User:GNUtoo

From coreboot
Jump to navigation Jump to search

For coreboot users

This section is mainly usefull for finding informations for:

  • running a free version of coreboot on the lenovo x60.
  • knowing the machines I've been working on, in order to ask questions on them.
  • Usefull howto for using coreboot.

Lenovo x60

I've a git tree with branches that have features that are not yet merged to coreboot.

The only interesting branch is the production+v5 branch, it contains:

  • The native GPU init for it
  • The new fallback mecanism
  • The removal of the microcode for the Lenovo x60

Native GPU init

With the native (intel) GPU initialisation, coreboot itself initialises the GPU.

Initialisation method Free software, based on Advantages Drawbacks
non-free VGA option rom. No, extracted from the BIOS.
  • compatible with everything
  • non-free
  • even yabel cannot contain it
Linux kernel i915 driver Yes, in the linux kernel
  • The screen content is only visible after the i915, so you cannot see grub.
Native GPU initialisation (by coreboot) Yes, based on a replay of the kernel initialisation

Hardware

I've contributed to the following ports:

  • M4A785T-M: I've been the main person working on it.
  • Lenovo x60: I've been working on the native GPU init, and various other improvements.
  • Lenovo t60: I've been working on some improvements.
  • Alix 1.C: I've been working on some improvements.

Howtos

make recent intel BIOS flash writable and/or extract its pieces

Coreboot has an uttility in util/ifdtool for that.

  • power off the laptop totally (remove the power, the battery etc...)
  • connect an external programmer to the BIOS flash chip.
  • dump the chip content with flashrom and that external programmer.
  • run ifdtool on the extracted chip content
  • reflash the modified content

For coreboot developers

This section is mainly usefull for finding informations for:

  • Asking me to test some code (that's why I listed all my hardware).
  • Find my work in progress code.
  • Find legacy code.
  • Find what I'm interested in working on:
    • If you want to work on the same thing than me, you could contact me if you want so:
      • I could help if I have time.
      • I could test if I have time.
      • I may have some pointers.
  • HOWTO that documents how to do a native VGA init for the Lenovo x60:
    • It probably applies to the Lenovo t60 that have an Intel GPU, with no or very minor modifications.

Hardware

Mainboard/Devices running coreboot

Device/Mainboard Serial/output flash recovery mecanism My work / area of interest
M4A785T-M
  • Serial
  • External programmer
  • Swapping the flash chip
  • I've been the main porter.
Lenovo X60
  • Serial on the dock
  • USB debug
  • spkmodem
External programmer with pomona clip
  • Native GPU init
  • Various other improvements.
Lenovo T60
  • USB debug
  • spkmodem(untried but should work)
External programmer with pomona clip(untried but should work)
  • Various improvements.
Alix 1.C
  • Serial
Hot swap with the LPC dongle
  • Various improvements.
E350M1
  • Serial
  • Some other outputs may work but I didn't test them.
  • External programmer
  • Swapping the flash chip
  • None(I just use it).

Mainboard/Devices not running coreboot (yet?)

  • HP nc6320
  • Asus N71JQ

Note that they will probably never run coreboot, as I don't think they're worth the time.

Debugging tools

  • External programmers :
    • Arduino duemillanove (serprog based)
    • Arduino uno (serprog based)
    • openmoko debug board (FTDI based)
    • bug20 (linux_spi)
  • A pomona clip
  • a null-modem serial cable and 2 USB<->Serial adapters
  • USB debug compatible devices:
    • a bug20 (omap3530)
    • a GTA04 A3 (DM370)

Interesting git trees

  • http://www.gitorious.org/gnutoo-for-coreboot/coreboot/ : I push there the code that is not yet ready for review.
    • production+v5 is a branch for the Lenovo x60 containing:
      • The native GPU init for it
      • The new fallback mecanism
      • The removal of the microcode for the Lenovo x60

Way less interesting trees

My TODO list

See also TODO of the respectives machines on their dedicated wiki page.

All machines

  • Add a working and easily usable normal/fallback selection. pushed for review
  • Port a logging mecanism from chromebooks to all devices in order to be able to retrive the log of the failed boot at the next reboot.

T60

  • Find out why the machine hang when the power supply is removed(only does it when the linux kernel is started) Fixed by ./nvramtool -w first_battery=Primary
  • Add cmos.default(require disassembling the laptop for testing)
  • Add native graphics init(require waiting that Peter stuge push his part for review)

X60

  • native GPU init and new fallback are pushed for review: Address the concerns.
    • I pushed the new and complete native GPU init on gitorious, Peter Stuge will work on merging it while I finish addressing the fallback comments.
  • fix the CPU microcode issue.
  • update http://www.coreboot.org/Thinkpad_X60s
  • Create a Native graphics<->VGA option rom.
  • Make backlight work without the non-free option rom.

