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Author Topic: [EN] New Installation FYI  (Read 4008 times)

Offline dibl

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[EN] New Installation FYI
« on: 2023/03/19, 13:51:56 »
A lightly used Microsoft Surface Pro 7 fell into my hands recently, and I have not seen anything on this forum about that device, so I will share the details here. Everything seems to be working correctly with siduction and KDE/Plasma. I was too lazy to download a recent siduction ISO, because I already had a USB stick with the “Farewell” KDE installer, so I used that. There were 2,000+ updates. :)

Here is inxi and the desktop:
Code: [Select]
System:
Kernel: 6.2.7-1-siduction-amd64 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: KDE Plasma
v: 5.27.2 Distro: siduction 21.2.0 Farewell - kde - (202109171658)
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: Microsoft product: Surface Pro 7
v: 124I:00046T:000M:0100000D:0B:07F:0C:05P:48S:1E:0Y:0K:0U:06R:6
serial: <superuser required>
Mobo: Microsoft model: Surface Pro 7 serial: <superuser required>
UEFI: Microsoft v: 15.11.140 date: 07/08/2022
CPU:
Info: quad core model: Intel Core i7-1065G7 bits: 64 type: MT MCP cache:
L2: 2 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 1463 min/max: 400/3900 cores: 1: 1500 2: 1500 3: 1500
4: 1500 5: 1208 6: 1500 7: 1500 8: 1500
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 driver: i915 v: kernel
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 with: Xwayland v: 22.1.8 driver: X:
loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915
resolution: 1680x1050~60Hz
API: OpenGL v: 4.6 Mesa 22.3.6 renderer: Mesa Intel Iris Plus Graphics
(ICL GT2)
Audio:
Device-1: Intel Image Signal Processor driver: N/A
Device-2: Intel Ice Lake-LP Smart Sound Audio driver: snd_hda_intel
Sound API: ALSA v: k6.2.7-1-siduction-amd64 running: yes
Sound Server-1: PulseAudio v: 16.1 running: yes
Sound Server-2: PipeWire v: 0.3.65 running: yes
Network:
Device-1: Intel Ice Lake-LP PCH CNVi WiFi driver: iwlwifi
IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
Device-1: Intel AX201 Bluetooth type: USB driver: btusb
Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 3.0
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 238.47 GiB used: 11.01 GiB (4.6%)
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 model: HFB1M8MO331C0MR size: 238.47 GiB
Partition:
ID-1: / size: 233.38 GiB used: 11.01 GiB (4.7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
ID-2: /boot/efi size: 299.4 MiB used: 288 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat
dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
Swap:
Alert: No swap data was found.
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 32.0 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Info:
Processes: 224 Uptime: 38m Memory: 15.23 GiB used: 1.83 GiB (12.0%)
Shell: Bash inxi: 3.3.25


EDIT 22 MAR:  To use the touch screen feature of the Surface Pro 7, and also to see the battery status, a kernel with the needed drivers is required -- instructions here.
« Last Edit: 2023/03/22, 22:16:49 by dibl »
System76 Oryx Pro, Intel Core i7-11800H, SSD 970 EVO Plus;  Asus ROG STRIX X299-E, Core i7-7740X, Nvidia GTX-1060, dual monitors, SSD 860 EVO

Offline eriefisher

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Re: New Installation FYI
« Reply #1 on: 2025/01/12, 14:46:24 »
@dibl did you manage to get all the touch/pen functionality working well? I am considering one of these tablets for traveling primarily if it's not too much trouble to get it all working. I would prefer using a proper linux rather than android.

Offline dibl

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Re: New Installation FYI
« Reply #2 on: 2025/01/12, 17:03:25 »
Hi eriefisher,

YES. Siduction runs perfectly on it, but you need to use a kernel rolled specifically for this device to get the touch functionality. That kernel comes from a special repo that you can set up in your sources list. What I did was install all of siduction, realized that the touch screen didn't work, then after a little research set up the new source repo, installed surface pro kernel, rebooted to that one, and removed the siduction kernel. From then on, it's been a reliable siduction system with the special kernel. I'm leaving the house at this moment but will edit this post to add the kernel source repo.  Meanwhile, here's a little light reading for you:

https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Microsoft/SurfaceBook
System76 Oryx Pro, Intel Core i7-11800H, SSD 970 EVO Plus;  Asus ROG STRIX X299-E, Core i7-7740X, Nvidia GTX-1060, dual monitors, SSD 860 EVO

Offline eriefisher

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Re: New Installation FYI
« Reply #3 on: 2025/01/12, 18:10:21 »
That's great! Thanks @dibl.

I did see the kernel repos source. Good news. I see there are a few of these available in my greater area for $2-300cad depending on the model. I'll have to put on my negotiation hat soon.

How do you find the usability of the pen and on screen keyboard for day to day use?

Offline dibl

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Re: New Installation FYI
« Reply #4 on: 2025/01/12, 19:22:34 »
OK, follow the instruction linked in my original post, and you will end up with this repo in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ :

deb [arch=amd64] https://pkg.surfacelinux.com/debian release main

Install and update siduction, then set up the repo, install that kernel, boot it, and then remove the siduction kernel and adjust the linux-headers and linux-image packages, and you'll be good to go.

Also, I resolved an error message on booting by adding a "nogsx" kernel boot option in /etc/default/grub.

I didn't get a pen when my surface pro fell into my lap, so i can't comment on that. The touch function works perfectly for pausing and restarting videos and adjusting the volume -- that's all I use it for.
System76 Oryx Pro, Intel Core i7-11800H, SSD 970 EVO Plus;  Asus ROG STRIX X299-E, Core i7-7740X, Nvidia GTX-1060, dual monitors, SSD 860 EVO

Offline eriefisher

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Re: New Installation FYI
« Reply #5 on: 2025/01/12, 20:21:52 »
Good stuff! Thank you.