265 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
265 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
% Libreboot 20231106 released!
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% Leah Rowe
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% 6 November 2023
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**IMPORTANT ADVICE: [PLEASE READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE INSTALLING/UPDATING
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LIBREBOOT](safety.md).**
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Introduction
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============
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*This* new release, Libreboot 20231106, released today 6 November 2023, is
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a new *testing* release of Libreboot. The previous release was
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Libreboot 20231101, released on 1 November 2023. Today's release has focused
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on minor bug fixes, plus tweaks to the GRUB payload.
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Libreboot provides boot firmware for supported x86/ARM machines, starting a
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bootloader that then loads your operating system. It replaces proprietary
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BIOS/UEFI firmware on x86 machines, and provides an *improved* configuration
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on [ARM-based chromebooks](../docs/install/chromebooks.html) supported
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(U-Boot bootloader, instead of Google's depthcharge bootloader). On x86
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machines, the GRUB and SeaBIOS coreboot
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payloads are officially supported, provided in varying configurations per
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machine. It provides an [automated build system](../docs/maintain/) for the
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[configuration](../docs/build/) and [installation](../docs/install/) of coreboot
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ROM images, making coreboot easier to use for non-technical people. You can find
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the [list of supported hardware](../docs/hardware/) in Libreboot documentation.
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Libreboot's main benefit is *higher boot speed*,
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[better](../docs/linux/encryption.md)
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[security](../docs/linux/grub_hardening.md) and more
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customisation options compared to most proprietary firmware. As a
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[libre](policy.md) software project, the code can be audited, and coreboot does
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regularly audit code. The other main benefit is [*freedom* to study, adapt and
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share the code](https://writefreesoftware.org/), a freedom denied by most boot
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firmware, but not Libreboot! Booting Linux/BSD is also [well](../docs/linux/)
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[supported](../docs/bsd/).
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Work done since last release
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============================
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This is largely a bugfix release. Most notably, boot issues on GM45 thinkpads
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present in the 20231101 release have been resolved.
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Dell E6400 on its own tree
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-----------------------------
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Libreboot contains a DDR2 raminit patch for Dell Latitude E6400, that increases
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reliability on coldboot, but it negatively affects other GM45 machines that use
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DDR3 RAM instead.
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This board is no longer provided by `coreboot/default`. Instead, it is provided
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by `coreboot/dell`, and the offending patch has been moved there, along with
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other required patches.
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This means that the Dell Latitude E6400 still works, and quite reliably, but
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the patch for it will not impact other boards. Some users reported that
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Libreboot 20231101 randomly crashed or rebooted with certain memory modules,
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when using on GM45 ThinkPads (ROM images for those machines were then deleted
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from the 20231021 and 20231101 release archives). Today's Libreboot release
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solves that problem, so these machines can be used reliably once again.
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Coreboot, GRUB, U-Boot and SeaBIOS revisions
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------------------------------------
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Libreboot 20231106 and 20231101 are both based on these revisions:
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* Coreboot (default): commit ID `d862695f5f432b5c78dada5f16c293a4c3f9fce6`, 12 October 2023
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* Coreboot (dell): commit ID `d862695f5f432b5c78dada5f16c293a4c3f9fce6`, 12 October 2023
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(the `dell` tree does not exist in Libreboot 20231101, only 20231106)
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* Coreboot (fam15h\_udimm): commit ID `1c13f8d85c7306213cd525308ee8973e5663a3f8`, 16 June 2021
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* GRUB: commit ID `e58b870ff926415e23fc386af41ff81b2f588763`, 3 October 2023
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* SeaBIOS: commit ID `1e1da7a963007d03a4e0e9a9e0ff17990bb1608d`, 24 August 2023
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* U-Boot: commit ID `4459ed60cb1e0562bc5b40405e2b4b9bbf766d57`, 2 October 2023
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Several other fixes and tweaks have been made, in addition to this and the
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E6400 patch mentioned above.
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Build system tweaks
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===================
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These changes were made:
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* Documentation now included under `docs/`, not `src/docs/`, in releases,
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including this one.
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* nvmutil: Support `make install`, so now nvmutil can be *installed* to the host.
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Patch courtesy of Riku Viitanen.
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* Use the UK Mirror Service (University of Kent) mirror for GCC downloads and
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other GNU toolchain components, when building coreboot. The GNU HTTP server
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returns 302 status, redirecting to mirrors, but this 302 redirect often fails.
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* Enable VBT on Dell Latitude E6430 (patch courtesy Nicholas Chin)
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* Dell Latitude E6400: Set VRAM to maximum (256MB), rather than 32MB.
