Chimera: Unified Chameleon Bootloader

Chameleon is an open-source project with numerous development teams working in parallel creating various branches containing new and exciting features. The source code is organized using the Subversion version control system (SVN). SVN repositories are comprised of a trunk and branches. The Chameleon team keeps the trunk as the 'stable' version, whereas side-line or experimental development projects are done in branches.

The problem is some branches have features that other branches don't have, and many new features are still not merged into the trunk. While this is an inevitable side-effect of rapid open-source development, it creates some confusion for new users. The result of multiple branches not only increases the difficulty of choosing which version of the bootloader to use, but makes it impossible to support certain hardware.

To assist new users, MacMan started a project to merge the best features from the branches into a new branch based on the latest Chameleon 2.0 RC5 trunk version. He's also added some new capabilities and fixes to support the latest hardware. 

Today we're announcing the results of that project, Chimera. This version consolidates the best features from all of the available sources for maximum compatibility across platforms. We've decided to use the name Chimera to differentiate the project from the Chameleon trunk. Our focus for Chimera going forward is to support current, new, and future hardware, not to add legacy support for older hardware. 

Chimera Includes:

• All Current Features of Chameleon 2.0 RC5 Trunk 
• Intel Sandy Bridge Support 



In mythology, a Chimera is a creature
with parts from various animals. 

• Based on valv r709 and enhanced
• ATI 5xxx Graphics Support
• All known Device IDs and Framebuffers
• From Kabyl r748
• Improved NVIDIA Graphics Support 
• All known Device IDs
• From valv r709 and other sources
• Improved Core i CPU Detection and Reporting
• Intel LGA Socket 1155/1156/1366
• Hexacore i7 Support

This project will be maintained with full source available shortly. We have asked the Chameleon team to add Chimera as an official branch. In the meantime, we've set up a dedicated area in the tonymacx86 Forum for bug reporting and feature requests.

We've added Chimera to iBoot and MultiBeast as our default recommended bootloader. It contains all of the current features that were previously available in iBoot and MultiBeast along with these new capabilities. The updated versions are now available for download at tonymacx86.com/downloads.

This wouldn't have been possible without the Chameleon team, and especially Kabyl and valv for their hard work and effort. Stay tuned for updates!

-tonymacx86 & MacMan

For discussions on this and other topics, register today at tonymacx86.com!