Later

  • Improve the patch for SerialIce in order to get it merged.
  • SD detection fix for my X60 version.
  • Hotkey patch to clean and merge.

Alix 1.C

  • Add cbmem -c support
  • port the VSA to fasm?

Asus N71JQ

Probably not worth it...

  • Find the USB debug port
  • Find how to extract the BIOS pieces from the BIOS region

Native X60 GPU init stuff

scripts to help getting rid of the vbios of the x60

Script 1: generate the io access for the coreboot driver

#!/usr/local/plan9/bin/rc

by the following line:

#!/opt/plan9/bin/rc
  • create the ssamfix file with:
 ,s/\[ *[0-9]+\..[0-9]+\]//g
 ,s/^ *//g
y/^[RWU]/s/^/M /g
 ,s/\nU/ ;;;UDELAY/g
 ,|uniq -c
 ,s/^ *//g
 ,s/(^[0-9]+) ([MRW])/\2 \1/g
 ,s/"/\\"/g
 ,s/^M ([0-9]+) *(\[.*)/{M, \1, "\2"},/g
 ,s/^M ([0-9]+) *(.*)/{M, \1, "\2"},/g
 ,s/:  */:/g
 ,s/...UDELAY *([0-9]+)/\1/g
 ,s/^([RW]) ([0-9]+) (.*):0x([0-9a-f]+)(.*)/{\1, \2, "", \3, 0x\4, \5},/g
  • run the following commands:
. /etc/profile.d/plan9.sh
cat dmesg| ./ssam  -f ssamfix > foo.c

Script2: compare the io access that were too fast

  • Replace {V,0,}, with {V,7,}, in src/mainboard/vendor/device/i915io.c
  • cat /dev/ttyUSB0 > accesses.txt
  • Use that script against accesses.txt to find the guilty accesses:
#!/usr/bin/env python2
import sys,re
 
def main(args):
	try:
		f = open(args[1],'ro')
	except:
		print args[0], " <file>"

	for line in f:
		if re.match("0x[0-9]*: Got .*, expect .*",line):
			line = line.replace('\r\n',).replace(", expect ",':').replace(": Got ",':')
			split = line.split(':')
			#print split
			if split[1] != split[2]:
				print line
if __name__ == '__main__':
	main(sys.argv)

How to get semantic IOs

In i915tool:

  • import your IOs in prettyregs.c
  • compile prettyregs.c
  • run prettyregs

How to get rid of the vbios of the x60 [New Version]

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO THAT WITHOUT A FLASH RECOVERY MECANISM

Apply the coreboot patches, and adapt them for your mainboard

Then configure coreboot with:

[*] Output verbose x86emu debug messages
[ ]   Trace JMP/RETF
[ ]   Trace all opcodes
[ ]   Log Plug&Play accesses
[ ]   Log Disk I/O
[ ]   Log PMM
[ ]   Debug VESA BIOS Extensions
[ ]   Redirect INT10 output to console
[ ]   Log intXX calls
[ ]   Log special memory accesses
[ ]   Log all memory accesses
[*]   Log IO accesses

Build and flash coreboot.

git clone my fork of the i915tool until the code is merged in the official i915tool.

Get the tarball that contains the generated code, extract it.

Also get the i915_regs.h.gz file, decompress it and put it in final/

Then go into i915tool and apply some patches for the x60 or redo them for your mainboard.

Run make:

$ cd i915tool
$ make

Then go into the x60 directory(or the directory of your device):

$ cd x60

use picocom -b 115200 /dev/ttyUSB0 or stty to set the bauds of the Serial port. Then get logs:

$ cat /dev/ttyUSB0 | tee coreboot.log

Then remove the binary symbols, dos2unix will help identifying where they are:

$ dos2unix coreboot.log 
dos2unix: Binary symbol found at line 136332
dos2unix: Skipping binary file coreboot.log

Then do:

$ dos2unix coreboot.log

Then remove the lines before and after the log, the log looks like that:

[0047229e]c000:51cb outl(0x80001014, 0x0cf8)
[0047325f]c000:51d4 inw(0x0cfc) = 0x50a1

Then run make and fix the errors:

$ make

Then copy to coreboot as it says. Then if necessary try to compact the source code a bit, here for me I have a really long list of:

io_i915_write32(0xcffbe001,0x8001);
io_i915_write32(0xcffbe001,0x8005);
io_i915_write32(0xcffbe001,0x8009);
io_i915_write32(0xcffbe001,0x800d);
io_i915_write32(0xcffbe001,0x8011);

That can be replaced with:

int i = 0;
for (i=0x8001;i<0x3fffa;i+=4){
io_i915_write32(0xcffbe001,i);
}

Import the final code into the chromium fork of coreboot with my patches on top.