summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/docs/install/r500_external.html
blob: 0e653c87c6513006bf60c99ad9aa1239a6d5ae4f (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
	<meta charset="utf-8">
	<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

	<style type="text/css">
		@import url('../css/main.css');
	</style>

	<title>ThinkPad R500: flashing tutorial (BeagleBone Black)</title>
</head>

<body>

	<div class="section">
		<h1 id="pagetop">Flashing the R500 with a BeagleBone Black</h1>
			<p>Initial flashing instructions for R500.</p>
			<p>
				This guide is for those who want libreboot on their ThinkPad R500
				while they still have the original Lenovo BIOS present. This guide
				can also be followed (adapted) if you brick your R500, to know how
				to recover.
			</p>
			<p>
				Before following this section, please make sure to setup your libreboot ROM properly first. 
				Although ROM images are provided pre-built in libreboot, there are some modifications that 
				you need to make to the one you chose before flashing. (instructions referenced later in
				this guide)
			</p>

			<p>
				<b>
					NOTE: This board is unsupported in libreboot 20150518. To use it in libreboot, for now, you
					must build for it from source using the libreboot git repository.
				</b>
			</p>

			<p><a href="index.html">Back to main index</a></p>
	</div>
	
	<div class="section">
	
		<h2 id="serial_port">Serial port</h2>
		
			<p>
				EHCI debug might not be needed. It has been reported that the docking station
				for this laptop has a serial port, so it might be possible to use that instead.
			</p>
	
	</div>

	<div class="section">

		<h1 id="lcd_compatibility">LCD compatibly</h1>
			<p>
				Not all LCD panels are known to be compatible yet. See <a href="../hcl/gm45_lcd.html">../hcl/gm45_lcd.html</a>.
			</p>

	</div>
	
	<div class="section" id="cpu_compatibility">
	
		<h1>A note about CPUs</h1>
			<p>
				<a href="http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:R500">ThinkWiki</a> has a list of CPUs
				for this system. The Core 2 Duo P8400, P8600 and P8700 are believed to work in libreboot.
				The Core 2 Duo T9600 was confirmed to work (on a different laptop, but still GM45), so the T9400 probably also works.
				<b>The Core 2 Duo T5870/5670 and Celeron M 575/585 are untested!</b>
			</p>
			
			<h2>Quad-core CPUs</h2>
			
				<p>
					Incompatible. Do not use.
				</p>
	
	</div>
	
	<div class="section" id="switchable_graphics">
	
		<h1>A note about GPUs</h1>

			<p>
				<a href="http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:R500">ThinkWiki</a> lists
				two possible GPUs: Intel or ATI. Only the Intel GPUs work in libreboot; the ATI
				GPUs require a proprietary Video BIOS, and so those are unsupported in libreboot.
			</p>
			<p>
				On other GM45 laptops in libreboot (e.g. T400, T500), so-called <i>switchable graphics</i>
				is used, which means that the laptop will have <b>both</b> an ATI and Intel GPU, or it will
				only have Intel, depending on which variation you have. On the systems with ATI and Intel,
				you can disable the ATI GPU and use only the Intel GPU, which works in libreboot.
			</p>
			<div class="important">
				<p>
					<b>
						It is unknown whether R500 laptops with an ATI GPU still have an Intel GPU, where you could
						disable the ATI GPU and use the Intel GPU. These are budget laptops, so it's highly likely
						that Lenovo decided on this model to ship with one GPU or the other, but not both (GPUs cost money).
					</b>
				</p>
				<p>
					<b>
						It is **HIGHLY** recommended, when ordering an R500 laptop, to **ENSURE** that the
						one you're ordering has an Intel GPU.
					</b>
				</p>
			</div>
			
		<h1>CPU paste required</h1>
			
			<p>
				See <a href="#paste">#paste</a>.
			</p>
	
	</div>

	<div class="section">

		<h1 id="flashchips">Flash chip size</h1>
		
			<p>
				Use this to find out:<br>
				# <b>dmidecode | grep ROM\ Size</b><br>
			</p>
			<p>
				It is believed that all R500 laptops have only SOIC-8 (4MiB) chips.
			</p>
		
