Linux on Atom based devices

[Daniél Lecoq]

Thanks Brad. I’ll check it out. And feel free to accept @GalaxyCurse on Twitter 😉 That’s me

[Daniél Lecoq]

Linuxium works perfectly on my Teclast X98 Plus(not Plus II), WiFi, Touchscreen, Bluetooth, Sound and whatever more we have.

Only issue is that that the screen rotation is one step clockwise(holding it landscape gives portrait mode and vice versa), but it’s easily fixed by turning the tablet until you get to landscape or portrait(depending on what you want) and then turn off rotation.

My only issue now is to figure out how to install it, what partitions to use and how to get it bootable. But slowly getting there.

Thanks for the help.

[Brad]

Daniél Lecoq wrote:

Linuxium works perfectly on my Teclast X98 Plus(not Plus II), WiFi, Touchscreen, Bluetooth, Sound and whatever more we have. Only issue is that that the screen rotation is one step clockwise(holding it landscape gives portrait mode and vice versa), but it’s easily fixed by turning the tablet until you get to landscape or portrait(depending on what you want) and then turn off rotation. My only issue now is to figure out how to install it, what partitions to use and how to get it bootable. But slowly getting there. Thanks for the help.

 Cool!  Which version of Linuxium distro?  Did you use one of his or ISO-respin your own?

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[Daniél Lecoq]

I’ve tried his 2 latest, if you look at the blog. The “fake” unity and the one from 3 posts or so ago with Cinnamon.

On my desktop computer, Windows 10 decided to overwrite grub a few days ago, and I haven’t fixed it yet, which means that I haven’t got any Linux access to test his script, but I’ll get to it soon… Gonna remove Windows dual boot from the desktop and put it in virtualbox instead, I’m fed up with Windows overwriting my bootloader and other things it does after just a normal, non update, shutdown… Unfortunately I need a resent version of  Microsoft Word for work, and it doesn’t work in WINE or anything else…

[Brad]

For some devices (eg. Chuwi Lapbook 15’s) that use the Ensonic ES8316  audio chip that does not work on Linux, looks like the forthcoming Kernel 4.13 may provide the fix.  May fix sound/audio problems that other Atom based devices have –>

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Sound-Changes-Linux-4.13

“Takashi Iwai’s sound updates is the latest pull request worth mentioning on Phoronix as part of the two-week merge window for Linux 4.13.

There are some improvements to core ALSA core code, but for Phoronix readers likely what is of most interest comes down to the new/improved hardware support. New sound driver coverage for Linux 4.13 include Allwinner V3s SoCs, Ensonic ES8316 codec, greater Intel SST Atom support that is used by “cheap tablets” and 2-in-1- devices, Rockchip PDM controller support, STM32 I2S and S/PDIF controller support, and ZTE AUD96P22 codec support. There is also the previously talked about Realtek ALC215 / ALC285 / ALC289 support.

Sound updates in Linux 4.13 also include additional fixes/improvements for Intel Skylake and Kabylake hardware.”

 

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[Brad]

Some owners of the Chuwi Hi10 also report using this audio chip/device (ES8316)

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[Daniél Lecoq]

Seems like great news for some of our tablets.

I still haven’t managed to install Linux, it works great from a USB stick with persistent partition, but it would be better if I could get it installed, and somehow be able to choose it at boot, without going to the BIOS. I managed to screw up my partitions  bit before, but reinstalled Android with repartition, so it only takes 4GB, I don’t need much installed there and any files can be stored on my old 16GB SD card, which works perfectly. I also made a full reinstallation of Windows 10, using the rest of the space. I currently have a little more than 35GB free on the Windows partition, so I could easily shrink the partition with 15GB or so and still have 20GB for Windows updates to run smoothly. I just need to figure out how all this EFI booting works, and the secure boot things.

This link http://blog.davidelner.com/dual-booting-ubuntu-14-10-on-the-surface-pro-3/ have some info on how to sign Linux as trusted, but I’m still far away from that scenario.

Thanks for all help in this thread, especially from Brad.

