DUAL Boot Problem! BIOS wont load if i install LINUX in DUAL Boot HELIOS 300

Predator HELIOS 300 Model= PH315-52
I have been trying to dual boot my laptop, but so far no success. I was trying to install Manjaro linux/ and tried POP OS, but both failed. I tried to follow the instructions from a post of this forum, but no luck.
In my case, After installing linux, when it restart, it stuck in Blank Window and i cant access BIOS.
Only way to fix , is to force shut down and then it will boot to windows, but still no BIOS, it just blank screen.
Now If i delete all the linux partiton from windows, i can access BIOS again. Its been pretty annoying so far. If anyone can help, thank you

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xapim

Probably a display driver issue ?? im not sure never tried it because if i want linux or any other os i always run them on vmware

and officially theres no linux support for any Acer devices/laptops as far as im aware so its always the do it at your own risk issue and try to troubleshoot it

Arnabmactavish

xapim said:

Probably a display driver issue ?? im not sure never tried it because if i want linux or any other os i always run them on vmware and officially theres no linux support for any Acer devices/laptops as far as im aware so its always the do it at your own risk issue and try to troubleshoot

Thanks for the quick reply.

It doesn't look like display driver issue cuz it runs fine..if i boot the linux through, windows advance startup. I think its more of boot order and bios compatibility issue.

I am using virtualbox as of now, but it can't use the full strength of the laptop. Compiling a code takes lot more time, which is the issue generally.

As os now I have no idea how to fix this issue

PredatorHelios500

Some questions:

Did you try a live USB version of your OSes first?

Did you set the disk mode to AHCI?

Did you try toggling Secure Boot to see if it helps?

If it is getting stuck before the BIOS, it does not seem like a video driver issue but something related to POST tests.

xapim

PredatorHelios500 youre right but the OP said he followed all the instructions if so he should know that he has to follow those steps you just stated in the bios settings

but again there any many threads here with instructions on how to do it

Arnabmactavish

PredatorHelios500 said:

Some questions:

Did you try a live USB version of your OSes first?

Did you set the disk mode to AHCI?

Did you try toggling Secure Boot to see if it helps?

If it is getting stuck before the BIOS, it does not seem like a video driver issue but something related to POST tests.

Yes I tried as a live usb 1st, it was working perfectly and Pop os NVIDIA drivers also working.

Yes It is set to ACHI and i turned of the secure boot.

Yeah its not a video driver issue.It happens even before the bios loads. Cuz no Matter how much i press esc+f2 BIOS won't load, just blank screen whait a ' _ ' at the top left corner.(i forgot to mention that)

crzpredator

Same problem with my Helios 300

theillusionistmirage

Hey @Arnabmactavish
I had the exact same problem (I posted the same thing https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/581555/my-helios-300-ph315-52-uefi-menu-doesnt-load-when-any-linux-distro-is-installed#latest).
I have a reason to suspect this to be an issue with the current version of UEFI firmware present in our respective models of the Helios 300.
Here's what I did as a workaround:
* Enable boot menu (Ability to boot by hitting F12 and select the boot device)
* Do the steps I listed in my post above.
* So now when I would want to boot from a live USB, I can do so (in case there's a disk issue or neither of Windows or Linux would boot). To update the UEFI firmware however, would mean deleting the Linux EFI partition (to gain back access to the UEFI menu), updating it, and then adding it back (not easy IMHO). I know this is not as trivial but this is the only way I see you can dual boot!

Hope this helps!

Arnabmactavish

theillusionistmirage said:

Hey @Arnabmactavish
I had the exact same problem (I posted the same thing https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/581555/my-helios-300-ph315-52-uefi-menu-doesnt-load-when-any-linux-distro-is-installed#latest).
I have a reason to suspect this to be an issue with the current version of UEFI firmware present in our respective models of the Helios 300.
Here's what I did as a workaround:
* Enable boot menu (Ability to boot by hitting F12 and select the boot device)
* Do the steps I listed in my post above.
* So now when I would want to boot from a live USB, I can do so (in case there's a disk issue or neither of Windows or Linux would boot). To update the UEFI firmware however, would mean deleting the Linux EFI partition (to gain back access to the UEFI menu), updating it, and then adding it back (not easy IMHO). I know this is not as trivial but this is the only way I see you can dual boot!

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the heads up. As far as I can see, distro's having systemd-boot and not grub facing this issue. As of now i am dual booting with ubuntu and I can access BIOS, but any systemd-boot distro like POP OS or MANJARO will have this problem, until the firmware gets some kind of bug fix.

Arnabmactavish

Well Got a work around for using Sytemd-boot enabled distros such as Manjaro or Pop os in dual boot with windows 10.
Don't create two EFI partitions, instead use the same one as windows.

1st increase the size of the EFI partition from 100MB to atleast 500MB. Use Minitool partition wizard to increase the size(or a software of your liking)

thats it..use that partition for '/boot/efi' in Manjaro and pop os. Now you can use them and still access BIOS.

sri369

@Arnabmactavish
@crzpredator
@theillusionistmirage

I was able to install Ubuntu on both Predator 300 and Nitro 5 - onto an external SSD connected via USB 3 - without any issues. If i want Linux, i simply connect the SSD to USB and use F12 to boot via USB. Or simply disconnect SSD or just not use F12 and it goes to Windows.

Steps here: https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/585144/guide-installing-linux-on-nitro-5-an515-42

Try it, maybe this might work better. I felt this as a viable solution than messing up with windows disks.

DestructorComing

I remember having a similar issue. Manjaro used to work when on live USB but not after installing it. Mine wasn't a BIOS problem. The problem is with NVIDIA drivers. I don't exactly remember how I fixed it, but it did have something to do with the "nouveau" parameter when booting. If you had the same problem as I had, you should be able to see the GRUB screen. From there you should go to command line mode and edit the above said parameter. That should do the trick for Manjaro. I recently installed PopOs based on Ubuntu 20.04. This installed worked very smoothly for me as it had all the proprietary NVIDIA drivers pre-installed.

Please ensure when you download the OS to download the version with PROPRIETARY DRIVERS OR NVIDIA DRIVERS.

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