
Libreboot – A free BIOS or UEFI replacement - zerognowl
https://libreboot.org/
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jimjimjim
for a long time i thought the name of the project was libReboot. libreBoot
does make more sense though.

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SolarNet
I wouldn't be surprised if that was part of the choice in the name.

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geofft
If I want to hack on Libreboot on a separate machine from my primary one,
what's a good laptop to get? Are there laptops that are close to working but
not on the HCL yet?

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HisGraceTheDuck
Here's the list of compatible laptops:

[https://libreboot.org/docs/hcl/index.html#supported_laptops_...](https://libreboot.org/docs/hcl/index.html#supported_laptops_x86intel)

Nothing recent but on the plus side, you should be able to pick one up without
spending too much.

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nextos
Chromebook C201 is very recent (currently sold new), supercheap (<$200), and
can run not only Libreboot, but completely blob-free. Not even CPU microcode
is needed.

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cbhl
Do you need a binary blob to run the RockChip GPU though?

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TD-Linux
You get full 2D from the Linux kernel, but yeah the 3D GPU is Mali, so no luck
if you need OpenGL (in hardware).

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dschuetz
While I agree that most BIOS and/or UEFI installations are just...
unacceptable, I don't think that a replacement will do just fine. The
initialisation process should be as streamlined as possible, but allow as much
control as possible. I would not call a multi-staged boot process
"streamlined", when you argue that coreboot is the fastest way to boot up a
computer. And then again, the whole process is repeated by the operating
system one way or another. Anyways, I'm glad that coreboot exists regarding
the UEFI fuckups in the recent past, but I don't think it's the way to go
further.

Oh, and, the _free_ in libreBoot is just cosmetics, so I _shrug_ , whatever.

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pgeorgi
There are stages because there are multiple situations in which code has to
run in: without RAM, with RAM, ...

I'm curious, what do you propose instead?

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dschuetz
Oh, nothing, everything is just _perfectly fine_.

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lighttower
Changing the BIOS on, say a late model Thinkpad would be difficult. Doesn't
the update utility verify the signatures before flashing?

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JonathonW
Most of their supported machines (including at least a few of the Thinkpads
they support) look like they can't be flashed "online" from the OEM firmware.
For that hardware, their documentation says you'd have to disassemble the
machine and flash the firmware externally.

Obviously, this requires specialized hardware, but it's not completely
insurmountable if you're really determined to run the thing.

~~~
userbinator
The laptop repair shops I've seen in Shenzhen offer a BIOS reflashing service
that involves using a long cable with a small clip on the end that connects to
the BIOS chip. They usually reflash to OEM, to fix "hard bricks", but might be
willing to flash an image you provide.

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56245623456
All you need is a Raspberry Pi and a 15 dollar POMONA 5250 SOIC clip.

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aq3cn
I was reading about buying a laptop with libreboot bootloader but then I saw a
whole section to screw paywall.

[https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-t400/](https://minifree.org/product/libreboot-t400/)

[https://minifree.org/paypal/](https://minifree.org/paypal/)

Their laptops are cheap and with good configuration except for CPU and
graphics card. I will have hard time running Matlab on such a machine, so I
cannot make that investment. Better CPU please especially when your laptop is
2.2 kg in weight.

~~~
cryptarch
I would not recommend their services at all, although I own one of their
products.

Leah is extremely unresponsive, when I ordered mine it took over 2 months for
it to be shipped with no prior indication of this (it should've taken at most
3 weeks to arrive at my home), and any email response from Minifree took at
least 3 weeks.

Oh, and Leah billed me UK taxes instead of Dutch taxes as per the EU webshop
rules, so that was a lot of fun when I had to file my taxes.

The shittiest customer experience I've had in years.

~~~
fnoobor
Regarding the taxes (referring to the EU only), Minifree didn't do anything
wrong: If you buy hardware as an end-consumer, you're being billed the taxes
of the originating country (in this case, the UK).

That's different for most services, e.g. if you ship a laptop to Minifree and
they just flash it and send it back, they have to bill the taxes of _your_
country. If they do any of it differently, they're doing a mistake.

There are other companies that can provide you with Libreboot, blob-free
coreboot or other libre boot solutions on your Thinkpad if you're unhappy with
their service (according to your experience that seems to be an appropriate
response).

Minifree doesn't stand for the quality standard for the whole "libre
community" as Albert Heijn (a supermarket chain) doesn't set the gold
standards for the whole supermarket industry.

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mycall
I thought most mainboards let you flash your own BIOS/UEFI using USB. Why ship
a laptop?

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cryptarch
These laptops require a dedicated programmer, and they're the most up-to-date
laptop models that come without remote manufacturer backdoor ("Management
Engine").

I won't have the time to set this up myself soon, so I went ahead and bought
one. It's my rainy day laptop.

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onde2rock
Hum, so any recent news on the libreboot project ?

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BafS
Maybe it is more about that:
[https://libreboot.org/gnu/](https://libreboot.org/gnu/)

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DashRattlesnake
I was actually thinking of giving LibreBoot a try until all this drama broke.
Now it just seems like the personal soapbox of a particular individual, which
doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in its viability (especially given how
ambitious it is).

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orionblastar
I got a feeling we'll see more of this happening.

Was the transgender employee fired because she was transgender, or was she
fired for some other reason? It is really hard to tell unless there is a court
case on it.

If you remember Ellen Pao claimed she was fired because of her gender, and it
went to court, and the only proof that they had for anything was that Pao was
bullying others and being a bad employee with performance issues.

Transgender people need to be treated with respect and dignity, but if they
don't perform well they will get fired like anyone else.

I don't like the drama either, but it happens from time to time.

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colejohnson66
People who've worked at the FSF say it is very progressive and open to
transgenders. The idea that they would fire someone for being trans is just
outrageous.

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orionblastar
It makes no sense. FSF treats employees better than most companies and are
very open minded as well. It is very progressive and open to GLBT people, etc.

I think it is some sort of politics, like trying to attack Linus because he
rejected some SJW's contributions to the Linux Kernel because it caused a
Kernel panic and asked if she bothered to test the code before submitting it.
Then he is accused of being sexist towards her because he used cuss words.

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userbinator
Didn't Linus say something along the lines of "I don't care about your gender,
ethnicity, sexual orientation, or whatever else, except the code you submit"?
That seems to be his attitude toward such things.

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snvzz
Isn't libreboot just coreboot minus blobs?

I don't get why it is in any way remarkable.

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parent5446
Are you not familiar with the free software movement? There's a reason the
project is called libreboot.

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finchisko
I would probably be excited about lib(reboot), when the number of supported
mainboard would be higher than 5. Now I'm just not.

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akerro
After the latest drama I think libreboot is driven be oversensitive and
irresponsible developer. Prove me wrong?

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vog
The submission title should be corrected from BiOS to BIOS.

