Acer Aspire Switch 10 Ubuntu

Acer Aspire Switch 10 Ubuntu

#Ubuntu on Acer Aspire Switch
##The problem
**What's the problem with this tablet? Why can't I just insert the USB and mash F12 until it boots?**
The tablet is made to run Windows 8 and Windows 8 only. Because of the stupidity that is UEFI (specifically Safe boot) we can't just boot from any USB stick we want.
##Requirements
Before you start, there's a few things you need:

 - USB stick (at least 4GB)
 - USB OTG adapter
 - [Rufus](https://rufus.akeo.ie/)
 - Ubuntu ISO **64-bit** (tested with 14.04 and above)

Good to have, but not 100% needed:
 - USB Keyboard
 - USB Hub

##Preparing the USB stick
###Installing the ISO
1. Open Rufus 
2. Select the correct USB Stick
3. Select "GTP for UEFI computers" as the partition table
4. "Select the Ubuntu **64-bit** iso
5. Click "Create"
###Building the 32-bit UEFI GRUB bootloader
Run the following command in a Linux shell (VirtualBox?):
```bash
#Install build dependencies and tools
sudo apt-get install git bison libopts25 libselinux1-dev autogen m4 autoconf help2man libopts25-dev flex libfont-freetype-perl automake autotools-dev libfreetype6-dev texinfo
#Clone the GRUB repo
git clone git://git.savannah.gnu.org/grub.git
cd grub
#Configure GRUB
./autogen.sh
export EFI_ARCH=i386
./configure --with-platform=efi --target=${EFI_ARCH} --program-prefix=""
make
cd grub-core
#Build the GRUB image
../grub-mkimage -d . -o bootia32.efi -O i386-efi -p /boot/grub ntfs hfs appleldr boot cat efi_gop efi_uga elf fat hfsplus iso9660 linux keylayouts memdisk minicmd part_apple ext2 extcmd xfs xnu part_bsd part_gpt search search_fs_file chain btrfs loadbios loadenv lvm minix minix2 reiserfs memrw mmap msdospart scsi loopback normal configfile gzio all_video efi_gop efi_uga gfxterm gettext echo boot chain eval
```
This will create a file called "**bootia32.efi**". Copy that file to "**/EFI/Boot/**" on your flash drive.

##Booting from the USB
1. Open the "*BIOS*" (**F2** when the laptop POSTs)
2. Under "**Security**" set a supervisor password
3. Under "**Boot**" set "**Secure boot**" to *disabled*
4. Set the USB stick to boot first
5. Press **F10** to save changes and reboot

##Installing Ubuntu
1. In the GRUB boot menu choose "**Try Ubuntu without installing**"
2. Open the terminal and run `ubiquity --no-bootloader` to start the installer
3. When prompted, select "**Something else**" to manually partition the drive
4. Add a root (ext4, "/") and swap (swap, "swap") partition
5. Finish the installation and hope for the best

##Booting Ubuntu
In order to boot the Ubuntu we just installed, we need to use the USB GRUB again.
Just let the laptop automatically boot from the USB. When in GRUB, press **C** to open a command line.
Run the following commands:
```bash
set root=(hd1,gpt5)
linux /vmlinux root=/dev/mmcblk0p5 video=VGA-1:1366x768e
initrd /initrd.img
boot
```

##Permanantely installing GRUB
Obviously we can't use the USB GRUB to boot forever. Let's install GRUB:
Open the terminal and run the following commands:
```bash

```

##Making things actually work
###Keyboard

###Wireless
As far as I've seen, there are two possible wifi cards you might have: **BRCM80211** or **RTL8723BS**.
####BRCM80211

####RTL8723BS 
```bash
#Clone the driver repo
git clone https://github.com/SWW13/rtl8723as
#Build and install the driver
cd rtl8723as
make
sudo make install
```
After a reboot your wifi should be working

##Sources
 - Building the bootloader for the USB: https://github.com/jfwells/linux-asus-t100ta/blob/master/boot/readme.md

Ubuntu kernel and Live CD for Acer Aspire Switch 10 SW5-012 Z3537F

http://acerium.ru/