Problems
- -Debian Buster installs however the screen resolution is low. Command "inxi -G" will show Device: Intel - driver: N/A - Display: x11 - driver: vesa unloaded: fbdev,modesetting.
-F1-F6 buttons will freeze the laptop. The screen will go dark, sometimes with a remaining gray cursor but the laptop remains on. Only pressing the on/off button for 10 seconds is possible. Using the PrSc button is also not possible.
-Restarting or shutting down the laptop by issuing command "reboot", "halt" or through the desktop manager doesn't work and freezes the laptop same as with the F1-F6 buttons.
-Occasionally at the login screen, the keyboard is unresponsive. Using the PrSc button does work here.
Solution
Although the solution seems easy now, at one point I had actually performed this but because of the many other tries and removals/adding of all kinds of free/unfree drivers from the repo it didn't work at the time and I had no screen.
Straight forward installation
The 4.19.0-10 kernel doesn't seem to include the proper drivers for this laptop so kernel 5.7 which can be installed without much fuzz is required.
1) Install Debian Buster through DVD (other means will also work)
2) Log on to the desktop environment
3) Apt
Install the most recent kernel using apt.
Stay in the desktop environment (Mate in my case) and open "MATE Terminal".
Code: Select all
su -
vi /etc/apt/source.list # add the 2 lines below if not already present
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster-backports main
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster main contrib
apt-get update
apt-get install linux-image-5.7.0-0.bpo.2-amd64
sync # In case the changes weren't written and a reboot froze the laptop.4) In the grub menu choose the latest kernel (5.7) and log on.
Debugging installation
I'm just adding it for people where it's not the same problem but might be similar.
Step 1 and 2 are the same.
3) Apt
Install the most recent kernel using apt.
Stay in the desktop environment (Mate in my case) and open "MATE Terminal".
Code: Select all
su -
vi /etc/apt/source.list # add the 2 lines below if not already present
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster-backports main
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian buster main contrib
apt-get update
apt-get install linux-image-5.7.0-0.bpo.2-amd64 aptitude grub-customizer inxi # The latter 3 are not required but usefull.
sync # In case the changes weren't written and a reboot froze the laptop. In fact I mostly used the kernel command Alt+PtSc+b to reboot the laptop but it should be avoided as much as possible.
systemctl set-default multi-user.target # During startup this will start Debian in console mode to prevent Xorg crashes (screen remaining dark and/or non-responsive keyboard). Run "systemctl set-default graphical.target" to undo it.4) In the grub menu choose the latest kernel (5.7) and log on.
5) Enter "startx" to launch Xorg and the desktop environment. If it fails hopefully "inxi -G" will be of help.
To have the most recent version:
Code: Select all
vi /etc/inxi.conf # Modify the line below
B_ALLOW_UPDATE='true'
inxi -U
inxi -GMy BIOS settings
Just in case it might be usefull
Most of the above mentioned "security" features are useless and meant to frustrate real FOSS adoption and give Micro$oft's mediocre products a competitive edge over its rivals.Config > Network
Wake On Lan: Disabled + all other stuff also disabled
Config > Display
Total Graphics Memory: 256
Config > CPU
Intel Hyper-Threading Technology: On # I haven't used the laptop enough to experience problems described in https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/20 ... 01010.html
Security > Security Chip
Security Chip: Off
Security > UEFI BIOS Update Option
Windows UEFI Firmware Update: Off
Security > Memory Protection
Execution Prevention: Off
Security > Virtualization
Intel Virtualization Technology: On
Intel VT-d Feature: On
Security > I/O Port Access
Fingerprint Reader: Off # Totally useless as spoofing is easy and might reveal biometric data of the user to obscure entities.
Security > Internal Device Access
Internal Storage Tamper Detection: Off
Security > Absolute Persistence Module # That's obfuscated language for hard wired remote backdoor. The major USA chipmakers Intel and AMD have (CIA/NSA requested) embedded remote backdoors in their chips accessible over W/LAN. I doubt disabling this, completely stops the processor from being a possible attack vector.
Current Setting: Permanently Disabled
Security > Secure Boot Configuration
Secure Boot: Off
Security > Intel SGX
Intel SGX Control: Disabled
Security > Device Guard
Device Guard: Off
Security > Thinkshield secure wipe
Thinkshield secure wipe: Off
Startup > Startup
UEFI/Legacy Boot: Legact Only