coreboot README
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-coreboot is a Free Software project aimed at replacing the proprietary
-BIOS you can find in most of today's computers.
+coreboot is a Free Software project aimed at replacing the proprietary BIOS
+(firmware) found in most computers. coreboot performs a little bit of
+hardware initialization and then executes additional boot logic, called a
+payload.
-It performs just a little bit of hardware initialization and then executes
-one of many possible payloads, e.g. a Linux kernel or a bootloader.
+With the separation of hardware initialization and later boot logic,
+coreboot can scale from specialized applications that run directly
+firmware, run operating systems in flash, load custom
+bootloaders, or implement firmware standards, like PC BIOS services or
+UEFI. This allows for systems to only include the features necessary
+in the target application, reducing the amount of code and flash space
+required.
+
+coreboot was formerly known as LinuxBIOS.
Payloads
* gcc / g++
* make
- * python
Optional:
* iasl (for targets with ACPI support)
* gdb (for better debugging facilities on some targets)
* ncurses (for 'make menuconfig')
+ * flex and bison (for regenerating parsers)
Building coreboot
Testing coreboot Without Modifying Your Hardware
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+------------------------------------------------
If you want to test coreboot without any risks before you really decide
to use it on your hardware, you can use the QEMU system emulator to run