Difference between revisions of "ASUS A8N-E"

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This HOWTO explains how to use LinuxBIOS on the '''[http://www.asus.com.tw/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=15&l3=171&l4=0&model=455&modelmenu=2 ASUS A8N-E]''' board.
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[[Image:Asus a8n e.jpg|right|thumb|ASUS A8N-E, rev. 2.00]]
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This HOWTO explains how to use coreboot on the '''[http://www.asus.com.tw/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=15&l3=171&l4=0&model=455&modelmenu=2 ASUS A8N-E]''' board.
  
 
== Status ==
 
== Status ==
Line 6: Line 8:
  
 
|CPU_status = OK
 
|CPU_status = OK
 +
|CPU_comments = Tested: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3000+.
 
|CPU_L1_status = OK
 
|CPU_L1_status = OK
 
|CPU_L1_comments = CPU: L1 I Cache: 64K (64 bytes/line), D cache 64K (64 bytes/line)
 
|CPU_L1_comments = CPU: L1 I Cache: 64K (64 bytes/line), D cache 64K (64 bytes/line)
Line 12: Line 15:
 
|CPU_L3_status = N/A
 
|CPU_L3_status = N/A
 
|CPU_multiple_status = N/A
 
|CPU_multiple_status = N/A
−
|CPU_multicore_status =  
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|CPU_multicore_status = Untested
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|CPU_virt_status =  
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|CPU_virt_status = N/A
  
 
|RAM_EDO_status = N/A
 
|RAM_EDO_status = N/A
Line 19: Line 22:
 
|RAM_SODIMM_status = N/A
 
|RAM_SODIMM_status = N/A
 
|RAM_DDR_status = OK
 
|RAM_DDR_status = OK
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|RAM_DDR_comments = Tested with one DIMM in slot DIMM_B1 (see manual).
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|RAM_DDR_comments = Tested with one DIMM in slot DIMM_B1 (see manual). Since [http://tracker.coreboot.org/trac/coreboot/changeset/3614 r3614] it's also possible to use a single DIMM in slot DIMM_B2.
 
|RAM_DDR2_status = N/A
 
|RAM_DDR2_status = N/A
 
|RAM_DDR3_status = N/A
 
|RAM_DDR3_status = N/A
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|RAM_dualchannel_status =  
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|RAM_dualchannel_status = Untested
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|RAM_ecc_status =  
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|RAM_ecc_status = Untested
 +
|RAM_ecc_comments = The board supports ECC according to the manual.
  
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|IDE_status =  
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|IDE_status = OK
 +
|IDE_comments = Tested: Primary IDE (master and slave) and secondary IDE (master and slave).
 
|IDE_25_status = N/A
 
|IDE_25_status = N/A
 
|IDE_CF_status = OK
 
|IDE_CF_status = OK
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|CDROM_DVD_status =  
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|IDE_CF_comments = Tested: Primary IDE (master and slave) and secondary IDE (master and slave).
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|SATA_status =  
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|CDROM_DVD_status = OK
 +
|CDROM_DVD_comments = Tested: Mounting a CD-ROM from the Linux command line. The '''eject''' command line tool also works fine.
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|SATA_status = WIP
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|SATA_comments = Port 3 ('''hde''' in FILO) and 4 ('''hdg''' in FILO) on the board work fine. Port 1 and 2 don't seem to work, this is being investigated.
 
|USB_status = OK
 
|USB_status = OK
 
|USB_comments = Tested: USB keyboard (on each of the 10 possible USB ports).
 
|USB_comments = Tested: USB keyboard (on each of the 10 possible USB ports).
 
