGQ0Q
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