Libreboot/Install/ThinkPad X60 and T60

Back up Original BIOS While backing up the proprietary BIOS image might be construed as "endorsing" proprietary software: This BIOS image is unique to every motherboard. It will be impossible to restore the original BIOS once it is lost. Back it up now or you will lose it forever. Do not take this decision lightly. If you choose to make a backup, click [Expand] on the right and follow the directions. From the libreboot_bin/ folder, enter the flashrom/ folder. cd flashrom Run both of these commands to backup the BIOS to factory.bin (don't panic, nothing is being installed): sudo ./flashrom_lenovobios_sst -p internal -r factory.bin sudo ./flashrom_lenovobios_macronix -p internal -r factory.bin If a factory.bin file was created in the flashrom/ folder, the Lenovo BIOS has been backed up successfully. If not, try the commands again. Copy this dump to a safe place. Return to the libreboot_bin/ folder. cd .. Libreboot First Flash For a detailed explanation of how this process works, see the Coreboot Wiki. If you are flashing Libreboot for the first time, on an unmodified ThinkPad running Lenovo's BIOS, you will need to follow this special process. Replace bin/YOURBOARD/YOURROM in the command below with the path to the ROM you selected. Run the first flash script for Lenovo BIOSes: sudo ./lenovobios_firstflash bin/YOURBOARD/YOURROM Wait for the process to finish. Expect to see "critical errors" during flashing, but don't panic; proceed to the next step to check if the flash ran correctly. The line below is displayed if bucts 1 was enabled successfully. Updated BUC.TS=1 - 64kb address ranges at 0xFFFE0000 and 0xFFFF0000 are swapped. If BUC.TS 1 was not enabled, do not continue, do not turn off your laptop. Run the flash script again. The following "errors" are displayed if flashrom installed Libreboot correctly. The output must be very similar (later versions of flashrom may have minor differences). If the "errors" do not match, do not continue, do not turn off your laptop. Run the script again. If the output still doesn't match, something is wrong; reinstall the factory.bin image and start over. Reading old flash chip contents... done. Erasing and writing flash chip... spi_block_erase_20 failed during command execution at address 0x0 Reading current flash chip contents... done. spi_block_erase_52 failed during command execution at address 0x0 Reading current flash chip contents... done. Transaction error! spi_block_erase_d8 failed during command execution at address 0x1f0000 Reading current flash chip contents... done. spi_chip_erase_60 failed during command execution Reading current flash chip contents... done. spi_chip_erase_c7 failed during command execution FAILED! Uh oh. Erase/write failed. Checking if anything changed. Your flash chip is in an unknown state. If the "errors" closely match the lines above, shut down the laptop (don't restart). Wait a few seconds, and then boot. Libreboot will start up. Use the Search for GRUB configuration on local storage option if the normal menu options don't work. After booting into Linux, proceed to Libreboot Second Flash. If you boot and you see nothing, try turning up the backlight with Fn+Home. For ThinkPad X60 models, if the backlight resets to zero when turning it up while at max, consult Libreboot's TFT Brightness Guide. If the laptop turns on, but doesn't boot at all; and there is absolutely no sounds or sign of life, Libreboot might have been flashed incorrectly. It is still possible to return to the Lenovo BIOS by disabling bucts 1. Disassemble the laptop and unplug the CMOS battery for at least 5 seconds. Plug the CMOS back in, reassemble the laptop, and turn it on. The Lenovo BIOS should appear, though it will require you to set the time in BIOS Setup. Boot into Linux, and start over from step 1 immediately. If the laptop emits three loud beeps when turned on, it has been fully bricked. A hardware BIOS flasher is required to restore it to working order. We recommend a $40 Bus Pirate and $20 8-pin Pomona Clip from eBay. Source: Flashrom Mailing List - ThinkPad X60: Is it safe to reboot with errors in flashrom? Enable Trackpoint On a few rare X60 variants, the Trackpoint mouse might not work out of the box. Not to worry though, just use nvramtool with the Libreboot package to enable it. Boot and log into Linux. (you may need to use text mode, find keyboard shortcuts) Open a Terminal (somehow... without the mouse. Hopefully you have Yakuake installed!) Navigate to the libreboot_bin/nvramtool folder. Build nvramtool with make . make Use nvramtool to enable the TrackPoint mouse. sudo ./nvramtool -w trackpoint=Enable Reboot the laptop (using sudo reboot), and the TrackPoint will be enabled. If it still doesn't work, try this command instead: sudo ./nvramtool -y ../../src/mainboard/lenovo/x60/cmos.layout -w trackpoint=Enable Source: Libreboot Documentation - Enable X60 Trackpoint Libreboot Second Flash Now that Libreboot has been installed and is up and running, it must be flashed a second time to fully remove the Lenovo BIOS. Open a Terminal and navigate to the libreboot_bin directory. Run the following command to flash Libreboot a second time. sudo ./lenovobios_secondflash /path/to/libreboot.rom Replace bin/YOURBOARD/YOURROM in the command below with the path to the ROM you selected. The following line will be displayed if bucts was set back to 0 again. If it was not set to 0, run the script again. Updated BUC.TS=0 - 128kb address range 0xFFFE0000-0xFFFFFFFF is untranslated The following should also be displayed, without any errors: Verifying flash... VERIFIED. Shut down again, wait a few seconds, and then boot. Libreboot has been successfully installed. Source: Libreboot Documentation - Installing Libreboot a Second Time on ThinkPad X60/T60 systems Replace the WiFi Card If you're squeamish about cracking open your ThinkPad, you can just buy a Atheros WiFi USB Dongle from ThinkPenguin. Of course, that dongle will take up one of your precious USB ports... If you are planning on using Trisquel or some other FSF-approved GNU/Linux distro, you must replace the Intel mPCI wifi card with an Atheros Wireless-N mPCI card ($10-15). The Intel card requires proprietary blobs, makes the palmrest extremely hot, and only supports the slower Wireless-G anyway; so it's well worth the upgrade. Follow this guide for the X60/X60s or the HMM for the X60 tablet to remove the palmrest. Remove the Intel 3945bgn WiFi Card. Replace it with an Atheros Wireless-N MiniPCI card. (needs more info and photos) Updating Libreboot or Installing Custom ROMs In the future, if you ever want to update Libreboot on the X60 (or restore the factory BIOS), follow this process. Download and extract the latest Libreboot binary release. Open a Terminal, and navigate to the libreboot_bin directory. Run the following command to flash your chosen rom: sudo ./flash /path/to/libreboot.rom Replace bin/YOURBOARD/YOURROM in the command below with the path to the ROM you selected. The following should be displayed, without any errors: Verifying flash... VERIFIED. Shut down again, wait a few seconds, and then boot. Libreboot has been successfully updated. Source: Libreboot Documentation - Installing Libreboot a Second Time on ThinkPad X60/T60 systems