Linux on HP Envy 15 and DV6T Quad

[9jager45]

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mjbommar wrote:

Make sure to call or email tech support if you're affected...if they think this only affects 1 person, they'll never release a fix.

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Done. This issue is affecting many more, especially since it's affecting multiple models. Unfortunately, my guess is that it affects all of HP's Mobile i7 offerings...

[mjbommar]

Tech support told me to also bring this up with the Product Feedback department: 18.hpfeedback@hp.com

Here's the message I sent:

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Hello,
  I am looking to replace a number of Dell Precision M4400's with the new dv6t Quad notebooks.  However, the BIOS on these machines does not support Linux.  Insyde needs to update the DSDT and ACPI software within the BIOS before these machines will be useful.

  I would appreciate a timeline or update on this matter.  Unless I believe that a fixed BIOS will be released, I will be returning this dv6t and going back to Dell for the Studio XPS 16 or waiting for updated Precision line.

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So feel free to email this address as well.

[MikeOB]

Hi Folks

Can you pm me the exact issue experienced along with the following :

1. Serial Number (SN#)
2. Product Number (PN#)

Also more out of interest what Distro's are you running ?

Ive looked on the regular spots (linux forums, ubuntu launchpad etc) and cant see any issues logged with i7 powered machines (can see some Vesa and sound issues alright).

The more information you can send to me the better and is much appriciated.

Thanks,

Mike

[mjbommar]

@MikeOB

Is there any way HP can work with DeviceVM to release kernel patches to work around this issue?

It appears that even DeviceVM had to patch their version of the kernel due to the buggy HP BIOS:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/463940/comments/16

[mjbommar]

@9jager45 has provided a workaround for Envy 15 users!

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/463940?comments=all

It does require building a new kernel and patching a few BIOS tables...

The Insyde BIOS team should be able to read the above bug report and fix the BIOS within a few hours...

[mjbommar]

I sent the link to Launchpad to HP support and received back the following message:

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Hello Michael,

Thank you for contacting HP Total Care.

First, I would like to thank you for replying to us.

Michael, I have forwarded your information to the concern department and I am sure they will work on it.

Thank you for choosing HP. Have a great time!

For further assistance, please reply to this message and we will be happy to assist you further.

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Hopefully this means Insyde will actually be made aware of the problem and have a fix in a reasonable amount of time!

[9jager45]

Some Envy 15's seem to ship with a newer BIOS (F.05) than what I have (F.04). Is there any chance HP could put this BIOS up for download? I can oly find the F.04 version.

[mjbommar]

The dv6t Quad driver page still lists F.04 as the most recent BIOS version as well.  Hopefully we'll both get an updated BIOS...

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=4063&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=4011366

Is there any way to subscribe to driver updates by email or RSS? 

On another note, I'm very excited to get Linux running natively on these machines.  I benchmarked Ubuntu 9.1 running INSIDE VIRTUALBOX on Windows 7 and got pretty fantastic results from my 820QM:

http://global.phoronix-test-suite.com/index.php?k=profile&u=root-32218-17161-15342

You can see that it's nearly as fast as the Studio XPS 435 desktop with an i7 920.  It also blows the X9100 on my Precision M4400 out of the water...so as long as Linux support comes through, I'm quite happy with my machine.

[9jager45]

I'm getting a refund. This has taken too much of my time already and at this point I just need (the promise of) something that works - I have a job to do.

Frankly I'm less than impressed with HP Support on the matter and even less impressed with the coding job on the BIOS by Insyde (for a quick recap on why, see this).

I won't be recommending HP for large scale deployment or enterprise solutions that involve Linux.

[mjbommar]

I sent a final email to HP support today telling them I need a timeline for a fix or I would be returning the machine...

We'll see what they say.