Re: [Libreboot] Howto for Intel D510MO

[Martin G. Gulbrandsen]

On Sat, Apr 23, 2016 at 07:18:42AM +0000, Michael Bohn wrote:
> Hello All,
> could anybody provide me a how to install libreboot on a Intel D510MO vi the 
> BBB external SPI programmer.

Hi, I installed libreboot on a D510MO a few months ago, using a
Raspberry Pi, although BBB shouldn't be much different. So:

>   *   is the spi this the chip next to the battery ?

Yes, it is the 8 pins SOIC next to the battery, in the corner where
memory and pci slots meet. On my second hand board it was hard to read
the text on the chip, but it started Winbond 25... (possibly
25X80AVSIG).

>   *   where is the PIN 1  on the chip

There is a "dot" or "bump" on the chip marking pin 1. It is the pin that
is the farthest away from the battery, i.e. the opposite corner of the
chip.

>   *   how show I connect the BBB to Pomona 5250 for this chip

I checked a datasheet for a Winbond chip with roughly the same part
number, and the pinout mathced the one described here for the X60:

https://github.com/bibanon/Coreboot-ThinkPads/wiki/Hardware-Flashing-with-Raspberry-Pi

(The table in the section "Ponoma Clip Pinout": it covers both BBB and
RPi. Again I haven't used BBB, but the pinout I used for RPi matches
exactly the one in that table. Also I used 3V3 from the RPi, not from an
external PSU.)

>   *   where could I  find a how to build the libreboot from source using the 
> libreboot git repository

I just followed the instructions at libreboot.org (on a Parabola laptop,
x200 of course..) and had no issues. But I think it is included in the
"unstable" release now if do not want to build it yourself:

https://libreboot.org/beta/

> what does the mean:
> 
> NOTE: video framebuffer currently unsupported, only text-mode works, even 
> when booting GNU/Linux. This can still be used for building a headlesss 
> server. Boot with fb=false"
>
> Did I need a serial VT Terminal to configure and install the system  or could 
>  I still  use the PS/2  an the graphic card.

I didn't figure out how to turn framebuffer off. I couldn't confirm that
"fb=false" is a kernel option, but I wasn't wery throrough in my
research. So I think (not certain) I booted with the framebuffer on, and
the result was a visible libreboot menu, but rather wobbly and
distorted. I resorted to using a serial console, and it worked very
well.

Best,

Martin