How to install FreeBSD on a libreboot system

- This section relates to preparing, booting and installing - FreeBSD on your libreboot system, using nothing more than a USB flash drive (and dd). They've only been tested on a Lenovo ThinkPad x200. -

- It is expected that you use text mode in libreboot (txtmode images), - for the early boot process in FreeBSD. - Booting the installer results in a red flickering text display, - and doesn't boot. -

- Thanks go to ioxcide in this Reddit post - for the initial instructions. -

- TODO: test FreeBSD more extensively, and make sure it works (and fix it if it does not). - Instructions are provided here, to boot and install FreeBSD but we're - not sure whether it is currently fully compatible with libreboot. -

Prepare the USB drive (in FreeBSD)
Installing FreeBSD without full disk encryption
Installing FreeBSD with full disk encryption
Booting
Configuring Grub
Troubleshooting

- Back to previous index -

- This section is only for the GRUB payload. For depthcharge (used on CrOS devices in libreboot), instructions - have yet to be written in the libreboot documentation. -

- -

- freebsd.img is the installation image for FreeBSD. Adapt - the filename accordingly, for whatever FreeBSD version you use. -

- -

Prepare the USB drive (in FreeBSD)

- This page - on the FreeBSD website shows how to create a bootable USB drive - for installing FreeBSD. Use the dd on that page. -

- -

Prepare the USB drive (in NetBSD)

- This page - on the NetBSD website shows how to create a NetBSD bootable USB drive - from within NetBSD itself. You should use the dd method - documented there; you can use this with any ISO, including - FreeBSD. -

- -

Prepare the USB drive (in LibertyBSD or OpenBSD)

- -

- If you downloaded your ISO on a LibertyBSD or OpenBSD system, - here is how to create the bootable FreeBSD USB drive: -

- -

- Connect the USB drive. Check dmesg:
- $ dmesg | tail
- - Check to confirm which drive it is, for example, if you think its sd3:
- $ disklabel sd3 -

- -

- Check that it wasn't automatically mounted. If it was, unmount it. For example:
- $ doas umount /dev/sd3i
-

- -

- dmesg told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing the FreeBSD installer to it with dd. For example:
- $ doas dd if=freebsd.img of=/dev/rsdXc bs=1M; sync
-

- -

- You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive. Continue reading, for - information about how to do that. -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Prepare the USB drive (in GNU+Linux)

- -

- If you downloaded your ISO on a GNU+Linux system, - here is how to create the bootable FreeBSD USB drive: -

- -

- Connect the USB drive. Check dmesg:
- $ dmesg
- - Check lsblk to confirm which drive it is:
- $ lsblk -

- -

- Check that it wasn't automatically mounted. If it was, unmount it. For example:
- $ sudo umount /dev/sdX*
- # umount /dev/sdX* -

- -

- dmesg told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing your distro ISO to it with dd. For example:
- $ sudo dd if=freebsd.img of=/dev/sdX bs=8M; sync
- # dd if=freebsd.img of=/dev/sdX bs=8M; sync -

- -

- You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive. Continue reading, for - information about how to do that. -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Installing FreeBSD without full disk encryption

- -

- Press C in GRUB to access the command line: -

- grub> kfreebsd (usb0,gpt3)/boot/kernel/kernel
- grub> set FreeBSD.vfs.mountfrom=ufs:/dev/da1p3
- grub> boot -

- It will start booting into the FreeBSD installer. Follow the normal process for installing FreeBSD. -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Installing FreeBSD with full disk encryption

- -

- TODO -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Booting

- -

- TODO -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Configuring Grub

- -

- TODO -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Troubleshooting

- -

- Most of these issues occur when using libreboot with coreboot's 'text mode' instead of the coreboot framebuffer. - This mode is useful for booting payloads like memtest86+ which expect text-mode, but for FreeBSD - it can be problematic when they are trying to switch to a framebuffer because it doesn't exist. -

- -

- In most cases, you should use the vesafb ROM images. Example filename: libreboot_ukdvorak_vesafb.rom. -

- -

won't boot...something about file not found

- Your device names (i.e. usb0, usb1, sd0, sd1, wd0, ahci0, hd0, etc) and numbers may differ. Use TAB completion. -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

- Copyright © 2016 Leah Rowe <info@minifree.org>
- Copyright © 2016 Scott Bonds <scott@ggr.com>
- Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document - under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license - or any later version published by Creative Commons; - - A copy of the license can be found at ../cc-by-sa-4.0.txt -

- -

- Updated versions of the license (when available) can be found at - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode -

- -

- UNLESS OTHERWISE SEPARATELY UNDERTAKEN BY THE LICENSOR, TO THE - EXTENT POSSIBLE, THE LICENSOR OFFERS THE LICENSED MATERIAL AS-IS - AND AS-AVAILABLE, AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF - ANY KIND CONCERNING THE LICENSED MATERIAL, WHETHER EXPRESS, - IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHER. THIS INCLUDES, WITHOUT LIMITATION, - WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR - PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ABSENCE OF LATENT OR OTHER DEFECTS, - ACCURACY, OR THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF ERRORS, WHETHER OR NOT - KNOWN OR DISCOVERABLE. WHERE DISCLAIMERS OF WARRANTIES ARE NOT - ALLOWED IN FULL OR IN PART, THIS DISCLAIMER MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. -

- TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, IN NO EVENT WILL THE LICENSOR BE LIABLE - TO YOU ON ANY LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, - NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, - INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR OTHER LOSSES, - COSTS, EXPENSES, OR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THIS PUBLIC LICENSE OR - USE OF THE LICENSED MATERIAL, EVEN IF THE LICENSOR HAS BEEN - ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSSES, COSTS, EXPENSES, OR - DAMAGES. WHERE A LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS NOT ALLOWED IN FULL OR - IN PART, THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. -

- The disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability provided - above shall be interpreted in a manner that, to the extent - possible, most closely approximates an absolute disclaimer and - waiver of all liability. -

- -

+ +How to install FreeBSD on a libreboot system +============================================ + +This section relates to preparing, booting and installing FreeBSD on +your libreboot system, using nothing more than a USB flash drive (and +*dd*). They\'ve only been tested on a Lenovo ThinkPad x200. + +It is expected that you use text mode in libreboot (txtmode images), for +the early boot process in FreeBSD. **Booting the installer results in a +red flickering text display, and doesn\'t boot.** + +Thanks go to ioxcide in [this Reddit +post](https://www.reddit.com/r/BSD/comments/53jt70/libreboot_and_bsds/) +for the initial instructions. + +TODO: test FreeBSD more extensively, and make sure it works (and fix it +if it does not). Instructions are provided here, to boot and install +FreeBSD but we\'re not sure whether it is currently fully compatible +with libreboot. + +- [Prepare the USB drive (in FreeBSD)](#prepare) +- [Installing FreeBSD without full disk encryption](#noencryption) +- [Installing FreeBSD with full disk encryption](#encryption) +- [Booting](#booting) +- [Configuring Grub](#configuring_grub) +- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting) + +[Back to previous index](./) + +

+ +**This section is only for the GRUB payload. For depthcharge (used on +CrOS devices in libreboot), instructions have yet to be written in the +libreboot documentation.** + +

+ +freebsd.img is the installation image for FreeBSD. Adapt the filename +accordingly, for whatever FreeBSD version you use. + +Prepare the USB drive (in FreeBSD) +---------------------------------- + +[This page](https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/bsdinstall-pre.html) on +the FreeBSD website shows how to create a bootable USB drive for +installing FreeBSD. Use the *dd* on that page. + +Prepare the USB drive (in NetBSD) +--------------------------------- + +[This +page](https://wiki.netbsd.org/tutorials/how_to_install_netbsd_from_an_usb_memory_stick/) +on the NetBSD website shows how to create a NetBSD bootable USB drive +from within NetBSD itself. You should use the *dd* method documented +there; you can use this with any ISO, including FreeBSD. + +Prepare the USB drive (in LibertyBSD or OpenBSD) +------------------------------------------------ + +If you downloaded your ISO on a LibertyBSD or OpenBSD system, here is +how to create the bootable FreeBSD USB drive: + +Connect the USB drive. Check dmesg:\ +**\$ dmesg | tail**\ +Check to confirm which drive it is, for example, if you think its sd3:\ +**\$ disklabel sd3** + +Check that it wasn\'t automatically mounted. If it was, unmount it. For +example:\ +**\$ doas umount /dev/sd3i**\ + +dmesg told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing the +FreeBSD installer to it with dd. For example:\ +**\$ doas dd if=freebsd.img of=/dev/rsdXc bs=1M; sync**\ + +You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive. +Continue reading, for information about how to do that. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +Prepare the USB drive (in GNU+Linux) +------------------------------------ + +If you downloaded your ISO on a GNU+Linux system, here is how to create +the bootable FreeBSD USB drive: + +Connect the USB drive. Check dmesg:\ +**\$ dmesg**\ +Check lsblk to confirm which drive it is:\ +**\$ lsblk** + +Check that it wasn\'t automatically mounted. If it was, unmount it. For +example:\ +**\$ sudo umount /dev/sdX\***\ +**\# umount /dev/sdX\*** + +dmesg told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing your +distro ISO to it with dd. For example:\ +**\$ sudo dd if=freebsd.img of=/dev/sdX bs=8M; sync**\ +**\# dd if=freebsd.img of=/dev/sdX bs=8M; sync** + +You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive. +Continue reading, for information about how to do that. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Installing FreeBSD without full disk encryption +----------------------------------------------- + +Press C in GRUB to access the command line: + +grub> **kfreebsd (usb0,gpt3)/boot/kernel/kernel**\ +grub> **set FreeBSD.vfs.mountfrom=ufs:/dev/da1p3**\ +grub> **boot** + +It will start booting into the FreeBSD installer. Follow the normal +process for installing FreeBSD. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Installing FreeBSD with full disk encryption +-------------------------------------------- + +TODO + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Booting +------- + +TODO + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Configuring Grub +---------------- + +TODO + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Troubleshooting +=============== + +Most of these issues occur when using libreboot with coreboot\'s \'text +mode\' instead of the coreboot framebuffer. This mode is useful for +booting payloads like memtest86+ which expect text-mode, but for FreeBSD +it can be problematic when they are trying to switch to a framebuffer +because it doesn\'t exist. + +In most cases, you should use the vesafb ROM images. Example filename: +libreboot\_ukdvorak\_vesafb.rom. + +won\'t boot\...something about file not found +--------------------------------------------- + +Your device names (i.e. usb0, usb1, sd0, sd1, wd0, ahci0, hd0, etc) and +numbers may differ. Use TAB completion. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Copyright © 2016 Leah Rowe <info@minifree.org>\ +Copyright © 2016 Scott Bonds <scott@ggr.com>\ +Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document +under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 +International license or any later version published by Creative +Commons; A copy of the license can be found at +[../cc-by-sa-4.0.txt](../cc-by-sa-4.0.txt) + +Updated versions of the license (when available) can be found at + + +UNLESS OTHERWISE SEPARATELY UNDERTAKEN BY THE LICENSOR, TO THE EXTENT +POSSIBLE, THE LICENSOR OFFERS THE LICENSED MATERIAL AS-IS AND +AS-AVAILABLE, AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND +CONCERNING THE LICENSED MATERIAL, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, +OR OTHER. THIS INCLUDES, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF TITLE, +MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, +ABSENCE OF LATENT OR OTHER DEFECTS, ACCURACY, OR THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE +OF ERRORS, WHETHER OR NOT KNOWN OR DISCOVERABLE. WHERE DISCLAIMERS OF +WARRANTIES ARE NOT ALLOWED IN FULL OR IN PART, THIS DISCLAIMER MAY NOT +APPLY TO YOU. + +TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, IN NO EVENT WILL THE LICENSOR BE LIABLE TO YOU +ON ANY LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, NEGLIGENCE) OR +OTHERWISE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, +PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR OTHER LOSSES, COSTS, EXPENSES, OR DAMAGES +ARISING OUT OF THIS PUBLIC LICENSE OR USE OF THE LICENSED MATERIAL, EVEN +IF THE LICENSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSSES, +COSTS, EXPENSES, OR DAMAGES. WHERE A LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS NOT +ALLOWED IN FULL OR IN PART, THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. + +The disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability provided above +shall be interpreted in a manner that, to the extent possible, most +closely approximates an absolute disclaimer and waiver of all liability. + +

