Envy 14 & Linux

Yes, I am using 11.04, and yes, lately I have the same problem sometimes. I get a black screen after grub on some boots. Haven't figured out how to fix it yet.

 

Is your screen brightness too low? Try increasing it once you have the black screen.

 

The Radeon driver is known to cause black screen problems when booting. If you want to use the integrated (intel) card for now, you can disable the radeon driver as follows [NOTE - Instructions apply to Ubuntu 11.04; I'm not sure about other releases/distros]:

1. If you can boot past GRUB, go to step 2. Otherwise, when you get the GRUB menu, select the line for Ubuntu then press the 'e' key (edit). Move the cursor down to the line that starts with 'linux' then add the word "nomodeset" to the end of the line, then press F10 to boot. This temporarily loads the Radeon driver without using kernel modesetting, and should allow you to boot without getting a black screen.

2. Go to a terminal window and type:

Code:

gksudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Add the folowing line to the end:

Code:

blacklist radeon

Save the file, exit, then re-boot.
You should now be able to re-boot without getting a black screen.

3. If you want to de-power the radeon card to lower temperatures and increase battery life, edit the file /etc/rc.local, and add the following:

Code:

modprobe -i radeon
chown -R username:username /sys/kernel/debug
echo OFF > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch

where 'username' is your username.

However, if you try to shut down or suspend with the radeon card de-powered, the system may hang on shutdown. To get around this problem you can power on the card automatically as follows:

4. Create a new script, /etc/init.d/start-radeon.sh, with the following contents:

Code:

#!/bin/bash
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides:          radeon-card
# Default-Stop:      0 6
# Short-Description: Start radeon graphics card
# Description:       Use vgaswitcheroo to start radeon graphics card prior to system shutdown.
### END INIT INFO
echo ON>/sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch
sleep 5
exit 0

Then type the following:

Code:

sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/start-radeon.sh
sudo update-rc.d -f start-radeon.sh stop 99 0 6 .   (Don't forget the period  “.” at the end) (Ignore warnings)

Then add the following to /etc/gdm/PostSession/Default:

Code:

echo ON>/sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch
sleep 5

And to make sure the radeon card gets de-powered after a login:

Copy /etc/gdm/PostLogin/Default.sample to /etc/gdm/PostLogin/Default

Add the following to /etc/gdm/PostLogin/Default:

Code:

echo OFF>/sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch

Now you should be using the intel card exclusively with the Radeon card powered down.

Note that when you start/resume the system on the intel card, it is quite likely that you will see a black screen. In this case, it is merely that the brightness has been turned all the way down. Just turn up the brightness (either F3 or Fn-F3 depending on how you've set your function keys to work in the BIOS).

 

But then you can't use the HDMI port for dual monitors.

 

If you download the 11.5 drivers from amd, you won't get black screen anymore.

 

I tried the 11.5 drivers and encountered several problems with them, e.g. suspend/resume didn't work well, and virtual terminals (CTRL-ALT-Fn) didn't work.

 

Try installing the new CCC 11.6 with Natty. I've had no issues running it dual-booted with windows, at least none of the described ones. Just don't have HDMI output to a TV yet, but haven't worked on that issue. Switchable graphics, no overheat when on Intel gpu from running ATI card, 3+ hours of battery life.

 

Progress is being made graphics-wise.... has anyone heard if the kernel power regression issues have been resolved?

 

Sorry guys for this possibly idiotic question but when you talk of using the ccc 11.6 drivers, do you mean install on ubuntu?
And if so, how?

 

Follow the MOP here: Ubuntu Natty Installation Guide - cchtml.com

It is from the Main Page - cchtml.com link from the AMD website.

 

Thanks for the link
I managed to get the driver installed but now it has created even more issues.
Shutdown, suspend and hibernate don't work - shutdown simply sends me to a prompt with lines of error code, suspend is similar but then immediately boots ubuntu again, problem is if I attempt to log in I'm met with a message telling me that the battery monitor (or whatever the name is) is not functioning properly, then finally the entire computer freezes requiring a hard reboot.

Anyone with tips on how to solve this? I've tried just about every tip and guide out there about fixing suspend/hibernation issues but none have worked so far.

UPDATE:
I've managed to fix the shutdown issue by doing a fresh install of Natty, suspend now causes screen to go black for a few seconds before showing the same issues as mentioned before, and hibernate causes the same procedure as suspend.

 

Is there a distribution by now that supplies external monitors via hdmi and switchable graphics out of the box?

 

I believe LenvyX is what you're looking for. Although I haven't seen any updates since RC1 it works perfectly on my Envy 14 1010 and I have no complaints.

lenvyx.com

 

Wondering if anyone has got Ubuntu 11.10 up and running well? I'm kinda new to linux and my Envy 14-2XXX, so any help would be much appreciated.

