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1# Protectli Vault FW2B and FW4B
2
3This page describes how to run coreboot on the [Protectli FW2B] and
4[Protectli FW4B].
5
6
7## Required proprietary blobs
8
9To build a minimal working coreboot image some blobs are required (assuming
10only the BIOS region is being modified).
11
12```{eval-rst}
13+-----------------+---------------------------------+---------------------+
14| Binary file     | Apply                           | Required / Optional |
15+=================+=================================+=====================+
16| FSP             | Intel Firmware Support Package  | Required            |
17+-----------------+---------------------------------+---------------------+
18| microcode       | CPU microcode                   | Required            |
19+-----------------+---------------------------------+---------------------+
20| vgabios         | VGA Option ROM                  | Optional            |
21+-----------------+---------------------------------+---------------------+
22```
23
24FSP is automatically added by coreboot build system into the image) from the
25`3rdparty/fsp` submodule.
26
27microcode updates are automatically included into the coreboot image by build
28system from the `3rdparty/intel-microcode` submodule.
29
30VGA Option ROM is not required to boot, but if one needs graphics in pre-OS
31stage, it should be included.
32
33## Flashing coreboot
34
35### Internal programming
36
37The main SPI flash can be accessed using [flashrom].
38
39### External programming
40
41The system has an internal flash chip which is a 8 MiB soldered SOIC-8 chip.
42This chip is located on the bottom side of the case (the radiator side). One
43has to remove all screws (in order): 4 top cover screws, 4 side cover screws
44(one side is enough), 4 mainboard screws, 3 CPU screws (under the DIMM). Lift
45up the mainboard and turn around it. The flash chip is near the mainboard edge
46close to the Ethernet Controllers. Use a clip (or solder the wires) to program
47the chip. **Watch out on the voltage, the SPI operates at 1.8V!** Specifically,
48it's a Macronix MX25U6435F (1.8V) - [datasheet][MX25U6435F].
49
50## Known issues
51
52- After flashing with external programmer the board will not boot if flashed
53  the BIOS region only. For some reason it is required to flash whole image
54  along with TXE region.
55- USB 3.0 ports get detected very late in SeaBIOS, it needs huge timeout
56  values in order to get the devices detected.
57
58## Untested
59
60Not all mainboard's peripherals and functions were tested because of lack of
61the cables or not being populated on the board case.
62
63- internal USB 2.0 header
64
65## Working
66
67- USB 3.0 front ports (SeaBIOS and Linux)
68- 4 Ethernet ports (2 Ethernet ports on FW2B)
69- 2 HDMI ports with VGA Option ROM
70- 2 HDMI ports with libgfxinit
71- flashrom
72- PCIe WiFi
73- SATA and mSATA
74- Super I/O serial port 0 (RS232 via front RJ45 connector)
75- SMBus (reading SPD from DIMMs)
76- initialization with Braswell FSP
77- SeaBIOS payload (version rel-1.13.0)
78
79- booting Debian, Ubuntu, FreeBSD
80
81## Not working
82
83- mPCIe debug card connected to mSATA (mSATA slot has LPC signals routed,
84  however for some reason the debug card is not powered)
85
86## Technology
87
88The mainboard has two variants: FW2B and FW4B. They have different Braswell
89SoC. The FW2B replaces 2 out of 4 Ethernet Controllers with 4 USB ports
90connected via [FE1.1 USB 2.0 hub].
91
92- FW2B:
93
94```{eval-rst}
95+------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
96| CPU              | Intel Celeron J3060                              |
97+------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
98| PCH              | Braswell                                         |
99+------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
100| Super I/O        | ITE IT8613E                                      |
101+------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
102| Coprocessor      | Intel Trusted Execution Engine                   |
103+------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
104```
105
106![](fw2b.jpg)
107
108- FW4B:
109
110```{eval-rst}
111+------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
112| CPU              | Intel Celeron J3160                              |
113+------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
114| PCH              | Braswell                                         |
115+------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
116| Super I/O        | ITE IT8613E                                      |
117+------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
118| Coprocessor      | Intel Trusted Execution Engine                   |
119+------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
120```
121
122![](fw4b.jpg)
123
124[Protectli FW2B]: https://protectli.com/vault-2-port/
125[Protectli FW4B]: https://protectli.com/product/fw4b/
126[MX25U6435F]: https://www.macronix.com/Lists/Datasheet/Attachments/7411/MX25U6435F,%201.8V,%2064Mb,%20v1.5.pdf
127[FE1.1 USB 2.0 hub]: https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/product-files/2991/FE1.1s+Data+Sheet+(Rev.+1.0).pdf
128[flashrom]: https://flashrom.org/Flashrom
129