- -

BSD projects

- This section relates to dealing with BSD projects: preparing bootable USB drives, - changing the default GRUB menu and so on. -

- This section is only for the *GRUB* payload. For depthcharge, instructions have yet to be written. -

- Back to previous index. -

- -

- Copyright © 2016 Scott Bonds <scott@ggr.com>
- Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document - under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license - or any later version published by Creative Commons; - - A copy of the license can be found at ../cc-by-sa-4.0.txt -

- -

- Updated versions of the license (when available) can be found at - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode -

- -

+ +BSD projects {#pagetop} +============ + +This section relates to dealing with BSD projects: preparing bootable +USB drives, changing the default GRUB menu and so on. + +**This section is only for the \*GRUB\* payload. For depthcharge, +instructions have yet to be written.** + +[Back to previous index](../). + +- [How to install NetBSD on a libreboot system](netbsd.html) +- [How to install LibertyBSD or OpenBSD on a libreboot + system](openbsd.html) +- [How to install FreeBSD on a libreboot system](freebsd.html) + +

+ +Copyright © 2016 Scott Bonds <scott@ggr.com>\ +Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document +under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 +International license or any later version published by Creative +Commons; A copy of the license can be found at +[../cc-by-sa-4.0.txt](../cc-by-sa-4.0.txt) + +Updated versions of the license (when available) can be found at + + +UNLESS OTHERWISE SEPARATELY UNDERTAKEN BY THE LICENSOR, TO THE EXTENT +POSSIBLE, THE LICENSOR OFFERS THE LICENSED MATERIAL AS-IS AND +AS-AVAILABLE, AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND +CONCERNING THE LICENSED MATERIAL, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, +OR OTHER. THIS INCLUDES, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF TITLE, +MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, +ABSENCE OF LATENT OR OTHER DEFECTS, ACCURACY, OR THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE +OF ERRORS, WHETHER OR NOT KNOWN OR DISCOVERABLE. WHERE DISCLAIMERS OF +WARRANTIES ARE NOT ALLOWED IN FULL OR IN PART, THIS DISCLAIMER MAY NOT +APPLY TO YOU. + +TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, IN NO EVENT WILL THE LICENSOR BE LIABLE TO YOU +ON ANY LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, NEGLIGENCE) OR +OTHERWISE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, +PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR OTHER LOSSES, COSTS, EXPENSES, OR DAMAGES +ARISING OUT OF THIS PUBLIC LICENSE OR USE OF THE LICENSED MATERIAL, EVEN +IF THE LICENSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSSES, +COSTS, EXPENSES, OR DAMAGES. WHERE A LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS NOT +ALLOWED IN FULL OR IN PART, THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. + +The disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability provided above +shall be interpreted in a manner that, to the extent possible, most +closely approximates an absolute disclaimer and waiver of all liability. + +

