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- Documentation can be found on https://osboot.org/
- osboot is free / open source *boot firmware* that initializes the hardware in
- your computer and loads an operating system. It replaces the proprietary
- BIOS/UEFI firmware commonly loaded onto a computer. osboot is compatible with
- specific computer models that use the x86 architecture. User support is
- available at #osboot on Freenode IRC.
- osboot can boot all of the most popular operating systems such GNU+Linux,
- BSD and even *Windows*. We recommend *free* operating systems (e.g. GNU+Linux)
- that comply with GNU Free System Distribution:
- https://gnu.org/distros/free-system-distribution-guidelines.html
- *Boot firmware* is low-level software that executes when a computer is turned
- on. It brings the components (CPU, memory controller, peripherals etc) to a
- useful state enabling easy software development and/or usage. Boot firmware
- usually loads an *operating system* which provides a unified interface for
- application software.
- osboot uses coreboot for hardware initialization.
- *coreboot* is notoriously difficult to compile and install for most
- non-technical users. There are many complicated configuration steps required,
- and coreboot by itself is useless; coreboot only handles hardware
- initialization, and then jumps to a separate *payload* program. The payload
- program can be anything, for example a Linux kernel, bootloader (such as
- GNU GRUB), UEFI implementation (such as Tianocore) or BIOS implementation
- (such as SeaBIOS). While not quite as complicated as building a GNU+Linux
- distribution from scratch, it may aswell be as far as most non-technical users
- are concerned. In short, most people will not want to use coreboot for this
- reason. The coreboot project is geared towards developers and therefore it
- assumes that the user is highly technical, with deep knowledge of the hardware
- and how computers work in general.
- In other words, you can't simply download and install *coreboot*, just as you
- can't simply download and install the *Linux kernel*, becasue it simply won't
- work the way the user wants. osboot solves this problem in a novel way:
- osboot is a *coreboot distribution* much like Debian is a *GNU+Linux
- distribution*.
- osboot integrates coreboot and several *payloads* such as GNU GRUB, SeaBIOS
- and Tianocore. It provides an *automated* build system that downloads, patches
- (where necessary) and compiles coreboot, GNU GRUB, SeaBIOS, Tianocore and all
- the other software components needed to build a complete, working *ROM image*
- that you can install, replacing your current BIOS/UEFI firmware, much like a
- GNU+Linux distribution (e.g. Debian) provides an ISO image that you can use to
- replace your current operating system (e.g. Windows).
- osboot provides these payload choices:
- * GNU GRUB (bootloader). This is the default on x86 (Intel/AMD) computers,
- capable of booting the majority of GNU+Linux and BSD operating systems. It
- has many advantages such as ability to load from encrypted partitions, verify
- GPG signatures of your Linux kernel and more. GRUB can additionally load and
- execute *any other coreboot payload*.
- * SeaBIOS. This implements traditional x86 BIOS interrupts and services,
- allowing most legacy operating systems (e.g. older Windows versions or DOS)
- to be used.
- * Tianocore. This implements UEFI services, allowing most modern operating
- systems to be used (e.g. Windows 10). Tianocore is less useful for free
- software users, because GNU GRUB boots GNU+Linux and BSD on its own, but it
- provides a familiar interface that a lot of people are already used to.
- For each machine supported in osboot, separate ROM images are provided:
- with GRUB payload (and Tianocore+SeaBIOS both selectable in the boot menu),
- SeaBIOS on its own and other ROMs with Tianocore on its own. For most users,
- we recommend using GNU GRUB.
- Additionally, osboot provides utilities to install osboot (such as
- flashrom), to configure it (e.g. cbfstool, ifdtool, me_cleaner) and user
- friendly documentation aimed purely at non-technical users. If you simply want
- to use the firmware, without getting too in-depth, osboot is for you!
- osboot tries to provide updated releases on a regular basis, with tested ROM
- images per machine supported.
- Why use osboot?
- ------------------
- Because you have rights. The right to privacy, freedom of thought, freedom
- of speech and the right to read. In the context of computing, that means anyone
- can use free software.
- Simply speaking, free software is software that is under the direct sovereignty
- of the user and, more importantly, the collective that is the *community*. osboot
- is dedicated to the Free Software community, with the aim of making free software
- at a *low level* more accessible to non-technical people.
- Many people use proprietary boot firmware, even if they use GNU+Linux. Non-free
- boot firmware often contains backdoors , can be slow and have severe
- bugs. Development and support can be abandoned at any time. By contrast,
- osboot is a free software project, where anyone can contribute or inspect
- its code.
- osboot is faster, more secure and more reliable than most non-free
- firmware. osboot provides many advanced features, like encrypted
- /boot/, GPG signature checking before booting a Linux kernel and more!
- osboot gives *you* control over *your* computing.
- How is osboot different versus Libreboot?
- --------------------------------------------
- osboot development started on December 11th, 2020, forked from the Libreboot
- 20160907 build system. osboot is similar philosophically
- to Libreboot, but with one difference: Libreboot only allows support for boards
- where the firmware can be 100% Free Software as per what is installed to the
- boot flash. Libreboot complies fully with FSF/GNU criteria defining what *free
- software* is.
- osboot merely *prefers* this, but allows binary blobs. osboot will accept
- any board that coreboot supports. The coreboot software supports literally
- hundreds of computers, but on most of them it is not entirely free software,
- but instead relies on added *binary blobs* typically provided by the hardware
- manufacturers. E.g. `mrc.bin` for raminit (initialization of memory controller)
- and other initialization tasks.
- It was started in response to a growing trend in the community: lots of people
- are interested in Libreboot, but wish to use newer/faster hardware. Porting
- Libreboot to newer Intel/AMD hardware is very difficult. Meanwhile, there
- existed no user-friendly solution like Libreboot. osboot provides an easy,
- automated build system and installation process, with user-friendly
- documentation and professional user support backed up by years of experience
- dealing with coreboot systems.
- The entire motivation behind this *permissive* policy (in osboot) is that
- it will lead to many more coreboot users, on all coreboot systems, especially
- when more people join the osboot project as maintainers for various boards.
- By increasing the ease of use and accessibility for a given coreboot system,
- for *non-technical users*, it increases the amount *of* technical users because
- more people learn about coreboot. This increases the number of people that can
- provide *testing* for coreboot, and will very likely:
- * Increase the number of coreboot developers, because some of those new users
- will become truly inspired
- * More ability for coreboot developers to find individual testers for a given
- board (osboot makes it easy to maintain boards, on any given coreboot
- revision, with any collection of custom patches on top of that coreboot
- revision, for that board).
- License can be found in COPYING and through parts of the source tree.
- This readme is forked from the osboot home page on 11 March 2021
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