|Onboard_VGA_status = N/A
 
|Onboard_VGA_status = N/A
 
|Onboard_ethernet_status = OK
 
|Onboard_ethernet_status = OK
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|Onboard_audio_status =  
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|Onboard_audio_status = WIP
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|Onboard_modem_status =  
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|Onboard_audio_comments = This is being worked on.
 +
|Onboard_modem_status = N/A
 
|Onboard_firewire_status = N/A
 
|Onboard_firewire_status = N/A
 
|Smartcard_status = N/A
 
|Smartcard_status = N/A
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|PCI_cards_status = OK
 
|PCI_cards_status = OK
 
|PCI_cards_comments = Tested: PCI VGA card in all three PCI slots.
 
|PCI_cards_comments = Tested: PCI VGA card in all three PCI slots.
 +
|Mini_PCI_cards_status = N/A
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|PCIX_cards_status = N/A
 
|AGP_cards_status = N/A
 
|AGP_cards_status = N/A
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|PCIE_x1_status =  
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|PCIE_x1_status = OK
 +
|PCIE_x1_comments = Both PCIe x1 slots works fine (tested with a network card).
 
|PCIE_x2_status = N/A
 
|PCIE_x2_status = N/A
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|PCIE_x4_status =  
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|PCIE_x4_status = Untested
 
|PCIE_x8_status = N/A
 
|PCIE_x8_status = N/A
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|PCIE_x16_status =  
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|PCIE_x16_status = WIP
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|PCIE_x16_comments = Doesn't seem to work, yet (?)
 
|PCIE_x32_status = N/A
 
|PCIE_x32_status = N/A
 
|HTX_status = N/A
 
|HTX_status = N/A
  
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|Floppy_status =  
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|Floppy_status = WIP
 
|COM1_status = OK
 
|COM1_status = OK
 
|COM2_status = N/A
 
|COM2_status = N/A
 
|PP_status = OK
 
|PP_status = OK
 
|PP_comments = Tested: '''modprobe ppdev''', further tests were not performed.
 
|PP_comments = Tested: '''modprobe ppdev''', further tests were not performed.
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|PS2_keyboard_status =  
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|PS2_keyboard_status = OK
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|PS2_mouse_status =  
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|PS2_keyboard_comments = Works since [http://tracker.coreboot.org/trac/coreboot/changeset/3610 r3610],
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|Game_port_status =  
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|PS2_mouse_status = OK
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|IR_status =
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|PS2_mouse_comments = Works since [http://tracker.coreboot.org/trac/coreboot/changeset/3610 r3610],
 +
|Game_port_status = WIP
 +
|IR_status = N/A
 
|Speaker_status = OK
 
|Speaker_status = OK
 
|DiskOnChip_status = N/A
 
|DiskOnChip_status = N/A
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|Sensors_status = OK
 
|Sensors_status = OK
 
|Sensors_comments = Tested: '''sensors''' reports K8 core temp. (kernel module '''k8temp''') and various other values from the IT8712F Super I/O (kernel module '''it87''').
 
|Sensors_comments = Tested: '''sensors''' reports K8 core temp. (kernel module '''k8temp''') and various other values from the IT8712F Super I/O (kernel module '''it87''').
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|Watchdog_status =  
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|Watchdog_status = N/A
 
|CAN_bus_status = N/A
 
|CAN_bus_status = N/A
−
|CPUfreq_status =  
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|CPUfreq_status = No
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|Powersave_status =  
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|CPUfreq_comments = Needs (at least partial) ACPI support.
 +
|Powersave_status = N/A
 
|ACPI_status = No
 
|ACPI_status = No
 
|ACPI_comments = There's no ACPI implementation for this board.
 
|ACPI_comments = There's no ACPI implementation for this board.
 
