111 lines
6.0 KiB
Markdown
111 lines
6.0 KiB
Markdown
% Libreboot 20211122 released!
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% Leah Rowe
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% 22 November 2021
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Free your BIOS today!
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=====================
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Libreboot is [free](https://writefreesoftware.org/) (as in freedom) boot
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firmware, which initializes the hardware
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(e.g. memory controller, CPU, peripherals) in your computer so that software
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can run. Libreboot then starts a bootloader to load your operating system. It
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replaces the proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware typically found on a computer.
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Libreboot is compatible with specifical computer models that use the Intel/AMD
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x86 architecture. Libreboot works well with Linux and BSD operating systems.
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The last Libreboot release, version 20210522, was released on May 22nd
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in 2021. *This* new release, Libreboot 20211122, is released today on November
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22nd, 2021. This is yet another *testing* release, so expect there to be some
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bugs. Every effort has been made to ensure reliability on all boards, however.
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You can find this release in the `testing` directory on Libreboot release
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mirrors. If you check in the `stable` directory, you'll still only find
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the 20160907 release in there, so please ensure that you check the `testing`
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directory!
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This is a *bug fix* release, relative to 20210522. No new boards or major
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features have been added, but several problems that existed in the previous
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release have now been fixed.
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Work done since the 20210522 release:
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-------------------------------------
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* Updated to newer coreboot, SeaBIOS and GRUB versions. The 20210522
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release was using coreboot 4.14, on most boards, from May 2021. This release
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is using a coreboot revision from November 2021.
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* Tianocore dropped from the build system. It was planned that this would be
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provided in ROM images, but Tianocore is very bloated and buggy, and not
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worth maintaining. It was supported in the build system, but not actually
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enabled on any boards. Instead, a future release of Libreboot will include
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a busybox+linux payload with the u-root bootloader:
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<https://github.com/u-root/u-root>
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* New upstream used for SeaBIOS: <https://review.coreboot.org/seabios>
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* Dummy PIKE2008 option ROM now automatically inserted into ASUS KGPE-D16 and
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KCMA-D8 ROM images. It is literally an empty file. This disables the option
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ROM from being loaded, which is known to hang SeaBIOS on these boards.
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* 16MB configs now available, for more boards. For instance, ThinkPad X60 and
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T60, ASUS KGPE-D16, etc. It's always possible to upgrade the flash, and
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information about this is provided in the documentation.
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* `memtest86+` included on more ROMs by default (where text mode startup is used)
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* `memtest86+`: Now coreboot's own fork is used, instead of upstream. This fork
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works much more reliably on coreboot targets, when running on bare metal.
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* More 16MB configs added, for more boards. This will be finished by the time
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of the next release. Already, several older laptops such as the ThinkPad X60
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or T60, have these configs in the latest `lbmk.git`. If you upgrade the
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default SPI flash to 16MByte / 128MBit (maximum size possible), you can then
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easily put an entire busybox+linux system in the flash.
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* `coreboot`: Added persmule's 2016 patch to enable more SATA/eSATA ports on
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ThinkPad T400. This change benefits T400S users.
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* `grub.cfg`: LUKS setups are now detected on mdraid setups.
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* `grub.cfg`: Default timeout changed to 10 seconds, instead of 1. This benefit
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desktop users, who previously complained about not having time to respond if
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they wanted to interact with the boot menu.
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* `grub.cfg`: Performance optimization when scanning for encrypted LUKS volumes.
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GRUB will stall a lot less often, and feel more responsive, when dealing with
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LUKS-encrypted setups.
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* `coreboot`: cstate 3 now supported on MacBook2,1 and Macbook1,1. This results
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in lower CPU temperatures and higher battery life on idle. Thanks go to
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vitali64 on IRC for this fix
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* Reset bug fixed, on GM45 platforms (ThinkPad X200/T400/T500 and so on). These
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laptops did not reliably reboot, on the Libreboot 20210522 testing release.
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They now reboot reliably, with this fix. See:
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<https://notabug.org/libreboot/lbmk/issues/3>
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* `lbmk`: Use `env` instead of hardcoding the bash path, in bash scripts. This
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should make the build system slightly more portable between distros.
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* Turkish keyboard layout added on GRUB payloads
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New release schedule under consideration
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========================================
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The 20210522 release happened to coincide with coreboot 4.14's release, more
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or less.
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This release also coincides roughly with the coreboot 4.15 release, which came
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out on November 5th. See:
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<https://doc.coreboot.org/releases/coreboot-4.15-relnotes.html>
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Coreboot has, since the 4.15 release, decided to release every 3 months instead
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of every 6. That means the coreboot 4.16 release is planned for February 2022.
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I'm considering this: 2 releases every 3 months, of Libreboot. A testing release
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and then a fork of that is created, to fix bugs ready for a stable release 3
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months later, while simultaneously working (in the lbmk master branch) towards
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another testing release. *If no stable release is available at the same time as
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a testing release, then delay it if the delay will be minimal, otherwise
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cancel and abandon that particular stable branch.*
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So: if I do this, the next stable release of Libreboot could be in February
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2022 based on bug fixes of this November 2021 release, using coreboot 4.15.
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A testing release could be simultaneously made, with perhaps extra features,
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and based on coreboot 4.16.
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I'm considering it. In general, I do want Libreboot to be in sync with the
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coreboot project, but coreboot does not guarantee stability in their releases.
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Rather, releases are regarded as *milestones* for the coreboot developers to
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reflect on current developments, and plan the next few months.
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When Libreboot first started, coreboot did not have a fixed release scheduled.
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It was purely rolling release. Coreboot however has been quite reliable with
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its own release schedules in the past few years, making it viable for Libreboot
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to also have a fixed schedule.
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