EFI - Wann kommts endlich?

[Gast]

Einige Infos zu EFI (auch in Zusammenhang zum Mac):

Intel Switch
Announced switch at Apple's 2005 World Wide Developer Conference Allowed us to reevaluate System Firmware Strategy.

Choices
Open Firmware
Traditional BIOS
Layered EFI
Native EFI based on Framework

What We Did
We decided to use native EFI based on the Framework

http://download.intel.com/technology/efi/docs/pdfs/EFIS005Spr06.pdf

...

Intel Platform Innovation Framework for EFI
The Intel Platform Innovation Framework for EFI (also known as “the Framework”) is a set of specifications developed by Intel in conjunction with EFI. While EFI specifies the OS-to-firmware interface, the Framework specifies the structure used to build the firmware beneath the OS-to-firmware interface.
In particular, the Framework includes all the steps needed to initialize the platform after power-on. These inner workings of firmware are not defined as part of the EFI specification, but some are part of the Platform Initialization Specification developed by UEFI. The Framework has been tested on Intel XScale, Intel Itanium and IA32 platforms.
Compatibility with x86 operating systems that require “legacy BIOS” interfaces to operate is handled through a compatibility support module (CSM). The CSM includes a 16-bit binary (CSM16) supplied by a BIOS vendor and a “thunk” layer to connect CSM16 to the Framework.
Intel developed a reference codebase for the Framework, codenamed “Tiano”. Tiano is a complete, legacy-free firmware implementation that includes support for EFI. Tiano does not include the 16-bit portion of the CSM, but provides the interfaces required to add one supplied by a BIOS vendor. Intel does not make the complete Tiano implementation available to end-users.
A portion of the Tiano codebase (“the Foundation”) has been released as open source to the TianoCore project as the EFI Developer Kit (EDK). This implementation covers EFI and some hardware initialization code, but does not constitute feature-complete firmware by itself. Several licenses have been used for this code, including the BSD license and the Eclipse Public License.
Products based on EFI, UEFI & the Framework specifications are available through independent BIOS vendors, such as Phoenix Technologies, American Megatrends (AMI) and Insyde Software. Some vendor implementations are entirely based on the Tiano implementation, while others are designed to be specification compliant without relying on Intel’s reference implementation.[7]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensible_Firmware_Interface#Intel_Platfor...

...

Intel® Platform Innovation Framework for EFI
Overview
The Intel® Platform Innovation Framework for EFI (referred to as "the Framework") is a product-strength firmware implementation that conforms to the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) specification. The Framework is a set of robust architectural interfaces, implemented in C, which has been designed to enable the firmware industry and our customers to accelerate the evolution of innovative, differentiated, platform designs. The Framework is Intel's recommended implementation of the UEFI Specification for platforms based on all members of the Intel® Architecture (IA) family. Going forward, the Framework specifications are migrating into the UEFI Platform Initialization (PI) specifications. The PI specification is available at the UEFI website.
Unlike the UEFI specification, which focuses only on programmatic interfaces for the interactions between the operating system and system firmware, the Framework (and in the future, PI) is an all-new firmware implementation that has been designed to perform the full range of operations that are required to initialize the platform from power on through transfer of control to the operating system. The Framework differs from previous generations of firmware infrastructure typically used on IA systems in the following ways:
It employs a purpose-built modular component design.
It uses high-level language coding wherever possible.
It is designed from the outset to support long-term growth of platform capabilities and innovation in the preboot environment.
It is designed to provide a single code base that is equally applicable to platforms based on all IA family members and that scales to fit the needs of everything from handheld devices to high-end servers.
http://www.intel.com/technology/framework/

1.4 The Framework and EFI
Firmware based on the Framework architecture will deliver a complete implementation of platform firmware that exports a conforming implementation of the interfaces in the EFI specification.
There are many possible strategies for implementing the EFI specification. One strategy is to layer code that implements the EFI interfaces over a conventional BIOS or System Abstraction Layer (SAL), as demonstrated by the EFI Sample Implementation available from the Intel web site. In contrast, the Framework architecture describes a design for a complete replacement for conventional firmware stacks.
While the Framework is but one possible implementation of the EFI specification, Intel views the Framework as the implementation of choice for firmware that can support systems based on all members of the IA family.

