4th gen X1 Carbon graphics issues

I'm on a 4th-gen x1 carbon (HCLs with stock 3.1 and updated 3.1 attached, -s output for each available privately upon request) and have been having a really rough time trying to get graphics to a usable state.

I tried to install with the R3.2-rc3 and R3.2-rc2 installers - both installers booted and installed to completion, but neither resulting system booted.

R3.1 with 4.1.x kernels "work" but with graphics problems on resume which render the system completely unusable (entire screen is rainbow stripes).

A 3.1 system updated to xen 4.6.1 and linux 4.4.10-0 from testing-unstable ceases to boot.

The theory is that 4.4 kernels may have better support, but I've spent a few days now trying to get one to boot in dom0 with no success so far. When selecting the disk in the bios boot-device menu, the screen goes black for a second and then returns to the selection menu.

Interestingly, after updating and having booting break, changing the default= section of EFI/qubes/xen.cfg from the 4.4 kernel section back to the 4.1 kernel section does not make it boot again. Setting noreboot in xen.cfg options= has no apparent effect.

Relevant threads:
- https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/2186
- https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/qubes-users/IllB1PaX5tA/-YA1-h59AwAJ
- https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/qubes-users/ttStZXy_PPY
- https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/qubes-users/UXP8RJffpsY
and a few others I can't find again right now.

I suppose the next thing I will try is to reinstall again (because I can't seem to figure out how to tell the boot process to revert to trying an older kernel) and see if adding the i915 firmware to the 4.1 initramfs has any effect (I confirmed they are only present in the 4.4 initramfs).

I know little about UEFI and xen, and am out of ideas of how to proceed in debugging this since I have no visibility into or intuition about what is going on. Any suggestions welcome. I've wasted several days blindly stumbling about trying to get this working.

Thanks,
Jean-Philippe

4th gen X1 Carbon graphics issues	j...@vt.edu	24/09/16 17:47	I'm on a 4th-gen x1 carbon (HCLs with stock 3.1 and updated 3.1 attached, -s output for each available privately upon request) and have been having a really rough time trying to get graphics to a usable state. I tried to install with the R3.2-rc3 and R3.2-rc2 installers - both installers booted and installed to completion, but neither resulting system booted. R3.1 with 4.1.x kernels "work" but with graphics problems on resume which render the system completely unusable (entire screen is rainbow stripes). A 3.1 system updated to xen 4.6.1 and linux 4.4.10-0 from testing-unstable ceases to boot. The theory is that 4.4 kernels may have better support, but I've spent a few days now trying to get one to boot in dom0 with no success so far. When selecting the disk in the bios boot-device menu, the screen goes black for a second and then returns to the selection menu. Interestingly, after updating and having booting break, changing the default= section of EFI/qubes/xen.cfg from the 4.4 kernel section back to the 4.1 kernel section does not make it boot again. Setting noreboot in xen.cfg options= has no apparent effect. Relevant threads: - https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/2186 - https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/qubes-users/IllB1PaX5tA/-YA1-h59AwAJ - https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/qubes-users/ttStZXy_PPY - https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/qubes-users/UXP8RJffpsY and a few others I can't find again right now. I suppose the next thing I will try is to reinstall again (because I can't seem to figure out how to tell the boot process to revert to trying an older kernel) and see if adding the i915 firmware to the 4.1 initramfs has any effect (I confirmed they are only present in the 4.4 initramfs). I know little about UEFI and xen, and am out of ideas of how to proceed in debugging this since I have no visibility into or intuition about what is going on. Any suggestions welcome. I've wasted several days blindly stumbling about trying to get this working. Thanks, Jean-Philippe
Re: [qubes-users] 4th gen X1 Carbon graphics issues	Chris Laprise	24/09/16 19:36	Have you tried using the grub boot menu to select another kernel version? You can also adjust some kernel parameters there by pressing 'e'. Does your x1 have an option for legacy boot instead of UEFI? That may work better. Chris
Re: [qubes-users] 4th gen X1 Carbon graphics issues	j...@vt.edu	25/09/16 10:46	I never get a grub boot menu, and I have no reason to believe that grub ever loads. It appears to be booting from nvme0n1p1 which contains EFI/qubes/xen.efi, and all the grub-related files (theme, etc., but interestingly no grub config file) are in nvme0n1p2. Setting Startup->UEFI/Legacy Boot = Legacy Only in the BIOS options appears to have no effect (except for showing "Intel boot agent ..." while booting instead of only the lenovo splash screen.
Re: [qubes-users] 4th gen X1 Carbon graphics issues	Chris Laprise	25/09/16 16:04	You should install grub2 package in dom0 and then run 'sudo grub2-install'. You should see the grub menu then. Chris
Re: 4th gen X1 Carbon graphics issues	equ...@icloud.com	12/10/16 17:19	Do these issues persist under the latest release of Qubes 3.2? I am interested in buying a X1 4th generation.