			<p>
				<a href="#pagetop">Back to top of page.</a>
			</p>
			
	</div>
	
	<div class="section photos">
	
		<h1 id="macaddress">MAC address</h1>
		
			<p>
				Unlike other GM45 thinkpads, the R500 has a different onboard gigabit NIC,
				where the MAC address is built-in. You do not need to change the MAC address
				at all on this laptop; simply flash the provided ROM images, as-is.
			</p>
	
	</div>
		
	<div class="section photos">

		<h1>Initial BBB configuration</h1>
		
			<p>
				Refer to <a href="bbb_setup.html">bbb_setup.html</a> for how to
				setup the BBB for flashing.
			</p>

			<p>
				The following shows how to connect clip to the BBB	(on the P9 header), for SOIC-8 (clip: Pomona 5250):
			</p>
<pre>
POMONA 5250 (correlate with the BBB guide)
===  VGA and ethernet socket ===
 18              -       - 1
 22              -       - NC
 NC              -       - 21
 3.3V (PSU)      -       - 17 - this is pin 1 on the flash chip
===  DVD drive ===
<i>This is how you will connect. Numbers refer to pin numbers on the BBB, on the plugs near the DC jack.</i><br/>
<img src="images/r500/flashchip.jpg" alt="" />
</pre>

			<h2 id="disassembly">Disassembly</h2>
			
				<p>
					<img src="images/r500/0001.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0002.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0003.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0004.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0005.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0006.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0007.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0008.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0009.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0010.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0011.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0012.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0013.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0014.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0015.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0016.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0017.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0018.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0019.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0020.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0021.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0022.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0023.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0024.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0025.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0026.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0027.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0028.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0029.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0030.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/0031.JPG" alt="" />
				</p>
				
				<p>
					Remove the motherboard from the cage, and the SPI flash
					chip will be next to the memory slots:<br/>
					<img src="images/r500/0032.JPG" alt="" />
					<img src="images/r500/flashchip.jpg" alt="" />
				</p>
				
				<p>
					The following image is for illustration only, to show how a SOIC-8 clip is connected.
					This photo is from a T500, which has a different arrangement to the R500:<br/>
					<img src="images/t500/0061.jpg" alt="" />
				</p>
				<p>
					Connect your programmer, then connect GND and 3.3V<br/>
					<img src="images/t400/0067.jpg" alt="" />
					<img src="images/t400/0069.jpg" alt="" />
					<img src="images/t400/0070.jpg" alt="" />
					<img src="images/t400/0071.jpg" alt="" />
				</p>
				<p>
					A dedicated 3.3V PSU was used to create this guide, but
					at ATX PSU is also fine:<br/>
					<img src="images/t400/0072.jpg" alt="" />
				</p>
				
				<p>
					Of course, make sure to turn on your PSU:<br/>
					<img src="images/x200/disassembly/0013.jpg" alt="" />
				</p>

