Ideas

This is a random list of ideas for features which would be nice to have in coreboot (or a payload).

Having an item here does not mean that someone is necessarily already working on it.

Ideas / Wishlist

Hardware Features

• Bios setup
  • Support for the NX-bit.
  • Config option for enabling/disabling HPET (high precision event timers) on all boards which have them.
  • Config option for enabling/disabling hardware virtualization.
  • Config option for enabling/disabling the TPM chip on boards which have one.
  • Config option for enabling/disabling the processor serial number to be read by the OS.

Payloads

• Flashrom-like payload to allow reflashing the BIOS without having to load an OS, boot from floppies or similar.
• Busybox-style mini-payload for recovery purposes (possible already to a certain degree, but should be simplified).
• GNU fdisk-like payload to allow basic partitioning, file system check and swap enable/disable.
• Security payload, which allows encryption of the filesystem on any harddisk and USB thumb drive. User authentication before boot with USB dongle, fingerprint sensor or chipcard-terminal with PKCS 15.

Related tools

• Add support in VirtualBox for loading arbitrary BIOS images so VirtualBox can be used for testing coreboot (as an alternative to QEMU).

Misc

• A graphical tool to configure the parts of coreboot without a need to use a texteditor. You wish to make a BIOS without any graphics adapter, with netboot and minimal boottime, then choose the option "server". You like to change the splashscreen? Then load a 800×600px picture (or a smaller one) from your harddisk and let this tool convert it into a proper splashscreen picture format and build a new BIOS for your mainboard.
• A nice splashscreen 800×600px for desktop users, from which a selection of different payloads are possible.