2018-06-14
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I finally got around to flash libreboot[0] on a used Lenovo X200.
This laptop is a bit dated by modern standards but it is roughly the
same class as my T61 I have atm, so I don't feel too set back. Since
the battery is dying on my current one, getting the replacement up to
speed becomes more urgent.

So what's libreboot? It is a distribution of coreboot, a free BIOS
implementation for amd64/x86 machines. Coreboot is mostly present in
Google chromebooks but can be installed on a small selection of older
laptops as well.  The X200 is one of them. Libreboot is now special
in that it disables the spy chip aka Management Engine (ME) by
default and contains no proprietary blobs.

To install the new BIOS one needs to obtain a special clip for the
flash chip and use an external programmer. In my case I have used an
Raspberry Pi 1b.  The instructions I have been following are here[1]
and on the X200 page[3]. The only thing to keep in mind is that the
flash needs roughly 400mA of power so use a proper power supply for
the raspberry.

For the X200 one needs to adjust the image as it contains the
device's MAC address. It will work without modification but then
contains a default MAC. I did this without editing the MAC and booted
a linux system on a USB stick to add the modification later.

I installed OpenBSD on it and Xorg, suspend and resume works. The
framebuffer console does get a litte distorted during mode switches
but maybe that gets fixed in later releases.  The only downside is
that the grub2 payload does not support OpenBSD's cryptoraid, so full
disk encryption is currently not possible. I will have to thing about
securing that later.

One thing I forgot during the OpenBSD installer is that the firmware
for the intel wireless is not included in the install CD so I had to
get out a cable connection until the first boot.

The X200 is now running on a SSD and it is super quiet, light and
handy. I am already in love with it.


___References________________________________________________________

[0]: https://libreboot.org/
[1]: https://libreboot.org/docs/install/rpi_setup.html
[2]: https://libreboot.org/docs/install/x200_external.html