 

I actually installed Ubuntu 11.10 on my ENVY 14-2070nr, and it worked well, with the exception of needing to press the "Brightness Up" key on first startup if the screen is black. Some issues with the AMD restricted drivers, but it works out of the box.

 

What kind of issues exactly? I get 2 options for the drivers, one normal and one "post-update" or something. The post-update don't seem to install, while the other install but I don't notice anything different. The graphics card still doesn't display in system information and I get an error when trying to open catalyst control.

And what about the trackpad, anyway get it to disable on the double tap like in windows? Also how is your battery life? When I unplugged it was saying just over 2 hours.

 

I have the same issue with my Envy 17 (sandy bridge). Hybrid gfx are the problem. There is just no support for us. Despite installing the Catalyst driver, you are still using Intel's built in gfx.

Until we get proper support for Hybrid switchable gfx on linux, we are forced to use our laptops purely for business applications for which the Intel gfx is ok. :/ I use my lappy for business only anyway. My alienware running windows is my games machine. Who would use windows for serious work anyway

 

I've spent a bit of time over the last few days trying to fix some of the issues. Existing Envy/Linux guides have been helpful, but some are a bit dated, not noob friendly, or I just the fixes weren't working for me. Still trying things out though, but will update later.

 

I'm glad to see this topic being alive again!

I've got an Envy 2nd gen too, and I installed ubuntu 11.04 on it (I am very reluctant go get rid of the gnome classic desktop to get this unity POS,..). Anyway, so far it is working pretty well, but the discrete graphics are not working well indeed, as far as I know the only way to switch is to do it manually with vgaswitcheroo. I personally disable the ATI board at startup to save power, which gives me around 4 to 5 hours of battery life.
A patch is available for natty to get the trackpad to work, I don't know about oneiric. The on/off switch doesn't work though.

My other issues are that the mute LED is showing the opposite status, not sure how to fix that, and sometimes I can't boot on battery power. I haven't really looked into it but I believe it is liked to the graphics. And finally waking up gets the fans running full blast. Kind of annoying.

I would love to know if some of thoses issues are / can be fixed on 11.10.

Cheers.

 

Fix GTK-WARNING for Gedit:

• Open Terminal
• Enter sudo mkdir -p /root/.local/share

Fix Trackpad Buttons and Two-Finger Scrolling:

• Open Terminal
• Enter sudo add-apt-repository ppa:sergio91pt/synaptics+clickpads
• Enter sudo apt-get update
• Enter sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-synaptics
• Restart computer
• Open 'Mouse and Touchpad' settings
• Edit as desired

Fix Hybrid Graphics and Brightness at Startup

• Open Terminal
• Enter sudo gedit /etc/rc.local
• Add the following before the "exit 0":
  
  Code:

  ############################# Hybrid Graphics #############################
  ## Default graphics card is set to the integrated graphics card to save  ##
  ## power. To change this, comment out the  DIGD  line and uncomment the  ##
  ## DDIS line.                                                            ##
  ###########################################################################
  
  # Turns ON the unused graphics card
  echo ON > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch
  
  # Switches to th integrated graphics card (lower power)
  echo DIGD > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch
  
  # Switches to the discrete graphics card (higher power)
  # echo DDIS > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch
  
  # Turns OFF the unused graphics card
  echo OFF > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch
  
  ########################### End Hybrid Graphics ###########################
  
  ############################ Screen Brightness ############################
  ## To change the screen brightness at boot, set the number to anything   ##
  ## between 1 (lowest) and 10 (brightest).                                ##
  ###########################################################################
  
  # Sets the screen brightness at boot
  echo 10 > /sys/class/backlight/acpi_video0/brightness
  
  ########################## End Screen Brightness ##########################
  

• Save file
• Enter sudo chmod +x /etc/rc.local
• Restart computer

Fix Fan Issues with Suspend/Resume:

• Open Terminal
• Enter sudo gedit /etc/pm/sleep.d/00hybrid_graphics
• Add the following:
  
  Code:

  #!/bin/sh
  
  ############################# Hybrid Graphics #############################
  ## This file will turn on the the unused graphics card when suspending   ##
  ## the system, and while then turn it back off when it resumes. This     ##
  ## will hopefully prevent the fans from going crazy when it resumes.     ##
  ###########################################################################
  
  case "$1" in
      hibernate|suspend)
          echo ON > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch 
          ;;
      thaw|resume)
          echo OFF > /sys/kernel/debug/vgaswitcheroo/switch 
          ;;
      *)
          ;;
  esac
  