1.6 The Framework and Industry Specifications
The Framework was designed in such a way that it could be a complete replacement for existing firmware designs such as BIOS (IA-32) and SAL (Intel® Itanium® processor family). As such, most of the functional capabilities of the resulting firmware need to be the same as those resented
by existing firmware solutions. This requirement is realized by providing implementations of EFI drivers or framework interfaces that conform to the standards and specifications established for those capabilities.
For example, Framework-based implementations will completely comply with the ACPI specification, but the construction of that support will be fundamentally different from ACPI implementations in BIOS code.
In addition, as detailed in chapter 12, “Legacy Compatibility,” the Framework design includes a provision for conforming implementations to deliver compatibility with a conventional BIOS. The compatibility is centered on supporting OSs and applications that would normally interact with the “runtime” portion of a conventional BIOS. An implementation of the Framework that includes this capability will therefore conform to industry specifications that define the operation of BIOS “runtime” services, table, and data area interfaces.

ftp://download.intel.com/technology/framework/docs/FAS.pdf
(altes Dokument: Version 0.9, September 16, 2003)

...

Q: How is UEFI implemented on a computer system?
A: UEFI is an interface. It can be implemented on top of a traditional BIOS (in which case it supplants the traditional "INT" entry points into BIOS) or on top of non-BIOS implementations.
http://www.uefi.org/about/

=> http://www.mcnix.de/?q=geruchtelage-um-neue-macs#comment-833

Zum Framework gibt es hier einige Präsentationen: http://www.intel.com/technology/framework/presentations.htm

Interessant ist z.B. http://download.intel.com/technology/efi/docs/pdfs/SP08_EFIS002_ENG.pdf

http://download.intel.com/technology/efi/docs/pdfs/SP08_EFIS003_ENG.pdf

[Gast]

A Brief History of Apple and EFI

This page tries to give a summary of Apple’s use of the EFI firmware.

Pre-Release Rumors

PowerPC Macs used Open Firmware, an industry standard also used by other vendors on other platforms, for example Sun SPARC.

Prototype Intel Macs used a traditional BIOS. At that time Apple dropped some hints that this would not be what they’ll ship, and there was speculation if they were porting Open Firmware, going with EFI, or doing something else entirely.

“Early 2006” Models

When Apple released the first Intel Macs, it turned out they were using EFI. They used Intel Core Duo (note the lack of a “2”) and Core Solo processors, which were 32 bit, and so the firmware was 32 bit as well. Apple used the EFI 1.10 standard, and seemed to be working off of Intel’s reference implementation, now partially open-sourced as “TianoCore”.

The first firmware revisions actually had the generic text-based configuration menus aimed at PCs still in there, and you could access them by setting the boot loader to any EFI binary that would exit and return to the firmware (rather than staying running or loading an OS). Apple quickly removed this, because people were bricking their iMacs.

The first firmware revisions also didn’t have any BIOS compatibility. This spawned a lot of elilo hacking, the development of rEFIt, and a contest for getting Windows XP running. That contest was actually won by the “XoM” hack mere days before Apple released a firmware update with BIOS compatibility. (It is unknown if Apple rushed their schedule because of XoM, or if this was just coincidence.)

Note that the initial “Boot Camp” release actually consisted of three pieces released at the same time:

* A set of firmware updates that added BIOS emulation, including “Windows”* support in the built-in boot volume chooser.
* A Mac OS X update that added HFS+ online resizing in the kernel, diskutil and Disk Utility, hybrid GPT/MBR support in diskutil and Disk Utility, and Windows support in Startup Disk.
* The “Boot Camp Assistant” application, containing a nice GUI for the online resizing and a CD disk image with Windows drivers.

* Humoristic side note: The chooser would happily present a Linux boot CD or a Linux install on the hard disk as “Windows”, hence the quotes in the text.

“Late 2006” Models

These models started using Intel Core 2 Duo processors, which were 64 bit capable. The EFI firmware was still 32 bit and plain EFI 1.10.

“Santa Rosa” Models

For the models with Intel’s “Santa Rosa” chipset (and Core 2 Duo processors) Apple did something strange. The firmware went 64 bit, but was still EFI 1.10. This combination doesn’t appear in any specification; x86_64 support was only added in the UEFI 2.0 standard. (Luckily the development environments and binaries are compatible, as long as you’re prepared to use only EFI 1.10 protocols and functions.)

Apple also introduced fat EFI binaries, so that the same Mac OS X install could boot on both 32-bit and 64-bit machines without further tricks. Actually, they must have put the code to deal with fat EFI binaries in the firmware of older models for a while before that, since the format is (necessarily) incompatible with plain EFI binaries.

