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Edited by mat at 2017-12-25 01:11
Sorry, I didn't have any notification on this forum.
I am using the AP34 with linux. I'll share my experience.
The only distribution images I managed to boot are
archlinux (archlinux-2017.08.01-x86_64.iso) and its
derivative antergos (antergos-17.x-x86_64.iso).
All the others (I tried manjaro, debian, lubuntu, mint)
freeze with a black screen before the bootloader.
I don't know the reason, I saw some threads talking about
disabling kernel mode settings (passing the parameters
"nomodeset i915.modeset=0") or to update the intel microcode
(initrd=/intel-ucode.img), I tried these but none worked for me.
After archlinux setup I wasn't able to boot the installed system
neither with rEFInd nor with grub2 (UEFI boot and mounted
a first 256MB vfat partition to /boot/efi).
With antergos setup I had better luck, I don't know if the credit is of
the Cnchi installer, or having mounted the fat32 partition to /boot
instead of /boot/efi, or having picked systemd-boot instead of grub2.
However, here is what I have done:
1) Download antergos image and write it to a USB key,
I used "suse image writer", but also dd command would do;
insert the key in the USB port
2) Enter the bios (DEL or ESC key just after turning on the device)
*) Disable the "secure boot".
*) In the "boot order", put the USB key at the top
(I hadn't discovered a boot menu).
*) Just have a look and take note of the "hard disk priorities"
list, there should be a windows boot manager
3) Once rebooted you should see the antergos live
image boot loader, I pressed enter to proceed with the
default entry, had no problem to load the linux live
environment (a gnome session)
4) Provide an internet connection, I used a lan cable
5) The antergos installer Cnchi starts automatically, wait some
time for possible automatic updates
6) About the setup procedure, here are the important points:
*) Created a first 256Mb fat32 partition on the SSD and mounted it to /boot
*) I mounted the remaining partition to / (root)
*) I picked systemd-boot as bootmanager (I had no luck with grub2)
To be precise, I mounted /var and /home on an external
magnetic HD; no swap partition but a much more flexible
2GB swap file in /var
7) When you restart, be sure to remove the USB key and
enter the bios again to check the "hard disks boot priorities":
there should be a new entry (like "UEFI OS"), put it on the top
of the list, above the windows boot manager.
In the "fixed boot priorities" I kept the USB key above
the hard disk, but you may want to change that.
That's it, after the reboot antergos works like a charm,
now I am enjoying the AP34 with a quite powerful linux
distribution.
Someone with spare time could taylor the kernel recompiling
it with the proper options in order to squeeze every resource
from the AP34 hardware (I don't have so much spare time).
In the end I chose XFCE instead of gnome as desktop environment,
is easier to setup for hdpi displays and it seems faster.
The default XFCE look seems old, but it's easy to modernize
(themes, whisker menu, flat icons, panels transparency, ...).
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Author: Otard
Post time 2017-07-15 14:30:38
