Customizing Coreboot on a ThinkPad X200 - 01: Background
Last summer I bought a ThinkPad X200 with the help of Jeff Bai. Since then I have been performing many firmware experiments (i.e. flashing and testing Coreboot) on it, and now I think it’s time to note down all my experiences, in the hope that people like you can benefit from them.
People have been asking me why I am still using an old laptop. In fact, my X200 is one of my new computers (my another one is a Dell Latitude 5300). I bought X200 originally because I was interested in Libreboot (and Coreboot) and wanted to play with it. Jeff, who knows a lot in old computers, also endorsed my choice, but in the aspect of X200’s attributes: it’s classic and durable, without too many compromises. “This was one of the last models of the X-Series able to run Libreboot, a Free Software BIOS replacement.”1 It cost more than 8,000 CNY2 at that time, but in 2019 you only need around 300 CNY to buy one from a second-hand market (or Taobao).
I break the whole content into a series of blog posts for easier navigation. Links to the posts are listed below. I’ll first talk about the process of my purchasing the X200, then the disassembly of X200 (it’s easier than you might think), then how to flash Coreboot on X200, then some tweaks on operating systems running on the X200 with Coreboot, and then some notes on using the X200 with Coreboot on a day-to-day basis.
As of Jan. 2, the whole series of the blog posts are still under construction. Stay tuned if you’re also interested in flashing Coreboot on X200.
Again I want to thank Jeff Bai for his generous assistance on finding the best X200 for me and the maintenance techniques for X200!