- This topic has 5 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated Jan 9-9:23 pm by Brian Masinick.
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Brian Masinick
There is a possibility of altering the hardware system configuration when you are using some distributions, possibly even ours. The other day I was using a Puppy variation, I think it’s called Foss Pup or something like that. I had it on a USB and I decided to try it out on my newest hardware to see if it worked. It booted up nicely, but it only recognized the Ethernet hardware. After experimenting for a while to see if I could get the wireless network hardware on my system recognized, I tried connecting a thinwire Ethernet cable to a wireless repeater that happens to be in our bedroom that connects to the network in our complex. That didn’t work either, so I was mounting a few installed distributions I had previously installed on this system to see if I could utilize their wireless network drivers or wifi program.
Apparently in the process of doing that, I unintentionally did a LOT more than that, and I ultimately (unintentionally) set the unit’s hardware settings back to their factory settings. This changed the disk access routines to something other than setting the SATA disk method to AHCI, and disabling SECURE EFI boot. After fumbling for a while, I deduced that the behavior I was experiencing was similar to that when I first obtained the system, which had some kind of “Optane” setting for the SATA mode, and it was set to allow only SECURE EFI boot. I pressed F2 upon booting the system, then pressed Ctrl-S to allow me to modify the SATA setting to AHCI, then I modified the EFI setting to allow insecure boot as well as SECURE EFI boot, then I rebooted and was able to access all of my distributions once again.
I mention these matters in this topic because it may be possible that some of the things we do when we “experiment” may end up altering the BIOS or the systems interaction between the CPU, memory, and peripheral devices. Nearly all systems have some kind of vendor specific setting tool to modify characteristics of each system’s unique firmware, so it is important to gain some awareness of this possibility, and to further complicate matters, the actions to take vary depending on the brand of hardware you are using, so this topic comment highlights this issue.
- This topic was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by Brian Masinick.
- This topic was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by Brian Masinick.
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Brian MasinickBrian Masinick
Here’s one vendor topic that shows what can be done to modify hardware/firmware settings on the Acer Aspire A515-55.
https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/603517/usb-boot-uefi-and-acer-aspire-a515-55-need-to-boot-linux-livecds-from-time-to-time--
Brian MasinickModdIt
Tiny addition, paper and pencil,
When setting up a device and making BIOS or on old devices Jumper changes note them.
Store notes in case or battery compartment. On large case devices keep a handbook or manual in the case.
Latter borrowed from a Fujitsu Siemens tower, which has a handbook holder within the easy open case.
That device is designed with service in mind, wish other manufacturers were as wise.Brian Masinick
Tiny addition, paper and pencil,
When setting up a device and making BIOS or on old devices Jumper changes note them.
Store notes in case or battery compartment. On large case devices keep a handbook or manual in the case.
Latter borrowed from a Fujitsu Siemens tower, which has a handbook holder within the easy open case.
That device is designed with service in mind, wish other manufacturers were as wise.Yeah, the “classic standby”: notebook, paper, and pencil, will never fail, as long as we have a safe place to keep the information. I have an old, classic piece of wooden furniture that has a pull out table. That’s where I set up my equipment. It has some shelves, I can keep books and other useful bits of information. It also has a few small places to “stow” things. I have several small, yellow sticky (or white sticky) notes, and I definitely do exactly what you’ve said; I complement all of this “on line” information with handy tidbits. Some are appointment notes, others are technical notes, cards to send to people, etc. It’s a flexible, valuable place to keep all kinds of valuables, both technical and personal.
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Brian Masinickseaken64
I do use pencil and paper when I setup a new system (new to me but old equipment). But I’ve also taken to logging my procedures on Google Drive. That way all I have to do is get into Google Drive instead of hunting through my papers after a few months or weeks have gone by. It’s a good idea to keep it tucked inside the case, that’s a good tip. It’s also more convenient to access it on Google and refer to the hardware without having to actually unpack the hardware and set it up.
Seaken64
Brian Masinick
I do use pencil and paper when I setup a new system (new to me but old equipment). But I’ve also taken to logging my procedures on Google Drive. That way all I have to do is get into Google Drive instead of hunting through my papers after a few months or weeks have gone by. It’s a good idea to keep it tucked inside the case, that’s a good tip. It’s also more convenient to access it on Google and refer to the hardware without having to actually unpack the hardware and set it up.
Seaken64
Good one @Seaken64: ! That’s one of the online resources I use; I also use a couple of Cloud-based notepads and I have “Keep” notes on my phone.
All said and told, I have at least 3 frequently used options. For really important things that I don’t want to miss, I’ll use at least two different methods.
Another one I didn’t mention is that sometimes I’ll write an Email note to myself, so I can access it on either phone or computer, so I guess that’s 4+ alternatives that I use (at least occasionally) depending on the reason, purpose, and most effective way for the particular “need” at the time. Paper comes in handy when the availability of a phone or computer on-line might be questionable or not possible.--
Brian Masinick
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