Board:via/pc2500e

The VIA pc2500e, V1.0C

This page describes how to use coreboot on the VIA pc2500e mainboard. It is maintained by Uwe Hermann.

Note that the via/pc2500e code will likely also work for the PC2000, PC2000e+, PC2500, PC2500e+, or PC2500g (though this is untested).

Status

Device/functionality	Status	Comments
CPU
CPU works	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK	VIA Esther processor 1500MHz
L1 cache enabled	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK	CPU: L1 I Cache: 64K (64 bytes/line), D cache 64K (64 bytes/line)
L2 cache enabled	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK	CPU: L2 Cache: 128K (64 bytes/line)
L3 cache enabled	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Multiple CPU support	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Multi-core support	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Hardware virtualization	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
RAM
EDO	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
SDRAM	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
SO-DIMM	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
DDR	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
DDR2	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK	The CN700 code in svn currently only supported one DIMM. The RAM inserted in the second DIMM will not be usable.
DDR3	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Dual channel support	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
ECC support	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board Hardware
On-board IDE 3.5"	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK	The IDE device names in FILO are hde and hdf (hda, hdb, hdc, hdd are for SATA)!
On-board IDE 2.5"	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board SATA	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | ?
On-board SCSI	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
On-board USB	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | ?
On-board VGA	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK	Works fine with the openchrome X.org driver. No VGA BIOS needed, no BOCHS needed!
On-board Ethernet	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | ?
On-board Audio	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK
On-board Modem	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | ?
On-board FireWire	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board Smartcard reader	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board CompactFlash	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board PCMCIA	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board Wifi	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board Bluetooth	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board SD card reader	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Add-on slots/cards
ISA add-on cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Audio/Modem-Riser (AMR/CNR) cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Untested	There's a CNR header on the board.
PCI add-on cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | ?
Mini-PCI add-on cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
Mini-PCI-Express add-on cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
PCI-X add-on cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
AGP graphics cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PCI Express x1 add-on cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PCI Express x2 add-on cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PCI Express x4 add-on cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PCI Express x8 add-on cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PCI Express x16 add-on cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PCI Express x32 add-on cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
HTX add-on cards	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Legacy / Super I/O
Floppy	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Untested
Serial port 1 (COM1)	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK
Serial port 2 (COM2)	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Parallel port	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK	Doing modprobe ppdev works fine, but further tests were not performed.
PS/2 keyboard	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK
PS/2 mouse	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK
Game port	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Infrared	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Untested
PC speaker	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK
DiskOnChip	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Input
Trackpoint	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Touchpad	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Fn Hotkeys	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Fingerprint Reader	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Laptop
Docking VGA	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Docking LAN	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Docking USB	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Docking Audio	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Docking Displayport	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Thinklight	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Webcam	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Miscellaneous
Sensors / fan control	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK	Works fine using the it87 kernel module.
Hardware watchdog	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
SMBus	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
CAN bus	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
CPU frequency scaling	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | ?
Other powersaving features	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | ?
ACPI	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | No	No ACPI support (yet?) for this board.
Reboot	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK
Poweroff	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | No	Doesn't work yet, probably requires (at least partial) ACPI support.
Suspend	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
Nonstandard LEDs	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
High precision event timers (HPET)	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK	Using hpet=force on the Linux command line works, but it's unclear whether using the HPET is better or not.
Random number generator (RNG)	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK	Doing modprobe via-rng works fine, further test were not performed, yet.
Wake on modem ring	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Untested
Wake on LAN	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Untested
Wake on keyboard	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Untested
Wake on mouse	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Untested
TPM	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
Flashrom	OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK	Works fine out of the box with the vendor BIOS as well as with coreboot.

Build tutorial

$ svn co svn://coreboot.org/repos/trunk/coreboot-v2
$ cd coreboot-v2/targets
$ ./buildtarget via/pc2500e
$ cd via/pc2500e/via_pc2500e
$ make -s

The resulting coreboot.rom is your coreboot ROM image you can flash using flashrom.

I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.