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x201 removal notice 

Signed-off-by: Leah Rowe <leah@libreboot.org>
master
Leah Rowe 2024-01-12 16:22:44 +00:00
parent fb428da88a
commit c4d4e5c8f4
3 changed files with 32 additions and 51 deletions
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x201.md
hp820g2.md
audit4.md
10.md

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% ThinkPad X201 removed from Libreboot
% Leah Rowe
% 12 January 2024
Builds have also been removed from rsync, and build logic has been
removed from lbmk. It was discovered that fan controls fail on this
mainboard, when you use a neutered Intel ME image. This issue seems
to only affect these older arrandale machines; the issue was discovered
on X201 but probably affects the thinkpad T410, and other mobile
arrandale machines.
This issue does *not* affect the newer platforms, only arrandale / ibex
peak machines such as the ThinkPad X201.
You are advised *not* to use Libreboot, on this platform. Use of coreboot
is still possible, but you must use the full Intel ME image on it. As
such, we will therefore not support it in Libreboot anymore. It is the
policy of the Libreboot project to *only* provide no-ME configuration,
or *neutered* ME configuration
using [me_cleaner](https://github.com/corna/me_cleaner/wiki/How-does-it-work%3F).
You are advised to simply use another machine. The arrandale machines are now
considered *broken* (in a coreboot context) by the Libreboot project, and
they will not be supported by Libreboot - unless further testing is done,
and this issue is fixed. This removal has been done urgently, out of concern
for the safety of users.
The removal patch is here:
<https://browse.libreboot.org/lbmk.git/commit/?id=09bed9a4c3257dbf9b4d59975db0071472ed67eb>
That is all.

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@ -1025,45 +1025,6 @@ See: <https://github.com/corna/me_cleaner/issues/3>
It's a good reference, though far from complete. People post there saying
whether their hardware works with `me_cleaner`.
Test thermal safety on Lenovo X201
==================================
A user reported that the machines get quite hot. Could just be bad
cooling, on the machines that the the user reported. Anyway, test it under
these conditions:
* Coldboot on factory BIOS
* S3 resume on factory BIOS
* Cold boot on Libreboot
* S3 resume on Libreboot
Test all of the above cases *with* the full Intel ME firmware, first. *Then*,
re-run both tests (coldboot and S3 resume) on Libreboot, but with the neutered
ME firmware. This will require a custom ROM with a non-truncated ME region, and
the smaller BIOS region, because lbmk currently only provides the truncated
setup. Truncation shouldn't affect anything, but a non-neutered ME will not be
truncated.
Compare the results. Monitor temperatures. Do all of this during a stress
test (`stress -c 2`) while monitoring temperatures in the `sensors` utility,
or use xsensors. Check what the maximum temperature is.
Then: on each of the above tests, *disconnect* the fan, but leave the stress
test running. With the fan no longer receiving power, the system temperature
will continue rising. On any given system, an automatic shutoff will occur,
turning the system *off* abruptly (there isn't even a shutdown sequence in
the OS, the machine will just lose all power and turn *off* completely). *This*
is what must be tested. We *must* confirm that this works, or remove the port.
No such reports have ever been made, on any other systems supported by
Libreboot - only the ThinkPad X201, and only anecdotal. It has not yet been
fully tested.
Also literally feel the machine, and look at it. According to some users, the
machine gets hotter when a neutered ME is in use. Depending on the results, it
may be wise to *remove* this port from lbmk, so as to not further encourage
its use. My own one seemed fine in testing, however, when I added it to lbmk.
Overclocking
============
@ -1721,18 +1682,6 @@ This looks interesting. It seems on some arrandale machines it's actually
possible to completely disable the ME (remove it from the nor flash),
with "almost no ill effects" according to the OP on that issue page.
me6updateparser
===============
We have me7updateparser, imported from the Heads project. It is used to
re-construct full intel ME firmware from the partial firmware update provided
in Lenovo X220 update files.
We do not have ME auto-download on ThinkPad X201 (ME6). If we run it on those
updates, it has the same problem: it is a partial ME update. We need to
reconstruct the ME6 firmware, in the same way. The current me7updateparser is
not suitable for ME6.
FAQ: cover USB fuzzing attacks
==============================