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title: Install RBoot on Lenovo ThinkPad X230/X230T
x-toc-enable: true
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libre BIOS/UEFI firmware
------------------------------

This document will teach you how to install RBoot, on your
Lenovo ThinkPad X230 laptop motherboard.
RBoot is a [Free Software](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw) project
that replaces proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware.

**[PLEASE READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE INSTALLING](ivy_has_common.md), OR
YOU MAY BRICK YOUR MACHINE!! - Please click the link and follow the instructions
there, before flashing. For posterity,
[here is the link again](ivy_has_common.md).**

Splitting The Rom
-----------------

You can use `dd` to easily split your rom into the two separate portions for
external flashing. SPI1 is an 8MB chip, representing the first 8MB from offset
zero in your ROM image file. Thus:

	dd if=rboot.rom of=spi1_8mb.rom bs=1M count=8
	dd if=rboot.rom of=spi2_4mb.rom bs=1M skip=8

Flash the 8MB chip with `spi1_8mb.rom`, and the 4MB chip with `spi2_4mb.rom`.
Don't worry about knowing which chip is which on a standard setup; flashprog will let you know if the 
image size is incorrect for the chip you're flashing.

### 4MB CBFS

CBFS is 4MB on this board, so when external flashing, you can just break off
the upper 4MB part of the image and flash that. Keep this in mind if you're
flashing externally.

When externally flashing the lower 8MB part, you can optionally flash the
IFD and GbE regions if that is appropriate for your setup.

Disassembly
-----------

Start by removing the battery.
Remove every screw from the bottom of the machine marked with a keyboard/touchpad indicator.

Pry up the keyboard and separate it from the palmrest.
![](https://av.rboot.org/board/x230/palmrest.jpg)

Unplug the ribbon cable from the palmrest and pry it off as well.
![](https://av.rboot.org/board/x230/palmrest_cable.jpg)

Pull up the protective cover to reveal the two soic chips for flashing.
![](https://av.rboot.org/board/x230/chipLocation.jpg)


[//]: # "SPDX-License-Identifier: GFDL-1.3-or-later"