How to install NetBSD on a libreboot system

- This section relates to preparing, booting and installing - NetBSD on your libreboot system, using nothing more than a USB flash drive (and dd). They've only been tested on a librebooted ThinkPad X60. -

- It is expected that you use text mode in libreboot (txtmode images), - for the early boot process in NetBSD. - Suspend/hibernate is broken, according to at least 1 user. -

- Thanks go to ioxcide in this Reddit post - for the initial instructions. -

Prepare the USB drive (in NetBSD)
Installing NetBSD without full disk encryption
Installing NetBSD with full disk encryption
Booting
Configuring Grub
Troubleshooting

- Back to previous index -

- This section is only for the GRUB payload. For depthcharge (used on CrOS devices in libreboot), instructions - have yet to be written in the libreboot documentation. -

- -

- netbsd.iso is the installation image for NetBSD. Adapt - the filename accordingly, for your version of NetBSD. -

- -

Prepare the USB drive (in NetBSD)

- This page - on the NetBSD website shows how to create a NetBSD bootable USB drive - from within NetBSD itself. You should use the dd method - documented there. -

- -

Prepare the USB drive (in FreeBSD)

- This page - on the FreeBSD website shows how to create a bootable USB drive - for installing FreeBSD. Use the dd on that page. You can - also use the same instructions with a NetBSD ISO image. -

- -

Prepare the USB drive (in LibertyBSD or NetBSD)

- -

- If you downloaded your ISO on a LibertyBSD or NetBSD system, - here is how to create the bootable NetBSD USB drive: -

- -

- Connect the USB drive. Check dmesg:
- $ dmesg | tail
- - Check to confirm which drive it is, for example, if you think its sd3:
- $ disklabel sd3 -

- -

- Check that it wasn't automatically mounted. If it was, unmount it. For example:
- $ doas umount /dev/sd3i
-

- -

- dmesg told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing the NetBSD installer to it with dd. For example:
- $ doas netbsd.iso of=/dev/rsdXc bs=1M; sync
-

- -

- You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive. Continue reading, for - information about how to do that. -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Prepare the USB drive (in GNU+Linux)

- -

- If you downloaded your ISO on a GNU+Linux system, - here is how to create the bootable NetBSD USB drive: -

- -

- Connect the USB drive. Check dmesg:
- $ dmesg
- - Check lsblk to confirm which drive it is:
- $ lsblk -

- -

- Check that it wasn't automatically mounted. If it was, unmount it. For example:
- $ sudo umount /dev/sdX*
- # umount /dev/sdX* -

- -

- dmesg told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing your distro ISO to it with dd. For example:
- $ sudo dd if=install60.fs of=/dev/sdX bs=8M; sync
- # dd if=netbsd.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=8M; sync -

- -

- You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive. Continue reading, for - information about how to do that. -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Installing NetBSD without full disk encryption

- -

- You might have to use an external USB keyboard during the installation. - Press C to access the GRUB terminal. -

- grub> knetbsd -r sd0a (usb0,netbsd1)/netbsd
- grub> boot -

- It will start booting into the NetBSD installer. Follow the normal process for installing NetBSD. -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Installing NetBSD with full disk encryption

- -

- TODO -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Booting

- -

- Press C in GRUB to access the command line: -

- grub> knetbsd -r wd0a (ahci0,netbsd1)/netbsd
- grub> boot -

- NetBSD will start booting. Yay! -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Configuring Grub

- -

- If you don't want to drop to the GRUB command line and type in a command to boot NetBSD every time, you can create a GRUB configuration that's aware of your NetBSD installation and that will automatically be used by libreboot. -

- On your NetBSD root partition, create the /grub directory and add the file libreboot_grub.cfg to it. Inside the libreboot_grub.cfg add these lines: -

- default=0 - timeout=3 - menuentry "NetBSD" {
- knetbsd -r wd0a (ahci0,netbsd1)/netbsd
- }
-

The next time you boot, you'll see the old Grub menu for a few seconds, then you'll see the a new menu with only NetBSD on the list. After 3 seconds NetBSD will boot, or you can hit enter to boot. -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Troubleshooting

- -

- Most of these issues occur when using libreboot with coreboot's 'text mode' instead of the coreboot framebuffer. - This mode is useful for booting payloads like memtest86+ which expect text-mode, but for NetBSD - it can be problematic when they are trying to switch to a framebuffer because it doesn't exist. -

- -

- In most cases, you should use the vesafb ROM images. Example filename: libreboot_ukdvorak_vesafb.rom. -

- -

won't boot...something about file not found

- Your device names (i.e. usb0, usb1, sd0, sd1, wd0, ahci0, hd0, etc) and numbers may differ. Use TAB completion. -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

- Updated versions of the license (when available) can be found at - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode -

