NovaCustom NS5x/7x 11th Gen Dasharo Release Notes

Following Release Notes describe status of open-source firmware development for NovaCustom NS5x/7x 11th Gen

For details about our release process please read Dasharo Standard Release Process.

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v1.5.2 - 2024-01-17

Test results for this release can be found here.

Added

• Added Microsoft 2023 keys for UEFI Secure Boot and DBX from 2023.05.9

Changed

• Changed throttling temperature to 80 degrees
• Enabled HTTPS for Dasharo Tools Suite network boot option

Fixed

• Low performance when booting on battery power only
• Regression charging via dell usb-c dock
• Video on USB-C docks sometimes fails to initialize
• USB-C chargers may be overloaded in certain scenarios
• Hybrid Power Boost mode of battery charger is not functional
• Laptop may shut down when disconnecting power supply
• Input current limits are set too high
• Keyboard backlight does not turn off immediately when going to sleep
• Power LED blinks erratically in HPB mode
• EC applying power limits may sometimes fail
• Wrong power limits are applied on AC attach / detach
• USB-PD controller may hang in glitched state on shutdown
• Yellow bangs in device manager
• Random freezes in Windows 11
• Low level interfering crackling/popping of the speakers while playing no sound
• ACPI error during boot (system76_acpi::kbd_backlight)
• Thunderbolt may not work after wakeup from sleep
• Unnecessary security warning after firmware update

Known issues

• Poor Package C-state residency at idle after first s2idle cycle
• Some commands in dasharo_ectool fail
• Incomplete serial console output
• Some devices on dock are not detected after warmboot or reboot
• Function Lock setting is not saved after cold boot
• No ability to change active PCR banks with TPM PPI in FW
• Turning wifi/bt off inside BIOS leads to an ACPI error message while system start on Gentoo Linux
• The laptop does not automatically wake up from hibernation using rtcwake
• Power state after power failure option does not work as intended
• OS fails to resume from S3 on some board revisions
• Windows 11 fails to resume from hibernation
• No HDMI output in firmware
• Connecting and immediately disconnecting the charger, sets the battery status in OS to "charging" for about 2 minutes
• Platform fails to resume from S3 suspend
• Early boot DMA protection setting in UEFI does not work correctly

Binaries

novacustom_ns5x_tgl_ec_v1.5.2.rom sha256 sha256.sig

novacustom_ns5x_tgl_v1.5.2.rom sha256 sha256.sig

To verify binary integrity with hash and signature please follow the instructions in Dasharo release signature verification using this key

SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)

• Dasharo coreboot fork based on 4.21 revision cb6ef1b9
• Dasharo EDKII fork based on edk2-stable202002 revision b7274c98

v1.5.1 - 2023-11-06

Test results for this release can be found here.

Added

• Firmware update mode
• BIOS boot medium write-protection
• SMM BIOS write protection
• Early boot DMA protection
• Early Sign of Life display output
• Current limiting for USB-PD power supplies
• Setup menu password configuration
• Wi-Fi / Bluetooth module disable option in setup menu
• Built-in webcam disable option in setup menu
• USB stack disable option in setup menu
• Network stack disable option in setup menu
• Battery threshold options in setup menu
• Intel ME disable option in setup menu
• Block boot when battery is too low
• Power on AC option in setup menu

Changed

• Rebased on coreboot release 4.21
• Removed software keyboard backlight controls for improved backlight reliability
• Disabled EC debug logging for improved security
• Set throttling temperature to 75 degrees C
• UEFI 2.8 specification compliance
• Improved battery charging logic
• Improved USB-C docking station compatibility

Fixed

• Low performance when booting on battery power only
• Power delivery compatibility
• Better support for USB-PD power supplies
• After changing the Intel ME mode the Reset option in the setup menu turns off the device
• Laptops randomly go into suspend mode from which they can not wake up.
• Reset to defaults with F9 causes the wrong settings to be restored
• Keyboard backlight not working after restart
• Warning sign in device manager under the touchpad device
• Popup with information about recovery mode is displayed after flashing with a valid binary
• The power LED is not always blinking while in sleep mode on Windows 11
• Internal keyboard stops working randomly in firmware
• DTS on network boot fails to boot
• Firmware Update Mode does not automatically boot into DTS
• Permanent keyboard illumination after cold boot fails: keyboard light level is not saved correctly
• Controlling keyboard illumination (brightess and on/off) does not work
• Permanent keyboard illumination not working in Ubuntu 22.04
• Controlling brightness and turning off RGB keyboard illumination does not work (Ubuntu 22.04)
• Wi-Fi card is not recognized on Windows 11
• No HDMI audio on Windows 11
• No HDMI display output on Windows 11
• No USB-C display output on Windows 11
• Keyboard backlight is disabled after suspend (Windows 11)
• Reset by F9 sets battery thresholds to 0
• The docking station is not detected after cold-boot, warm-boot and reboot

Known issues

• Docking station may fail to be initialized if connected before booting and connected to multiple monitors
• Connecting and immediately disconnecting the charger, sets the battery status in OS to 'charging' for about 2 minutes
• Power state after power failure option does not work as intended
• No ability to change active PCR banks with TPM PPI in FW
• Windows 11 fails to resume from S3 on some board revisions
• Windows 11 fails to resume from hibernation

Binaries

novacustom_ns5x_tgl_ec_v1.5.1.rom sha256 sha256.sig

novacustom_ns5x_tgl_v1.5.1.rom sha256 sha256.sig

To verify binary integrity with hash and signature please follow the instructions in Dasharo release signature verification using this key

SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)

• Dasharo coreboot fork based on 4.21 revision 36032e55
• Dasharo EDKII fork based on edk2-stable202002 revision b68e46b0

v1.4.0 - 2023-03-02

Added

• The same keyboard illumination setting is restored after suspend or poweroff
• One of the two fan profiles can now be selected in Setup Menu
• Fn lock hotkey feature

Changed

• Keys must be provisioned prior enabling Secure Boot
• Trackpad no longer working after 1.3.0 upgrade from 1.1.0 (Dasharo issue #313)

Known issues

• Low level interfering crackling/popping of the speakers while playing no sound (Dasharo issue #224)
• The power LED is not always blinking while in sleep mode on Windows 11 (Dasharo issue #182)
• Keyboard backlight turns on after resuming from sleep mode (Dasharo issue #332)
• The screen brightness level gets stuck when key are held or pressed too fast (Dasharo issue #341)
• Connecting and immediately disconnecting the charger, sets the battery status in OS to 'charging' for about 2 minutes (Dasharo issue #350)
• Reset to defaults with F9 causes the wrong settings to be restored (Dasharo issue #355)
• Connecting the RJ45 cable to the Gigabit Ethernet port on the docking station does not result in obtaining an Internet connection (Dasharo issue #356)
• Unable to login to Windows 11 with the docking station connected (Dasharo issue #357)

Binaries

novacustom_ns5x_tgl_ec_v1.4.0.rom sha256 sha256.sig

novacustom_ns5x_tgl_v1.4.0.rom sha256 sha256.sig

To verify binary integrity with hash and signature please follow the instructions in Dasharo release signature verification using this key

SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)

• coreboot based on 1a8eb6c02103727431ac1ea23f4f507e49f3cde7 revision 636f432a
• EDK2 based on e0334c228ce4ba51f47ff79a118f214031d4650f revision 2c61576a
• Intel ME version 15.0.30.1776

v1.3.0 - 2022-09-01

EC firmware transition

Please note, that version 1.3.0 of Dasharo BIOS firmware works correctly only with the Dasharo EC firmware. This is the first release when this open-source EC firmware is used, so additional steps need to be taken when upgrading.

Please refer to the Firmware update section for more details on upgrading your firmware.

Added

• Enabled Vboot Verified Boot

• Vboot Recovery Popup

• Fullscreen setup menu

Changed

• Rebased on upstream coreboot revision 1a8eb6c0

• Support for Open EC Firmware

• Disabled UEFI Secure Boot by default

Fixed

• The touchpad ON/OFF switch Fn key is not functional

Binaries

novacustom_ns5x_v1.3.0.rom sha256 sha256.sig novacustom_ns5x_v1.3.0_ec.rom sha256 sha256.sig

To verify binary integrity with hash and signature please follow the instructions in Dasharo release signature verification using this key

SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)

• coreboot based on 1a8eb6c02103727431ac1ea23f4f507e49f3cde7 revision 1153a18d
• EDK2 based on e0334c228ce4ba51f47ff79a118f214031d4650f revision abfdef40

v1.2.0 - 2022-05-26

Added

• Persistent RGB keyboard settings
• Increased power limits to CPU defaults (28W PL1 / 35W PL2)

Fixed

• CVE-2022-29264 SMM loader vulnerability
• Incorrect vendor name in SMBIOS

Known issues

• CPU not running on expected frequency and usage NS50MU
• UCM-UCSI ACPI device displays an error in Windows Device Manager
• Headsets connected to the docking station are not recognizable on NS70/50 v1.2.0
• General problem with charging the DUT via the docking station using USB Type-C slot NS70/50 v1.2.0

Binaries

novacustom_ns5x_v1.2.0.rom sha256 sha256.sig

To verify binary integrity with hash and signature please follow the instructions in Dasharo release signature verification using this key

SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)

• coreboot based on 4.16 revision b087dcbd
• tianocore based on e0334c228ce4ba51f47ff79a118f214031d4650f revision 90364638

v1.1.0 - 2022-04-22

Added

• Support for NovaCustom NS7x
• Support for RGB Keyboard
• Persistent boot logo implementation

Changed

• Temporarily disable vboot due to the risk of bricinkg certain units when flashing via internal programmer

Known issues

• CPU not running on expected frequency and usage NS50MU
• UCM-UCSI ACPI device displays an error in Windows Device Manager
• The touchpad ON/OFF switch Fn key is not functional
• Incorrect vendor name in SMBIOS

Binaries

novacustom_ns5x_v1.1.0.rom sha256 sha256.sig

To verify binary integrity with hash and signature please follow the instructions in Dasharo release signature verification using this key

SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)

• coreboot based on 4.16 revision c2f031af
• tianocore based on e0334c228ce4ba51f47ff79a118f214031d4650f revision 4d2846ba

v1.0.0 - 2022-03-23

Added

• Support for NovaCustom NS5x
• Support for EC firmware 1.07.07
• UEFI Boot Support
• Configurable boot order
• Configurable boot options
• UEFI Secure Boot support
• NovaCustom boot logo

Known issues

• The touchpad ON/OFF switch Fn key is not functional

Binaries

novacustom_ns5x_v1.0.0.rom sha256 sha256.sig

SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)

• coreboot based on 4.16 revision ecf1e9b8
• tianocore based on e0334c228ce4ba51f47ff79a118f214031d4650f revision ec6805c2