Australis13

joined 2 years ago
[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 hours ago

Yes, although regular brushing (esp. with a deshedder) and vacuuming helps a lot.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Yes! I have to understand how a process works before I can do it myself.

To all the people who just "give it a go" without knowing exactly what they're doing - I cannot comprehend how you do that.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I've stumbled across a solution: install the Linux Surface project kernel.

I've tested both the mainline kernel provided by Debian and the Linux Surface project and the former consistently produces the error with the keyboard detached. With the Linux Surface kernel it boots successfully regardless. I don't fully understand the mechanism, unfortunately, but this provides a workaround at least.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Thanks - I'm going to have to do a bit more reading to get my head around that. Secure Boot is not my forte!

I think I've found one of your previous posts with the links you were referring to: https://fedia.io/m/[email protected]/t/113434/UEFI-Secure-Boot-keys-replacement-guide-please-help-sanity-check

And also some more comments here that looked useful: https://lemmy.world/comment/11384715

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

So based on @[email protected]'s advice, I had a look at RHEL and found this:

https://github.com/rhboot/shim/ https://github.com/rhboot/shim/blob/main/SbatLevel_Variable.txt https://github.com/rhboot/shim/blob/main/SBAT.md#uefi-sbat-variable-content

Debian's own shim repo (https://salsa.debian.org/efi-team/shim) seems to derive from this. Shim is apparently the bootloader application that is reporting the error I'm seeing.

Unfortunately still no idea what causes the issue (let alone why it's correlated with the keyboard), but it makes me wonder if somehow the contents of the SbatLevel variable aren't formatted correctly in the absence of the keyboard cover.

More digging required.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

Thanks, I will check out those resources and see what I can find.

 

I have a bit of an odd issue with my Surface Pro 3, which is running Debian 12.

Occasionally (perhaps 1 in 15 to 20 boots) it fails to detect the keyboard properly (this is a genuine Microsoft keyboard cover that connects via the pins on the edge of the Surface, not one of the generic bluetooth ones you can get now). When that happens, the onscreen keyboard logo appears in the top right corner whilst the grub boot menu is displayed.

When it then tries to boot Debian, it throws some kind of Secure Boot error and displays this error message:

SbatLevel variable initialization failed
Something has gone seriously wrong: SbatLevel UEFI variable setting failed: Invalid Parameter

I then have to force it to power off and then try booting again. Usually it works the next time around.

This one's got me stuck, as I don't know much about the Secure Boot process and I've struggled to find any other references to this error online apart from this question on Reddit (which unfortunately didn't resolve it).

I find it particularly odd that this error only seems to occur when there's an issue with the physical keyboard, despite me being able to use the onscreen keyboard in grub. I can replicate this behaviour by detaching the keyboard and it consistently produces this error.

Apart from trying to address the intermittent keyboard issues, which I am looking into (I may need to buy a new one), I have no idea where to start with the Secure Boot issue. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Update:

Whilst I don't fully understand why this error was occuring, I did manage to resolve it.

My Debian installation was using the default kernel (6.1.0-35-amd64 and 6.1.0.37-amd64 were installed) and selecting this would consistently cause the SbatLevel error with the keyboard removed.

Installing the Linux Surface project kernel (currently 6.15.1-surface-2) per the instructions allows me to consistently boot without the error with the keyboard detached.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 days ago

Something something deflector dish...

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 days ago

That was Jon Pertwee's go-to for technobabble when he was in Doctor Who (although the full line "I've reversed the polarity of the neutron flow" only appears twice, IIRC).

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yeah, that's got my attention too. Definitely going to try them out now since I need an alternative for remote support for family.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This will be handy for those couple of Windows-only applications I have that need an Internet connection and don't yet work under Wine. Gives me a bit more time to try to debug them and see if a fix is possible.

Something doesn't quite add up for me, though, with the "free" option of "Use Windows Backup to sync your settings to the cloud" or a $30 payment instead. Is Microsoft really that keen to get everyone's settings, or is this an error in the press release and what they really want is everyone to use Windows Backup to transfer all their files to Microsoft's cloud (OneDrive) in preparation for Windows 11?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

In my experience becoming non-verbal may also depend on who you're with. It might be that your partner goes non-verbal with other people first and you last (since you are the most accepting of this).

If you're able to speak for your partner in those situations (I suggest discussing how they should signal to you that this is needed, plus in what situations it would be appropriate) that can be a big help.

Also, as a couple of other commenters have mentioned, look into other forms of communication. Texting or email is often still possible if not too overwhelmed, so again discuss with your partner - perhaps there is a shorthand set of messages or emojis they can use when they're struggling to communicate that will allow them to convey what's happening and what they need.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Thanks.

Really appreciate you taking the time to explain that. Unfortunately the journalism issue is one of those that I haven't had a chance to look into. I like to think I'm aware of the Murdoch propaganda (and the other major "news" outlets here) but there's still clearly some topics which don't register as problematic until I dig into them.

 

Australia needs to rethink its relationship with the United States.

We've done quite well maintaining a wary, non-trusting trade relationship with China.

We now need a wary, non-trusting security alliance with the US, if that's even possible.

 

Of all the schisms that cleave contemporary America, few are more stark than the divide between those who consider themselves to be victims of US history and those who fear they will be casualties of its future.

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-20/sovereign-citizen-australian-taxation-office-tax/104064368

Not Facebook, but still the same sovcit insanity and in this case, how the Australian Tax Office (ATO) is responding.

view more: next ›