- -

+ +How to install NetBSD on a libreboot system +=========================================== + +This section relates to preparing, booting and installing NetBSD on your +libreboot system, using nothing more than a USB flash drive (and *dd*). +They\'ve only been tested on a librebooted ThinkPad X60. + +It is expected that you use text mode in libreboot (txtmode images), for +the early boot process in NetBSD. **Suspend/hibernate is broken, +according to at least 1 user.** + +Thanks go to ioxcide in [this Reddit +post](https://www.reddit.com/r/BSD/comments/53jt70/libreboot_and_bsds/) +for the initial instructions. + +- [Prepare the USB drive (in NetBSD)](#prepare) +- [Installing NetBSD without full disk encryption](#noencryption) +- [Installing NetBSD with full disk encryption](#encryption) +- [Booting](#booting) +- [Configuring Grub](#configuring_grub) +- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting) + +[Back to previous index](./) + +

+ +**This section is only for the GRUB payload. For depthcharge (used on +CrOS devices in libreboot), instructions have yet to be written in the +libreboot documentation.** + +

+ +netbsd.iso is the installation image for NetBSD. Adapt the filename +accordingly, for your version of NetBSD. + +Prepare the USB drive (in NetBSD) +--------------------------------- + +[This +page](https://wiki.netbsd.org/tutorials/how_to_install_netbsd_from_an_usb_memory_stick/) +on the NetBSD website shows how to create a NetBSD bootable USB drive +from within NetBSD itself. You should use the *dd* method documented +there. + +Prepare the USB drive (in FreeBSD) +---------------------------------- + +[This page](https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/bsdinstall-pre.html) on +the FreeBSD website shows how to create a bootable USB drive for +installing FreeBSD. Use the *dd* on that page. You can also use the same +instructions with a NetBSD ISO image. + +Prepare the USB drive (in LibertyBSD or NetBSD) +----------------------------------------------- + +If you downloaded your ISO on a LibertyBSD or NetBSD system, here is how +to create the bootable NetBSD USB drive: + +Connect the USB drive. Check dmesg:\ +**\$ dmesg | tail**\ +Check to confirm which drive it is, for example, if you think its sd3:\ +**\$ disklabel sd3** + +Check that it wasn\'t automatically mounted. If it was, unmount it. For +example:\ +**\$ doas umount /dev/sd3i**\ + +dmesg told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing the +NetBSD installer to it with dd. For example:\ +**\$ doas netbsd.iso of=/dev/rsdXc bs=1M; sync**\ + +You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive. +Continue reading, for information about how to do that. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +Prepare the USB drive (in GNU+Linux) +------------------------------------ + +If you downloaded your ISO on a GNU+Linux system, here is how to create +the bootable NetBSD USB drive: + +Connect the USB drive. Check dmesg:\ +**\$ dmesg**\ +Check lsblk to confirm which drive it is:\ +**\$ lsblk** + +Check that it wasn\'t automatically mounted. If it was, unmount it. For +example:\ +**\$ sudo umount /dev/sdX\***\ +**\# umount /dev/sdX\*** + +dmesg told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing your +distro ISO to it with dd. For example:\ +**\$ sudo dd if=install60.fs of=/dev/sdX bs=8M; sync**\ +**\# dd if=netbsd.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=8M; sync** + +You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive. +Continue reading, for information about how to do that. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Installing NetBSD without full disk encryption +---------------------------------------------- + +You might have to use an external USB keyboard during the installation. +Press C to access the GRUB terminal. + +grub> **knetbsd -r sd0a (usb0,netbsd1)/netbsd**\ +grub> **boot** + +It will start booting into the NetBSD installer. Follow the normal +process for installing NetBSD. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Installing NetBSD with full disk encryption +------------------------------------------- + +TODO + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Booting +------- + +Press C in GRUB to access the command line: + +grub> **knetbsd -r wd0a (ahci0,netbsd1)/netbsd**\ +grub> **boot** + +NetBSD will start booting. Yay! + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Configuring Grub +---------------- + +If you don\'t want to drop to the GRUB command line and type in a +command to boot NetBSD every time, you can create a GRUB configuration +that\'s aware of your NetBSD installation and that will automatically be +used by libreboot. + +On your NetBSD root partition, create the **/grub** directory and add +the file **libreboot\_grub.cfg** to it. Inside the +**libreboot\_grub.cfg** add these lines: + +**default=0 timeout=3 menuentry \"NetBSD\" {\ + knetbsd -r wd0a (ahci0,netbsd1)/netbsd\ +}\ +** + +The next time you boot, you\'ll see the old Grub menu for a few seconds, +then you\'ll see the a new menu with only NetBSD on the list. After 3 +seconds NetBSD will boot, or you can hit enter to boot. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Troubleshooting +=============== + +Most of these issues occur when using libreboot with coreboot\'s \'text +mode\' instead of the coreboot framebuffer. This mode is useful for +booting payloads like memtest86+ which expect text-mode, but for NetBSD +it can be problematic when they are trying to switch to a framebuffer +because it doesn\'t exist. + +In most cases, you should use the vesafb ROM images. Example filename: +libreboot\_ukdvorak\_vesafb.rom. + +won\'t boot\...something about file not found +--------------------------------------------- + +Your device names (i.e. usb0, usb1, sd0, sd1, wd0, ahci0, hd0, etc) and +numbers may differ. Use TAB completion. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