The format of the fat EFI binaries has never been officially published or standardized, meaning that non-Apple EFI systems won’t support it, and cannot directly load the Mac OS X “boot.efi” boot loader. (The format is easily reverse engineered; see the fat EFI binaries page for a description.)

“Late 2008” Models

These models used an NVIDIA chipset with integrated graphics. The firmware was 64 bit like in the Santa Rosa models, and also still identified itself as EFI 1.10.

However, Apple started mixing EFI 1.10 and UEFI 2.x features on these models. Depending on the model and the graphics mode, the graphics driver may expose both the UgaDraw protocol (EFI 1.x) and the GraphicsOutput protocol (UEFI 2.x), while in other modes it exposes only the GraphicsOutput protocol. All earlier models only expose the UgaDraw protocol. It’s best to just be prepared to use whichever one is available.

http://refit.sourceforge.net/info/apple_efi.html



EFI Fat Binaries

This page describes the wrapper format used by Apple to allow the same EFI application file to run on both 32 bit and 64 bit firmware versions.
-> http://refit.sourceforge.net/info/fat_binary.html

[Gast]

Spart auf einen Mac Pro, dann habt ihr es. ;DEFI will keiner haben.

[Gast]

@ Heise: In Zukunft UEFI?

Ut (mehr als 1000 Beiträge seit 26.03.00)

< Schließlich gibt es noch weitere BIOS-Varianten anderer Hersteller
wie AMI oder Insyde und in Zukunft auch UEFI-Firmware.

Was heißt hier in Zukunft? Die aktuellen BIOS-Varianten von Insyde
und AMI sind UEFI.
Aber das ändert auch nichts, denn UEFI ist keine Firmware, sondern
nur ein Interface (wie das "I" in UEFI, welches für "Interface"
steht, schon sagt).

http://www.heise.de/security/news/foren/S-Heise-In-Zukunft-UEFI/forum-156096/msg-16490255/read/

[albix64]

Wozu brauch ich denn ein EFI? Da das ja auch Netzwerkfähig ist kann das schnell anfällig werden, und wenn es keine Sicherheitsupdates von den Herstellern gibt, was dann? Muss man dann bis zur Ende der Lebenszeit des MB/NB mit den Löchern leben? Ne, dass tu ich mir nicht an, ich sehe auch sonst kein Sinn im EFI.

[Gast]

Wozu brauch ich denn ein EFI?Um eine faules Ei aka Fuß in der Tür auf unseren Rechnern zu haben. Wann man uns das Ei als faul klar erkennen läßt, kann man selber steuern. Feine Sache also. Die Masse der Vollhonks checkts das bis dahin eh nicht. Wie man auch in dem Thread klar sehen konnte.

[Gast]

Wozu braucht es EFI?
If BIOS works why change?
• 25+ year old architecture…
-Separate code base for each product
-Monolithic
-Mostly “real mode”
-Option ROM interfaces / limitations
-90% 16 bit Assembly
-Unsupported build tools
-Persistent storage (CMOS)
• Have you tried to hire a “BIOS” engineer lately?
-It’s getting difficult to find people that really know x86 assembly
language and modern PC architecture
http://download.intel.com/technology/efi/docs/pdfs/Fall07_EFIS001.pdf



UEFI: From Reset Vector to Operating System
In PCs, the firmware that sits at the reset vector is called a BIOS. The BIOS has increased in size, complexity, and extensions apace with the complexity and richness of PCs. The increases have finally reached the point that no amount of patching will fix the old architecture. The new architecture, known as the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) [UEFc,ZRH] and Platform Initialization (PI) [UEFb] keep the learning’s of the last years but impose a modern software engineering structure that supports the basic requirements of system initialization, configuration, and abstraction of boot devices, but which is also designed to be extensible enough to address the new features of hardware to come.

Hier lesen (Google-Books): http://books.google.com/books?id=59WsE36uAzgC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=UEFI:+From+Reset+Vector+to+Operating+System&source=bl&ots=iiCqW9LHFJ&sig=EghaV1SBap99BLGkrUn21_T_CHY&hl=de&ei=Q03LSczcI9uLsAbnrtiUCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result



