Re: Trying to install Debian on Acer One 10 laptop-tablet

["Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net>]

Hi,

i wrote:
> > The symptoms described in this thread appear to happen already when GRUB
> > is still in control and offers its boot menu. Or did i get this wrong ?

Rodolfo Medina wrote:
> I enter `Boot Manager', and there are two possible options:
>  Windows Boot Manager
>  EFI USB Device (General UDisk)
> I choose the second and here I am in Debian installation menu. 

I understand that this menu is not yet Linux but bootloader.
Since you obviously have EFI without BIOS emulation active, the bootloader
from the Debian ISO is GRUB (from BIOS it would be ISOLINUX).


> I tried with both Install and `64 bit install', and also, now, with `64 bit
> graphical install'; and, in all those cases, what happens is that the image
> becomes confused and the keyboard sticks and no command is more possible.

So you can properly operate the menu ?
In that case it would probably not be GRUB which fails but already Linux.
A matter of the booted kernel and its modules in the initrd.


> So, as far as I understand, Debian live isos will also probably fail

Did you already try the very newest Debian ISOs ? Maybe they have newer
Linux kernels. E.g.
  https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/daily-builds/daily/arch-latest/multi-arch/iso-cd/debian-testing-amd64-i386-netinst.iso

Sifting through the mailing list archive, i see a proposal by Pascal
Hambourg in
  https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2017/06/msg00406.html
which did not yet get a reply:
> > > The next step would be to select "expert install", GUI or not. It
> > > should display a lot of kernel messages before switching to the
> > > frame buffer or GUI installer menu. If it does not, then the kernel
> > > freeze happens very early in the boot process.

This might help to determine which of both systems is to blame:
GRUB or Linux.

@Pascal:
Do i get it right that you assume the last visible menu runs already
under control of Linux ?
But i see the texts reported by Rodolofo in Debian ISOs in the GRUB
menu file /boot/grub/grub.cfg :
  menuentry --hotkey=i 'Install' {
  menuentry --hotkey=6 '64 bit install' {
  menuentry --hotkey=g 'Graphical install' {

So i assume that the last good graphics stems from GRUB and the last
user interaction was received by GRUB.
Question is whether the machine's user interface dies when GRUB ends
its life or while Linux is starting up.


> all I can do is waiting for Knoppix 8 iso image to be downloadable...

If it is about the Linux kernel then Knoppix will not be a way to get
the latest Linux kernel. It might of course have a drivers which the
Debian ISOs don't have. So when it is out it is worth a try.

You could try some other distro ISOs whether you get to see at least
a few kernel boot messages after choosing a menu item. Success with
another freely downloadable ISO could help to find out what goes wrong
with the Debian ISOs on your machine.


Have a nice day :)

Thomas