Translation(s): none
DebianOn is an effort to document how to install, configure and use Debian on some specific hardware. Therefore potential buyers would know if that hardware is supported and owners would know how get the best out of that hardware. The purpose is not to duplicate the Debian Official Documentation, but to document how to install Debian on some specific hardware. If you need help to get Debian running on your hardware, please have a look at our user support channels where you may find specific channels (mailing list, IRC channel) dedicated to certain types of hardware. |
Models covered
Aspire 5 A515-56
Sub-models (A515-56-508P (NX.A19EK.004)) options : - Video card: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- Screen size: 15"
- Screen resolution: 1920x1080
- Wireless card: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz
- Disk: 512GB PCI-e SSD
- Memory: 8GB DDR4 SDRAM
- Touchpad: ELAN
- Fingerprint reader
- Other options, like fingerprint reader, bluetooth...
Overall Status
Feature |
Buster |
Bullseye |
Core Components |
=========== |
==== |
Boot Standard Kernel: |
|
|
LAN network card: |
|
|
Detect CD/DVD: |
|
|
Detect hard drives: |
|
|
Secure boot: |
|
|
Xorg |
|
(firmware-linux-nonfree) |
- OpenGL |
[X] |
(as above) |
- Resize-and-Rotate(randr) |
[?] |
(as above) |
Extra Features |
============ |
==== |
CPU Frequency Scaling |
[?] |
[?] |
Hibernation |
[?] |
[?] |
Sleep / Suspend |
[?] |
|
Switch to External Screen |
[?] |
|
Keyboard's Hotkeys |
[?] |
|
Mouse |
|
|
- Built-in (Trackpoint) |
[-] |
[-] |
- Built-in (Touchpad) |
[?] |
|
Fingerprint Reader |
[?] |
[?] |
Modem |
[-] |
[-] |
Wireless/Wifi |
|
(firmware-iwlwifi) |
Sound |
|
(firmware-sof-signed) |
Microphone |
[?] |
(as above) |
Legend :
= OK ; Unsupported(No Driver) ; = Error (Couldn't get it working); [?] Unknown, Not Test ; [-] Not-applicable
= Configuration Required; = Only works with a non-free driver and or firmware
Buster with packages from backports and Bullseye
Core Components |
||
Boot Standard Kernel: |
|
|
LAN network card: |
|
|
Detect CD/DVD: |
|
|
Detect hard drives: |
|
|
Secure boot: |
|
|
Extra Features |
||
CPU Frequency Scaling |
[?] |
|
Hibernation |
[?] |
|
Sleep / Suspend |
|
|
Xorg |
|
|
- CPU Mesa OpenGL |
|
|
- GPU Mesa OpenGL |
|
|
- Resize-and-Rotate(randr) |
[?] |
|
Switch to External Screen |
|
|
Mouse |
|
|
- Built-in (Trackpoint) |
[-] |
|
- Built-in (Touchpad) |
|
|
Modem |
[-] |
|
Wireless/Wifi |
|
|
Keyboard's Hotkeys |
|
|
Sound |
|
Legend :
= OK ; Unsupported(No Driver) ; = Error (Couldn't get it working); [?] Unknown, Not Test ; [-] Not-applicable
= Configuration Required; = Only works with a non-free driver and or firmware
Important Notes
Driver support is much better in Bullseye than in Buster, due to how new the hardware is, so it may be advisable to install bullseye instead of buster (I have not tried this). I installed Buster and managed to get a functional system by installing a newer linux kernel and linux-firmware-nonfree from buster-backports, and installing firmware-iwlwifi and firmware-sof-signed from the bullseye repo. Do this at your own risk.
You need to disable Intel Volume Management Device Bootcamp in the UEFI to get the Debian installer to recognise the internal SSD:
- Boot into Windows and disable Intel Octane Storage Management for the SSD
- Disable fast startup in the power settings in the Control Panel
- Set Windows to boot into safe mode temporarily, and shutdown the system.
- Power on the computer, and press F2 to open the UEFI menu.
- Goto main tab, press Ctrl+s, go to VMD Controller, and set it to disabled.
- Enable F12 Boot Menu
- Save and reboot into Windows in safe mode and restart - check that Windows boots successfully when safe mode is disabled
- If a blue screen occurs on startup, go back to the UEFI menu and re-enable VMD Controller, boot into Windows, and try again.
I found https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/607762/installing-linux-on-my-new-aspire-5-a515-55 useful in this (note: the model and UEFI settings are slightly different in this forum post)
A wired ethernet connection is essentially required to use the netinst installer and install non-free firmware (if you're using installation media without the non-free iwlwifi drivers). This is because the wired connection works out of the box, but extra non-free drivers are needed for the wi-fi card.
- You could also use another Debian computer to download the packages onto a USB stick, and you can manually install the required extra packages from it using dpkg - but using a wired connection is easier.