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* GRUB: Don't print an error message about missing modules. We remove a lot of
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modules in GRUB, because we only need a few, but many GRUB configuration files
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provided by distros will just load GRUB modules frivilously, that we don't
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have. In almost all cases, the user can still boot even in such situations.
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* GRUB: Don't print the missing prefix error on screen (normally seen when
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running GRUB in text mode). The prefix is actually being set, and these
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messages are benign. The message just annoys/confuses some people, so it has
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been hidden by modifying GRUB not to display it at all.
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* GM45 and i945 coreboot configurations were re-made from scratch. In testing,
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certain defaults set by upstream were being overridden unnecessarily by lbmk,
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so they were re-made from scratch. When Libreboot updates the coreboot
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revision, `make oldconfig` is used on each configuration file, which is
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usually OK, but every now and then we re-do them again. (the alternative is
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to use defconfigs, not full configs, but that has other drawbacks)
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* Dell Latitude E6430: Enable ME Soft Temporary Disable. This is a disable mode
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that works even if the ME region is unmodified, but we also use `me_cleaner`
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to neuter the Intel ME.
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* Untitled static site generator *documentation* also included in the release.
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* Untitled static site generator now included in releases, alongside the
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included Libreboot documentation (website files, and images).
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FULL list of changes (git log)
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------------------------------
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The log is as follows, relative to Libreboot 20231101:
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```
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* d5a3abdb put docs under docs/ in releases (not src/docs/)
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* 139815f9 Merge pull request 'nvmutil: make install' (#149) from Riku_V/lbmk:nvmins into master
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| * 9184940f nvmutil: make install
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* | 9be589ef include untitledssg docs in releases
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* | 188b4f0d put images in the proper place, in releases
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* | 1c6add41 roll back untitled revision
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* | b295fd40 config/git: merge img files with docs
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* | 4bdaf39c use mirrorservice.org for gcc downloads
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|/
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* 5a315470 Merge pull request 'Enable VBT for E6430' (#147) from nic3-14159/lbmk:enable-e6430-vbt into master
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| * c5fd0069 Enable VBT for E6430
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* | 80b70d89 grub: avoid printing empty error messages
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* | 6e60bfe0 Recreate i945 coreboot configs from scratch
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* | 42392f6f dell/e6400: set vram to max (256mb)
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* | ada4de5f further silence grub prefix errors
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* | dd03a87b grub: don't print messages if a module isn't found
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* | ab57e7a4 grub: don't print prefix errors on the screen
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* | 72e7d090 coreboot: re-configure gm45 thinkpads from scratch
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* | 742c0033 coreboot/dell: move e6400 to new tree, dell
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* | f870a2fe Dell E6430: use ME Soft Temporary Disable
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|/
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* dd1e15fd merge untitled with docs, in releases
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* 922bccf9 include untitled ssg in releases
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```
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Yet another extremely conservative changelog. Libreboot's ten-year anniversary
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is on 12 December 2023, which is not long away. Regular testing of Libreboot
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is in progress, and rapid development towards a new stable release; it is very
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much planned that 12 December 2023 will have a new stable release of Libreboot.
