Dell OptiPlex 7020/9020 SFF/MT, and XE2 MT/SFF
NOTE: Dell XE2 MT/SFF are also known to work, using the 9020 images. Same motherboards as the 9020 and 7020.
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Dell |
| Name | OptiPlex 9020 SFF/MT |
| Variants | OptiPlex 9020 SFF/MT |
| Chipset | Intel Q87 Express |
| CPU | Intel Haswell |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics |
| Memory | DDR3 DIMMs (max 32GB, 4x8GB) |
| Architecture | x86_64 |
| Original boot firmware | Dell UEFI firmware |
| Intel ME/AMD PSP | Present. Can be disabled with me_cleaner. |
| Flash chip | 2x SOIC-8, 12MiB (8+4) (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 |
ECC memory support
The 9020 MT/SFF do not have ECC memory support. However:
Dell Precision T1700
The T1700 is a version of the same motherboard, but with ECC support. You can flash the 9020 MT image on this board, and it will boot.
Please note however that the native raminit (libre raminit) provided by Libreboot does not yet support ECC. You may be able to use ECC modules, but you won’t actually have functioning ECC.
ECC support currently requires mrc.bin, which is vendor firmware for raminit.
Libreboot removed this some time ago, instead favouring only the libre raminit.
Patches are welcome, otherwise you can use an older revision of Libreboot
with mrc.bin if you need ECC; it’s unknown whether both the Haswell and
Broadwell MRC (the latter works on 9020 MT) both support ECC, so you’ll just
have to try either. Otherwise, you might simply compile your own custom
coreboot configuration for this setup.
Libreboot’s binary blob reduction policy is very clear:
if a blob can be avoided, it must be avoided. Therefore, mrc.bin is avoided
since the libre raminit works pretty well these days (ECC notwithstanding).
Patch
Mate Kukri is the author of the original coreboot port who wrote a patch.
This patch, at this revision (patchset 31), is what Libreboot uses for this port.
QUBES: how to get it working
Qubes requires IOMMU to be turned on. Please now read the next section. Qubes WILL work, if you configure Libreboot as directed below, but otherwise it will fail by default. This is because Libreboot disables the IOMMU by default, on this board.
Graphics cards and IOMMU
IOMMU is buggy for some reason (we don’t know why yet), when you plug in a graphics card. The graphics card simply won’t work. On some of them, you can use the console but as soon as you start xorg/wayland, it will just b0rk.
Current Libreboot revisions disable IOMMU by default, on this board. The coreboot code for initialising IOMMU was modified by the Libreboot project, to make it a toggle. IOMMU works fine if you use only Intel graphics.
If you want to use IOMMU with a graphics card, you also can. Use this Linux kernel option at boot:
intel_iommu=enable,igfx_off
With the above option, IOMMU is enabled except for the Intel GPU. However, Libreboot also disables the Intel GPU in coreboot, entirely, when a graphics card is used. With the above option, it’s possible that something like Qubes may work, which requires an IOMMU to be turned on.
If you are using Intel graphics, and not a graphics card, you can ignore the above, and instead fully turn on the IOMMU, without any special kernel options.
The way coreboot works is this: if vt-d is present on the CPU, it enables an
IOMMU, and only if vt-d is present. This is still the behaviour in Libreboot,
but Libreboot adds an additional check: if iommu is not set in nvram, it
defaults to on, but if it’s set to disabled, then IOMMU is not initialised.
Enable IOMMU
IOMMU is disabled by default, universally, on this board. You can turn it on, by modifying the ROM image prior to flashing, or modifying it prior to re-flashing.
On all other Haswell boards, LIbreboot enables IOMMU by default. To enable it on the 9020, do this on your ROM:
nvramtool -C libreboot.rom -w iommu=Enable
If you’re using a graphics card, please make sure to read the above notes
about how to use IOMMU; specifically, the part that talks about Linux kernel
option intel_iommu=enable,igfx_off
Then flash the ROM image. You can find nvramtool
under src/coreboot/default/util/nvramtool. Do this in lbmk if you don’t
already havse src/coreboot/default/:
./mk -f coreboot default
Then do this:
make -C src/coreboot/default/util/nvramtool
The binary nvramtool will then live in that directory. More information
available in Libreboot build instructions. Information about
dumping/flashing the ROM can be found
in Libreboot flashing instructions
and Libreboot external flashing instructions.
NOTE: If IOMMU is enabled, you can still use a graphics card, but you must
pass this on the Linux cmdline parameters: iommu=off - or if you need
IOMMU (e.g. for Qubes), use intel_iommu=enable,igfx_off instead.
NOTE2: Libreboot uses a static option table on all boards that have nvram,
which is why you must use the -C option on your ROM, to change the static
table that is baked into it.
Example of the type of errors we got when testing graphics cards with IOMMU enabled
Make sure to configure your image accordingly.
7020 compatibility
7020/9020 MT each have the same motherboard. Flash the 9020 ROM from Libreboot on your 7020, and it will work.
Ditto 7020/9020 SFF, it’s the same motherboard. However, Libreboot provides separate targets for MT and SFF.
Build ROM image from source
For the MT variant (7020 MT and 9020 MT):
./mk -b coreboot dell9020mt_nri_12mb
For the SFF variant (7020 SFF and 9020 SFF):
./mk -b coreboot dell9020sff_nri_12mb
It is important that you choose the right one. The MT variant is the full MTX tower.
Installation
Insert binary files
If you’re using a release ROM, please ensure that you’ve inserted extra firmware required refer to the guide for that. (failure to adhere to this advice will result in a bricked machine)
Libreboot’s build system automatically downloads and processes these files if you build Libreboot from source, but the same logic that it uses must be re-run if you’re using a release image.
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.
Flash a ROM image (software)
If you’re already running Libreboot, and you don’t have flash protection turned on, internal flashing is possible.
Internal flashing can also be done with the original Dell BIOS, if the SERVICE_MODE jumper near the PCIe slots is installed. Before flashing,
rmmod spi-intel-platform
needs to be run to prevent errors. Once Libreboot is installed, the SERVICE_MODE jumper can be removed.
Note: The Dell BIOS can write EFI variables to flash when shutting down, which could corrupt the newly flashed Libreboot ROM and render the system unusable. To prevent this, after flashing internally from the original Dell BIOS, remove power from the computer instead of shutting it down normally. It’s recommended to use a live USB instead of the internal drive to prevent potential filesystem corruption.
Flash a ROM image (hardware)
REMOVE all power sources and connectors from the machine, before doing this. This is to prevent short circuiting and power surges while flashing.
For general information, please refer to 25xx NOR flash instructions - that page refers to use of socketed flash.
There are two SOIC-8 chips. You can split up your 12MB ROM image like so:
dd if=libreboot.rom of=4mb.rom bs=1M skip=8
dd if=libreboot.rom of=8mb.rom bs=1M count=8
The side cover comes off easily, and you can find the flash ICs next to the RAM.
Here’s the SOIC8 ICs being flashed:
Enjoy!