How to install LibertyBSD or OpenBSD on a libreboot system

- NOTE: This guide was written for OpenBSD by the person who contributed - it, but the libreboot project recommends LibertyBSD. - LibertyBSD is a version of OpenBSD without proprietary software - in the repositories (OpenBSD distributes firmware blobs for - devices inside its kernel). - Go to the LibertyBSD website - -- TODO: test on LibertyBSD and prioritise that in this guide. -

- This section relates to preparing, booting and installing - OpenBSD on your libreboot system, using nothing more than a USB flash drive (and dd). They've only been tested on a Lenovo ThinkPad x200. -

Prepare the USB drive (in OpenBSD)
Installing OpenBSD without full disk encryption
Installing OpenBSD with full disk encryption
Booting
Configuring Grub
Troubleshooting

- Back to previous index -

- This section is only for the GRUB payload. For depthcharge (used on CrOS devices in libreboot), instructions - have yet to be written in the libreboot documentation. -

- -

- install60.fs is the installation image for OpenBSD 6.0. Adapt - the filename accordingly, for a different OpenBSD version or - LibertyBSD. -

- -

Prepare the USB drive (in LibertyBSD or OpenBSD)

- -

- If you downloaded your ISO on a LibertyBSD or OpenBSD system, - here is how to create the bootable LibertyBSD/OpenBSD USB drive: -

- -

- Connect the USB drive. Check dmesg:
- $ dmesg | tail
- - Check to confirm which drive it is, for example, if you think its sd3:
- $ disklabel sd3 -

- -

- Check that it wasn't automatically mounted. If it was, unmount it. For example:
- $ doas umount /dev/sd3i
-

- -

- dmesg told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing the OpenBSD installer to it with dd. For example:
- $ doas dd if=install60.fs of=/dev/rsdXc bs=1M; sync
-

- -

- You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive. Continue reading, for - information about how to do that. -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Prepare the USB drive (in NetBSD)

- This page - on the NetBSD website shows how to create a NetBSD bootable USB drive - from within NetBSD itself. You should use the dd method - documented there. This will also work with the OpenBSD image. -

- -

Prepare the USB drive (in FreeBSD)

- This page - on the FreeBSD website shows how to create a bootable USB drive - for installing FreeBSD. Use the dd on that page. You can - also use the same instructions with a OpenBSD ISO image. -

- -

Prepare the USB drive (in GNU+Linux)

- -

- If you downloaded your ISO on a GNU+Linux system, - here is how to create the bootable OpenBSD USB drive: -

- -

- Connect the USB drive. Check dmesg:
- $ dmesg
- - Check lsblk to confirm which drive it is:
- $ lsblk -

- -

- Check that it wasn't automatically mounted. If it was, unmount it. For example:
- $ sudo umount /dev/sdX*
- # umount /dev/sdX* -

- -

- dmesg told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing your distro ISO to it with dd. For example:
- $ sudo dd if=install60.fs of=/dev/sdX bs=8M; sync
- # dd if=install60.fs of=/dev/sdX bs=8M; sync -

- -

- You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive. Continue reading, for - information about how to do that. -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Installing OpenBSD without full disk encryption

- -

- Press C in GRUB to access the command line: -

- grub> kopenbsd (usb0,openbsd1)/6.0/amd64/bsd.rd
- grub> boot -

- It will start booting into the OpenBSD installer. Follow the normal process for installing OpenBSD. -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Installing OpenBSD with full disk encryption

- -

- Not working. You can modify the above procedure (installation w/o encryption) to install OpenBSD using full disk encryption, and it appears to work, except that its not yet clear how to actually boot an OpenBSD+FDE installation using libreboot+Grub2. If you get it working, please let us know. -

- -

- If booting in text mode (framebuffer mode might also work), it - might be possible to chainload the OpenBSD or LibertyBSD bootloader - from the MBR section on the internal storage device. This way, - it would be possible to boot with an encrypted OpenBSD or - LibertyBSD installation. Please let us know (contact details - are on the libreboot homepage) if you get it working this way. -

- Alternatively, it would be good to port OpenBSD either natively - as a coreboot payload, or port it to libpayload (payload library - in coreboot; it has a basic C library and a few functions for - certain operations e.g. text/bitmap). This would be ideal, - because then it would be possible to boot a truly fully encrypted - OpenBSD or LibertyBSD installation, by putting everything in - the flash chip. -

- Alternatively, modifying GRUB to support booting fully encrypted - OpenBSD installations would be possible, but probably not feasible; - it's an alien codebase to the OpenBSD project, not tightly integrated - and the OpenBSD bootloader already works. -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Booting

- -

- Press C in GRUB to access the command line: -

- grub> kopenbsd -r sd0a (ahci0,openbsd1)/bsd
- grub> boot -

- OpenBSD will start booting. Yay! -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Configuring Grub

- -

- If you don't want to drop to the GRUB command line and type in a command to boot OpenBSD every time, you can create a GRUB configuration that's aware of your OpenBSD installation and that will automatically be used by libreboot. -