Here are a few of commercially UEFI supported systems (mostly UEFI 2.0 compliant).
1. Desktop board DQ45CB will boot to an EFI Shell application HP EliteBook 8530p.
2. HP EliteBook Mobile Workstation, Notebook PC and Tablet PCs (e.g., 8530p, 8530w, 8730w, 6930p, 2530p, 2730p, etc)
http://www.hp.com/sbso/busproducts_notebooks.html
3. HP Integrity Servers and Server Blades
http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/cache/80518-0-0-0-121.html
4. HP Compaq NoteBook PCs (e.g., 6735s, 6535s, 6735b, 6535b, 6730s, 6830s, 6530b, 6730b, 2230s, etc.)
http://www.hp.com/sbso/busproducts_notebooks.html
5. MSI Wind (Netbook)
http://www.msicomputer.com/NB/index.asp
6. Panasonic Toughbook CF-U1 (Atom UMPC)
http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/ultramobile-rugged-computers.asp
7. Sony M750 (Notebook)

Hope this helps
Gegards WR
http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/uefi-architecture-and-technical-overview/


UEFI Architecture and Technical Overview
Last Modified On*:**
January 9, 2009 8:56 AM PST
Summary
• UEFI as an interface is settled –firmly on the Industry’s Roadmap
• UEFI breaks through fundamental BIOS barriers
• UEFI Solves Option ROM problem
• The Framework is not just another “core” code base … It’s a new purpose-built architecture for firmware
– UEFI / EFI on top of BIOS is not a good solution
http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/uefi-architecture-and-technical-overview/


UEFI Introduction
http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/uefi-introduction/


UEFI Hypervisors – Winning the Race to Bare Metal
Black Hat Conference Proceedings 2008
http://www.blackhat.com/presentations/bh-usa-08/Bailey/BH_US_08_Bailey_Winning_the_Race_to_Bare_Metal_White_Paper.pdf
(und Off-Topic -> 2.2 x86 Architectural Challenges to Virtualization
"The x86 architecture is particularly difficult to virtualize.").

[Gast]

Wen es interessiert: Hier gibt es die UEFI Specification Version 2.1:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3324154/UEFI-Specification-Version-21

[Gast]

Die behaupten alles was Hardware initialisiert müsste "BIOS" genannt werden. Muss man da noch mehr dazu sagen?



Fortunately, there is a solution, and has been since 2001. And its name is EFI (for Extensible Firmware Interface). Those familiar with EFI are already probably celebrating, but I'll bet that's not many of you. Since most people aren't familiar, I'll give you a basic run-down. EFI is to BIOS what Windows XP is to DOS 3.0. Yeah, they both run your computer...but I think you'll agree there's just a small difference in power and usability.
It's not meant to take away the BIOS entirely - but it IS meant to replace much of the function that has been forced to be crammed in. Think of it as a "Middle Man," if you will. It allows the BIOS to do just what it was initially designed to - turn the computer on, POST, and feed to a higher program. The EFI is that higher program - it takes all of the add-in cards, initializes them through firmware, and gets them talking.

Unlike BIOS, the EFI doesn't need to be managed as carefully by individual motherboard manufacturers. It's a lot more "Plug and play" on their end, because you can add firmware drivers to it in pieces from the component manufacturers. In turn, this means that manufacturers can update their own devices in ways that can show dramatic differences at a fundamental level, rather than just releasing a card and hoping it works with everything, fixing failures at the software driver level.
http://www.bit-tech.net/columns/2007/06/09/definitely_maybe/1


UEFI Introduction
http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/uefi-introduction/

Danke ;)

http://www.worksurf.org/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/000110A/http/software.intel.com/file/7006

[Peilo]

It allows the BIOS to do just what it was initially designed to - turn the computer on, POST, and feed to a higher program. The EFI is that higher program - it takes all of the add-in cards, initializes them through firmware, and gets them talking.



ich dachte, dafür wäre das BS da? irgendwie kommt mir das so vor, als wäre efi einfach nur ein zusätzliche instanz zwischen hardware und anwendung, und sollte so etwas nicht vermieden werden? je weniger schichten des schnller der hardwarezugriff oder nicht?

[ACiD FiRE]

naja, das konventionelle Bios tut's doch ;)

[albix64]

Man könnte das BIOS auch in 64bit-Basis neu programmieren, und noch mit neuer Architektur. Da brauch man kein EFI dazu.

[Gast]

Also meines Wissens gibt es EFI-Firmwares ja für manche MSI-Mainboards. Ich würde es sehr begrüßen, wenn zukünftig alle Hersteller jetzt endlich mal konsequent auf (U)EFI setzen würden und wir das Uralt-BIOS mal hinter uns lassen können.

Mac OS, Windows, Linux: Alle können Sie schon lange mit EFI umgehen, aber kaum ein Hersteller liefert das Mainboard damit aus!

