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633dbebbc6
docs/hardware is redundant, because it now mostly contains installation instructions, and docs/install also contains hardware information. therefore, in practise, they are both the same kind of information. merge the two, and streamline everything. a lot of redundant information has been removed. docs/install/ has been re-structured in such a way as to enable more chronological reading, to make it easier for the average user to install Canoeboot. This is part of a larger series of changes I'm working on for the documentation. I'm massively auditing the entire Canoeboot documentation. Signed-off-by: Leah Rowe <info@minifree.org>
323 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
323 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Flashing the ThinkPad R400
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x-toc-enable: true
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...
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<div class="specs">
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<center>
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![ThinkPad R400]()
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</center>
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| ***Specifications*** | |
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|----------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
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| **Manufacturer** | Lenovo |
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| **Name** | ThinkPad R400 |
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| **Released** | 2009 |
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| **Chipset** | Intel Cantiga GM45 |
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| **CPU** | Intel Core 2 Duo (Penryn/Merom family) or
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Celeron M (Merom L family) |
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| **Graphics** | Intel GMA 4500MHD (and ATI Mobility Radeon HD
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3470 or nVIDIA
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GeForce 9300M on some models) |
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| **Display** | 1280x800/1440x900 TFT |
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| **Memory** | Up to 8GB |
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| **Architecture** | x86_64 |
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| **EC** | Proprietary |
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| **Original boot firmware** | LenovoBIOS |
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| **Intel ME/AMD PSP** | Present. Can be completly disabled. |
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| **Flash chip** | SOIC-8/SOIC-16 4MiB/8MiB (Upgradable to 16MiB) |
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```
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W+: Works without blobs;
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N: Doesn't work;
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W*: Works with blobs;
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U: Untested;
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P+: Partially works;
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P*: Partially works with blobs
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```
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| ***Features*** | |
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|----------------|---------------------------------------|
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| **Internal flashing with original boot firmware** | N |
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| **Display** | W+ |
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| **Audio** | W+ |
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| **RAM Init** | W+ |
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| **External output** | W+ |
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| **Display brightness** | P+ |
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| ***Payloads supported*** | |
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|---------------------------|-----------|
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| **GRUB** | Works |
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| **SeaBIOS** | Works |
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| **SeaBIOS with GRUB** | Works |
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</div>
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Dell Latitude E6400
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===================
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**If you haven't bought an R400 yet: the [Dell Latitude
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E6400](../install/latitude.md) is much easier to flash; no disassembly required,
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it can be flashed entirely in software from Dell BIOS to Libreboot. It is the
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same hardware generation (GM45), with same CPUs, video processor, etc.**
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Introduction
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============
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It is believed that all or most R400 laptops are compatible. See notes
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about [CPU
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compatibility](#cpu_compatibility) for
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potential incompatibilities.
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There are two possible flash chip sizes for the R400: 4MiB (32Mbit) or
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8MiB (64Mbit). This can be identified by the type of flash chip below
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the palmrest: 4MiB is SOIC-8, 8MiB is SOIC-16.
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*The R400 laptops come with the ME (and sometimes AMT in addition)
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before flashing libreboot. libreboot disables and removes it by using a
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modified descriptor: see [../install/ich9utils.md](../install/ich9utils.md)*
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(contains notes, plus instructions)
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Flashing instructions can be found at
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[../install/\#flashprog](../install/#flashprog)
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NOTE: Libreboot standardises on [flashprog](https://flashprog.org/wiki/Flashprog)
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now, as of 27 January 2024, which is a fork of flashrom.
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EC update {#ecupdate}
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=========
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It is recommended that you update to the latest EC firmware version. The
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[EC firmware](../../faq.md#ec-embedded-controller-firmware) is separate from
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libreboot, so we don't actually provide that, but if you still have
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Lenovo BIOS then you can just run the Lenovo BIOS update utility, which
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will update both the BIOS and EC version. See:
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- [../install/#flashprog](../install/#flashprog)
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- <http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/BIOS_update_without_optical_disk>
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NOTE: this can only be done when you are using Lenovo BIOS. How to
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update the EC firmware while running libreboot is unknown. libreboot
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only replaces the BIOS firmware, not EC.
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Updated EC firmware has several advantages e.g. bettery battery
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handling.
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The R400 is almost identical to the X200, code-wise. See
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[x200.md](x200.md).
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TODO: put hardware register logs here like on the [X200](x200.md) and
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[T400](t400.md) page.
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Installation notes
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==================
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[External flashing](spi.md) required, if Lenovo BIOS is running.
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**If you haven't bought an R400 yet: the [Dell Latitude
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E6400](latitude.md) is much easier to flash; no disassembly required,
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it can be flashed entirely in software from Dell BIOS to Canoeboot. It is the
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same hardware generation (GM45), with same CPUs, video processor, etc.**
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Initial flashing instructions for R400.
