How to install EOS on a Packard Bell, model NEW90, Easynote TM87

Lounge EndeavourOS pub
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So far I have not been able to get EOS installed on a Packard Bell, model NEW90, Easynote TM87.
Anyone here have any experience with this laptop? Or any ideas I haven’t tried yet?

It’s running W10, now but originally W7. In BIOS (entering it with F2) it recognizes any attached USB-drives, or USB-sticks; in BIOS and with F12 I can change the boot order to one of these devices.
But it will still boot up W10. I want to turn off secure boot; which, I think is the problem. But there is no option to do that anywhere in the BIOS. I’ve tried options mentioned in all kinds of sources:

  • turn off fast boot in W10
  • update the BIOS to the highest version I could find: 1.23, but the option does not turn up
  • add a supervisor password to the BIOS, as that would unlock the secure boot and other options
  • switch on godmode in W10 (didn’t know that existed), but godmode seems not to offer any option pertaining to secure boot either
  • remove the SSD, stick in a live-usb as the laptop would then have to boot from a live-usb stick. Message: no system found (the live usb is working on any other machine I tried)
  • remove the SSD with W10 and put an SSD with EOS in, message the same: no system found
  • tried a live usb with another distro; same result
  • reset W10 to factory settings
  • choose default BIOS settings

Now I’m stuck. :anguished_face: I’ve put many distros on many machines, this it the first time that I can’t even get the machine to boot anything but Windows. Surely the problem is secure boot, and surely that ought to be something that one can turn off??

Any ideas anyone?

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Not sure this would be of any use to you, but take a look at this link.

Also a manual

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Thanks!

Will have a look tomorrow.

4

I reread your post & I’m not sure….but I am betting even if you get it installed you will run into this:

I’m guessing that it may be the same as most of the newer HP laptops….you need to “fool” it into booting something other than Windows…. See if this helps: https://askubuntu.com/questions/244261/how-do-i-get-my-hp-laptop-to-boot-into-grub-from-my-new-efi-file

I’ve just done 2 HP laptops this way in the last month…..new users wanting to move from Windows….but keep the “safe-backstop” of Windows until they get used to running Linux. (installing Mint for them….easy to learn & I don’t get too many IT calls from Mint….)

I’d create a boot drive with another computer & do the “move” as the post above suggests….then install the drive into the laptop and see if that works…..

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Thanks, @keescase - had already done what your first link[1] suggests:

How to Enable or Disable Secure Boot - Packard Bell Notebooks

  1. Completely shut down your computer.

  2. Power on the system. As soon as the first logo screen appears, immediately press F2 to enter the BIOS.

  3. Use the right arrow key to select Security.

  4. Use the down arrow key to highlight Set Supervisor Password and press Enter.

  5. Create a password and press Enter. Retype the password to confirm and press Enter again.

  6. Use the right arrow key to select Boot.

  7. Press the down arrow key to select Secure Boot and press Enter.

  8. With the arrow key, highlight Disabled and press Enter.

  9. Press the F10 key and select Yes to save the changes and exit the BIOS.

But even after setting the supervisor password, there does not appear an Secure Boot option in the boot-tab.

So no luck here either.

Will now have a look at your second link.

[1] root > Senior Software Engineer | Scala, AWS, Kubernetes, Microservices,…

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Great suggestion, @keescase - did not know about the existence of this manual library; bookmarked.

Unfortunately I can’t find anything in there pertaining to secure boot, or anything about getting into a bootloader menu of some sort.

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Well if everything else fails you might want to try this
But there is some risk that Windows might not boot then !!

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Thanks, @ExDebianuser!

I’ve looked at the link. I had forgotten about Boot Repair; have used it in the distant past, so it seemed a useful tip.

But using Boot Repair implies I need to be able to boot from a live usb; which is just what I can´t get to work on this laptop. :frowning:

Your link makes clear that many people have run in comparable problems, and were/are looking for solutions. But the solutions I came across here all needed a live-linux in one of their steps, it seems; and that’s the snag.

Someone there says of HP systems: “Basically, the firmware is hard-coded to boot from Microsoft’s boot loader and to make it difficult or impossible to boot from anything else.” Which seems to be true for Packard Bell as well.

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I had indeed read that - but the problem is not any password keeping me from changing to secure boot, it’s just that there is no option for secure boot; nor - if that is a hidden option - to make it appear.

So I am not sure this procedure will help, really.

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That would not be a problem for me at all! :slight_smile:

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There is a reason why Packard Bell was called Packard Hell by some (if I remember this correctly) I guess :grinning_face:

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Hadn’t heard that expression - seems to be well earned.

Anyway, if I can’t get Windows wiped and EOS (or any Linux) installed, I’ll disassemble the laptop and give all the parts to my wife, who is an artist who makes art out of junk. I’m sure she’ll be able to make something beautiful even from the remains of this Packard Bell laptop…

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Thanks for both your time and suggestions, @keescase and @ExDebianuser - much appreciated. I am about to give up and do the decent thing: have junk be turned into art. :slight_smile:

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Maybe this will give your wife some inspiration :grinning_face:

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Thank you - will send her the link.

My wife’s site is in Dutch, but the pictures give a good impression nonetheless, I believe:

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16

Afvaltronica had een woord kunnen zijn van Koot en Bie :grinning_face:

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:slight_smile:

Indeed.

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So, I tried one more thing: I took out the ssd with W10, and connected it to a USB-SATA adapter[1]. Then I connected that to one of the USB ports. My thinking was: if Windows discovers the its disk is now on that USB port, something needs to be reconfigured in its system files, to boot from USB. Then it will perhaps also change something in the BIOS settings. Then I turn the laptop off, swap the W10 SSD with my EOS SSD and try to boot…

W10 is not happy with its drive being connected to USB though. It tried to reconfigure itself and then showed a dialogue that it needed to reboot and repair itself. But it then failed to repair itself. It suggest I do so myself - but I can’t get Windows to allow me to log in anymore, as it runs into the same error after rebooting.

So, it’s now a case of:

“I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that”.

[1]

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Think the problem with a installed Windows version might be that it “hides” the key in the BIOS, and that can not be found if you connect it the way you did (or something like that).

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no idea if this video helps you and works for your device specificly but maybe it could work

seems you may need to enter the path to the image in the bios in “custom boot image?”

image
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i dont know the path for endeavour sadly right now, but maybe it helps you

another edit:
this one seems to be better explained and has better cam quality

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