this post was submitted on 19 Dec 2023
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The ME can be disabled. It cannot be removed.
Source: I work for a company that builds hardware and works with firmware on Intel platforms.
does that still work? last i heard the system will force its reactivation
The vendor that makes the hardware/firmware has to configure it to be a toggle-able option.
ywah so intel
No. The UEFI/BIOS has to have the option to turn it off. Most hardware doesn't have this option.
wait hold on bios can disable it? so coreboot can right? sorry explaib like im five from the top im nkt following
There are coreboot projects that turn off the Intel ME. The old Thinkpad coreboot flashes for the T4XX series had a payload to turn off ME by destroying the flashable part of ME without completely bricking the CPU IIRC. Basically replaced everything except the absolute minimum to get the CPU to still initialize, but without any ME bits.
The CPU has to support ME being disabled and the UEFI/BIOS has to know where the flag is set on the ME to tell it to turn off. Usually enterprise embedded platforms or server CPUs have that function, although I've heard some consumer chips do too. Everything I work on is embedded appliances that use Enterprise C3xxx and newer CPUs and they have this option exposed.
wait so if you flashed that and used nouveau and linux would you have a totally foss system?