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This guide is for those who want Canoeboot on their ThinkPad R400 while
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they still have the original Lenovo BIOS present. This guide can also be
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followed (adapted) if you brick your R400, to know how to recover.
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Before following this section, please make sure to setup your Canoeboot
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ROM properly first. Although ROM images are provided pre-built in
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Canoeboot, there are some modifications that you need to make to the one
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you chose before flashing. (instructions referenced later in this guide)
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Serial port {#serial_port}
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-----------
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EHCI debug might not be needed. It has been reported that the docking
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station for this laptop has a serial port, so it might be possible to
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use that instead.
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A note about CPUs
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=================
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[ThinkWiki](http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:R400) has a list of
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CPUs for this system. The Core 2 Duo P8400 and P8600 are believed to
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work in Canoeboot. The Core 2 Duo T9600 was confirmed to work, so the
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T9400 probably also works. *The Core 2 Duo T5870/5670 and Celeron M
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575/585 are untested!*
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Quad-core CPUs
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--------------
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Incompatible. Do not use.
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A note about GPUs
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=================
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Some models have an Intel GPU, while others have both an ATI and an
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Intel GPU; this is referred to as "Dual Graphics" (previously
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"switchable graphics"). In the *BIOS setup* program for lenovobios,
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you can specify that the system will use one or the other (but not
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both).
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Canoeboot is known to work on systems with only the Intel GPU, using
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native graphics initialization. On systems with switchable graphics, the
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Intel GPU is used and the ATI GPU is disabled, so native graphics
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initialization works all the same.
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CPU paste required
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==================
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See [\#paste](#paste).
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Flash chip size {#flashchips}
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===============
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Use this to find out:
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flashprog -p internal
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NOTE: Canoeboot standardises on [flashprog](https://flashprog.org/wiki/Flashprog)
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now, as of 3 May 2024, which is a fork of flashrom.
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MAC address {#macaddress}
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===========
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Refer to [mac\_address.md](../install/mac_address.md).
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External flashing
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=================
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Refer to [spi.md](spi.md) as a guide for external re-flashing.
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Disassembly
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-----------
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Remove all screws:\
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\
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Remove the HDD and optical drive:\
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\
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Remove the hinge screws:\
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Remove the palm rest and keyboard:\
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Remove these screws, and then remove the bezel:\
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Remove the speaker screws, but don't remove the speakers yet (just set
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them loose):\
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Remove these screws, and then remove the metal plate:\
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Remove the antennas from the wifi card, and then start unrouting them:\
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Disconnect the LCD cable from the motherboard:\
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Remove the hinge screws, and then remove the LCD panel:\
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Remove this:\
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Remove this long cable (there are 3 connections):\
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Disconnect the speaker cable, and remove the speakers:\
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Remove the heatsink screws, remove the fan and then remove the
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heatsink/fan:\
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Remove the NVRAM battery:\
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Remove this screw:\
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Disconnect the AC jack:\
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Remove this screw and then remove what is under it:\
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Remove this:\
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Lift the motherboard (which is still inside the cage) from the side on
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the right, removing it completely:\
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Remove all screws, marking each hole so that you know where to re-insert
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them. You should place the screws in a layout corresponding to the order
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that they were in before removal: 
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Remove the motherboard from the cage, and the SPI flash chip will be
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next to the memory slots:\
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Now, you should be ready to install Canoeboot.
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Read [this article](spi.md) to learn how you may flash the chip, which is near
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to the RAM.
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Thermal paste (IMPORTANT)
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=========================
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Because part of this procedure involved removing the heatsink, you will
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need to apply new paste. Arctic MX-4 is ok. You will also need isopropyl
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alcohol and an anti-static cloth to clean with.
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When re-installing the heatsink, you must first clean off all old paste
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with the alcohol/cloth. Then apply new paste. Arctic MX-4 is also much
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better than the default paste used on these systems.
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NOTE: the photo above is for illustration purposes only, and does not
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show how to properly apply the thermal paste. Other guides online detail
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the proper application procedure.
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Memory
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======
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In DDR3 machines with Cantiga (GM45/GS45/PM45), northbridge requires sticks
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that will work as PC3-8500 (faster PC3/PC3L sticks can work as PC3-8500).
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Non-matching pairs may not work. Single module (meaning, one of the slots
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will be empty) will currently only work in slot 0.
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NOTE: according to users reports, non matching pairs (e.g. 1+2 GiB) might
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work in some cases.
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Make sure that the RAM you buy is the 2Rx8 configuration when buying 4GiB sticks
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(In other words: maximum of 2GiB per rank, 2 ranks per card).
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[This page](http://www.forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?p=760721) might
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be useful for RAM compatibility info (note: coreboot raminit is
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different, so this page might be BS)
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The following photo shows 8GiB (2x4GiB) of RAM installed:\
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Boot it!
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--------
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You should see something like this:
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Now [install GNU+Linux](../gnulinux/).
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