Request for documentation / info

[pandeiro]

The point of this issue is to organize some of the topics that I've faced which would benefit from further explanation by more advanced users. Some of the information relevant to these topics may be found in other issues. I would suggest that the repository's wiki is the best place for this, as it will make the information more discoverable and easier to organize.

Here are some topics that are or have been challenging for me:

How to upgrade the kernel

I'm not sure if this is possible, if I must wait for this repository to update and then run yaourt -S linux-samus again, or ...

How to install virtualbox

On Arch Linux, virtualbox now requires DKMS to be installed, which in turn requires linux headers.

How to change the default boot order in SeaBIOS

With the Pixel's limited SSD storage, many users may wish to supplement with an SD card. However, on my machine, SeaBIOS will by default try to boot from the SD card (instead of the SSD) if it is inserted.

How to avoid SSD problems

There is a lot of talk in various issues about possible SSD failure, a very scary topic. It would be great if a knowledgeable user could outline the best practices for preserving the SSD, possibly including firmware updates if those are truly necessary.

How to adjust screen resolution in Xorg

By default, GUIs are practically unusable due to the Pixel's high resolution.

How to re-install ChromeOS once it's been removed

As part of a linux-only setup, users may remove ChromeOS. But if they need to re-install it for whatever reason, is that possible? What are the steps?

How to get suspend / wake to work

What is the recommended approach, and are there any 'gotchas' involved? Does everything 'just work' when the session is resumed?

How to make audio output toggle between headphones / speakers automatically

With other linux laptops I've had, plugging in headphones causes output to be redirected and speakers to be muted by default; with the Pixel, I need to do this manually in pavucontrol.

How to substitute certain missing keys

From what I can tell, there are no Insert, Delete, Super (or Capslock) or fn keys (to toggle between F1 / back for example). How can these be worked around?

[ehegnes]

@pandeiro, I certainly agree that usage of the wiki feature would be an improvement.

I'm late in submitting documented answers to some of these questions (oops), but a number of these questions seem to be rather specific to each distro/seutp or already answered by various guides online. I think such questions (specifically the virtualbox, keybinding, and screen resolution questions) would benefit from a short blurb with necessarily details and links to external resources. Would that be appropriate?

@raphael, if you're comfortable with moving some information to the wiki, I'd be glad to begin answering some of these questions, given the necessary permission.

[raphael]

I setup the wookie and added you as a collaborator @ehegnes so you can start editing :) If anyone else would like to contribute please let me know.

[raphael]

Actually I ended up making the wiki editable to anyone - seems to make the most sense. I left you as a collaborator though @ehegnes.

[pandeiro]

Thanks for looking at this, @ehegnes and @raphael.

Re: distro/setup-specific issues, could we agree on a baseline of providing (or trying to provide) material and/or links for both a) Arch and b) Debian-derived distros? Those seem to make up the majority of use cases.

Re: the specific questions you mention, I think short answers with links is the perfect approach, however I think the ideal organization would involve a wiki page for each major issue or general user concern (thus providing an easily-scannable table of contents on the main wiki page), with the relevant info or link to such located on its specific page.

While I'm unfortunately not able to provide many answers to these, I would be happy to help with organization, proofread or revise submitted materials, etc.

[ehegnes]

@raphael, thanks! :)

@pandeiro, I think providing resources for at least Arch and Debian derivatives makes great sense.

[wulvyrn]

There is a way to have the kernel update with pacman. If .db exists in the directory where the kernel files exits, adding this to pacman.conf would allow easy updates:

[linux-samus]
SigLevel = Never
Server = https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wulvyrn/linux-samus/master/build/archlinux

the above example points to my github as it is an example. it doesn't work as i haven't generated the .db file. i do have a script to make it and it works for another package i build and upload to github.

question is

is this a good path to go down?

[wulvyrn]

added bind missing keys to wiki.

[ehegnes]

@wulvyrn thanks for the wiki addition. Does the Arch package not already pull directly from git?

@ethanmad and I wrote a lovely script and a wiki page that will aid in the installation of Linux alongside Chrome OS for dual-booting purposes. Please let us know if you'd like to see any additions or changes, or if something is not particularly clear!

[wulvyrn]

@ehegnes the arch package does pull from git. i typically update with git and install manually vice allowing pacman to automatically upgrade the kernel. somethings, shouldn't be just update and go blindly into the wind and night so to speak.