				<p>
					Now, you should be ready to install libreboot.
				</p>
		
				<p>
					Flashrom binaries for ARM (tested on a BBB) are distributed in libreboot_util. Alternatively,
					libreboot also distributes flashrom source code which can be built.
				</p>
				<p>
					Log in as root on your BBB, using the instructions in <a href="bbb_setup.html#bbb_access">bbb_setup.html#bbb_access</a>. 
				</p>
				<p>
					Test that flashrom works:<br/>
					# <b>./flashrom -p linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev1.0,spispeed=512</b><br/>
					In this case, the output was:
				</p>
<pre>
flashrom v0.9.7-r1854 on Linux 3.8.13-bone47 (armv7l)
flashrom is free software, get the source code at http://www.flashrom.org
Calibrating delay loop... OK.
Found Macronix flash chip &quot;MX25L6405(D)&quot; (8192 kB, SPI) on linux_spi.
Found Macronix flash chip &quot;MX25L6406E/MX25L6436E&quot; (8192 kB, SPI) on linux_spi.
Found Macronix flash chip &quot;MX25L6445E/MX25L6473E&quot; (8192 kB, SPI) on linux_spi.
Multiple flash chip definitions match the detected chip(s): &quot;MX25L6405(D)&quot;, &quot;MX25L6406E/MX25L6436E&quot;, &quot;MX25L6445E/MX25L6473E&quot;
Please specify which chip definition to use with the -c &lt;chipname&gt; option.
</pre>
				<p>
					How to backup factory.rom (change the -c option as neeed, for your flash chip):<br/>
					# <b>./flashrom -p linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev1.0,spispeed=512 -r factory.rom</b><br/>
					# <b>./flashrom -p linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev1.0,spispeed=512 -r factory1.rom</b><br/>
					# <b>./flashrom -p linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev1.0,spispeed=512 -r factory2.rom</b><br/>
					Note: the <b>-c</b> option is not required in libreboot's patched flashrom, because
					the redundant flash chip definitions in <i>flashchips.c</i> have been removed.<br/>
					Now compare the 3 images:<br/>
					# <b>sha512sum factory*.rom</b><br/>
					If the hashes match, then just copy one of them (the factory.rom) to a safe place (on a drive connected to another system, not
					the BBB). This is useful for reverse engineering work, if there is a desirable behaviour in the original firmware
					that could be replicated in coreboot and libreboot.
				</p>
				<p>
					Now flash it:<br/>
					# <b>./flashrom -p linux_spi:dev=/dev/spidev1.0,spispeed=512 -w path/to/libreboot/rom/image.rom -V</b>
				</p>
				<p>
					<img src="images/x200/disassembly/0015.jpg" alt="" />
				</p>
				<p>
					You might see errors, but if it says <b>Verifying flash... VERIFIED</b> at the end, then it's flashed and should boot.
					If you see errors, try again (and again, and again); the message <b>Chip content is identical to the requested image</b>
					is also an indication of a successful installation.
				</p>
				<p>
					Example output from running the command (see above):
				</p>
<pre>
flashrom v0.9.7-r1854 on Linux 3.8.13-bone47 (armv7l)
flashrom is free software, get the source code at http://www.flashrom.org
Calibrating delay loop... OK.
Found Macronix flash chip &quot;MX25L6405(D)&quot; (8192 kB, SPI) on linux_spi.
Reading old flash chip contents... done.
Erasing and writing flash chip... FAILED at 0x00001000! Expected=0xff, Found=0x00, failed byte count from 0x00000000-0x0000ffff: 0xd716
ERASE FAILED!
Reading current flash chip contents... done. Looking for another erase function.
Erase/write done.
Verifying flash... VERIFIED.
</pre>

				
			<p>
				<a href="#pagetop">Back to top of page.</a>
			</p>
			
	</div>
	
	<div class="section photos" id="paste">
	
		<h1>Thermal paste (IMPORTANT)</h1>
	
			<p>
				Because part of this procedure involved removing the heatsink, you will need to apply new paste.
				Arctic Silver 5 is ok. You will also need isopropyl alcohol and an anti-static cloth to clean with.
			</p>
			
			<p>
				When re-installing the heatsink, you must first clean off all old paste with the alcohol/cloth.
				Then apply new paste. AS5 is also much better than the default paste used on these systems.
			</p>
			
			<p>
				<img src="images/t400/paste.jpg" alt="" />
			</p>
			
			<p>
				NOTE: the photo above is for illustration purposes only, and does not show how to properly apply the thermal paste.
				Other guides online detail the proper application procedure.
			</p>
	
	</div>
	
	<div class="section">
	
		<h1 id="wifi">Wifi</h1>
		
			<p>
				The R500 typically comes with an Intel wifi chipset, which does not
				work without proprietary software. For a list of wifi chipsets that
				work without proprietary software, see
				<a href="../hcl/index.html#recommended_wifi">../hcl/index.html#recommended_wifi</a>.
			</p>
			