  ########################### End Hybrid Graphics ###########################
  
  exit 0
  

• Save file
• Enter sudo chmod +x /etc/pm/sleep.d/00hybrid_graphics

Remove Guest from LightDM:

• Open Terminal
• Enter sudo gedit /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf
• Add the following
  
  Code:

  allow-guest=false
  

• Save file
• Restart computer

Disable Touchpad via Indicator:

• Enter sudo add-apt-repository ppa:atareao/atareao
• Enter sudo apt-get update
• Enter sudo apt-get install touchpad-indicator
• Open 'Touchpad Indicator' preferences
• Edit as desired

 

Thanks for the post syst3mfailur3! Click pad advice was super useful.
I've now got almost everything I need working on Envy14 & Ubuntu 11.10.
Like you, I sort of liked Unity too, but then I switched to Gnome 3, and I love/hate it. Takes some getting used to, but definitely prettier than Unity.

Anyway, one last issue. My HP Truevision webcam is just dead in the water. Doesn't show up in lsusb at all. Cheese can't see it, Skype can't see it. It's like it disappeared completely. Funny thing is... it was working perfectly in 11.04!
Super frustrating... Any Ideas? Anyone?

 

Has anyone tried Linux Mint 11 on the Envy 14 with success? Whenever I boot the liveCD, the screen goes black.

 

Try hitting the Brightness Up key. I know that fixes it in Ubuntu 11.10.

 

I have the same envy, to fix the trackpad issue I did the following:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:sergio91pt/synaptics+clickpads
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-synaptics

It worked for me with kernel 3.0.0-13

 

There is an "official" X ppa that perhaps can be useful: https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-x-swat/+archive/x-updates
Also, I've found a HP driveguard port to Linux: https://launchpad.net/~olzhas/+archive/hp-drive-guard

 

How has linux been lately on Hp envy 14?

Also I'm very curiosu to see if anyone could get the dual monitor to work on it...I tried it on Ubuntu 11 after searching and following guides and threads here on forums to no luck

 

I'm using Ubuntu 12.04 and testing 12.10 on my Envy 14 first gen, and it is really usable, but some tweaking is needed:

* Synaptics trackpad work awful on stock 12.04 and need a lot of work, but on 12.10 works pretty fine out-of-the-box.

* Switcheable graphics is still a mess, but can be tweaked. Using the open source drivers I can turn on/off the graphic chipsets and switch output using an script.
Did not tested the AMD drivers, but they can be installed/uninstalled from the hardware tool.

* Brightness work a lot better, but still sometimes the system boots up on zero brightness and you must remember turn on the backlight using the fn keys.

You can check a deffects summary here: Defects Summary | Ubuntu QA
Also, check out my own installation notes: http://bit.ly/YcpFV8

I can recomend you to start with 12.10 and check my notes for help on graphics.

 

I've tried Ubuntu 12.10 on my envy 14 1st gen but I just can't get switchable graphics to work and HDMI output.

To program on it, I need my second monitor working but it just wont recognize it....It's weird because during ubuntu installation, during a time the image showed up on my HDMI monitor and then flickered back to my regular laptop monitor so I know it's capable of harnessing the second monitor...

I've tried many many things but there are mixed guides up there. Anyone know any way that works?

Thanks SO much!

 

Anyone know how to get the Envy 14 to see a USB drive during boot? Tried formatting it with Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool, but with usb set as first priority when booting it aint working (Just boots into windows)

 

Lenvyx people ( Lenvyx - linux for your HP Envy) just merged my tweaking for the Synaptics Clickpad into their installer This includes better pad resolution, softbuttons working, hysteresis corrections, edgemotion for drag & drop, palm detection and better two-fingers detection for scrolling/tapping.

The project is looking pretty cool and worth a try. If you have a cool tweak, you can contribute on GitHub: https://github.com/sudeepn/Lenvyx or tweet to @lenvyx

 

Hey guys, I just recently installed Lenvyx (using scripts on clean 12.04 Ubuntu install). However, I don't see what improvements have been made ... and most importantly , how do I get switchable graphics working?

Thanks!

 

Hi Jonathan.
First you should notice a huge improvement on temperature and battery life, since Lenvyx turns off the dedicated adapter upon start. Brightness and sound notifications should work accurately. Touchpad should work way better, with palm detection, two-finger detection, edgemotion, tap to click and clickpad zones for left and right buttons.

A GUI to easily switch graphic cards is on the works, I believe, and currently the only way to switch cards is to follow the instructions here: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/HybridGraphics

I can recommend you to follow the project on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lenvyx and ask them directly, since I'm only a contributor

Hope that helps.