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Last active January 4, 2022 08:15
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Install Alpine Linux on Libreboot T400

Install Alpine Linux on Libreboot T400

  • Download Alpine Linux 3.15 ISO from the official website and write to a USB media:
dd if=alpine-extended-3.15.0-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdc

Replace /dev/sdc with the your USB Device.

  • Boot from the USB. For Libreboot, select the "Search ISOLINUX menu (USB)" option in the GRUB menu.

  • Login as root.

  • If you are connecting to the internet with WiFi, follow the instructions at this wiki page. This seems required as the installer will not ask for wifi password (correct me if I'm wrong here).

  • run:

setup-alpine

to start install.

  • Install as prompted. If the installer asks about initializing network interfaces, just answer 'done' if you have already connected to the wifi before.

  • Type 'reboot' after installation finished, and remove the USB media.

  • Press 'c' key in libreboot GRUB, and type the following commands to boot Alpine Linux for the first time:

linux (ahci0,1)/vmlinuz-lts root=/dev/sda3 modules=ext4 rootfstype=ext4
initrd (ahci0,1)/initramfs-lts
boot
  • Login as root and reconnect WiFi as in step 4.

  • Run:

apk add grub

Now Alpine Linux should be able to boot with Libreboot GRUB normally.

  • Create a normal non-root user:
useradd <username>

Install GNOME Desktop environment

  • Enable community repository by following the instructions here.

  • Run:

setup-xorg-base
apk add xf86-video-intel xf86-input-evdev xf86-input-synaptics bash gnome gnome-apps-core gnome-apps-extra udev dbus networkmanager
rc-update add udev
rc-update add networkmanager
rc-update add dbus
rc-update add gdm
  • Reboot, and GDM should launch if everything is OK.

Chinese Language Support

Unfortunately commonly used Chinese Input Methods and Fonts are still not in the official Alpine community repository. However Google's droid fonts support Chinese:

apk add ttf-droid ttf-droid-nonlatin

This at least enables browsing Chinese webpages, etc.

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