|Reboot_status = OK
 
|Reboot_status = OK
 
|Poweroff_status = No
 
|Poweroff_status = No
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|LEDs_status =  
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|LEDs_status = OK
−
|HPET_status =  
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|LEDs_comments = There's a green LED on the board which is enabled when the board is powered-on. Works out of the box, no special coreboot support required.
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|RNG_status =  
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|HPET_status = OK
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|WakeOnModem_status =  
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|HPET_comments = The hardware [http://lkml.org/lkml/2007/10/19/226 supports it], but you currently need the '''hpet=force''' Linux kernel parameter. Reduces the number of wakeups in powertop ''drastically''.
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|WakeOnLAN_status =  
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|RNG_status = N/A
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|WakeOnKeyboard_status =  
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|WakeOnModem_status = Untested
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|WakeOnMouse_status =  
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|WakeOnLAN_status = N/A
 +
|WakeOnLAN_comments = The on-board ethernet device doesn't seem to support WOL (also not mentioned in the manual).
 +
|WakeOnKeyboard_status = Untested
 +
|WakeOnMouse_status = Untested
 
|Flashrom_status = OK
 
|Flashrom_status = OK
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|Flashrom_comments = Works fine when booted with BIOS and also with LinuxBIOS.
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|Flashrom_comments = Works fine when booted with BIOS and also with coreboot.
  
 
}}
 
}}
  
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== Before you begin ==
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== Building coreboot ==
  
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The '''Asus A8N-E''' is an Athlon64 Socket 939 board (nforce 4 ultra) with socketed BIOS sold around €120 (mostly out of stock in 8/2007; used items at eBay ~ €20-35). It already boots LinuxBIOS. Latest legacy BIOS is from May 2006 v.1013. Socket 939 Athlons do not have Pacifica Virtualization.
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See the [[Build HOWTO]] for information on how to build coreboot for this board.
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+
−
The PLCC32 BIOS chip is of type SST 49LF004B of which you need a spare pre-programmed piece.
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[[Image:Chip_lb.png|thumb|Flash type 4 Mbit SST 49LF004B]]
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−
 
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The '''ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe''', an "nforce 4 sli" board probably shares the same PCB design with more solder pads populated (please confirm), and is also out of stock mostly.
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−
 
+
−
The '''ASUS A8NE-FM/S''' has initial support in the form of [http://www.linuxbios.org/pipermail/linuxbios/2007-July/023029.html a patch].
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−
 
+
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Hot plugging a BIOS chip was successfully done (pull out chip with glued-on handle while running Linux), so you don't necessarily need an external EPROM programmer, just a spare working 49LF004 chip. 8 MBit SST 49LF080A was also successfully flashed and booted with legacy BIOS (two images concatenated).
+
  
 
== Known issues ==
 
== Known issues ==
  
−
* Currently PS/2 keyboards do not work, but USB keyboards do.
+
* The MAC address is stored in flash for almost all CK804/MCP55 boards. All of these boards flashed with coreboot probably have the same MAC address. See '''src/southbridge/nvidia/ck804/romstrap.inc''' and '''src/southbridge/nvidia/mcp55/romstrap.inc''' for details. On some of these boards, the MAC address is stored in a separate EEPROM, but you can't count on that.
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* Single DIMM support only.
+
−
* The MAC address is stored in flash for almost all CK804/MCP55 boards. All of these boards flashed with LB probably have the same MAC address. See src/southbridge/nvidia/ck804/romstrap.inc and src/southbridge/nvidia/mcp55/romstrap.inc for details. On some of these boards, the MAC address is stored in a separate EEPROM, but you can't count on that.
+
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== TODO ==
+
  
 
If you can help out with this, please join the [[Mailinglist|mailing list]] and let us know!
 
If you can help out with this, please join the [[Mailinglist|mailing list]] and let us know!
  
 
{{GPL}}
 
{{GPL}}

Latest revision as of 08:06, 5 May 2010

ASUS A8N-E, rev. 2.00

This HOWTO explains how to use coreboot on the ASUS A8N-E board.

