RCA RM4100

The wiki is being retired!

Documentation is now handled by the same processes we use for code: Add something to the Documentation/ directory in the coreboot repo, and it will be rendered to https://doc.coreboot.org/. Contributions welcome!

The RCA RM4100 was originally designed by Thomson Electronics and was called the IP1000. I was then manufactured by RCA and named the RM4100. It is the Thomson IP1000's little brother. It is a great little set-top-box for coreboot. Maintained by Joseph Smith.

A full boot log of this board running coreboot is available for reference.

Status

Device/functionality Status Comments
CPU
CPU works OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK Mobile Intel(R) Celeron(TM) CPU 733MHz.
L1 cache enabled OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK
L2 cache enabled OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK 256 KB
L3 cache enabled OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Multiple CPU support OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Multi-core support OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Hardware virtualization OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
RAM
EDO OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
SDRAM OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
SO-DIMM OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK Onboard 128MB PC133.
DDR OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
DDR2 OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
DDR3 OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Dual channel support OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
ECC support OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board Hardware
On-board IDE 3.5" OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK Tested with hard drive.
On-board IDE 2.5" OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK Tested with 2.5" hard drive and adapter.
On-board SATA OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board SCSI OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
On-board USB OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK Tested with USB keyboard.
On-board VGA OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK VGA support in coreboot works fine. TV-Out is still a WIP.
On-board Ethernet OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK Onboard Intel 82562ET LAN On Motherboard (LOM) Design.
On-board Audio OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK
On-board Modem OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Untested Detected by the kernel ok, but has not been tested.
On-board FireWire OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board Smartcard reader OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board CompactFlash OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK
On-board PCMCIA OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board Wifi OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board Bluetooth OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
On-board SD card reader OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Add-on slots/cards
ISA add-on cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Audio/Modem-Riser (AMR/CNR) cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PCI add-on cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Mini-PCI add-on cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
Mini-PCI-Express add-on cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
PCI-X add-on cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
AGP graphics cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PCI Express x1 add-on cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PCI Express x2 add-on cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PCI Express x4 add-on cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PCI Express x8 add-on cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PCI Express x16 add-on cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PCI Express x32 add-on cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
HTX add-on cards OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Legacy / Super I/O
Floppy OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Serial port 1 (COM1) OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK
Serial port 2 (COM2) OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK IR is connected to COM2. Tested: Wireless (IR) keyboard on COM2.
Parallel port OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK There is no actual Parallel connector, the Parallel is used to enable IR and control 3 LEDs.
PS/2 keyboard OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
PS/2 mouse OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Game port OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Infrared OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK Should work fine but has not been tested with lirc and a remote yet.
PC speaker OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
DiskOnChip OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Input
Trackpoint OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Touchpad OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Fn Hotkeys OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Fingerprint Reader OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Laptop
Docking VGA OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Docking LAN OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Docking USB OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Docking Audio OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Docking Displayport OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Thinklight OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Webcam OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Miscellaneous
Sensors / fan control OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK lm-sensors uses i801, smsc47m192.
Hardware watchdog OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Untested
SMBus OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
CAN bus OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
CPU frequency scaling OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Untested
Other powersaving features OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | WIP
ACPI OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Reboot OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK
Poweroff OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | WIP
Suspend OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
Nonstandard LEDs OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK Controlled by parallel port.
High precision event timers (HPET) OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Random number generator (RNG) OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
Wake on modem ring OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Untested
Wake on LAN OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Untested Enabled on LOM Design, should work fine but untested.
Wake on keyboard OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Untested Supported by the Super I/O but not implemented.
Wake on mouse OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | N/A
TPM OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | Unknown
Flashrom OK=lime | TODO=red | No=red | WIP=orange | Untested=yellow | N/A=lightgray | yellow }}" | OK Should work since flashrom version r3145.

Hardware

Front of the RCA RM4100.
Back of the RCA RM4100.
Stock RM4100, still in the case.
RM4100 with PLCC socket, IDE, and VGA modifications.

VGA vs. Headless

Before building coreboot for the RCA RM4100 there are a few settings to consider. Depending on whether you want VGA support or not, you might have to modify some files.

See VGA support for information on how to add support for the onboard VGA controller.

Payload

Next you will need to prepare a payload. For this tutorial I will use FILO to boot from a hard drive (Fedora Core 7). In the FILO directory run

make

like instructed in the INSTALL directions and then edit the file Config.

Change:

MENULST_FILE = "hda3:/boot/filo/menu.lst"

to (menu.lst is a symlink to grub.conf and FILO does not like that)

MENULST_FILE = "hda1:/grub/grub.conf"

to boot to GRUB on the Compact Flash card or

MENULST_FILE = "hdc1:/grub/grub.conf"

to boot from the harddrive (if you have the HD hack installed).

Change:

#SERIAL_SPEED = 115200

to

SERIAL_SPEED = 115200

to insure we get output to the serial console. That should be it. Now you can run

make 

again to build your payload ELF file. Once that finishes copy filo.elf to the /tmp directory, or you can adjust targets/rca/rm4100/Config.lb to point to where filo.elf is.

You can further reduce the size of filo.elf by disabling various unneeded options in FILO's Config file (e.g. support for filesystems you don't use).

Building coreboot

Now we are ready to build coreboot.

See the Build HOWTO for information on how to build coreboot for this board.

See VGA support for information on how to add support for the onboard VGA controller.

Flashing coreboot

At last you're ready to flash bios.bin to your RM4100. If this is the first time, meaning your RM4100 still has the original BIOS, you need to use the method described on the Howto install coreboot & Linux on the RM4100 article to flash, otherwise you can just use flashrom.

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I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.