A UEFI firmware update may reset your SecureBoot settings back to defaults, which may make you unable to boot Debian. You can try solving this by either setting a supervisor password and manually trusting the UEFI entry (EFI/debian/shimsx64.efi) to the F12 boot menu; and/or disabling SecureBoot. Do so at your own risk! (Also, modifying UEFI entries from within Debian and removing/renaming bootloader files depended upon by other boot entries can prevent the UEFI settings menu from loading - I learnt this the hard way! If you also get into this situation, if you can, boot back into Debian and revert the modification to hopefully fix this)
Brief Instructions
Installing Bullseye
These are just notes which may or may not be useful. Please use and follow the main Debian installation guide!
Backup any existing data from your system!
- If you plan to dual boot with Windows, shrink the Windows partition in Disk Management in Windows.
- Create a USB stick with the Debian Bullseye installer on it (make sure it's UEFI compatible)
- Disable Intel Volume Management Device Bootcamp.
- Connect the computer to the internet using a wired connection (required for firmware installation).
- Boot the installer
- Insert your installation media
- Reboot and press F12 to open the boot menu, and boot the installation media
- Install - remember the root password!
- Boot into Debian
- Reboot and press F12 to open the boot menu, select 'debian'
- Login as root
- Install non-free firmware
- Enable nonfree sources in /etc/apt/sources.list
- Update the package indexes, and upgrade any packages:
apt-get update apt-get upgrade
- Install non-free firmware packages:
apt-get install firmware-linux-nonfree firmware-iwlfifi firmware-sof-signed
- Reboot:
reboot
Open the F12 boot menu and boot into Debian - if you see the GUI login screen, congrats! You should hopefully have a functional system
Configuration
Display
Graphics adapter: Intel Corporation Iris Xe Graphics
Bullseye
To get X-Org/Wayland to work, install firmware-linux-nonfree:
sudo apt-get install firmware-linux-nonfree
To enable GPU graphics, install the latest mesa drivers (usually already installed):sudo apt-get install mesa-opencl-icd mesa-va-drivers mesa-vdpau-drivers mesa-vulkan-drivers
Buster
To get X-Org/Wayland to work, install firmware-linux-nonfree from buster-backports (>= 20200918) (may require a kernel from backports):
sudo apt-get install firmware-linux-nonfree
On Buster (with backports kernel and bullseye firmwares), the system doesn't use the GPU and fallsback to CPU rendering (llvmpipe). GPU rendering requires newer Mesa drivers than are available in Buster or buster-backports.
Notes:
On Buster (with backports kernel and bullseye firmwares), the system doesn't use the GPU and fallsback to CPU rendering (llvmpipe).
- I wasn't able to start GNOME on the default Buster install, but managed to get it working by installing the following packages from buster-backports (not all of these may be necessary; it's just what's worked for me):
e2fsprogs/buster-backports,now 1.45.5-2~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] firmware-amd-graphics/buster-backports,now 20200918-1~bpo10+1 all [installed,automatic] firmware-intel-sound/buster-backports,now 20200918-1~bpo10+1 all [installed] firmware-linux-nonfree/buster-backports,now 20200918-1~bpo10+1 all [installed] firmware-linux/buster-backports,now 20200918-1~bpo10+1 all [installed] firmware-misc-nonfree/buster-backports,now 20200918-1~bpo10+1 all [installed] firmware-realtek/buster-backports,now 20200918-1~bpo10+1 all [installed] libcom-err2/buster-backports,now 1.45.5-2~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] libcryptsetup12/buster-backports,now 2:2.3.4-2~bpo10+2 amd64 [installed] libext2fs2/buster-backports,now 1.45.5-2~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] libnss-systemd/buster-backports,now 247.2-4~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] libpam-systemd/buster-backports,now 247.2-4~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] libpolkit-agent-1-0/stable,now 0.105-25 amd64 [installed,automatic] libpolkit-backend-1-0/stable,now 0.105-25 amd64 [installed,automatic] libpolkit-gobject-1-0/stable,now 0.105-25 amd64 [installed,automatic] libpoppler-glib8/stable,now 0.71.0-5 amd64 [installed,automatic] libpoppler82/stable,now 0.71.0-5 amd64 [installed,automatic] libpopt0/stable,now 1.16-12 amd64 [installed] libpostproc55/stable,stable,now 7:4.1.6-1~deb10u1 amd64 [installed,automatic] libseccomp2/buster-backports,now 2.4.4-1~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] libss2/buster-backports,now 1.45.5-2~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] libsystemd0/buster-backports,now 247.2-4~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] libudev1/buster-backports,now 247.2-4~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] libzstd1/buster-backports,now 1.4.4+dfsg-3~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] linux-image-5.9.0-0.bpo.5-amd64/buster-backports,now 5.9.15-1~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] linux-image-amd64/buster-backports,now 5.9.15-1~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] logsave/buster-backports,now 1.45.5-2~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] systemd-sysv/buster-backports,now 247.2-4~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] systemd-timesyncd/buster-backports,now 247.2-4~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] systemd/buster-backports,now 247.2-4~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] udev/buster-backports,now 247.2-4~bpo10+1 amd64 [installed] wireless-regdb/buster-backports,now 2020.04.29-2~bpo10+1 all [installed,automatic]
- Animations when using GNOME on X-Org don't work
Audio
Sound-card: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP Smart Sound Technology Audio Controller
For Debian bullseye with linux-image-amd64 >= 5.5:
Install Sound open Firmware firmware-sof-signed:
sudo apt-get install firmware-sof-signed
Note: this can also be installed on Buster if needed by temporarily enabling the bullseye repositories in /etc/apt/sources.list.
