[LinuxBIOS] LinuxBios

Marc Jones Marc.Jones at amd.com
Mon Oct 15 18:46:09 CEST 2007


Hi Henry,
Henry keultjes wrote:
> Open BIOSes for Linux
> http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-bios.html
>
> Marc:
>
> Are you willing to provide some help/guidance getting LinuxBios 
> implemented on an Acer T180 with a dual core 2.1 Mhz Athlon?
>
Linux BIOS CPU support for the K8 ( Athlon X2) is complete and working 
on many systems. The problem with the AcerT180 is the support for the 
NVidia 6100 chipset (MCP51?).  It might be close enough to the MCP55 but 
that is the biggest hurdle using this platform. Here is the list of 
supported devices:

http://linuxbios.org/index.php/Supported_Chipsets_and_Devices

> I am not a techy but, through my PowerPC involvement, have a 
> Motorola/Freescale G4 class machine that uses UBoot.  I am absolutely 
> committed to this concept but I also remember the agony of trying to 
> get this machine ready to demo at Ohio Linux Fest 2005 and having to 
> ship it to a guy in the Philadelphia area to get it done.
>
> This time I posted to both the NCOLUG and the Ohio InterLUG list for 
> help with this Athlon system without any useful offers of help so once 
> again, I have to look for help elsewhere but I am also trying to turn 
> this into a teaching experience.
>
> Because I don't want to turn the T180 into a dead machine I am not 
> opposed to using a BIOS switch device that can supposedly leave the 
> original BIOS while enabling a second chip onto which to load the 
> LinuxBios.
>
You would need to examine the board and see if the ROM is socketed. Here 
are some details:
http://linuxbios.org/index.php/FAQ#Where_can_I_buy_BIOS_chips_.28empty_or_pre-flashed.29.3F

> I have also offered to try to implement LinuxBIOS on two identical 
> older machines so that the difference between the BIOS's can be shown 
> at the next NCOLUG meeting on 01NOV2007.  The machines I happen to 
> have available for that happen to have Intel CA810 motherboards in 
> them.  Since I have great respect for people who have a prejudice for 
> products from the company that writes their paycheck, I have no 
> problem with digging up some similar machines that use AMD chips.
>
The 82810 chipset is listed as supported. There are several people 
working on Intel ports. They might have more information.
Here is the list of supported motherboards. 
http://linuxbios.org/index.php/Supported_Motherboards

> BTW, I really like AMD's DTX board concept, especially the mini-DTX 
> format of which I hope to have one before too long, especially if the 
> PS/2 ports are eliminated and displaydriving is implemented via the 
> newer technology of using USB or Ethernet.
> Is the Opteron socket that accepts both PowerPC and Opteron chips a 
> (price) viable option for such a SFF system so we could come up with a 
> viable product that would have the most appeal in the IBM z, p and i 
> Series client (desktop) space?
>
I don't know. I am not familiar with the PowerPC socket requirements.

> I look forward to hearing from you.
>
> Henry Keultjes http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/5009
> Microdyne Company
> Mansfield Ohio USA
> Direct 419-525-1111
>
>

Thanks for your interest in LinuxBIOS. I have copied the LinuxBIOS list 
so you can get the support of the entire community. The list is the best 
place to solicit support from people working on similar platforms and to 
discuss the problems you find as you transition to LinuxBIOS.

Marc


-- 
Marc Jones
Senior Firmware Engineer
(970) 226-9684 Office
mailto:Marc.Jones at amd.com
http://www.amd.com/embeddedprocessors 







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