[edit] Status

Device/functionality Status Comments
CPU
CPU works OK Tested: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3000+.
L1 cache enabled OK CPU: L1 I Cache: 64K (64 bytes/line), D cache 64K (64 bytes/line)
L2 cache enabled OK CPU: L2 Cache: 512K (64 bytes/line)
L3 cache enabled N/A
Multiple CPU support N/A
Multi-core support Untested
Hardware virtualization N/A
RAM
EDO N/A
SDRAM N/A
SO-DIMM N/A
DDR OK Tested with one DIMM in slot DIMM_B1 (see manual). Since r3614 it's also possible to use a single DIMM in slot DIMM_B2.
DDR2 N/A
DDR3 N/A
Dual channel support Untested
ECC support Untested The board supports ECC according to the manual.
On-board Hardware
On-board IDE 3.5" OK Tested: Primary IDE (master and slave) and secondary IDE (master and slave).
On-board IDE 2.5" N/A
On-board SATA WIP Port 3 (hde in FILO) and 4 (hdg in FILO) on the board work fine. Port 1 and 2 don't seem to work, this is being investigated.
On-board SCSI Unknown
On-board USB OK Tested: USB keyboard (on each of the 10 possible USB ports).
On-board VGA N/A
On-board ethernet OK
On-board audio WIP This is being worked on.
On-board modem N/A
On-board FireWire N/A
On-board smartcard reader N/A
On-board CompactFlash N/A
On-board PCMCIA N/A
Add-on slots/cards
ISA add-on cards N/A
Audio/Modem-Riser (AMR/CNR) cards N/A
PCI add-on cards OK Tested: PCI VGA card in all three PCI slots.
Mini-PCI add-on cards N/A
PCI-X add-on cards N/A
AGP graphics cards N/A
PCI Express x1 add-on cards OK Both PCIe x1 slots works fine (tested with a network card).
PCI Express x2 add-on cards N/A
PCI Express x4 add-on cards Untested
PCI Express x8 add-on cards N/A
PCI Express x16 add-on cards WIP Doesn't seem to work, yet (?)
PCI Express x32 add-on cards N/A
HTX add-on cards N/A
Legacy / Super I/O
Floppy WIP
Serial port 1 (COM1) OK
Serial port 2 (COM2) N/A
Parallel port OK Tested: modprobe ppdev, further tests were not performed.
PS/2 keyboard OK Works since r3610,
PS/2 mouse OK Works since r3610,
Game port WIP
Infrared N/A
PC speaker OK
DiskOnChip N/A
Miscellaneous
Sensors / fan control OK Tested: sensors reports K8 core temp. (kernel module k8temp) and various other values from the IT8712F Super I/O (kernel module it87).
Hardware watchdog N/A
SMBus Unknown
CAN bus N/A
CPU frequency scaling No Needs (at least partial) ACPI support.
Other powersaving features N/A
ACPI No There's no ACPI implementation for this board.
Reboot OK
Poweroff No
Suspend Unknown
Nonstandard LEDs OK There's a green LED on the board which is enabled when the board is powered-on. Works out of the box, no special coreboot support required.
High precision event timers (HPET) OK The hardware supports it, but you currently need the hpet=force Linux kernel parameter. Reduces the number of wakeups in powertop drastically.
Random number generator (RNG) N/A
Wake on modem ring Untested
Wake on LAN N/A The on-board ethernet device doesn't seem to support WOL (also not mentioned in the manual).
Wake on keyboard Untested
Wake on mouse Untested
Flashrom OK Works fine when booted with BIOS and also with coreboot.

[edit] Building coreboot

See the Build HOWTO for information on how to build coreboot for this board.

[edit] Known issues

  • The MAC address is stored in flash for almost all CK804/MCP55 boards. All of these boards flashed with coreboot probably have the same MAC address. See src/southbridge/nvidia/ck804/romstrap.inc and src/southbridge/nvidia/mcp55/romstrap.inc for details. On some of these boards, the MAC address is stored in a separate EEPROM, but you can't count on that.

If you can help out with this, please join the mailing list and let us know!

GNU head This work is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or any later version. This work is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
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