			<p>
				Some R500 laptops might come with an Atheros chipset, but this is 802.11g only.
			</p>
			
			<p>
				It is recommended that you install a new wifi chipset. This can only
				be done after installing libreboot, because the original firmware has
				a whitelist of approved chips, and it will refuse to boot if you
				use an 'unauthorized' wifi card.
			</p>
			
			<p>
				The following photos show an Atheros AR5B95 being installed, to
				replace the Intel chip that this R500 came with:<br/>
				<img src="images/t400/0012.jpg" alt="" />
				<img src="images/t400/ar5b95.jpg" alt="" />
			</p>
	
	</div>
	
	<div class="section">
	
		<h1 id="wwan">WWAN</h1>
			<p>
				If you have a WWAN/3G card and/or sim card reader, remove them permanently. 
				The WWAN-3G card has proprietary firmware inside; the technology is
				identical to what is used in mobile phones, so it can also track your movements.
			</p>
			<p>
				Not to be confused with wifi (wifi is fine).
			</p>
	
	</div>
	
	<div class="section photos">
	
		<h1 id="memory">Memory</h1>
		
			<p>
				You need DDR3 SODIMM PC3-8500 RAM installed, in matching pairs
				(speed/size). Non-matching pairs won't work. You can also install a
				single module (meaning, one of the slots will be empty) in slot 0.
			</p>
			
			<p>
				Make sure that the RAM you buy is the 2Rx8 density.
			</p>
			
			<p>
				The following photo shows 8GiB (2x4GiB) of RAM installed:<br/>
				<img src="images/t400/memory.jpg" alt="" />
			</p>
	
	</div>
	
	<div class="section photos">
	
			<h2>
				Boot it!
			</h2>
			<p>
				You should see something like this:
			</p>
			<p>
				<img src="images/t400/boot0.jpg" alt="" />
				<img src="images/t400/boot1.jpg" alt="" />
			</p>
			
			<p>
				Now <a href="../gnulinux/index.html">install GNU/Linux</a>.
			</p>
	
	</div>

	<div class="section">

		<p>
			Copyright &copy;  2015 Francis Rowe &lt;info@gluglug.org.uk&gt;<br/>
			Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
			under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3
			or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
			with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
			A copy of the license can be found at <a href="../gfdl-1.3.txt">../gfdl-1.3.txt</a>
		</p>

		<p>
			Updated versions of the license (when available) can be found at
			<a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html">https://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html</a>
		</p>

		<p>
			UNLESS OTHERWISE SEPARATELY UNDERTAKEN BY THE LICENSOR, TO THE
			EXTENT POSSIBLE, THE LICENSOR OFFERS THE LICENSED MATERIAL AS-IS
			AND AS-AVAILABLE, AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF
			ANY KIND CONCERNING THE LICENSED MATERIAL, WHETHER EXPRESS,
			IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHER. THIS INCLUDES, WITHOUT LIMITATION,
			WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
			PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ABSENCE OF LATENT OR OTHER DEFECTS,
			ACCURACY, OR THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF ERRORS, WHETHER OR NOT
			KNOWN OR DISCOVERABLE. WHERE DISCLAIMERS OF WARRANTIES ARE NOT
			ALLOWED IN FULL OR IN PART, THIS DISCLAIMER MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
		</p>
		<p>
			TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, IN NO EVENT WILL THE LICENSOR BE LIABLE
			TO YOU ON ANY LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION,
			NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT,
			INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR OTHER LOSSES,
			COSTS, EXPENSES, OR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THIS PUBLIC LICENSE OR
			USE OF THE LICENSED MATERIAL, EVEN IF THE LICENSOR HAS BEEN
			ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSSES, COSTS, EXPENSES, OR
			DAMAGES. WHERE A LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS NOT ALLOWED IN FULL OR
			IN PART, THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
		</p>
		<p>
			The disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability provided
			above shall be interpreted in a manner that, to the extent
			possible, most closely approximates an absolute disclaimer and
			waiver of all liability.
		</p>
		
	</div>

</body>
</html>