asking for a friend: He has a UEFI laptop which he wants to install linux onto, the problem is that the integrated screen is broken, and as such he can't enter the bios, and change the boot priority to the linux USB installer. i had in mind of buying a RS-232 compatible adapter and plug it in a USB port, and try to control the bios from there, but i dont think the UEFI would display it's output in here, What could my friend do to access the UEFI interface without video output?
- Does the laptop have a video output port (DE-15, HDMI, DisplayPort…)? Do either of you have a spare monitor or TV that it could plug into? The firmware setup should show up there…Stephen Kitt– Stephen Kitt2024-12-14 17:18:44 +00:00Commented Dec 14, 2024 at 17:18
- The laptop has a micro HDMI cable, and yes, we both have spair monitorsuser542648– user5426482024-12-14 17:40:35 +00:00Commented Dec 14, 2024 at 17:40
- 2OK, so it’s not a valid answer since your question is specifically about headless setups, but it would be much easier to connect a screen using the micro-HDMI port.Stephen Kitt– Stephen Kitt2024-12-14 17:44:37 +00:00Commented Dec 14, 2024 at 17:44
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1 Answer
i had in mind of buying a RS-232 compatible adapter and plug it in a USB port, and try to control the bios from there,
I've not yet seen a single laptop where that works.
UEFI setups accessible via a serial port are pretty much server-typical hardware these days, and even so, it'd be a hard-wired serial port from the board controller to a serial port, not just any USB-serial device plugged in.
I don't think what you plan will work out, hence.
What could my friend do to access the UEFI interface without video output?
nothing. Their laptop very very very likely supports no such access.
If that laptop still boots into a Windows or Linux, you can select the device it boots from next boot (if windows, search for how to do that on superuser.com, if Linux search here). That way, you might be able to boot from USB without having to go into the UEFI setup.
If it doesn't, you'd take out the storage (SSD or hard drive) and just install Linux on it on a different machine, before putting it back in.
In both cases, your friend's laptop must be configured (secureboot-wise) to allow that.
I don't know your friend's financial means, so I'll be careful to recommend infeasible things, but: If the laptop can't be used without an external screen, it's not much of a laptop. Probably, your friend would want to look at refurbished laptops; example source of such or all-in-one PCs with screens, or just plain used PCs (I have no affiliation with that company. I did buy a couple laptops from there, and was satisfied.).
If they just need a linux-capable device that they can carry around (or let sit at home) and plug into screens, RaspberryPi fifth generation devices seem to be pretty popular and pretty cheap, and will conveniently disappear behind a screen. In Germany, especially around and after christmas, a lot of used PCs appear on auction websites / classified ads, for really cheap, down to "please pick it up, I don't want to take it to the recycling center myself".
