Libreboot aims to create a system environment that completely dispenses with proprietary software
The release of the new version of Libreboot 20240504 was recently announced . It is marked as stable (the previous stable version was Libreboot 20230625) and will be the version that serves as the basis for the test version that is planned to be released in the summer of this year.
The new stable version of Libreboot, 20240504, adds features such as USB3 support in the GRUB payload and a number of fixes such as Wi-Fi connectivity problems on HP computers.
For those unfamiliar with Libreboot, it 's a project that develops a completely free fork of the CoreBoot project, providing a binary-free replacement for the proprietary UEFI and BIOS firmware responsible for initializing the CPU, memory, peripherals, and other hardware components.
Libreboot provides bootable firmware for compatible x86/ARM machines , booting a bootloader that then loads your operating system. It replaces the proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware on x86 machines and provides enhanced configuration on compatible ARM-based Chromebooks (U-Boot bootloader, instead of Google's deep-load bootloader).
Main news of Libreboot 20240504
As mentioned at the beginning, this release is a stable version, so it focuses on improving stability and fixing bugs, especially on boards that were already supported. This release is notable for integrating changes accumulated over a year from the Libreboot test branches.
Among the most important changes and improvements in Libreboot 20240504 are enhancements to the Libreboot compilation process. Now, when creating a tarball, the terminal will display a message indicating the compilation status, thus avoiding confusion. Additionally, the handling of temporary files has been simplified, ensuring more effective cleanup after compilation.
Another new feature of Libreboot 20240504 is the update of GRUB to version 2.12, with the addition of patches that add support for USB 3.0 and the use of argon2 hashes to generate keys in LUKS2 encrypted partitions, instead of PBKDF2, and that SeaBIOS now allows booting from NVMe SSD drives.
In addition to this, a variety of fixes are incorporated, different devices, in particular the solution to problems related to resuming from the S3 state on other Dell Latitude models stands out. WiFi connectivity issues on HP EliteBook 8560w laptops have also been addressed.
One of the most notable fixes in this release is the resolution of the sleep/resume issue on Dell Latitude Ivybridge/Sandybridge laptops , as well as the WiFi fix on the HP EliteBook 8560w via GPIO settings. Although the WiFi enable/disable button is not yet functional, this fix ensures stable and reliable WiFi connectivity.
On the support front, support has been added for the Dell OptiPlex 9020 SFF/MT , including TPM compatibility and enabling TPM by default. Additionally, fan control on these devices has been corrected, improving system performance and temperature. Support has also been added for the Dell Latitude E5420.
Of the other changes that stand out:
- To update Libreboot images on motherboards, the use of flashprog instead of flashrom has been implemented
- Enable the serial console by default, on AMD boards
- OptiPlex 9020 SFF/MT disabled IOMMU by default to fix an issue and be able to use graphics cards
- Added dell-flash-unlock support for NetBSD
- util/autoport: New utility, imported from the coreboot version but with additional patches combined for Haswell platforms.
- Added dell_flash_unlock support for FreeBSD
- Added GRUB hotkeys
- You can now hold down the Shift key at boot to disable gfxterm, or hold down the CTRL key to enable serial output.
Finally, you can find details of this new release and the motherboards compatible with this version at the following link.