Linux on the HP Stream tablet

[kyle_b]

I tested the final release of Xubuntu 19.04 today and it continues to work well.  I updated the installation instructions at the top of the thread.

I did notice that manually setting the display to landscape mode using the Display utility does not re-orient the cursor as I stated above in the 19.04 Beta.  Installing GNOME also does not re-orient the cursor in 19.04 so we are back to rotating it manually from the command line until a fix can be found.

[a0a0a0]

Kyle_b many many thanks for your continuous updates on the topic 🙂

[geolaw]

I usually use isomaster to tweak out the EFI stuff for things like this. 

In this case, if I use isomaster to try to swap out the EFI directory in the base xubuntu for the one from fedora, I am not getting a prompt for the USB thumb drive in the F9 menu of the tablet.

What method are you using to remaster the ISO and inject the 32 bit EFI ?

[kyle_b]

a0a0a0  Thanks, it's good to know that people are still reading this.

geolaw  I'm using UNetbootin on my Linux Mint desktop computer to create the live USB from the ISO file.  It leaves the USB read-writable and then I can just use Mint's file manager Caja to manipulate the files and folders. You  might also want to check that secure boot is disabled in the UEFI setup menu if you haven't already.

[geolaw]

right - I normally use unetbootin or etcher to "burn" the iso to a USB, but with the rewrite on the instructions and the change in EFI to enable 32bit booting - what do you use to edit the xubuntu 19.04 ISO file?

I found a couple different methods - like I said, isomaster worked for me before. but it wasnt working this time around.

I found another method of mounting the ISO and copying everything over to a working directory.  Making the change with the EFI directory and grub file.

then "repacking" the ISO with a MBR boot record like this :

[glaw@fedora OS_DISKS]$ cat burn
# The MBR x86 machine code bytes from the original ISO are known to match
# the isolinux.bin file inside that ISO. So copy them to a file in /tmp/.
OLD_IMAGE=/Downloads/OS_DISKS/xubuntu-19.04-desktop-amd64.iso
MBR_FILE=/tmp/ubuntu_isohybrid_mbr.img
dd if="$OLD_IMAGE" bs=1 count=446 of="$MBR_FILE"

IMAGE=custom.iso
BUILD=/Downloads/OS_DISKS/work2/

xorriso -as mkisofs -r -V "Custom Ubuntu Install CD" \
-cache-inodes -J -l \
-isohybrid-mbr "$MBR_FILE" \
-c isolinux/boot.cat \
-b isolinux/isolinux.bin \
-no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table \
-eltorito-alt-boot \
-e boot/grub/efi.img \
-no-emul-boot -isohybrid-gpt-basdat \
-o "$IMAGE" \
"$BUILD"
rm "$MBR_FILE"

Also - here is a link to a 18.04 "atom" optimized ISO - I've commended on their page to see about an updated 19.04 image

https://mega.nz/#!rK5ByS7Y!amIbPjclE7nQv6cxFlyyP-O_g3JEV1Wp_6u3UcYvf74

[kyle_b]

I actually do not edit the ISO files.  I only edit the Ubuntu live USB after it is created, deleting its EFI directory and replacing it with the Fedora EFI directory and then editing the grub.cfg file as described in more detail at the top of the thread.

[VK1973]

To allow ISO modification,  I  made my USB with Unetbootin.  This gave a modifiable image and I was then able to install Xubuntu 19.04 myself.  

I did try Ubuntu 19.04, but the graphics were too much for the Stream7 and the install took longer than the battery could hold out for. As well as the tablet, the battery was also powering a USB 3 way expander with the USB key, the wireless keyboard/mouse and an ethernet adapter (usb). 

But all in all it worked. 

[kyle_b]

Yes, I also attempted to install regular Ubuntu 19.04 on my Stream 7 and the installation seems to hang for some reason and never completes.  I have an OTG adapter/USB hub that charges the Stream while providing USB ports so it was not an issue of the battery running down for me.

Also, if the USB hub is not powered, the read times of the USB drive will be very slow and the installation will take a long time since the Stream's USB port puts out very little power using just the Stream's internal battery.  This can be seen outside of the installation when accessing the USB drive from Windows or Linux.  Comparing access times of powered vs. un-powered hubs, the USB read/write times will be much slower un-powered and might even fail at times. 

Installing Xubuntu 19.04 on my Stream 7 takes only around 10 minutes with a powered hub.

[Cylinderz]

- Dear  Kyle B  I have a question about your truly brilliant guide on this. (Thank you so much for posting such helpful information) How on Earth did you get around the live USBs being read only??

When I created the live USBs (fedora and ubuntu) they are created as read only ....and so changing the EFI directory or anything else seems impossible while that is the case.

How did you get around this? 

I have tried creating them with the ubuntu startup disk creator and also with  the mkusb tool. Both create a read only live usb.

[kyle_b]

Hi Cylinderz, I have always used UNetbootin to create the live USB, I run it from my Mint laptop. I have also had read-only problems using other tools but UNetbootin always works. Also, you do not necessarily need to burn the Fedora image to a USB drive to get the EFI directory. If I right click on the file from Mint, it lets me open the ISO with Archive Manager (Engrampa) and I can copy out the EFI directory using that.