this post was submitted on 27 Sep 2024
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Strange issue with soft-bricked tablet (lemmy.fish)
submitted 1 month ago by potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish to c/linux@lemmy.ml
19 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Sorry if this is a yapathon, this is a detailed issue, and I will put an AI summary in the comments

I have already made a post about that but that was outdated and I learned some new information. If anyone thinks it's cluttering their feeds, I will delete the post, just ask.

I have been absolutely stumped by this issue that I'm facing, even as a 5-year Linux user. I have just got my hands on a Getac F110-G2 tablet. It came with Windows 10 pre-installed, and everything functioned perfectly fine. Of course, I don't like Windows and I shortly went to installing Debian, and got a GNOME live image straight from their website. I downloaded, flashed to a USB drive, and installed. The installer booted and functioned perfectly fine, with the only weird thing being a random signoff which didn't seem to break anything. One thing to note is that I installed and started gpsd, but that shouldn't mean anything because that was a live image. I clicked reboot, and the tablet seemed to reboot normally, until the boot process started.

When nothing happened but a black screen for a minute, I rebooted my tablet, but that didn't do anything either. Than, I rebooted to the installation media to try another install. It was black too. This caused me to try re-flashing the USB drive with the same Debian, but no luck. I tried to disable TPM which I know can cause some issues, and still no luck. I also switched between UEFI and Legacy boot modes, and observed that the installed version of debian had only installed on legacy. I contacted Getac support because no secure boot toggle was in the BIOS, and they directed me to it. I disabled secure boot and still no luck. I've tried again a few times, and that's where I'm at. Also note that I've tried with my TV as a display and that didn't work either, so it's definitely not a display issue. I tried a different USB stick with no luck, and it seems like my tablet is just soft-bricked from now on.

So where to now?

  • I've thought about installing the SSD to my PC's motherboard, wiping it clean, and then re-installing to try and boot.
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[–] e0qdk@reddthat.com 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I rebooted to the installation media to try another install. It was black too.

I assume you've probably already checked, but in case not, is the boot order correct? What happens if you remove the SSD entirely and try to reboot to the USB without it?

Also, does the SSD boot in another computer?

If you can't get anything to boot on the tablet, I'd RMA it.

[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I can't speak to the boot order because ive always used the boot menu to select manually what I want to boot, to be cautious, but I have tried shifting it and that didn't help.

Do you think that removing the ssd will help? I can't see a way it will, but I might as well give it a shot because its my last chance really.

[–] e0qdk@reddthat.com 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Do you think that removing the ssd will help?

It's a sanity check to help you rule out things like unintentionally booting from the wrong device. Can't boot from hardware that's not there! If the USB does work with it removed, then something you believe about how the device boots is false and you can then try to figure out what. A lot of BIOSes will "helpfully" try the next device in the sequence if it can't successfully boot from the first one -- which can be really confusing when debugging.

Some other thoughts for things to check: does the device confirm that it can actually see the USB drive in some way? Does a USB keyboard work in the port you're using? If there's more than one USB port, have you tried a different port? Do your USB drives work in another computer?

[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

A USB keyboard works fine, and also the USB drive is detected when it is bootable. Only one USB port but the tablet supports pxe boot. Do you think I could get mileage off of that if I set up a server on my other laptop and connected them via ethernet? I can flash the drives with dd and they show up when plugged in. I also tested that they can boot on my laptop which they can.

[–] e0qdk@reddthat.com 2 points 1 month ago

the tablet supports pxe boot. Do you think I could get mileage off of that if I set up a server on my other laptop and connected them via ethernet?

Maybe. If it's not too much trouble to set up and you can't get the USB to work again, might as well try it before throwing in the towel.

I'm rather confused by the fact that the USB drive worked for you before but doesn't any more and yet seems to be OK on other systems. Is there anything like "fast boot" enabled in the BIOS maybe? (Try turning that off if so.)

Also, when you're trying to boot from the SSD, can you get anything out of GRUB by tapping shift or escape (or maybe other keys) while it's trying to boot?

[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It works without an SSD!!!!! OMG I knew it wasn't bricked

[–] e0qdk@reddthat.com 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

How 'bout that! :D

If the SSD itself is OK, then it was probably trying to boot the SSD still. The blank screen issue might have to do with the graphics drivers then? I remember having a similar blank screen problem with Ubuntu a long time ago where I had to put in "nomodeset" as a parameter in GRUB when booting until I got the right drivers set up.

[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yeah I'll plug it into my computer and edit the grub settings. Terrible that the USB drive just doesn't boot with an SSD inside, even though I manually selected the USB from the boot menu. That made me break my water seal and this device lost its IP rating 🙃. Thanks very much for your help however, your affirmation about the unplugging the SSD was was very helpful.

[–] e0qdk@reddthat.com 2 points 1 month ago

Glad I could help you make progress -- I hope you can get it all the way working now. Good luck!

[–] bruce965@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Can you see at least GRUB, or nothing at all?

If you can see GRUB I would try booting with the "nosplash" kernel option, which causes video drivers to be loaded later.

This is a temporary fix, as it might cause other issues, but if it makes the screen work it will be a step in the right direction.

[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I cannot see grub at all.

[–] bruce965@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 month ago

I'm definitely no expert so I might not be the best person to try and help, but if you want to try having a 1 on 1 chat to fix it, feel free to send me a PM.

[–] ravhall@discuss.online 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Did you also watch that French shark movie and say “wtf is that tablet” and run out to get a used one on the cheap?

[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 1 points 1 month ago

No, I just wanted a durable tablet and getacs computers were used by my local law enforcement agency.

[–] dr_jekell@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Have you considered that they may have used a 32bit UEFI bios combined with 64bit processor?

Try a distro that supports 32bit UEFI.

[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 1 points 1 month ago

Thanks for the advice, but this was sollved already, I removed the SSD and the USB booted, so I wiped the SSD and put a GPT partition table on it. Then, I could boot and install.

[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 1 points 1 month ago

ChatGPT summary: The user is experiencing a frustrating issue after installing Debian on a Getac F110-G2 tablet, which originally came with Windows 10. Although the installation seemed to work initially, rebooting led to a black screen, and attempts to reinstall from USB have failed. They've tried various troubleshooting steps, including disabling TPM and secure boot, switching between UEFI and Legacy modes, and using different USB sticks and displays. The tablet appears to be soft-bricked. The user is considering reinstalling the SSD in a PC to wipe it clean and attempt to reinstall Debian.

[–] MenacingPerson@lemm.ee 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Try booting the windows installer

[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 1 points 1 month ago

That didn't work either but I solved it by removing the ssd.