HP Compaq 8200 Elite SFF

This page describes how to run coreboot on the Compaq 8200 Elite SFF desktop from HP.

TODO

The following things are still missing from this coreboot port:

  • Extended HWM reporting
  • Advanced LED control
  • Advanced power configuration in S3

Flashing coreboot

Type Value
Socketed flash no
Model MX25L6406E/MX25L6408E
Size 8 MiB
In circuit flashing yes
Package SOIC-8
Write protection bios region
Dual BIOS feature No
Internal flashing yes

Flash layout

The original layout of the flash should look like this:

00000000:00000fff fd
00510000:007fffff bios
00003000:0050ffff me
00001000:00002fff gbe

Internal programming

The SPI flash can be accessed using flashrom.

$ flashrom -p internal -c MX25L6406E/MX25L6408E -w coreboot.rom

After shorting the FDO jumper you gain access to the full flash, but you still cannot write in the bios region due to SPI protected ranges.

Position of FDO jumper close to the IO and second fan connector ../../_images/compaq_8200_sff_jumper.jpg

To write to the bios region you can use an IFD Hack originally developed for MacBooks, but with modified values described in this guide. You should read both guides before attempting the procedure.

Since you can still write in the flash descriptor, you can shrink the ME and then move the bios region into where the ME originally was. coreboot does not by default restrict writing to any part of the flash, so you will first flash a small coreboot build and after it boots, flash the full one.

The temporary flash layout with the neutered ME firmware should look like this:

00000000:00000fff fd
00023000:001fffff bios
00003000:00022fff me
00001000:00002fff gbe
00200000:007fffff pd

It is very important to use these exact numbers or you will need to fix it using external flashing, but you should already be familiar with the risks if you got this far.

The temporary ROM chip size to set in menuconfig is 2 MB but the default CBFS size is too large for that, you can use up to about 0x1D0000.

When building both the temporary and the permanent installation, don’t forget to also add the gigabit ethernet configuration when adding the flash descriptor and ME firmware.

You can pad the ROM to the required 8MB with zeros using:

$ dd if=/dev/zero of=6M.bin bs=1024 count=6144
$ cat coreboot.rom 6M.bin > coreboot8.rom

If you want to continue using the neutered ME firmware use this flash layout for stage 2:

00000000:00000fff fd
00023000:007fffff bios
00003000:00022fff me
00001000:00002fff gbe

If you want to use the original ME firmware use the original flash layout.

More about flashing internally and getting the flash layout here.

External programming

External programming with an SPI adapter and flashrom does work, but it powers the whole southbridge complex. You need to supply enough current through the programming adapter.

If you want to use a SOIC pomona test clip, you have to cut the 2nd DRAM DIMM holder, as otherwise there’s not enough space near the flash.

Position of SOIC-8 flash IC near 2nd DIMM holder ../../_images/compaq_8200_sff_flash1.jpg

Closeup view of SOIC-8 flash IC ../../_images/compaq_8200_sff_flash2.jpg

Technology

Northbridge Intel Sandy Bridge-specific documentation
Southbridge bd82x6x
CPU model_206ax
SuperIO NPCD378
EC  
Coprocessor Intel ME