[Gast]

(U)EFI ist nur ein Interface, das auf eine (Plattform)-Firmware angewiesen ist. Das Intel Framework (= Firmware -> siehe unten) wird offenbar schon in vielen Mainboards geliefert.
Die Frage ist, ob man diese Firmware BIOS (im klassischen Sinne) nennen kann (und nicht nur BIOS als Synonym für Firmware).
Manch einer ist der Meinung, dass das BIOS sich in Firmware und Interface unterteilt. Bei EFI auf x86 ist danach das BIOS (Firmware) vorhanden, nur als Interface hat man eben EFI und nicht mehr das BIOS.
Jedenfalls braucht es eine rudimentäre Firmware für EFI und damit ein x86 überhaupt funktioniert und in den Protected-Mode geschaltet wird. Hier in dem Thread sind mittlerweile viele Links gepostet zum nachlesen.

Intel developed a reference codebase for the Framework, codenamed “Tiano”. Tiano is a complete, legacy-free firmware implementation that includes support for EFI. Tiano does not include the 16-bit portion of the CSM, but provides the interfaces required to add one supplied by a BIOS vendor. Intel does not make the complete Tiano implementation available to end-users.
A portion of the Tiano codebase (“the Foundation”) has been released as open source to the TianoCore project as the EFI Developer Kit (EDK). This implementation covers EFI and some hardware initialization code, but does not constitute feature-complete firmware by itself. Several licenses have been used for this code, including the BSD license and the Eclipse Public License.
[...]
In November 2003, Gateway introduced the Gateway 610 Media Center, the first x86 Windows-based computer system to use firmware based on the Framework, Insyde Software's InsydeH2O. It still relied on a legacy BIOS implemented as a compatibility support module (CSM) to boot Windows.
In January 2006, Apple Inc. shipped its first Intel-based Macintosh computers. These systems use EFI and the Framework instead of Open Firmware, which had been used on its previous PowerPC-based systems.[8] On April 5, 2006, Apple first released Boot Camp, which produces a Windows drivers disk and a non-destructive partitioning tool to allow the installation of Windows XP or Vista without requiring a reinstallation of Mac OS X. A firmware update was also released that added legacy BIOS support to its EFI implementation. Subsequent Macintosh models shipped with the newer firmware. Now all current Macintosh systems are also able to boot legacy BIOS Operating Systems such as Windows XP and Vista. (With the exception of the Xserve platform)
The grand majority of Intel motherboards ship with Framework-based firmware. During 2005, more than one million Intel systems shipped with the Framework.[9] New mobile, desktop and server products, using the Framework, started shipping in 2006. For instance, all boards that use the Intel 945 chipset series use the Framework. However, the production firmware usually does not include EFI support, and is limited to legacy BIOS.[10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensible_Firmware_Interface


Here are a few of commercially UEFI supported systems (mostly UEFI 2.0 compliant).
1. Desktop board DQ45CB will boot to an EFI Shell application HP EliteBook 8530p.
2. HP EliteBook Mobile Workstation, Notebook PC and Tablet PCs (e.g., 8530p, 8530w, 8730w, 6930p, 2530p, 2730p, etc)
http://www.hp.com/sbso/busproducts_notebooks.html
3. HP Integrity Servers and Server Blades
http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise...0-0-0-121.html
4. HP Compaq NoteBook PCs (e.g., 6735s, 6535s, 6735b, 6535b, 6730s, 6830s, 6530b, 6730b, 2230s, etc.)
http://www.hp.com/sbso/busproducts_notebooks.html
5. MSI Wind (Netbook)
http://www.msicomputer.com/NB/index.asp
6. Panasonic Toughbook CF-U1 (Atom UMPC)
http://www.panasonic.com/business/to...-computers.asp
7. Sony M750 (Notebook)

Hope this helps
Gegards WR
http://software.intel.com/en-us/arti...ical-overview/

[O RLY?]

Ein Board mit EFI-BIOS von MSI ist mittlerweile gelistet und lieferbar:

http://geizhals.at/deutschland/a418608.html

Sogar schon mit brandaktuellem INTEL P35-Chipsatz :up:





....:rolleyes:

[bloodflash]

Hmm, ich habe hier jetzt das dritte System mit einer UEFI-Funktion im
BIOS an der Hand:
- Mainboard Intel DQ35JO (läuft jetzt als Server und wird nicht mehr angefasst)
- Mainboard Intel DQ45CB (aktuell s. Sig)
- Notebook HP 6930p (aktuell s. Sig)

Bisher hatte ich keine Zeit auszuprobieren was beim Aktivieren der
Option beim Booten geschieht, aber interessant wäre es allemal.