- On your OpenBSD root partition, create the /grub directory and add the file libreboot_grub.cfg to it. Inside the libreboot_grub.cfg add these lines: -

- default=0 - timeout=3 - menuentry "OpenBSD" {
- kopenbsd -r sd0a (ahci0,openbsd1)/bsd
- }
-

The next time you boot, you'll see the old Grub menu for a few seconds, then you'll see the a new menu with only OpenBSD on the list. After 3 seconds OpenBSD will boot, or you can hit enter to boot. -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

Troubleshooting

- -

- Most of these issues occur when using libreboot with coreboot's 'text mode' instead of the coreboot framebuffer. - This mode is useful for booting payloads like memtest86+ which expect text-mode, but for OpenBSD - it can be problematic when they are trying to switch to a framebuffer because it doesn't exist. -

- -

- In most cases, you should use the vesafb ROM images. Example filename: libreboot_ukdvorak_vesafb.rom. -

- -

won't boot...something about file not found

- Your device names (i.e. usb0, usb1, sd0, sd1, wd0, ahci0, hd0, etc) and numbers may differ. Use TAB completion. -

- -

- Back to top of page. -

- -

- Copyright © 2016 Scott Bonds <scott@ggr.com>
- Copyright © 2016 Leah Rowe <info@minifree.org>
- Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document - under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license - or any later version published by Creative Commons; - - A copy of the license can be found at ../cc-by-sa-4.0.txt -

- -

- Updated versions of the license (when available) can be found at - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode -

- -

+ +How to install LibertyBSD or OpenBSD on a libreboot system +========================================================== + +NOTE: This guide was written for OpenBSD by the person who contributed +it, but the libreboot project recommends LibertyBSD. LibertyBSD is a +version of OpenBSD without proprietary software in the repositories +(OpenBSD distributes firmware blobs for devices inside its kernel). Go +to the [LibertyBSD website](http://libertybsd.net/) \-- TODO: test on +LibertyBSD and prioritise that in this guide. + +This section relates to preparing, booting and installing OpenBSD on +your libreboot system, using nothing more than a USB flash drive (and +*dd*). They\'ve only been tested on a Lenovo ThinkPad x200. + +- [Prepare the USB drive (in OpenBSD)](#prepare) +- [Installing OpenBSD without full disk encryption](#noencryption) +- [Installing OpenBSD with full disk encryption](#encryption) +- [Booting](#booting) +- [Configuring Grub](#configuring_grub) +- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting) + +[Back to previous index](./) + +

+ +**This section is only for the GRUB payload. For depthcharge (used on +CrOS devices in libreboot), instructions have yet to be written in the +libreboot documentation.** + +

