mdziekon/xps_15_9570__dualboot_with_encryption__notes.md

## xps_15_9570__dualboot_with_encryption__notes.md

      
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              xps_15_9570__dualboot_with_encryption__notes.md
            
          
Based on https://askubuntu.com/a/293029/286776
Installation date: 15-09-2018
Additional notes based on my own experience
The process describes a completely fresh installation with a complete repartitioning,
however it should work fine when Windows is already installed (eg. brand new machine with Windows preinstalled).
The process was conducted on Dell's XPS 15 9570 (2018) with specs:

CPU: i7-8750H
Screen: 4K with Touch
RAM: 16 GB (original) / 32 GB (manually upgraded)
Drive: 512 GB (SK Hynix PC401)
Windows 10 Pro license
BIOS version: 1.3.1

Suprisingly, Ubuntu's update manager supports BIOS updates out of the box


My installation did not require to disable TPM nor Secure Boot
My installation did not force me to recover Bitlocker after Ubuntu's installation

Some people report that it was needed in their case
See "Additional notes" for more info about GRUB & Booting into Windows


1. Preparation (using another computer with Ubuntu)


Create Windows installation USB stick

Download .ISO file from Microsoft's webpage
Create bootable USB using WoeUSB

Ubuntu has an option to "restore" ISO images using Disks utility, but it does not work correctly
(Windows installer asks for additional drivers)
I also had to compile WoeUSB because of some weird bug in the default Ubuntu's (PPA's) supplied package
that would not let me finish the installation process


Create Ubuntu installation USB stick

Download .ISO file from Ubuntu's webpage
Create bootable USB using "whatever"


Go to BIOS (F2) and switch from SSD's "RAID mode" to "AHCI mode"

2. Install Windows


Insert newly created bootable USB and start the installation process
Re-partition your drive

My partitioning scheme (devices might have be labeled differently!):

Boot drive for Linux: 1GB

/dev/nvme0n1p1


Windows OS drive: ~75GB

/dev/nvme0n1p5
Will automatically create additional drives before the actual OS drive
as soon as you create the first "regular" partition


Windows data drive: ~100GB

/dev/nvme0n1p6


Ubuntu LUKS drive: ~300GB

/dev/nvme0n1p7
Can be created later


Install Windows on the "Windows OS drive"
Boot to Windows after installation, install all updates
Enable BitLocker on "Windows data drive" ("Windows OS drive" was already encrypted)
Create recovery data for both Bitlocker-protected drives and store them somewhere (eg. additional USB)

3. Install Ubuntu


Insert newly created bootable USB and start the installation process
Create LUKS container on "Ubuntu LUKS drive" and "wipe it":

sudo cryptsetup luksFormat /dev/nvme0n1p7
sudo cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/nvme0n1p7 cryptdrive
sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mapper/cryptdrive bs=16M


Create LVM physical volume, a volume group & logical volumes:

Volumes are sized as follows:

OS drive: 60GB
Swap: 16GB
Home: rest


Commands:

sudo pvcreate /dev/mapper/cryptdrive
sudo vgcreate vglinux /dev/mapper/cryptdrive
sudo lvcreate -n root -L 60g vglinux
sudo lvcreate -n swap -L 16g vglinux
sudo lvcreate -n home -l 100%FREE vglinux


Start the installation process using GUI:

Connect to WiFi network
Installation options:

Pick "minimal installation"
Pick "install updates during installation"
Pick "install 3rd party drivers" (no need to "reset Secure Boot password")


Pick "custom installation process" (the one which lets you repartition stuff)

Pick /dev/mapper/vglinux-root as ext4 FS & mount it to /
Pick /dev/mapper/vglinux-home as ext4 FS & mount it to /home
Pick /dev/mapper/vglinux-swap as swap
Pick /dev/nvm0n1p1 as ext4 FS & mount it to /boot

Without doing this, installation will fail when configuring GRUB


Pick "boot drive" (the select list at the bottom) and assign it to /dev/nvm0n1p1


Proceed with the installation


After GUI installation completes, stay within the Live USB environment
Check the UUID of the LUKS drive:

sudo blkid /dev/nvme0n1p7
Example output:

/dev/nvme0n1p7: UUID="abcdefgh-1234-5678-9012-abcdefghijklm" TYPE="crypto_LUKS"


Mount root & boot drives and chroot into the main mount:

sudo mount /dev/mapper/vglinux-root /mnt
sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/boot
sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
sudo chroot /mnt
mount -t proc proc /proc
mount -t sysfs sys /sys
mount -t devpts devpts /dev/pts


In chroot env, configure crypttab allowing to boot Ubuntu with Encryption unlocker

sudo nano /etc/crypttab:
# <target name> <source device> <key file> <options>
# options used:
#     luks    - specifies that this is a LUKS encrypted device
#     tries=0 - allows to re-enter password unlimited number of times
#     discard - allows SSD TRIM command, WARNING: potential security risk (more: "man crypttab")
#     loud    - display all warnings
cryptdrive UUID=abcdefgh-1234-5678-9012-abcdefghijklm none luks,tries=0,discard,loud


update-initramfs -k all -c


Reboot into Ubuntu

4. Ubuntu Tweaks


Run some of the dell-xps-9570-ubuntu-respin tweaks:

Main script is here: https://github.com/JackHack96/dell-xps-9570-ubuntu-respin/blob/master/xps-tweaks.sh
Modify the GRUB editting code to include splash option
Nvidia & WiFi card changes were not performed
Running this script yielded power consumption reduction from ~16W to ~7W (much closer to Windows) in Idle


Additional packages (some might have been included in the Respin):

sudo apt-get install smbios-utils


More Tips & Tricks related to Thermals:

Some useful tips and tricks
Switch to Battery-Mode on AC for better Thermals:

sudo tlp bat


Enable right-mouse-click:

Follow these instructions: https://askubuntu.com/a/1029458/286776


Enable Yaru-dark in GNOME Shell:

Follow these instructions: https://www.linuxuprising.com/2019/10/how-to-get-dark-gnome-shell-menus-and.html


Latest commit used: 7486bc9b3bbf3aca26bd8ab48b39788a7f9392aa
Nvidia Drivers used: 390

Additional notes


Switching between OSes:

Ubuntu (GRUB) is the default boot option
Windows can be accessed using F12's boot option menu

It can also be accessed using GRUB's menu, however, then it prompts me to use the BitLocker's recovery key
Cancelling the recovery and using F12 -> Windows Boot Manager trick did not prompt to use recovery key again...


Both, when installing Ubuntu, and sometimes when rebooting installed Ubuntu, "poweroff" or "reboot" results in prolonged shutdown with locked up display.

Fixed with dell-xps-9570-ubuntu-respin tweak script


About BIOS upgrade:

An upgrade from 1.3.0 to 1.3.1 required to swap RAM sticks to the original ones again, because the machine would not boot with white & amber LED flashes (supposedly indicating "memory problem"). After booting just once with the original sticks, I've swapped to the 2x16GB sticks again without a problem.


Changelog


[2019.10.24]

Added link to an article related to enabling Yaru-dark in GNOME Shell (eg. notification center background adjustment, which by default is white).