From cff5319433abbf70d120bf051542a421c933429b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: eliot Date: Sat, 13 Jun 2020 12:22:42 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Updated KGPE-D16 instructions, and libre phones --- guider.mdwn | 38 ++++++++++++++++++++++++-------------- 1 file changed, 24 insertions(+), 14 deletions(-) diff --git a/guider.mdwn b/guider.mdwn index 61c57c6..5a14430 100644 --- a/guider.mdwn +++ b/guider.mdwn @@ -271,20 +271,30 @@ Note these tools are built and ready [at](https://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/li ####Using - * GRUB is recommended. But SeaBIOS has worked better when booting from CD-ROM or USB. + * Both GRUB and SeaBIOS work. But SeaBIOS has worked better when booting from CD-ROM or USB. * If problems booting, disconnect power and remove CMOS battery for a couple of seconds. * The default script in GRUB does not work with encrypted boot-partition (can manually boot). * When booting from GRUB, you might want to use "load config from external device" instead of "boot USB". Recommended when booting LiveCDs etc., if you don't have any particular configuration locally. -####Quirks - * Sometimes I get an error when booting, this is resolved by disconnecting keyboard and mouse until the hardware is initiated. - * When booting from USB, connect the USB-stick NOT BEFORE GRUB menu is shown... if the USB could not be found. - * In GRUB the USB keyboard is unusably slow. Fix: always have a PS/2 keyboard connected, but use the USB keyboard. - * In *earlier* versions of Libreboot the boot process could take up to five minutes (!), be patient. - * If you can't boot: reset CMOS (battery and power), make sure your graphic output correctly set (jumper on board). Otherwise, it is most likely a memory or ROM-image problem. You can use a serial cable to debug and get an idea about the issue. - * When I had major problems booting I had some help by sound cues and measuring current power draw (e.g. due to memory incompatiblity with Libreboot), to recognize when the boot would likely fail (! if possible just use serial cable to another computer to watch the output !). When booting successfully the system (1x 6276, 32GB) drew 180->200->218->166w (GRUB), otherwise it had a different behavior. Furthermore, after disconnecting the power the system would never boot without also clearing CMOS. The system would get stuck and the fans would always go high. While in a healthy boot would start fans low and then ramp up when starting GRUB and then stay there (fans connects to board directly). These sound cues were useful as you can be quite sure the system booted successfully without having any graphic output. In some configurations the fans will always be low and the system fail to boot, which would also overheat the already stuck system (!), thus you might want to power the fans with PSU instead of board. +####Quirks SeaBIOS stable + * With the stable release and SeaBIOS, most is working well but there is still one issue with USB devices at boot. +**Example:** A USB stick is connected at the back of the moderboard when the computer boots. +Suddenly, USB ports does not work, such as the chassi's USB hub which is connected on the moderboard. +These are completely dead and the peripheral devices does not light up. Only rebooting does not help. +**Solution**, turn off computer and disconnect power (we did not need to clear CMOS), and disconnect the problematic USB stick on the back. Turn on power. The USB stick can now be plugged in when the hardware has been initialized and GRUB is shown. + +####Quirks with earlier GRUB version + * Sometimes we get an error when booting, this is resolved by disconnecting USD devices such as keyboard and mouse until the hardware is initiated. + * In GRUB the USB keyboard is sometimes unusably slow. Fix: always have a PS/2 keyboard connected, but use the USB keyboard. + * In some configurations the fans will always be low and the system fail to boot, which would also overheat the already stuck system (!), thus you might want to power the fans with PSU instead of board. + +####Debugging + * If you can't boot: reset CMOS (battery and power), make sure your graphic output correctly set (jumper on board). Otherwise, it is most likely a memory, CPU or ROM-image problem. Try to boot with as little RAM as possible or other memory brand, make sure the CPU is properly seated, verify ROM image on chip (e.g. check hashsum) - we have had all these problems. Finally, you can use a serial cable to debug and get an idea about the issue, and ask in Libreboot IRC. + +####Our Tested Systems + +##### A -####Our Systems Debian Buster ASUS KGPE-D16 (1.03G) @@ -298,8 +308,7 @@ Modern AMD graphics card (not fully free!) Sound card (not fully free!) - -[RETIRED COMPUTER] +##### B Debian Stretch @@ -323,9 +332,9 @@ Buy a couple of flash chips in case of you breaking them, and to test different [Div pics a](resources/div_pics/d16_a.jpg), [Div pics b](resources/div_pics/d16_b.jpg), [Div pics c](resources/div_pics/d16_c.jpg), [Div pics d](resources/div_pics/d16_d.jpg), [Div pics e](resources/div_pics/d16_e.jpg), [Div pics f](resources/div_pics/d16_f.jpg) -We recommend SPI-speed set to 2048. (spi=2048) +We used SPI-speed set to 2048 (spi=2048), but this probably depends a lot depending on your flash setup. Find the most stable speed by reading the image from chip and verifying that it read correctly. -Use a holder for the ROM, do not solder. Use a female-male cable when connecting to BBB (or other board). According to Libreboot IRC shorter cables are NOT necessarily better. I found no cable length to be optimal (~5/10/20 cm), my final configuration used ~10 cm cables. +Use a holder for the ROM, do not solder. Use a female-male cable when connecting to BBB (or other board). According to Libreboot IRC, shorter cables are NOT necessarily better. We found no cable length to be optimal (~5/10/20 cm), final configuration used ~10 cm cables. Do not power ROM with regular ATX PSU as it is unstable, better to use power from the board or other external PSU. When searching through my notes I found the following from Libreboot IRC; _"Try different cables max 30 cm long, add 50 ohm resistors in series and keep trying. While 1: flashrom -c 'your chip' #Should be constant"_ @@ -422,7 +431,8 @@ For hardware recommendations see [[rekommenderat]]. NEVER HAVE GOOGLE SERVICES ON YOUR PRIMARY PHONE, REGARDLESS OF THE FIRMWARE SITUATION. At _most_ have a seperate phone for this. Sadly phones are proprietary devices that track you. -Nevertheless, [Replicant](https://www.replicant.us/) are good but slow. An interesting phone in development is [Librem 5](https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/) (Q1 2019). +Nevertheless, [Replicant](https://www.replicant.us/) is good but slow. +New somewhat libre phones: [Librem 5](https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/), [Pinephone](https://www.pine64.org/pinephone/), maybe Fairphone 3. For more hardware recommendations see [[rekommenderat]]. -- 2.39.2