Ryzen Envy x360 with Linux

[gorhumben]

I've bought the AMD R5 2500U model of the Envy x360 with the intention of installing linux. I did so, fully aware that a number of things wouldn't work out of the box.

So far, using Debian testing, and compiling the 4.15 kernel from source, I've got the wireless device working to a point that it's usable, and I've been able to get the system to display at a resolution of 1080p (although the resolution looks higher).

In order to get the touchscreen working, I'd like to know a little more about the hardware that operates the touchscreen. I've not been able to determine this from looking at 'lshw' from within linux, and that is likely due to the fact that I've not fully gotten the vega graphics module working fully.

I'd appreciate it if you're able to provide me with any information that would lead me towards getting linux 100% functional on this laptop.

[WAWood]

@gorhumben

Hello;

HP only warranties their PCs for usage with the OS that comes preinstalled.  IF you replace that or add a different OS, then you assume full responsibility for maintaining that other OS -- as HP then provides  assistance only on Redhat and then only to commercial customers.
 
Your best bet for Linux support, since HP does not provide Linux drivers, is to contact the support forum for the Linux distro you are trying to install.

Good Luck

[AHahn]

Hey,
I am in the same boat, and was given advice to compile the amd-staging branch of the kernel.
https://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/7saepe/has_anyone_tried_arch_linux_on_the_new_hp_envy/

My machine is still in shipping, but Ill let you know how it works as soon as I get it!

I have also heard that kernel 4.16 will be bringing some important patches for this machine.

[AHahn]

to be clear, this branch https://cgit.freedesktop.org/~agd5f/linux/?h=amd-staging-drm-next is your friend for sure!

[gorhumben]

Since I'm already in the process of rebuilding the kernel in order to add functionality, I'm well aware of the fact that HP will not directly support the OS, but that's not what I was asking for.

All I wish to know is additional information about the hardware surrounding the touchscreen, the rest I'll do myself, as I'm more than capable of doing so.

[gorhumben]

Hi AHahn,

My next course of action was to look at building the AMD staging kernel. This should hopefully bring in all the extra stuff for the graphics chip. As a laptop, the Envy x360 is really nice. I'm from the UK, so there are a few quircks with the keyboard, such as the pipe key ('|') is on the right hand side of the keayboard near the right shift key, where I'm used to all standard keyboards (including the one of the pavillion G6), where the pipe key is directly next to the right shift key.

The 4.16 kernel should be available to play around with next week, as the 4.15 kernel has been fully released.

[AHahn]

Hey, please let me know if you get positive results from this, the people at the linux touchscreen driver project could definitely benefit from some info too. ( https://github.com/linuxwacom/wacom-hid-descriptors )

[gorhumben]

I have good news regarding the GPU, and that is, with the included firmware binary files from the freedesktop page, I have fully functional graphics:

https://people.freedesktop.org/~agd5f/radeon_ucode/raven/

I'm going to rebuild the kernel with all the touchscreen devices enabled, this will make the kernel a little bit on the larger side, but should throw errors in /var/log/syslog if a device doesn't have the required firmware to be loaded. This is how I managed to get the wireless and graphics drivers working.

I'm almost there, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can play games like minecraft without issue, step up from the Pavillion G6 2230sa Laptop, which is now sitting in a server rack.

[AHahn]

Wow! That is good news!

Ill be recieving my machine today so ill be able to pitch in system information to the wacom people.

hopefully we can get the touchscreen working!

I hear that it might be a GPIO issue with the processor that is preventing the wacom drivers from recognizing the device (see the repo I linked to you).

[Julk3390]

How did you do with linux on your computer, what distribution of linux do you use?