what is intel management engine firmware for

WHAT IS INTEL MANAGEMENT ENGINE FIRMWARE FOR DRIVERS
WHAT IS INTEL MANAGEMENT ENGINE FIRMWARE FOR SOFTWARE
WHAT IS INTEL MANAGEMENT ENGINE FIRMWARE FOR CODE
WHAT IS INTEL MANAGEMENT ENGINE FIRMWARE FOR FREE

It's probably possible to remove the ME or AMT partitions on chipset before GM45 simply by not using the flash partition table. Removing the ME partition on platforms earlier than GM45

WHAT IS INTEL MANAGEMENT ENGINE FIRMWARE FOR FREE

Some Intel GPU such as the ones used in the Libreboot compatible laptops are known to work with free software.

WHAT IS INTEL MANAGEMENT ENGINE FIRMWARE FOR SOFTWARE

So far ATI/AMD and Nvidia GPU cannot be used with fully free software as they require at least nonfree bytecode, and potentially Video BIOS if users need to see something during boot. Some peripherals like GPU also need to be initialized at boot.For instance, on recent Intel computers, Coreboot doesn’t do much anymore and most of its work consist in interfacing with nonfree binaries (like FSP) and running them to have the hardware initialization done. Many computers compatible with Coreboot do require nonfree software to boot.So it's a good idea to check if the lack of microcode doesn't prevent boot or reliable use of the computer. Not many computers compatible with Coreboot have been tested without the nonfree CPU microcode.However even if it's possible to disable the management Engine on Intel computers with more recent chipsets than the GM45 chipsets, this still need to be combined with the ability to boot the computer with only free software.įor instance, once a more recent computer boots without the Management Engine firmware, if that computer is not already supported by Coreboot or other boot software (u-boot, etc), support for it would still need to be added there and/or in downstream projects like Libreboot.Įven computers supported by Coreboot can also have other issues blocking the ability to boot with free software: Research on removing the Management Engine OSīecause of the Management Engine, recent x86 Intel computers cannot even boot with free software.

WHAT IS INTEL MANAGEMENT ENGINE FIRMWARE FOR CODE

However none of the above fixes the fact that nonfree code runs on hardware that has too many capability and that is meant to remove users control of their computer. me_cleaner can remove some of the Management Engine OS code.There are several versions of the Management Engine OS for a given Management Engine hardware.Google/HP Pavilion Chromebook 14 (butterfly) If ME firmware is absent, the computer freezes about 30min after boot.The firmware can be completely removed in a way that keeps the computer functional.Controls the computer's original networking adapters.Has access to the computer's memory/RAM.Disabled: No Ethernet controller firmware.Inside the Ethernet controller, disabled: no Ethernet controller firmware.This tries to summarize in tables what is known about specific Management Engine versions, or computers. While some information is specific to specific Management Engine versions, some other is specific to specific laptop models (and potentially revisions of variant of a given model). In addition to that, the number of research publications on the Management Engine are very small, and typically apply to a given Management Engine version.Īs hardware we are interested in spans over more than a decade, and that work to make computers fully free can potentially take years, we also need to categorize on which Management Engine version it applies to. For instance the CPU architecture, the OS used in it, etc changed over time.

WHAT IS INTEL MANAGEMENT ENGINE FIRMWARE FOR DRIVERS

The Management Engine also has extensive access to the hardware, and has some drivers or code to control some of the hardware, including various network interfaces, RAM, display, etc.Ĭompilation of information on ME versionsĪs the management engine evolved over time, many things changed.

Depending on the configuration, it can enable system administrators having configured it to remote control computers.

It's designed to remove users control over their computers.

That code is signed and required for booting the computer on recent computers.

See the on the management engine on the FSF website for some background on why it is an attack on users freedom.

4.4 When code on the Management Engine is strictly required to boot.

4.3 Removing the ME partition on post-GM45.

4.1 Removing the ME partition on platforms earlier than GM45.

4 Research on removing the Management Engine OS.

3 Reducing harm without fixing the issue.

2 Compilation of information on ME versions.

What is intel management engine firmware for