Debian 9.2 on Razer Blade 14 - Intel i7-7700HQ

Hi I installed Debian 9.2, here some instructions to help you do the same.

1) Download the file:

Code:

https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/9.2.0+nonfree/amd64/iso-cd/firmware-9.2.0-amd64-netinst.iso

2) Insert an usbkey on a linuxbox, you need to know the device correspondig to your usb key, you can find it with the following command, execute as root:

dmesg | tail -8

your device will be something like [sdX], where X is a letter of the alphabet

[xxxx] sd 0:0:0:0: [sdX] Attached SCSI disk

3) Umount the key and prepare it for boot (substitute sdX with your device):

umount /dev/sdX[0-9]*
cat firmware-9.2.0-amd64-netinst.iso >/dev/sdX
sync

4) Insert the usbkey on the blade, press F12 during POST and select the USB device.

5) Debian 9 installation is very easy and straightforward, here there is the manual, but I bet you are not gonna need it:

Code:

https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/installmanual

6) Download the script fix-blade14.sh, on the blade 14:

Code:

apt-get -y install bbswitch-dkms && {
echo '
blacklist nouveau
options bbswitch load_state=0
' > /etc/modprobe.d/disable-nouveau.conf
echo '
Section "Device"
  Identifier "Intel Graphics"
  Driver "intel"
  Option "TearFree" "true"
EndSection
' > /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-intel.conf
echo 'bbswitch' > /etc/modules-load.d/bbswitch.conf
update-initramfs -u
sed -i 's%GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT=.*%GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="acpi_osi=Linux pcie_aspm=off"%' /etc/default/grub
update-grub2
echo 'Please reboot'
exit 0
} || {
echo 'Error downloading packages'
exit 1
}

7) Become root and execute the script:

su -
bash fix-blade14.sh

# logs follow...

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
bbswitch-dkms is already the newest version (0.8-4).
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-4.9.0-4-amd64
Generating grub configuration file ...
Found background image: /usr/share/images/desktop-base/desktop-grub.png
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-4.9.0-4-amd64
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-4.9.0-4-amd64
done
Please reboot

init 6

You are done

8) What this script does?

a) Fix a minor bug with Blade and Kernel 4.9 and Blade ASPM
b) Enable TearFree option on the Intel video driver
c) Disable Nouveau driver so X11 will use of the Intel driver instead
d) Disable NVIDIA chip at boot in order to save energy and prevent overheating

9) Technical note: this script is very general and you can use it on any Laptop with NVIDIA-Optimus chipset and Intel Core (at least generation 1 to 7)

9) Personal note:

I personally give up on NVIDIA because it cause overheating on Linux, the chip is always 100% speed even when I just use the terminal.

There are many options with NVIDIA:

1. Nouveau drivers
2. NVIDIA Drivers
3. NVIDIA + Bumblebee

I tried them all: the best options is to install NVIDIA driver and disable it via NVIDIA Control Center, then RE-enable it when you want to play a game or something, the other options cause of performance issues on 2d and overheating.

But in the end I prefer to give up on NVIDIA: the drivers are not free/open source and the the whole solution is not well integrated with the operating system, it should work properly or nothing at all in my opinion.

My Blade 14 is cool all the time:

• the performances are good,
• the battery life is good,
• life is good.

enjoy