+ +install60.fs is the installation image for OpenBSD 6.0. Adapt the +filename accordingly, for a different OpenBSD version or LibertyBSD. + +Prepare the USB drive (in LibertyBSD or OpenBSD) +------------------------------------------------ + +If you downloaded your ISO on a LibertyBSD or OpenBSD system, here is +how to create the bootable LibertyBSD/OpenBSD USB drive: + +Connect the USB drive. Check dmesg:\ +**\$ dmesg | tail**\ +Check to confirm which drive it is, for example, if you think its sd3:\ +**\$ disklabel sd3** + +Check that it wasn\'t automatically mounted. If it was, unmount it. For +example:\ +**\$ doas umount /dev/sd3i**\ + +dmesg told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing the +OpenBSD installer to it with dd. For example:\ +**\$ doas dd if=install60.fs of=/dev/rsdXc bs=1M; sync**\ + +You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive. +Continue reading, for information about how to do that. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +Prepare the USB drive (in NetBSD) +--------------------------------- + +[This +page](https://wiki.netbsd.org/tutorials/how_to_install_netbsd_from_an_usb_memory_stick/) +on the NetBSD website shows how to create a NetBSD bootable USB drive +from within NetBSD itself. You should use the *dd* method documented +there. This will also work with the OpenBSD image. + +Prepare the USB drive (in FreeBSD) +---------------------------------- + +[This page](https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/bsdinstall-pre.html) on +the FreeBSD website shows how to create a bootable USB drive for +installing FreeBSD. Use the *dd* on that page. You can also use the same +instructions with a OpenBSD ISO image. + +Prepare the USB drive (in GNU+Linux) +------------------------------------ + +If you downloaded your ISO on a GNU+Linux system, here is how to create +the bootable OpenBSD USB drive: + +Connect the USB drive. Check dmesg:\ +**\$ dmesg**\ +Check lsblk to confirm which drive it is:\ +**\$ lsblk** + +Check that it wasn\'t automatically mounted. If it was, unmount it. For +example:\ +**\$ sudo umount /dev/sdX\***\ +**\# umount /dev/sdX\*** + +dmesg told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing your +distro ISO to it with dd. For example:\ +**\$ sudo dd if=install60.fs of=/dev/sdX bs=8M; sync**\ +**\# dd if=install60.fs of=/dev/sdX bs=8M; sync** + +You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive. +Continue reading, for information about how to do that. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Installing OpenBSD without full disk encryption +----------------------------------------------- + +Press C in GRUB to access the command line: + +grub> **kopenbsd (usb0,openbsd1)/6.0/amd64/bsd.rd**\ +grub> **boot** + +It will start booting into the OpenBSD installer. Follow the normal +process for installing OpenBSD. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Installing OpenBSD with full disk encryption +-------------------------------------------- + +Not working. You can modify the above procedure (installation w/o +encryption) to install OpenBSD using full disk encryption, and it +appears to work, except that its not yet clear how to actually *boot* an +OpenBSD+FDE installation using libreboot+Grub2. If you get it working, +please let us know. + +If booting in text mode (framebuffer mode might also work), it might be +possible to chainload the OpenBSD or LibertyBSD bootloader from the MBR +section on the internal storage device. This way, it would be possible +to boot with an encrypted OpenBSD or LibertyBSD installation. Please let +us know (contact details are on the libreboot homepage) if you get it +working this way. + +Alternatively, it would be good to port OpenBSD either natively as a +coreboot payload, or port it to libpayload (payload library in coreboot; +it has a basic C library and a few functions for certain operations e.g. +text/bitmap). **This would be ideal, because then it would be possible +to boot a truly fully encrypted OpenBSD or LibertyBSD installation, by +putting everything in the flash chip.** + +Alternatively, modifying GRUB to support booting fully encrypted OpenBSD +installations would be possible, but probably not feasible; it\'s an +alien codebase to the OpenBSD project, not tightly integrated and the +OpenBSD bootloader already works. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Booting +------- + +Press C in GRUB to access the command line: + +grub> **kopenbsd -r sd0a (ahci0,openbsd1)/bsd**\ +grub> **boot** + +OpenBSD will start booting. Yay! + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Configuring Grub +---------------- + +If you don\'t want to drop to the GRUB command line and type in a +command to boot OpenBSD every time, you can create a GRUB configuration +that\'s aware of your OpenBSD installation and that will automatically +be used by libreboot. + +On your OpenBSD root partition, create the **/grub** directory and add +the file **libreboot\_grub.cfg** to it. Inside the +**libreboot\_grub.cfg** add these lines: + +**default=0 timeout=3 menuentry \"OpenBSD\" {\ + kopenbsd -r sd0a (ahci0,openbsd1)/bsd\ +}\ +** + +The next time you boot, you\'ll see the old Grub menu for a few seconds, +then you\'ll see the a new menu with only OpenBSD on the list. After 3 +seconds OpenBSD will boot, or you can hit enter to boot. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Troubleshooting +=============== + +Most of these issues occur when using libreboot with coreboot\'s \'text +mode\' instead of the coreboot framebuffer. This mode is useful for +booting payloads like memtest86+ which expect text-mode, but for OpenBSD +it can be problematic when they are trying to switch to a framebuffer +because it doesn\'t exist. + +In most cases, you should use the vesafb ROM images. Example filename: +libreboot\_ukdvorak\_vesafb.rom. + +won\'t boot\...something about file not found +--------------------------------------------- + +Your device names (i.e. usb0, usb1, sd0, sd1, wd0, ahci0, hd0, etc) and +numbers may differ. Use TAB completion. + +[Back to top of page](#pagetop). + +

+ +Copyright © 2016 Scott Bonds <scott@ggr.com>\ +Copyright © 2016 Leah Rowe <info@minifree.org>\ +Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document +under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 +International license or any later version published by Creative +Commons; A copy of the license can be found at +[../cc-by-sa-4.0.txt](../cc-by-sa-4.0.txt) + +Updated versions of the license (when available) can be found at + + +UNLESS OTHERWISE SEPARATELY UNDERTAKEN BY THE LICENSOR, TO THE EXTENT +POSSIBLE, THE LICENSOR OFFERS THE LICENSED MATERIAL AS-IS AND +AS-AVAILABLE, AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND +CONCERNING THE LICENSED MATERIAL, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, +OR OTHER. THIS INCLUDES, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF TITLE, +MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, +ABSENCE OF LATENT OR OTHER DEFECTS, ACCURACY, OR THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE +OF ERRORS, WHETHER OR NOT KNOWN OR DISCOVERABLE. WHERE DISCLAIMERS OF +WARRANTIES ARE NOT ALLOWED IN FULL OR IN PART, THIS DISCLAIMER MAY NOT +APPLY TO YOU. + +TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, IN NO EVENT WILL THE LICENSOR BE LIABLE TO YOU +ON ANY LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, NEGLIGENCE) OR +OTHERWISE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, +PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR OTHER LOSSES, COSTS, EXPENSES, OR DAMAGES +ARISING OUT OF THIS PUBLIC LICENSE OR USE OF THE LICENSED MATERIAL, EVEN +IF THE LICENSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSSES, +COSTS, EXPENSES, OR DAMAGES. WHERE A LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS NOT +ALLOWED IN FULL OR IN PART, THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. + +The disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability provided above +shall be interpreted in a manner that, to the extent possible, most +closely approximates an absolute disclaimer and waiver of all liability. + +