[Christian Nobis]

Are there any recommendations for buying a Atom-based tablet for running Linux and Android (Dualboot) on it? Wireless, bluetooth, touchscreen should work out of the box or at least with an up-to-date stock-kernel. Screen-size should be 10 – 13 inch. No need for an stylus and on keyboard i prefer bluetooth keyboards with german layout 😉

[Brad]

Christian Nobis wrote:

Are there any recommendations for buying a Atom-based tablet for running Linux and Android (Dualboot) on it? Wireless, bluetooth, touchscreen should work out of the box or at least with an up-to-date stock-kernel. Screen-size should be 10 – 13 inch. No need for an stylus and on keyboard i prefer bluetooth keyboards with german layout

I’d recommend going for a Apollo-Lake Celeron N3450 based tablet. It will be faster, easier to run Linux on, and is not really much more expensive than an Atom tablet.  I don’t personally now which is the best but the Chuwi Hi13 some people have gotten Linux working on.  See this blog post.
http://chuwi-hi13-install-ubuntu.blogspot.com.br/2017/04/how-to-install-ubuntu-on-chuwi-hi13.html
From what I’ve read the Gnome desktop is probably the best for touchscreen use, but I don’t know if works on the Hi13.
Here is a video demoing Ubuntu Gnome with touch on a Lenovo notebook (but he’s speaking Portuguese).

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[Equinoxe]

I have a Yepo 737s with American Megatrends BIOS without Secure Boot label/menu/entry. I do not find that option

I boot ubuntu 18 from pendrive, but I want install dual boot in the eMMC.

How can I be sure when installing grub that the boot of the laptop is not broken?

Sorry for my bad english

[Brad]

Equinoxe wrote:

How can I be sure when installing grub that the boot of the laptop is not broken?

You cannot use Grub.  You need to use either the Linuxium’s “respin” of Ubuntu or use the rEFInd boot manager with Manjaro or other Linux distro.
Search this forum or google it. I have posted ton’s on this subject for the Jumper EZbook 3 Pro, which is the same as the Yepo 737S.
PS. If your touchpad does not work you will need to install a patched kernel (4.17), I also posted about in the forums here.

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[Goran Sevo]

Hi Brad, thanks for your great work!!! I’ve been using Ubuntu on my Teclast Tbook 16 Power for more than a year now without any issues (Linuxium’s iso respin script is the magic word). Recently, I downgraded (from 17.10) to 16.04 LTS for compatibility as it is on all my other computers  (and yes, I am one of those weird Unity fans:). I also figured out how to get touch screen support, but I’m not using it any more since I don’t really need it – for me this is essentially a super cheap & ultra portable laptop. My question is: has any one figured how to use cameras on these Chinese Intel tablets? Some time ago I found on GitHub that it was not entirely impossible but did not follow up. Is any one familiar with this issue? Thanks, Goran

[Brad]

Goran Sevo wrote:

Hi Brad, thanks for your great work!!! I’ve been using Ubuntu on my Teclast Tbook 16 Power for more than a year now without any issues (Linuxium’s iso respin script is the magic word). Recently, I downgraded (from 17.10) to 16.04 LTS for compatibility as it is on all my other computers (and yes, I am one of those weird Unity fans:). I also figured out how to get touch screen support, but I’m not using it any more since I don’t really need it – for me this is essentially a super cheap & ultra portable laptop. My question is: has any one figured how to use cameras on these Chinese Intel tablets? Some time ago I found on GitHub that it was not entirely impossible but did not follow up. Is any one familiar with this issue? Thanks, Goran

Welcome. I don’t know about the cams as I never use mine, and anyway they are usually bad quality. It’s best I think to test out external ones until you find one that works and has a good image. I would search the forum for the distro you are using (Ubuntu) for recommendations to see what works.

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[Goran Sevo]

Thanks Brad, I will do so! Nothing major really, just out of curiosity as everything else is working fine, and for a long time:)

[sivov]

System requirements are undemanding. The Lubuntu website recommends 1 GB of RAM for intensive web apps like YouTube, Facebook, and Google Docs. Lubuntu is my operating system of choice for my Acer Aspire One netbook.

[Author]

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