Welches OS könnte ich damit überhaupt installieren?
Was ändert sich dadurch?

Werde das mal beizeiten mit dem Notebook oder dem Rechner testen.

[Wolfram]

Aus gegebenem Anlaß: Fullquotes ohne eigenen Kommentar sind schon aus urheberrechtlichen Gründen nicht erlaubt. Außerdem ist das hier ein Diskussions- und kein Newsforum.

[Gast]

Was ist das hier für ein Patent von Intel?
https://publications.european-patent-office.org/PublicationServer/getpdf.jsp?cc=EP&pn=1933234&ki=A2

"using the cache segment associated with the core as a read-write memory during the initialization sequence"

Siehe [0001]


Im nächsten Google of Summer Code möchte man EFI endgültig als Payload für Coreboot implementieren.

A propos Coreboot:
(2) The EDK implements EFI as the following phases orderly: SEC(security),
PEI(Pre EFI Initialization), DXE(Driver eXecution Environment), BDS(Boot
Device Selection). The BDS phase indicates the EFI has already been boot up
and shows the interfaces to users. Actually, The SEC and PEI phases are not the EFI implementation; they just do the basic platform preparation (check the system memory, IO space, Boot Mode etc.) for the EFI execution. And the DXE is the pure EFI implementation. All information gathered in the SEC and PEI is formed into HOB (Hand-Off
Block:http://download.intel.com/technology/framework/docs/Hob.pdf) data
structure, which is only parameter to the DXE phase. The DXE phase parses
the HOB list for EFI running preparation.
http://www.coreboot.org/pipermail/coreboot/2007-June/022419.html

[Coda]

Was ist das hier für ein Patent von Intel?
https://publications.european-patent-office.org/PublicationServer/getpdf.jsp?cc=EP&pn=1933234&ki=A2

"using the cache segment associated with the core as a read-write memory during the initialization sequence"
Das was da steht: Man kann den Cache als Speicher verwenden während der Speichercontroller noch nicht initialisiert ist.

[Gast]

Hier mal einige Infos. Alt aber sollten stimmen.


Intel® Platform Innovation Framework
for EFI
Pre-EFI Initialization
Core Interface Specification (PEI CIS)
September 16, 2003
http://download.intel.com/technology/framework/docs/PeiCis.pdf

"Processor Execution Mode in IA-32 Intel® Architecture
In IA-32 Intel® architecture, the Security (SEC) phase of the Framework is responsible for placing
the processor in a native linear address mode by which the full address range of the processor is
accessible for code, data, and stack. For example, “flat 32” is the IA-32 processor generation mode
in which the PEI phase will execute. The processor must be in its most privileged "ring 0” mode,
or equivalent, and be able to access all memory and I/O space.
This prerequisite is strictly dependent on the processor generation architecture."

"Access to the Boot Firmware Volume in IA-32 Intel® Architecture
In IA-32 Intel® architecture, the Security (SEC) file is at the top of the Boot Firmware Volume
(BFV). This SEC file will have the 16-byte entry point for IA-32 and restarts at address
0xFFFFFFF0."

"HandoffProcessorStatetotheDXEIPLPPI: IA-32 In 32-bit flat mode"

SEC -> PEI -> DXE



Und hier der Boot-Prozess bei Linux: Bios vs. EFI

Linux∗ in a Brave New Firmware Environment
July 23th–26th, 2003
http://ols.fedoraproject.org/OLS/Reprints-2003/Reprint-Tolentino-OLS2003.pdf

"This paper begins with an overview of the Extensible Firmware Interface and the Universal Graphics Adapter. The architecture of an EFI enabled Linux kernel is presented as well as the design and implementation details of the EFI Linux Boot Loader, kernel initialization changes, and support for the Universal Graphics Adapter. Future enabling work is outlined and conclusions presented."

"Unlike legacy BIOS which executes in 16bit real mode, EFI provides a 32bit protected mode operating environment"

"The advent of EFI on legacy free, IA-32 systems necessitates additional support in several key areas of the Linux kernel. This section presents an overview of the architectural differences in booting the kernel from EFI versus legacy BIOS as well as the impact of the changes. The details of the changes specific tothese areas are discussed in the remainder of this paper."

