After three months of development, the release of free loading firmware Libreboot 20240126 was announced[^1^]. This release is considered a test version, with stable releases typically published once a year (the previous stable release was in June). Libreboot is developed as an alternative to proprietary UEFI and BIOS firmware, responsible for initializing CPU, memory, and other hardware components, with the aim of minimizing binary inserts[^1^].
Libreboot aims to create a complete environment that avoids proprietary components not only in the operating system, but also in the firmware that handles the boot process. It integrates with Coreboot to simplify usage for end users, providing a ready-made distribution that can be easily used by individuals without specialized skills[^2^].
This new release includes the following updates:
- Added support for the following laptop models: HP Elitebook 820 G2, HP Compaq Elite 8300 CMT, HP Elitebook 8460p, Dell Latitude E6530, and ThinkPad X220 EDP[^2^].
- Support for the ThinkPad X201 laptop has been discontinued[^2^].
- Solved issues related to sleep mode on ThinkPad laptops X200 and T400[^2^].
- Optimizations have been made to reduce the code size in the assembly system[^2^].
- The GRUB bootloader has been updated to version 2.12, which is a stable release[^2^].
- GRUB has made changes to search for the GRUB.CFG file, as well as the configuration of Extlinux and Syslinux in the EFI sections[^2^].
The following equipment is supported in Libreboot[^3^]:
Server motherboards:
- ASUS KFSN4-DRE
- ASUS KGPE-D16
Desktop systems:
- Gigabyte GA-G41M-SES2L
- Acer G43T-AM3
- Intel