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Hardware supported in this release
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==================================
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All of the following are believed to *boot*, but if you have any issues,
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please contact the Libreboot project. They are:
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### Servers (AMD, x86)
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- [ASUS KFSN4-DRE motherboard](../docs/hardware/kfsn4-dre.md)
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- [ASUS KGPE-D16 motherboard](../docs/hardware/kgpe-d16.md)
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Desktops (AMD, Intel, x86)
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-----------------------
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- [Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L motherboard](../docs/hardware/ga-g41m-es2l.md)
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- [Acer G43T-AM3](../docs/hardware/acer_g43t-am3.md)
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- [Intel D510MO and D410PT motherboards](../docs/hardware/d510mo.md)
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- [Apple iMac 5,2](../docs/hardware/imac52.md)
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- [ASUS KCMA-D8 motherboard](../docs/hardware/kcma-d8.md)
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- [Dell Precision T1650](../docs/hardware/t1650.md) (**easy to flash without disassembly**)
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- [HP Elite 8200 SFF/MT](../docs/hardware/hp8200sff.md) (HP 6200 Pro Business probably works too)
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- [HP Elite 8300 USDT](../docs/hardware/hp8300usdt.md)
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- [Intel D945GCLF](../docs/hardware/d945gclf.md)
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### Laptops (Intel, x86)
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- **[Dell Latitude E6400](../docs/hardware/e6400.md) (easy to flash, no disassembly, similar
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hardware to X200/T400)**
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- [Dell Latitude E6430 (Intel GPU](../docs/hardware/e6430.md) **(easy to flash, no disassembly)**
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- ThinkPad X60 / X60S / X60 Tablet
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- ThinkPad T60 (with Intel GPU)
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- [Lenovo ThinkPad X200 / X200S / X200 Tablet](../docs/hardware/x200.md)
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- Lenovo ThinkPad X301
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- [Lenovo ThinkPad R400](../docs/hardware/r400.md)
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- [Lenovo ThinkPad T400 / T400S](../docs/hardware/t400.md)
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- [Lenovo ThinkPad T500](../docs/hardware/t500.md)
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- [Lenovo ThinkPad T530 / W530](../docs/install/ivy_has_common.md)
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- [Lenovo ThinkPad W500](../docs/hardware/t500.md)
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- [Lenovo ThinkPad R500](../docs/hardware/r500.md)
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- [Apple MacBook1,1 and MacBook2,1](../docs/hardware/macbook21.md)
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- [Lenovo ThinkPad T440p](../docs/install/t440p_external.md)
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- [Lenovo Thinkpad X220](../docs/install/ivy_has_common.md)
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- [Lenovo Thinkpad X220t](../docs/install/ivy_has_common.md)
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- [Lenovo Thinkpad T420](../docs/install/ivy_has_common.md)
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- [Lenovo ThinkPad T420S](../docs/install/ivy_has_common.md)
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- [Lenovo ThinkPad T430](../docs/install/ivy_has_common.md)
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- [Lenovo Thinkpad X230](../docs/install/x230_external.md)
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- [Lenovo Thinkpad X230t](../docs/install/x230_external.md)
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- [Lenovo ThinkPad W541](../docs/install/ivy_has_common.md)
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- [HP EliteBook 2170p](../docs/hardware/hp2170p.md) (**socketed flash IC**)
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- [HP EliteBook 2560p](../docs/hardware/hp2560p.md)
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- [HP EliteBook 2570p](../docs/hardware/hp2570p.md)
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- [HP EliteBook 8470p](../docs/hardware/hp8470p.md)
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- [HP EliteBook Folio 9470m](../docs/hardware/hp9470m.md)
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### Laptops (ARM, with U-Boot payload)
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- [ASUS Chromebook Flip C101 (gru-bob)](../docs/install/chromebooks.md)
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- [Samsung Chromebook Plus (v1) (gru-kevin)](../docs/install/chromebooks.md)
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Downloads
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=========
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You can find this release on the downloads page. At the time of this
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announcement, some of the rsync mirrors may not have it yet, so please check
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another one if your favourite one doesn't have it.
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Post-release errata
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===================
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S3 on GM45/i945
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---------------
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GM45 ThinkPads still have buggy S3 behaviour, ditto i945. x4x and Pineview
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untested, other Intel platforms work; AMD untested but should work.
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If you're using a GM45 ThinkPad (e.g. X200, T400), don't try putting your
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laptop to sleep. S3 suspend/resume is broken. The intention is that this will
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be fixed before the next stable release.
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E6430 VBT config
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----------------
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See: <https://browse.libreboot.org/lbmk.git/commit/?id=a02c7e316370409e985fa634fec5a59326e3b4fd>
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This patch, linked, enables the VBT setup on Dell Latitude E6430, but this
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patch was not merged before the Libreboot 20231106 release. VBT wasn't actually
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enabled, on the release, so images for E6430 have been removed from the release
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archives; E6430 ROM images will instead be provided in the next release. For
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now, you can build Libreboot from `lbmk.git`. See:
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[Building Libreboot from source](../docs/build/)
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------------------
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A corresponding [Canoeboot 20231107
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release](https://canoeboot.org/news/canoeboot20231107.html) is available.
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Errata
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======
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Many modules were removed from GRUB, to save space in flash, but the ones that
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are actually needed were carefully retained.
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However, FAT/NTFS support in GRUB was removed in recent Libreboot releases,
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including Libreboot 20231106.
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Apparently, some distros use FAT-based file systems for `/boot`, and this meant
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that a user with such a distro could not boot their kernel on the latest release.
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This has been fixed, in the following patch:
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<https://browse.libreboot.org/lbmk.git/commit/?id=39aad57873b9e6265d089ef7dbb4dc5add5c659f>
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This was merged *after* the Libreboot 20231106 release, and so it will be
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present in the next Libreboot release after 20231106.
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