"4.1 Key Differences
One of the key differences in booting from EFI versus legacy BIOS on IA-32 systems is the capability to launch the kernel in 32bit, protected mode. ..."

"6.1 Existing EFI Kernel Initialization "

"6.2 Kernel Initialization on EFI Platforms
In this model, the processor is already in 32bit, protected mode when the boot loader is invoked, hence the real mode to protected mode transition code in the kernel is not necessary. ..."


Noch eine Anmerkung:
SEC und PEI ist AFAIK das Framework, d.h. die Firmware.
Ab DXE geht EFI los.
Kann man IMHO aber auch als zusammen als EFI sehen. Nur streng genommen ist EFI "an interface between an operating system and platform firmware".

[Gast]

In der aktuellen c't 11/09 gibt es zwei Artikel zu EFI.

S.180: EFI: Ablösung fürs PC-BIOS
S.186: Unified EFI 2.0: Vista auf modernsten Mainboards

[MadManniMan]

http://www.computerbase.de/news/hardware/mainboards/2009/november/video_asus_efi-bios/

ASUS wirbt... (die werden echt so ausgesprochen? ich bleib bei meiner deutschen Denkweise...)

[mapel110]

Als P5K-User guckt man leider in die Röhre. Schade.

[Sven77]

Hä? Wenn ich ein P5QE kaufe, hab ich EFI?

[Gast]

http://www.tomshardware.com/de/UEFI-firmware-BIOS,testberichte-240447.html

EFI bzw. die eigentliche Firmware haben AFAIK schon seit Jahren viele Boards. Nur wird dann direkt der BIOS-Kompatibilitätslayer geladen.
Es gibt wohl auch Mischformen. Ein EFI lässt sich glaube ich auch von einem normalen BIOS aus starten.

[san.salvador]

http://www.computerbase.de/news/hardware/mainboards/2009/november/video_asus_efi-bios/

ASUS wirbt... (die werden echt so ausgesprochen? ich bleib bei meiner deutschen Denkweise...)
Ich weiß nicht. In einem "alten" BIOS kann ich mit meiner Tastatur flitzeschnell alle mögliche Befehle abklappern, welchen Vorteil die Herumklickerei hat weiß ich wirklich nicht.
Und eine Gefahr sehe ich auch noch: wenn das EFI schön bunt und mit Maus bedienbar ist, wird bald jeder zweite DAU dort herumkrebsen und seine "PC Welt-GRATIS 40% mehr PERFORMANCE!!" - Tipps dort anwenden wollen.
Vielleicht soll das BIOS lieber kompliziert und gefährlich aussehen. ;)

[Kornflakes]

Es gab mal das AMI Winbios mit Maussupport...

Aber Maus + Bios ist schon ein wenig zu wenig...

[(del)]

Ich weiß nicht. In einem "alten" BIOS kann ich mit meiner Tastatur flitzeschnell alle mögliche Befehle abklappern, welchen Vorteil die Herumklickerei hat weiß ich wirklich nicht.Hast du gesehen welche Wege die da für ein enable/disable abfahren?? Hammer :ulol:

[kruemelmonster]

A-SUUS..making the bios easy to use... :hammer:

Wo, wann, hab ich was verpasst? Ease of use am Arsch, nach dem Video. Hoffentlich ist das Teil nicht Maus-only :freak:

[Coda]

Man könnte das BIOS auch in 64bit-Basis neu programmieren, und noch mit neuer Architektur. Da brauch man kein EFI dazu.
Das ist doch genau das was man mit EFI getan hat?

[Gast]

EFI setzt auf der Plattformfirmware auf. Und genau diese Firmware hat man auch neu geschrieben (= Tianocore):

Wikipedia:
"Den eigentlichen Nachfolger für das BIOS stellt der Firmware Foundation Code dar, der zu den Bedingungen der CPL (Common Public License) freigegeben wird und das Extensible Firmware Interface implementiert. Ein handelsübliches BIOS verwendet ausschließlich den Real Mode."
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensible_Firmware_Interface

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Efi-simple_de.svg/320px-Efi-simple_de.svg.png

Ich meine auch mal von einem Projekt gelesen zu haben, dass ermöglicht EFI über Coreboot zu starten.

[Gast]

Irgendwie... habe ich das Gefühl... daß das mit dem EFI auf dem PC eine ähnliche - vom Prinzip her - Geschichte wie mit HD+ ist... Nur wir haben es noch nicht komplett durchgeblickt... und manche noch überhaupt garnicht...

