Aspire R3-131T Linux UEFI USB bootable device not detected, Linux compatibility.

Arkhon
Arkhon Member Posts: 2 New User

Hi there,

It appears the R3-131T has troubles with trying to boot to UEFI mode with an USB stick. BIOS version is 1.09. My device (Kingston DataTraveler SE9 USB 3.0 32 GB) is not being detected and Windows Boot Manager is being loaded automaticaly. I managed to make it run under Legacy mode to run a unetbootin-created live install media of Debian 8.2 x86-64, however that leaves me with having to swap between the Legacy and UEFI modes each time I want to switch the system, as grub cannot detect the presence  of Win 10.

 

I have tried disabling the Secure Boot, but alas no avail.

 

As for the Legacy mode Debian I installed, the initial kernel (3.1.6) only allowed the use of touchscreen, not the touchpad and WiFi couldn't find networks. Upgrading the kernel to 4.3.0 fixed the touchpad issue, however, most importantly, the WiFi issue persists.

 

I followed this guide as I detected Realtek RTL 8111/81668 using the lspci -nn feature. While the driver is listed for the 3.x kernel, I would suspect some backwards compatibility since the chipset is so new and the update time was literly yesterday (2016/1/12). The driver was succesfuly installed and is displayed in the lspci -v, however, I still cannot detect any WiFi  in the wicd application.

 

Can anyone help me out on these 2 issues?

Answers

  • IronFly
    IronFly ACE Posts: 18,413 Trailblazer

    Instead of using unetbootin, use Rufus, set Partition Scheme to EFI/UEFI and FAT32 format.

     

    Disable only secure boot and then try to boot from the USB flash drive.

    I'm not an Acer employee.
  • RonBab
    RonBab Member Posts: 9 New User

    I wanted to clean install Windows 10 from a USB drive.  I was able to boot to a USB drive, but before doing so, i had to move the USB drive up in the list in BIOS.

     

    The reason I did this is I was having issues with the ELAN touchpad.  Turns out the clean install didn't do much.  The touchpad worked after the clean install, but with no multi-touch function.  After connecting to the internet, Windows 10 updated the driver and it became spotty and slow. 

     

    Can you tell me which touchpad you have installed?  It will either be Elantech or Synaptics?

  • Arkhon
    Arkhon Member Posts: 2 New User

    Unfortunately it seems Rufus, unetbootin nor YUMI are going to boot into this UEFI. I will faff around trying some other things, such as dd from the Debian and so on, that is not too important since setting the boot mode is not that big of a deal.

     

    However I am quite miffed about the absence of WiFi on the Debian, that is my biggest problem right now. Ethernet port works swimmingly, but the wirless detedction does not...

     

    @RonRab I at first installed the Synaptics one, no workey workey. Then I just installed the elantech over it, restarted and it works with full functionality. If it is skipping on you, you might try to see if it does so when playing a video. There have been some issues reported ith the Realtek audio driver. Try uninstalling it and getting this one instead.

  • RonBab
    RonBab Member Posts: 9 New User

    Thanks Arkhon, installing the driver you linked worked.  Extremely grateful!

  • JordanB
    JordanB ACE Posts: 3,729 Pathfinder

    You're probably going to need to enable secure boot and install UEFI (if you want UEFI), but first go in to insyde BIOS and then to security tab and add the appropriate entry.  See eelcoherders posts.

     

    http://community.acer.com/t5/Linux/Ubuntu-on-E5-573G-71L9-black-screen-after-menu-on-Live-USB/m-p/405318

     

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Tinkerer
    Re: Ubuntu on E5 573G-71L9 - black screen after menu on Live USB[ Edited ]
     

    a week ago - last edited a week ago

    If I understand you correctly, the Ubuntu/Grub entry has not been added to the boot menu, or at least not placed on top. This was also the case for me, as I wrote in a previous post:

     

    "It still did not work out of the box: I had to manually add \EFI\ubuntu\grubx64.efi to the boot sequence in order to get the GRUB menu (the entry was not automatically added)."

     

    In more detail, in the InsydeH20 Bios, you need to set a password in order to play around with the advanced settings. Check in the Boot tab that Secure Boot is activated. Then go to the Security tab and add \EFI\ubuntu\grubx64.efi as a safe/secure boot option (should be called something like this, I don't have the bios at hand). Give it a proper name like 'Ubuntu'. Save and exit and then go to the bios again. In the boot tab, your Ubuntu boot option should be listed. Move F6 to get it to the top. Save and exit.

     

    Is this what you are looking for?

    I'm not an Acer employee.
  • perknite
    perknite Member Posts: 1 New User

    I don't know if you're a Debian purist or not, but I can tell you that Ubuntu Gnome 15.10 works right out of the box.  I've been using it for a little over a month now.  Even somewhat subtle touches like turning the keyboard and touchpad off when in tablet mode work.  I'm about to experiment with the latest Fedora and OpenSuse.  Before doing all of this I imaged the entire machine.