| Hewlett-Packard Compaq 8200 Elite SFF | |
|---|---|
| Recommended CPU | i5-2400 |
| Display | n/a |
| Max. memory | 32GB (4 slots) |
| USB controllers | 2 |
| Coreboot | possible |
| Heads | no |
| Intel ME | possible |
| Qubes OS pre-installed | no |
| Developer tested | no |
| Certified | no |
| Date | Author | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 10/31/21 | @Sven | initial version |
Everything works fine. Applied Intel ME Cleaner. Suspend works. Cheap, powerful mini desktop with PS/2 mouse+keyboard 
I love it.
Added USB 3.0 pcie express card, cheap one with via chip.
If anyone is interested, i can make a coreboot build “tutorial”.
Qubes-HCL-HP-HP_Compaq_8200_Elite_SFF_PC-20211023-203118.yml (926 Bytes)
Thank you @dispuser5132 for this HCL report, which is now online.
Note that we now have two positive reports for this machine. And it has PS/2 ports for mouse and keyboard!
Would you say that Qubes OS R4.0.4 installs without workarounds?
If so I would love to add this as the first desktop to the community-recommended list of computers.
Yep add it. No workarounds needed.
@dispuser5132 … thank you. It’s done! Congrats for nominating the first desktop on the list!
Hi, very interested in a tutorial for a machine like this!
Can coreboot be installed on very similar HP hardware a with similar BIOS?
Yes please. Would appreciate the tutorial very much.
Does sound work? I installed Qubes 4.0 on a Desktop with Realtek ALC262 and the sound card ist not recognized. The Compaq 8200 has the ALC261 codec, according to the specs. The onboard sound not working implies that one USB slot will the occupied by an external sound card.
tldr; How did you, or would you, flash coreboot on this? Thanks!
Salvaged a HP Compaq 8200 Elite Small Form Factor (SFF) with an i7-2600 after seeing @dispuser5132 HCL and remarks last year. The 32GB RAM capability, tpm, and coreboot with cleaned ME success report was intriguing. Discovered HP provided pretty good technical documentation, parts list, disassembly instructions, and service manual for the SFF.
The HCL reports success with Coreboot 4.14 + SeaBios 1.14 and I know coreboot 4.14 was released on May 10th, 2021. Does anyone know where to find a known-working coreboot config and commit hash for the SFF? Where should I be looking besides status report for coreboot boards ?
A HP Community forum post also clued me in to the FDO (Flash Descriptor Override) pins’ location though I’m not sure how exactly to make best use of that info.
IIUC someone on reddit who had problems with flashrom not working?, used an IFD hack somehow? Could the FDO and/or the ‘mmga method’ be used instead of externally flashing coreboot on these machines? How did you, or would you, flash coreboot on a HP Compaq 8200 Elite SFF? Anyone know (or understand) how, or if, the FDO strap (if that is the right term) would effect an externally flashed coreboot?
Has anyone attempted a Heads port of these Sandy bridge desktops? Any reason why/why not?
I know I’m getting ahead of myself asking about Heads without even getting coreboot running yet… but I hope it is alright to ask.
I don’t think my SFF ever had (m)any firmware updates applied because the BIOS says it is v02.01 and the ME firmware version says 7.1.3.1053. The most recent proprietary HP J01 BIOS I’ve found is v02.33 Rev.A dated May 1, 2019 at Driver - HP Compaq 8200 Elite Small Form Factor PC | HP® Customer Support Also found this HP distributed Intel ME Firmware Update to ME_7.1.91.3272.
Do 82579LM GbE updates exist that should be considered?
Has anyone found more recent/other firmware that’d recommend applying before migrating to coreboot? Would you do the BIOS (or ME) update prior to dumping the full rom for blob use in coreboot? Why or why not?
Thank you for any help, pointers, hints, tips…
Note - for someone finding this comment trying to boot the SFF from USB this may be helpful:
“if anyone tries to boot with bootable USB, I will recommend that you disable in Bios(F10)/Storage/Boot order: “EFI-Boot Sources” (F5-disable);(F10-save change);and under Bios/Storage/Storage Options you have to change the last option “hard drive boot order” to ->USB. Boot now with USB and invoke the boot menu with F9.” Source
As salvaged, R4.1 HCL with HP BIOS (Qubes installed easily once USB boot was sorted. Minimally tested but seemed to just work, without network or audio considered):
Qubes-HCL-Hewlett_Packard-HP_Compaq_8200_Elite_SFF_PC-HP_BIOS_v02.01.yml (934 Bytes)
Preliminary R4.1 HCL with more recent coreboot (me neutered + shrunk) externally flashed and USB 3.0 & AR946X Wi-Fi low profile expansion cards added:
Qubes-HCL-HP-HP_Compaq_8200_Elite_SFF_PC-Coreboot_4.17.yml (963 Bytes)
This appears to work well too but also is mostly untested at the moment. Still a work in progress on my part but looking good so far.
Hi @Justin thank you for sending in those HCL reports. Since you pointed out that you didn’t even test networking or audio with the first one, I don’t really think it’s a good idea to list it.
As for the second one, I do want to list it but you pointed out again that it’s “preliminary” and “mostly untested”. Can you confirm that audio and network is working? How about suspend? … I kind of need to know some basic info to be able to complete the report and put it online.
Hi @Sven just to let you know I externally reflashed the vendor firmware
and installed 4.1.1 cleanly without issue. Audio works (tested via
headphone jack) and wired networking also just works without additional
configuration. Coreboot (with IFD mods, Intel Gigabit Ethernet firmware,
and IME “nerfing”) seems to work too. I’ve always avoided suspend in
Qubes (even on laptops) due to (perceived?) instability but if testing
suspend on a workstation is important, let me know.
If you desire/require more details I’ll try to provide them.
Best regards…
Hi all. I would like to buy this model but wtih the i7 processor. Do you think that will be okay and it should still be compatible? Thank you.
There is no guarantee but it’s highly likely it will work. Which i7? Have you checked if it has Vt-d?
Hi @Sven thank you for your reply. It is the i7 2600. The intel website says it has vt-d.
It’s very likely then that it’ll work. Nobody can tell you for sure until you tried. 
Have an i7-2600 here and it works with r4.1.1
thank you @Justin
So I also bave the hp 8200 cmt (2400 name somewhere) with i5 i bavnt been it latly even though its my only pc because every time i manage to install an os it stops working after first reboot and if it makes it one reboot for sure it stops booting by 2nd or 3rd. Is the coreboot firmware in question installable through the bio update option in computersetup/bios on this pc. Please and thank you in advance for any assistance.
Greetings @Johngrogers12
Apologies for delayed reply. I have an hp 8200 sff i7 2600 with 4.1
installed (currently only 12gb ram) that works. I’m just another qubes
user, not an expert, so I speak only for myself. I suspect reboot
problems may be hardware related… these machines are old and your
specific hardware is unknown to me. If you can successfully boot Qubes
and post a
that could give some clues to help troubleshoot.
Another idea, try installing a contemporary (Win7 ?) OS, stay offline,
and see if the reboot issue occurs.
My experience with coreboot install was using
https://doc.coreboot.org/mainboard/hp/compaq_8200_sff.html#external-programming
I do not think bios update using “bio update option in
computersetup/bios on this pc” is possible (but would love to be wrong).
Wish I could be more help.
Best regards