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+--- Thread: The usage/access of the SPI flash (/showthread.php?tid=8711)
The usage/access of the SPI flash - aaspectre - 01-05-2020
So, reading through the wiki, if my reading comprehension is where it should be, it appears to me that is
1. the RK3399 searches to boot from SPI flash first
2. there is spi flash presentt
3. it is unused or it's use is undocumented
I ask, because this would be the obvious place for a more complex bootloader (i.e. coreboot) instead of relying on the hardcoded boot order, potentially adding support for SSD boot without any hacky drive leapfrogging stuff.
Apologies if this has been talked about before, couldn't quite find anything though.
EDIT: I was so eager to be helpful I didn't even look at the pinned posts, lol.
RE: The usage/access of the SPI flash - Arwen - 01-06-2020
The Pinebook Pro seems to be the higher end, (highest end at the time designed?), ARM laptop that is not designed as a Chromebook. As such, it's gotten a bit more attention than previous works, (the Pinebook 11" & 14", as well as others). So we may start seeing more work in regards to making a more feature rich boot system.
At present though, we don't have keyboard or display drivers usable from embedded code, (aka ROM/Flash code). That's what I think is needed after NVMe boot.
Since it's easier to use the eMMC or SD card for development, it may be 6 months or a year before we see interactive and feature rich boot code.
Edit: I also meant ARM laptops built for MS-Windows may be higher spec'ed.
RE: The usage/access of the SPI flash - aaspectre - 01-06-2020
lol, I forget those are even things that need to be considered. Coreboot with hardware that gets support is just check the right boxes on nconfig and then make, getting it to that point is way beyond me though. I am very excited for when (and I do think it's a matter of when) it gets to that point. It seemed like this laptop was my only option for a specific niche, which I don't think is that obscure, so I'm sure it will be massive.