(OLD) Tablet Boots to Black Screen After Attempted Debian Install - eviltoast

This is an old post, I plan on making a new one with updated details.

I was installing Debian on my Getac F100-G2, and I booted to the live usb perfectly fine. I tested everything and it seemed to work great, except for one time I got logged out randomly. I installed it(overwriting windows) and it completed with no error. When I rebooted, it booted to a black screen and did not provide any error message. I’ve tried booting to the same installation media as well, and it does the exact same. I’ve switched between legacy boot and uefi, which has been an issue in the past with debian. I have also tried booting from a pureos live usb and that hasn’t worked either. Getac devices are for enterprise use more than person, and rather poorly documented, so any help is appreciated!********___

  • data1701d (He/Him)@startrek.websiteEnglish
    12·
    3 months ago

    Could it be a Secure Boot issue? From what I can tell, this is roughly a late Windows 8.1 era machine, and I think Microsoft already required OEMs to have Secure Boot around this time; I have a 6th gen Intel laptop (don’t know about 5th gen, which I think this laptop has) with TPM 1.2. Lots of laptops are big jerks about this, and sometimes you have to disable it at least until you allow non-Microsoft Keys.

    Also, can you change the title of your post? I feel like it doesn’t convey what you’re actually asking and sort of scares people away from wanting to respond to you. Maybe something more like “Tablet Boots to Black Screen After Attempted Debian Install?”

  • MajorHavoc@programming.dev
    12·
    3 months ago

    So the good news is you’re probably not bricked.

    I’ve had similar, and had to work through getting my bios into the right state to get the screen to load, and then escaping grub into a grub recovery shell to debug.

    Edit: Do you have access to an alternate/external monitor? I would want to try another monitor, just to rule out a hardware failure, too.

    • potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fishOPEnglish
      2·
      3 months ago

      I have tried to use my tv but it showed a black screen as well, the bios shows up and works fine so I’d imagine its not hardware related.

      • MajorHavoc@programming.dev
        1·
        3 months ago

        Yeah. It’s not hardware, then.

        I would try searching “black screen <bios version>” with any name and version number you can figure out about your bios, next.

        If you can get it back to booting from install media, I would do a full reinstall.

        There’s recovery layers (such as grub shell) that ought to kick in if this was just a display config issue, so I’m thinking corrupted install files is more likely.

        Also, do a careful check through your various BIOS settings - search each one with “Debian 12 <setting name>”, to find out if they work with Debian 12, or need adjusted. Debian 12 supports most boot security features, that I have encountered, but I believe there’s still a couple out there that have to be turned off.

        I suspect your next practical goal will be to get the (presumably failed) bootloader install replaced.

        Edit: Tried to add a lot of specific thoughts as search term leads.

        • potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fishOPEnglish
          2·
          3 months ago

          I’m going to re-install windows to make sure the tablet is functional, and then repeat the process. The weird part is any live linux usb doesn’t work either. It is a strange issue, thanks for your help.

          • MajorHavoc@programming.dev
            1·
            3 months ago

            thanks for your help.

            Sure thing. Feel free to keep us updated. I hate to see anyone have to use Windows longer than they want to.

            • potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fishOPEnglish
              2·
              3 months ago

              The mystery is why even windows won’t boot now. I might tell getac about this and ask for help, unfortunately this isn’t under warranty so I won’t be getting a replacement.

  • potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fishOPEnglish
    4·
    3 months ago

    This whole BIOS is cryptic… what is “OS select” supposed to mean with the option for windows 7 or 8.1/10? I’d assume this is related to booting but theres little specification. Also, I can’t perform a bios update

    • data1701d (He/Him)@startrek.websiteEnglish
      6·
      3 months ago

      I’m guessing that the 7 or 8.1/10 thing is probably to select between legacy BIOS CSM or UEFI. What is it set to right now? Maybe try playing with that.

      • potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fishOPEnglish
        1·
        3 months ago

        I note that no boot options show up when I select 8.1/10, but my “Legacy Hard Drive” and “Legacy BEV” show up when I enable legacy boot. Do you think that a legacy only install could cause this?

  • pastermil@sh.itjust.works
    31·
    3 months ago

    Are you able to boot to the liveUSB again? If so, you may be able to use it to access the log on that broken installation.

      • phanto@lemmy.ca
        2·
        3 months ago

        Does it give you anything? Can you select safe mode or nomodeset from the grub menu, or do you get no grub menu at all? I almost pulled the trigger on a used getac system a while back, but couldn’t justify the cost. If you get it working, please tell me how it goes under Linux!

        • potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fishOPEnglish
          2·
          3 months ago

          absolutely no grub or anything. this is probably my fault somehow though because ive heard of other people using it fine, and the overall compatibility was decent when it booted.