Difference between revisions of "Sony Vaio Pro SVP-1x21"
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===== [[Gummiboot]] ===== | ===== [[Gummiboot]] ===== | ||
− | Works as expected. | + | Works as expected. Make sure to mount <code>/dev/sda3</code> under <code>/boot</code> to install Gummiboot to the existing EFI system partiton. |
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===== [[GRUB]] ===== | ===== [[GRUB]] ===== | ||
Some users are unable to run the install. | Some users are unable to run the install. |
Revision as of 20:07, 8 November 2013
This document will guide you through the process of installing Arch Linux on the 2013 Sony Vaio Pro Haswell based Ultrabook. From what we've seen, this laptop seems to be very Arch friendly! :)
Contents
Features
- Intel Haswell Series CPU (4200U/4500U)
- 4/8GB of DDR3 1600MHz RAM
- 128 to 512GB SSD with read speeds over 1GB/s
- 11/13" LED-backlit 1080p IPS screen
- Optional touchscreen
- Backlit keyboard
- Webcam
- Wireless: WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth, NFC
- Sensors: ambilight
- Ultra low weight; around 1.1kg for the 13" model
Pre-installation
BIOS Configuration
Get into the BIOS by pushing the assist button when the system is shut off and then hitting Start BIOS Setup. Do not try to boot from your usb key using recovery mode, instead change the boot order in the BIOS. Make the following changes:
Intel(R) AT Support System [Disabled] Secure Boot [Disabled] External Device Boot [Enabled] Select 1st Boot Priority [External Device]
If you want to use the legacy boot (non-EFI), change:
Boot Mode [Legacy]
Install media
- Important! Do NOT use the usb port labelled with a lightning bolt, you will never get it to even boot.
- When booting from USB you might need to append
libata.force=noncq
to the kernel parameters to avoid problems with the SSD. - When installing via UEFI from USB create an UEFI bootable USB from ISO
Internet connection
Works as expected as of kernel version 3.11
Installation
Picking a bootloader
UEFI
Inside the chroot UEFI variables might not be available. To make them available for installing the bootloader, run
mount -t efivarfs efivarfs /sys/firmware/efi/efivars
Gummiboot
Works as expected. Make sure to mount /dev/sda3
under /boot
to install Gummiboot to the existing EFI system partiton.
GRUB
Some users are unable to run the install.
Dual-boot Windows 8
Windows 8 fast boot mode overwrites your EFI variables. To keep your bootloader in working order, fast boot needs to be disabled. In cmd.exe as Administrator:
powercfg /h off
The laptop firmware seems to have a preference to boot Windows even when other bootmanagers are present.
A solution is to move your bootloader to a recognised location such as /EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi
[1]
Legacy
GRUB
Works as expected.
Post-intallation
- For a faster boot, don't forget to undo these BIOS settings:
External Device Boot [Disabled] Select 1st Boot Priority [Internal Drive]
- If you want all the power from the Haswell CPU, install a RC of the 3.12 kernel (linux-mainlineAUR).
Hardware support
CPU
Issues regarding getting full performance are being fixed in Linux kernel 3.12. 3.11 is working fine, just has no turbo.
Video
Works good with the xf86-video-intel driver. For instuctions on installing and configuring, see the Intel Graphics article.
Sound
As the Installation Guide suggests, install alsa-utils and follow this guide to get started. Works out of the box, although main sound card may have index 1, making it non-default (index 0 is taken by Intel HDMI). To fix this, edit /usr/share/alsa/alsa.conf (near line 68):
/usr/share/alsa/alsa.conf
defaults.ctl.card 1 defaults.pcm.card 1
WiFi
The Intel 7260 WiFi card is supported in Linux kernel 3.11 or newer.
Touch screen
Tapping works out of the box. Multitouch gestures do not work.
Keyboard backlight
Works out of the box. Enables in low amblient light and a key press, turns off after about 20s.
Can be customized by modifying kbd_backlight
and kbd_backlight_timeout
found in:
/sys/devices/platform/sony-laptop/
A simple shell script for toggling the backlight, bind to a keyboard shortcut for easy use:
#!/bin/sh path="/sys/devices/platform/sony-laptop/kbd_backlight" if [ $(<$path) -eq 1 ] then newval=0 else newval=1 fi echo "$newval" > $path
Make sure that you can write to this file without root privileges:
# chmod 777 /sys/devices/platform/sony-laptop/kbd_backlight
Monitor backlight control
Works out of the box with xorg-xbacklight. By default the backlight is only adjusted by 1% per button press. This can easily be fixed by binding those keys to a xorg-xbacklight command. DM:s like Xfce does take larger steps by default.
With KDE 1% adjustment can be fixed by kernel module parameter video.brightness_switch_enabled=0. This will disable kernel driver 1% adjustment, then KDE PowerDevil correctly adjust brightness by 10% and shows gauge window. There is no need to bind keys.
Trackpad
Works great with the xf86-input-synaptics driver. A good base config can be found here.
Keyboard and buttons
Works very well out of the box.
Toggle TouchPad via Fn+F1
The hotkey that toggles the TouchPad can be configured using acpid. Create the following two files to do so:
/etc/acpi/events/toggle-touchpad
event=button.fnf1 FNF1 action=/etc/acpi/actions/toggle-touchpad.sh "%e"
/etc/acpi/actions/toggle-touchpad.sh
#!/bin/bash PATH="/bin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/usr/sbin" export DISPLAY=:0 USER=`who | grep ':0' | grep -o '^\w*' | head -n1` if [ "$(su "$USER" -c "synclient -l" | grep TouchpadOff | awk '{print $3}')" == "0" ]; then su "$USER" -c "synclient TouchpadOff=1" else su "$USER" -c "synclient TouchpadOff=0" fi
Fan control
Works well out of the box. It stays quiet during normal load. Change profile by editing thermal_control
found in:
/sys/devices/platform/sony-laptop/
Available profiles can be found in thermal_profiles
in the same directory.
Charging
Set the maximum charge to 50/80/100% by modifying battery_charge_limiter
found in:
/sys/devices/platform/sony-laptop/
USB ports
Some users are having issues with the usb port labeled with a lightning bolt not working for anything but charging. This is a known issue for many Sony laptops.
SD card slot
Works out of the box.
NFC
Works out of the box with neardAUR.
Bluetooth
Works out of the box.
Webcam
Works out of the box.
Internal mic
Not working for some users. A fix has been committed to the kernel in 3.12-rc5.
Summary of known issues
- Haswell turbo is not supported in kernel 3.11.
- Some users are having trouble with the internal Mic showing as "Unavailable" to pulse and not working. (fix is merged linux 3.12-rc5)
- Only one usb port fully working for some users.