Mouse
- Mousepad not functional in the graphical installer, but seems to work in GNOME. I recommend enabling right-click emulation in GNOME Tweaks.
Power Management
- (not covered yet)
WiFi
Wireless card: Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6 AX201
Install firmware-iwlwifi (works on >= 20201218-1) (available from bullseye) (note: iwlwifi requires linux-image-amd64 >= 5.2 - see https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/iwlwifi for more info)
sudo apt-get install firmware-iwlwifi
System Summary
lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge [0600]: Intel Corporation 11th Gen Core Processor Host Bridge/DRAM Registers [8086:9a14] (rev 01)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Iris Xe Graphics [8086:9a49] (rev 01)
00:08.0 System peripheral [0880]: Intel Corporation Device [8086:9a11] (rev 01)
00:14.0 USB controller [0c03]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 xHCI Host Controller [8086:a0ed] (rev 20)
00:14.2 RAM memory [0500]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP Shared SRAM [8086:a0ef] (rev 20)
00:14.3 Network controller [0280]: Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6 AX201 [8086:a0f0] (rev 20)
00:15.0 Serial bus controller [0c80]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP Serial IO I2C Controller [8086:a0e8] (rev 20)
00:15.3 Serial bus controller [0c80]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP Serial IO I2C Controller [8086:a0eb] (rev 20)
00:16.0 Communication controller [0780]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP Management Engine Interface [8086:a0e0] (rev 20)
00:17.0 SATA controller [0106]: Intel Corporation Device [8086:a0d3] (rev 20)
00:19.0 Serial bus controller [0c80]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP Serial IO I2C Controller [8086:a0c5] (rev 20)
00:19.1 Serial bus controller [0c80]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP Serial IO I2C Controller [8086:a0c6] (rev 20)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Device [8086:a0bc] (rev 20)
00:1d.0 PCI bridge [0604]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP PCI Express Root Port [8086:a0b0] (rev 20)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP LPC Controller [8086:a082] (rev 20)
00:1f.3 Multimedia audio controller [0401]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP Smart Sound Technology Audio Controller [8086:a0c8] (rev 20)
00:1f.4 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP SMBus Controller [8086:a0a3] (rev 20)
00:1f.5 Serial bus controller [0c80]: Intel Corporation Tiger Lake-LP SPI Controller [8086:a0a4] (rev 20)
01:00.0 Non-Volatile memory controller [0108]: SK hynix Device [1c5c:1339]
02:00.0 Ethernet controller [0200]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller [10ec:8168] (rev 15)
lsusb
sudo lsusb -v | grep -E '\<(Bus|iProduct|bDeviceClass|bDeviceProtocol)' 2>/dev/null
can't get debug descriptor: Resource temporarily unavailable Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub bDeviceClass 9 Hub bDeviceProtocol 3 iProduct 2 xHCI Host Controller Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0408:a061 Quanta Computer, Inc. bDeviceClass 239 Miscellaneous Device bDeviceProtocol 1 Interface Association iProduct 2 HD User Facing (Bus Powered) can't get debug descriptor: Resource temporarily unavailable (Bus Powered) Bus 001 Device 002: ID 04f3:0c4f Elan Microelectronics Corp. bDeviceClass 0 bDeviceProtocol 0 iProduct 2 ELAN:Fingerprint can't get device qualifier: Resource temporarily unavailable (Bus Powered) can't get debug descriptor: Resource temporarily unavailable (Bus Powered) Bus 001 Device 004: ID 8087:0026 Intel Corp. bDeviceClass 224 Wireless bDeviceProtocol 1 Bluetooth iProduct 0 can't get debug descriptor: Resource temporarily unavailable Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub bDeviceClass 9 Hub bDeviceProtocol 1 Single TT iProduct 2 xHCI Host Controller can't get device qualifier: Resource temporarily unavailable can't get debug descriptor: Resource temporarily unavailable
USB Host controllers entries (without OHCI, UHCI, EHCI) are removed too.
Resources
Attachments
Some configuration files and sample outputs.
Other reports
Installing Linux on my new Aspire 5 A515-55 - note this isn't the same model, but it's similar
Useful Links
Wi-fi driver: https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/iwlwifi
Graphics firmware: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/tree/i915
Credits