Install Canoeboot on Dell OptiPlex 7010/9010 SFF
This is only for the SFF variant. The MT variant is also supported, but for the MT variant, you must flash the T1650 ROM image instead.
PLEASE READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE INSTALLING, OR YOU MAY BRICK YOUR MACHINE!! - Please click the link and follow the instructions there, before flashing. For posterity, here is the link again.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Dell |
| Name | OptiPlex 7010 SFF |
| Variants | OptiPlex 9010 SFF |
| Released | 2012 |
| Chipset | Intel C216 |
| CPU | Intel Ivy Bridge |
| Graphics | Discrete graphics, or Intel HD Graphics model |
| depending on CPU model | |
| Memory | DDR3 DIMMs (max 32GB, 4x8GB) |
| Architecture | x86_64 |
| Original boot firmware | Dell UEFI firmware |
| Intel ME/AMD PSP | Present. Can be disabled via setting HAP bit. |
| Flash chip | SOIC-16 and/or SOIC-8 12MiB (96Mbit) |
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+ |
| Display (discrete GPU, SeaBIOS payload only) | W* |
| Audio | W+ |
| RAM Init | W+ |
| Payloads supported | |
|---|---|
| GRUB (libgfxinit only) | Works |
| SeaBIOS | Works |
| SeaBIOS with GRUB | Works |
Open source BIOS/UEFI firmware
This document will teach you how to install Canoeboot, on your Dell OptiPlex 7010 SFF and/or OptiPlex 9010 SFF desktop motherboard. Canoeboot is a Free Software project that replaces proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware.
Unavailable in Canoeboot 25.04 or earlier. You must compile from source, or use a version newer than Canoeboot 25.04.
Official information about the computer can be found here: https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-uk/optiplex-7010-plus-small-ff/opti_7010_sff_plus_om/specifications-of-optiplex-small-form-factor-plus-7010?guid=guid-7c9f07ce-626e-44ca-be3a-a1fb036413f9&lang=en-us
Build ROM image from source
The build target, when building from source, is thus:
./mk -b coreboot dell7010sff_12mbNOTE: The same 7010 SFF image also works on 9010 SFF. It’s the same motherboard.
Alternatively, you can use one of Canoeboot’s pre-compiled release images.
Install Canoeboot
Canoeboot can be installed via internal and/or external flashing methods.
Avoid overwriting Intel ME
If you’re installing Canoeboot, please ensure that you don’t overwrite Intel ME; required refer to the guide for that. (failure to adhere to this advice will result in a bricked machine)
Canoeboot’s build system does not handle Intel ME, so the ME region is blank. This differs from Libreboot, which auto-downloads and inserts Intel ME. Canoeboot flashes around what’s already there, setting only the HAP bit.
Set MAC address
This platform uses an Intel Flash Descriptor, and defines an Intel GbE NVM region. As such, release/build ROMs will contain the same MAC address. To change the MAC address, please read nvmutil documentation.
WARNING about CPU/GPU compatibility
If you want to use onboard graphics, you must have a CPU that has a GPU built into it. You can find a list here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_Bridge_(microarchitecture)
Coreboot has libre initialisation code for Intel graphics, but libre initialisation code is not available for most graphics cards. This machine can take any graphics card that fits in the PCI-E slot. When a graphics card is used, SeaBIOS executes its VGA ROM which provides video init, instead of coreboot’s native Intel video init. GRUB piggybacks off of what SeaBIOS did, so the GRUB payload will also work.
Flash a ROM image (software)
BEFORE FLASHING, and/or if migrating from Libreboot: Read the article about 16KB GbE regions.
If you’re already running Canoeboot, and you don’t have flash protection turned on, internal flashing is possible.
If you have factory firmware (Dell), you can short the service jumper. It’s near the RAM, under where the HDD goes (click the photos shown above). Just put a short on it when booting, and all flash protection is disabled; the factory firmware write might EFI variables to flash during shutdown sequence, so you should pull the plug to shut it down (remove the power by pulling the plug) after flashprog says VERIFIED.
Flash a ROM image (hardware)
BEFORE FLASHING, and/or if migrating from Libreboot: Read the article about 16KB GbE regions.
For general information, please refer to 25xx NOR flash instructions - that page refers to use of socketed flash.
This machine is somewhat cumbersome to flash, because it has a SOIC-16 flash for the first 8MB part, and 4MB SOIC8. You can split up your 12MB ROM image like so:
dd if=canoeboot.rom of=4mb.rom bs=1M skip=8
dd if=canoeboot.rom of=8mb.rom bs=1M count=8Please only flash the IFD and BIOS regions. The CBFS size is 4MB, so you can just flash the 4MB image to handle the BIOS region, and then use the --ifd option in flashprog to flash just the IFD region in the 8MB chip, for disabling Intel ME by setting the IFD’s HAP bit.
The side cover comes off easily, and you can find the flash ICs next to the RAM.
No photos yet, but the two flash ICs are next to each other, and near to where the PCH is.
Markdown file for this page: https://canoeboot.org/docs/install/dell7010.md
Subscribe to RSS for this site
This HTML page was generated by the Libreboot Static Site Generator.