Install Libreboot on Acer G43T-AM3

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Specifications
Manufacturer	Acer
Name	G43T-AM3
Released	2009
Chipset	G43
CPU	LGA 775, Core 2 Duo & Quad
Graphics	GMA X4500
Memory	8GB DDR3 SODIMMs (4x2GB)
Architecture	x86_64
Original boot firmware	Acer BIOS
Intel ME/AMD PSP	Present, Fully removable
Flash chip	SOP-8 2MiB

W+: Works without vendor firmware; 
N: Doesn't work; 
W*: Works with vendor firmware; 
U: Untested; 
P+: Partially works; 
P*: Partially works with vendor firmware
?: UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME

Features
Internal flashing with original boot firmware	W+
Display (if Intel GPU)	W+
Audio	W+
RAM Init	W+

Download from release

Build from source

For one only:

./mk -b coreboot acer_g43t_am3_2mb

To build it to use both flash chips:

./mk -b coreboot acer_g43t_am3_16mb

It might be necessary to specify the chip type; MX25L1605D/MX25L1608D/MX25L1673E is the correct one, not MX25L1605.

Follow the guide to backup and flash directly from OS / using the SPI_ROM1 header.

Turn the board off and leave it plugged in with the psu on and then use a programmer WITHOUT the 3.3v connected to flash.

Another way is through the SPI_ROM1 header while the board is off and disconnected from power, HOLD# and WP# must be pulled high (to VCC) to be able to flash the chip.

It might be necessary to specify the chip type; MX25L1605D/MX25L1608D/MX25L1673E is the correct one, not MX25L1605.

After choosing 1 way from above, check the hw-flashing guide before moving onto the next step below.

Flash it: (With rpi-pico as an example, edit the line if needed.)

flashprog -p serprog:dev=/dev/ttyACM0,spispeed=16M -w filename.rom

This is similar to Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L but uses an Intel NIC rather than Realtek. Some problems with Linux on this NIC, on this board, with Libreboot, were observed; see:

https://web.archive.org/web/20230730111707/https://notabug.org/libreboot/lbmk/issues/125

That page (on notabug) has some notes about workarounds. It links to this:

https://superuser.com/questions/1104537/how-to-repair-the-checksum-of-the-non-volatile-memory-nvm-of-intel-ethernet-co/1106641#1106641

This page has some guidance on how to either correct the checksum (in GbE config) or skip checksum validation in Linux, to get the onboard NIC working. Although it’s talking about different hardware, the steps should be the same.

TODO: factory BIOS on this board works fine with the onboard NIC. study what that is doing

DDR3 memory with 512Mx8 chips (G43 limitation), 4x4GB sticks (works, but showed a single bit error within one pass of Memtest86+ 5.01)

Specifications
Manufacturer	Acer
Name/Variant	G43t-AM3
Released	2009
Chipset	Intel G43
CPU	LGA775, Intel Core 2
Graphics	GMA X4500
Audio	Realtek ALC888S
Memory	DDR3 SODIMMs (max 8 GB, 4x2GB)
Networking	Intel 82567V-2
Expansion Slots	PCIe gen. 2; x16, x1, 2x PCI
Storage connectors	6x SATA II
Other Connectors	Headers; Audio, 4x dual USB 2.0, SCOM
I/O Ports on Back	PS/2 Mouse+Keyboard, VGA, HDMI, 4x USB 2.0, Firewire (IEEE 1394), RJ-45 1GbE (Ethernet)

The Canoeboot version of this page is: https://canoeboot.org/docs/install/acer_g43t-am3.html

SPDX-License-Identifier: GFDL-1.3-or-later

Markdown file for this page: https://libreboot.org/docs/install/acer_g43t-am3.md

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