[Sephiroth]

Auf Arbeit hab ich letztens einen neuen Dell Optiplex 960 bekommen. Da war auch eine neue BIOS Oberfläche enthalten, die man mit der Maus steuern konnte. EFI nehm ich an.

[Gast]

Virtualbox 3.1 unterstützt jetzt EFI in der VM. Ist zwar noch experimentell, aber vielleicht kann man schon ein wenig damit herumspielen. Werds mir morgen mal ansehen.

[Fatality]

habe hier 2 intel S5500BC (http://www.intel.com/products/server/motherboards/s5500bc/s5500bc-overview.htm) Boards um 2 Server ausfzusetzen, hier gibt es ein Hybrid aus AMI und EFI.

Aus dem EFI lassn sich z.b. die OS-Daten (2k3-2k8r2) bereits voreinstellen, so das man nur noch die DVD einlegt und der Server sich dann unattended installiert. genauso wie es möglich ist sämtliche controllerfirmware und bios über inet updaten zulassen.
und das alles bevor das os aufgesetzt wurde, sehr bequem.

[Shink]

Da war auch eine neue BIOS Oberfläche enthalten, die man mit der Maus steuern konnte. EFI nehm ich an.
Muss nicht sein. Gibt auch inzwischen ausgefeiltere BIOS-Versionen.

Für Arbeitsrechner war sogar BTX mal ziemlich verbreitet (oder vielleicht ist es das sogar noch? Kein Ahnung).

[Gast]

Apple hat ein Bootcamp-Update für Windows 7 gebracht.
Windows 7 läuft aber wahrscheinlich noch über den Bios-Kompatibilitätslayer anstatt direkt über EFI.
:(

Dazu gibt es hier ältere Posts - die aber vom Inhalt her wahrscheinlich immer noch aktuell sind:
http://darobins.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!C188BEF79F825945!529.entry
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=184349

Könnte sich in Zukunft evtl. ändern, wenn Apple auf UEFI 2.0 setzen sollte.

[Gast]

Hallo,

wie kommen hier einige darauf, das eine EFI mit der Maus bedient wird bzw. werden kann?

Hier mal zwei Screenshots (aus eine iLO Session).

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/5326/efi1.jpg

Wobei die wahre Stärke die EFI Shell ist.

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/9250/efi2.jpg

[Black-Scorpion]

Vor allem gab es diese Möglichkeit schon vor zehn Jahren im AMI Bios.
Die Hersteller müssen es nur verwenden.

[Gast]

also ich hab etwas recherchiert zum schluss gekommen, dass es eigentlich nur dieses eine asus board mit efi gibt. aber selbst das dürfte irgendwie nur eine halbherzige geschichte sein...
ich versteh aber wirklich nicht, warum es nicht mehr boards mit efi gibt. apple nutzt es ja schon seit jahren erfolgreich, wenn auch nur version 1.3 oder haben die neuesten modelle schon ein update erhalten?

liegt es vl daran, dass sowieso der großteil noch windows 32bit verwendet? läuft ein 32bit bs eigentlich unter efi?

[Gast]

Zwei recht aktuelle Dokumente zum Thema:
http://download.intel.com/technology/efi/docs/pdfs/SF09_EFIS003_100.pdf
http://download.intel.com/technology/efi/docs/pdfs/SF09_EFIS003_100.pdf


http://s8b.directupload.net/images/100323/temp/mv5cy7do.jpg (http://s8b.directupload.net/file/d/2107/mv5cy7do_jpg.htm)

http://s11.directupload.net/images/100323/temp/rkm6pkic.png (http://s11.directupload.net/file/d/2107/rkm6pkic_png.htm)

http://s10.directupload.net/images/100323/temp/dozluspv.jpg (http://s10.directupload.net/file/d/2107/dozluspv_jpg.htm)

http://s8b.directupload.net/images/100323/temp/s8fb9zgy.png (http://s8b.directupload.net/file/d/2107/s8fb9zgy_png.htm)

[Gast]

What is a BIOS
http://download.intel.com/technology/efi/SF09_EFIS001_UEFI_PI_TCG_White_Paper.pdf

In dem Dokument ist ab S. 15 beschrieben, was sowohl beim klassischen BIOS aber auch der UEFI-Firmware passiert (inkl. Grafiken).

We will refer to the original BIOS as the “Conventional BIOS” and the UEFI-based boot code as “UEFI.”



Weiteres Dokument: Reducing Platform Boot Times
http://download.intel.com/design/intarch/papers/322253.pdf