172 lines
6.6 KiB
Markdown
172 lines
6.6 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L desktop board
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...
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<div class="specs">
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<center>
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GA-G41M-ES2L
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</center>
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| ***Specifications*** | |
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|----------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
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| **Manufacturer** | Gigabyte |
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| **Name** | GA-G41M-ES2L |
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| **Released** | 2009 |
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| **Chipset** | Intel G41 |
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| **CPU** | Intel Core 2 Extreme/Quad/Duo,
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Pentium Extreme/D/4 Extreme/4/Celeron |
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| **Graphics** | Integrated |
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| **Display** | None. |
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| **Memory** | Up to 8GB (2x4GB DDR2-800) |
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| **Architecture** | x86_64 |
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| **Original boot firmware** | AWARD BIOS |
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| **Intel ME/AMD PSP** | Present. Can be disabled |
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| **Flash chip** | 2x8Mbit |
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```
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W+: Works without vendor firmware;
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N: Doesn't work;
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W*: Works with vendor firmware;
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U: Untested;
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P+: Partially works;
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P*: Partially works with vendor firmware
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```
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| ***Features*** | |
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|----------------|---------------------------------------|
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| **Internal flashing with original boot firmware** | W+ |
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| **Display** | - |
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| **Audio** | W+ |
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| **RAM Init** | P+ |
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| **External output** | P+ |
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| **Display brightness** | - |
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| ***Payloads supported*** | |
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|---------------------------|-------|
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| **GRUB** | Slow! |
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| **SeaBIOS** | Works |
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| **SeaBIOS with GRUB** | Works |
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</div>
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Introduction
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============
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This is a desktop board using intel hardware (circa \~2009, ICH7
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southbridge, similar performance-wise to the ThinkPad X200. It can make
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for quite a nifty desktop. Powered by libreboot.
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As of Libreboot release 20221214, only SeaBIOS payload is provided in ROMs
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for this board. According to user reports, they work quite well. GRUB was
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always buggy on this board, so it was removed from lbmk.
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IDE on the board is untested, but it might be possible to use a SATA HDD
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using an IDE SATA adapter. The SATA ports do work, but it's IDE emulation. The
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emulation is slow in DMA mode sia SeaBIOS, so SeaBIOS is configured to use PIO
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mode on this board. This SeaBIOS configuration does not affect the Linux kernel.
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You need to set a custom MAC address in Linux for the NIC to work.
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In /etc/network/interfaces on debian-based systems like Debian or
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Devuan, this would be in the entry for your NIC:\
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hwaddress ether macaddressgoeshere
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Alternatively:
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cbfstool libreboot.rom extract -n rt8168-macaddress -f rt8168-macaddress
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Modify the MAC address in the file `rt8168-macaddress` and then:
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cbfstool libreboot.rom remove -n rt8168-macaddress
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cbfstool libreboot.rom add -f rt8168-macaddress -n rt8168-macaddress -t raw
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Now you have a different MAC address hardcoded. In the above example, the ROM
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image is named `libreboot.rom` for your board. You can find cbfstool
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under `cbutils/` after running the following command
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in the build system:
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./mk -d coreboot TREENAME
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You can learn more about using the build system, lbmk, here:\
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[libreboot build instructions](../build/)
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RAM
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===
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**This board is very picky with RAM. If it doesn't boot, try an EHCI debug
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dongle, serial usb adapter and null modem cable, or spkmodem, to get a
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coreboot log to see if it passed raminit.**
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Kingston 8 GiB Kit KVR800D2N6/8G with Elpida Chips E2108ABSE-8G-E
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this is a 2x4GB setup and these work quite well, according to a user on IRC.
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Nanya NT2GT64U8HD0BY-AD with 2 GiB of NT5TU128M8DE-AD chips works too.
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Many other modules will probably work just fine, but raminit is very picky on
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this board. Your mileage *will* fluctuate, wildly.
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MAC ADDRESS
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===========
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NOTE: due to a bug in the hardware, the MAC address is hardcoded in
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coreboot. Therefore, you must set your own MAC address in your
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operating system.
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Use [macchanger](http://www.gnu.org/software/macchanger) in your
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distro, to set a valid MAC address. By doing this, your NIC should
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work nicely.
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Flash chip size {#flashchips}
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===============
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Use this to find out:
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flashprog -p internal
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Flashing instructions {#clip}
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=====================
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Refer to [spi.md](spi.md) for how to set up an SPI programmer for
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external flashing. *You can only externally reprogram one of the chips
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at a time, and you need to disable the chip that you're not flashing,
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by connecting 3v3 to /CS of that chip, so you will actually need second test
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clip or IC pin mini grabber.*
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NOTE: on GA-G41M-ES2L, the flash shares a common voltage plane with the
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southbridge, which draws a lot of current. This will cause under-voltage on
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most SPI flashers, so do not use the 3.3V rail from your flasher. Do not
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connect +3.3V to the chip. Instead, turn the board on and then turn it off by
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holding the power button. With the board powered down, but plugged in, there
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will be a 3.3V supply from the ATX PSU. You can then flash, but DO NOT connect
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the +3.3V supply from your SPI flasher!
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NOTE: You should use a resistor in series, between 1K to 10K ohms, for the 3.3v
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connection to the CS pin. This is to protect from over-current.
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Here is an image of the flash chip:\
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Internal flashing is possible. Boot with the proprietary BIOS and
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Linux. There are 2 flash chips (one is backup).
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Flash the first chip:
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./flashprog -p internal:dualbiosindex=0 -w libreboot.rom
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Flash the second chip:
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./flashprog -p internal:dualbiosindex=1 -w libreboot.rom
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NOTE: you can still boot the system with just the main flash chip
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connected, after desoldering the backup chip. This has been tested while
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libreboot was already installed onto the main chip.
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NOTE: If you don't flash both chips, the recovery program from the default
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factory BIOS will kick in and your board will be soft bricked. Make sure that
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you flash both chips!
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**NOTE: Libreboot standardises on [flashprog](https://flashprog.org/wiki/Flashprog)
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now, as of 27 January 2024, which is a fork of flashrom.
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The reason why was explained, in
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the [Libreboot 20240225 release](../../news/libreboot20240225.md#flashprog-now-used-instead-of-flashrom)**
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