Hi!
I'd like to give coreboot a try, but am not sure how difficult that would be. So far, I could see that flashrom and superiotool detect my chips as supported (outputs attached). Could someone give me a hint as to how much work would it require to get coreboot running? How probable you people think it is to work anyway? As far as the bios chip is concerned, I've checked that it is PLCC32 type, soldered - but I can make it socketed if I know it worth trying. Looks like there's enough space to solder a socket :) I also attach logs with some system information I believe to be important. Can also send a picture of the bios chip if someone finds this to be important.
Thanks in advance. Michał
On Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:26:42 +0200, Michal Janke m.yankee@gmail.com wrote:
Hi!
I'd like to give coreboot a try, but am not sure how difficult that would be. So far, I could see that flashrom and superiotool detect my chips as supported (outputs attached). Could someone give me a hint as to how much work would it require to get coreboot running? How probable you people think it is to work anyway? As far as the bios chip is concerned, I've checked that it is PLCC32 type, soldered - but I can make it socketed if I know it worth trying. Looks like there's enough space to solder a socket :) I also attach logs with some system information I believe to be important. Can also send a picture of the bios chip if someone finds this to be important.
Hello, Looks like an i830 chipset laptop. I would love to see coreboot running on an i830 chipset laptop. I wrote the i830 code (with lots of help from everyone here:-) ) and would be glad to help in any way that I can. Looks like the first thing is to get your SMSC LPC47N252 SuperIO working. Most of the SMSC LPC47* are closely related from a programming stand point. I think everything else is supported by coreboot. The only concerns I have is with the graphics (LCD) and battery charging. See: http://www.coreboot.org/Laptop If your willing to give it a go, I woud be glad to support you any way I can. If you want some base code to start with you can use the RCA RM4100 (i830 based set-top-box). Hope that helps.
2009/3/31 Joseph Smith joe@settoplinux.org:
Hello, Looks like an i830 chipset laptop. I would love to see coreboot running on an i830 chipset laptop. I wrote the i830 code (with lots of help from everyone here:-) ) and would be glad to help in any way that I can. Looks like the first thing is to get your SMSC LPC47N252 SuperIO working. Most of the SMSC LPC47* are closely related from a programming stand point. I think everything else is supported by coreboot. The only concerns I have is with the graphics (LCD) and battery charging. See: http://www.coreboot.org/Laptop If your willing to give it a go, I woud be glad to support you any way I can. If you want some base code to start with you can use the RCA RM4100 (i830 based set-top-box). Hope that helps.
Thanks for your reply, Joseph. Sounds quite encouraging. Could you suggest, what I can start with? Qemu maybe? Do you think there would be a need for a lot of programming? I hope I would be able to handle this. Any I will surely need quite some help... It's been quite a while since I last wrote any significant portion of code.
What did you mean I should look for at http://www.coreboot.org/Laptop? I didn't notice anything much related to my hardware there. Probably I do not yet associate the therms with each other too well.
On Wed, 1 Apr 2009 01:29:30 +0200, Michal Janke m.yankee@gmail.com wrote:
2009/3/31 Joseph Smith joe@settoplinux.org:
Hello, Looks like an i830 chipset laptop. I would love to see coreboot running on an i830 chipset laptop. I wrote the i830 code (with lots of
help
from everyone here:-) ) and would be glad to help in any way that I can. Looks like the first thing is to get your SMSC LPC47N252 SuperIO
working.
Most of the SMSC LPC47* are closely related from a programming stand
point.
I think everything else is supported by coreboot. The only concerns I
have
is with the graphics (LCD) and battery charging. See: http://www.coreboot.org/Laptop If your willing to give it a go, I woud be glad to support you any way I can. If you want some base code to start with you can use the RCA RM4100 (i830 based set-top-box). Hope that helps.
Thanks for your reply, Joseph. Sounds quite encouraging. Could you suggest, what I can start with? Qemu maybe?
If you want to start with Qemu, to get familiar with coreboot, that would be good. But if your really serious about this and want to dive right into real hardware the first thing you need to do is get your SMSC LPC47N252 running, I suggest downloading the datasheet and a few other LPC47* datasheets that are supported to find the closest matching one. If your serious about this get ready to send some time reading datasheets. Even though sometimes they can be dry reading they are a wealth of information. Once you get your SuperIO running you will be able to get serial console output, So you can see what is happening.
You are going to want to socket your FWH chip and even order a few extras from your favorite electronics supplier (ex: www.mouser.com or www.newark.com).
Do you think there would be a need for a lot of programming?
Well there is always room for improvement, but most of the coded needed has already been laid down for you.
I hope I would be able to handle this. Any I will surely need quite some help... It's been quite a while since I last wrote any significant portion of code.
No problem I am a novice programmer, I think I just have a good understanding of how things work. And, with a little help from my Peers, I am able to translate that understanding into code.
What did you mean I should look for at http://www.coreboot.org/Laptop?
Ah, I guess the page has change a little since the last time I looked at it. As I remember from our discussions about laptops there are a few mysteries yet to be discovered:
1. What controls battery charging 2. Blacklight control 3. Open / close lid sleep functions 4. Graphics / LVDS (LCD chip) control
I believe the first three can be and already may be a part of ACPI. The fourth depends on how your VGA is setup. It appears you have this:
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Radeon Mobility M6 LY
It is an AGP card from the device number. You may have a seperate VGA ROM for the ATI card, so the fourth may not even be an issue?
Anyone else want to touch on the mysteries of laptops?
-
Joseph Smith -
Michal Janke