GPT Bootable Bios/Optimus Switch Are Necessary For L502x/L702x

Hello ! Is there any one there ? What does Dell think about this situation.

Dell does not support Linux or provide Linux drivers for the Studio 15.

I really dont give a flying cow about what Dell supports or does not. I am buying a computer from Dell because I like Dell. I am not complaining to HP about GPT disks because I dont care whether they exist or not. I expect any computer to be as functional as possible, period.

If I was buying a computer for its operating system then any and all computers would be the same since the important thing would be the operating system.  Instead I expect the computer to be device of focus.

I know that Dell expects customers to buy their systems for this same reason, otherwise they would be out of business. Please provide a better answer if you propose to speak for Dell.

Hi HSemizz,

    have you found any way to use GPT with Dell XPS? I'm trying to install Fedora16 with LVM default partition schema proposed by installer and BIOS can't do the boot. I read in another forum that Dell no longer suports UEFI bios model. Do you know?

thanks,

Antonio

# Try booting with the "acpi=off" kernel parameter

   * This will disable ACPI support. If the error is the same with ACPI enabled and disabled, this may not be an ACPI issue.

# If "acpi=off" allows the system to boot, try to isolate the ACPI issue with the following boot parameters

   * Try booting with "acpi=ht"

         o This disables all of ACPI except just enough to enable Hyper Threading. If acpi=off works and acpi=ht fails, then the issue is in the ACPI table parsing code itself, or perhaps the SMP code.

   * Try booting with "pci=noacpi"

         o This disables ACPI for IRQ routing and PCI scanning.

   * Try booting with "acpi=noirq"

         o This disables ACPI for IRQ routing.

   * Try booting with "pnpacpi=off"

         o This disables the ACPI component of the Linux Plug and Play code.

   * Try booting with "noapic"

         o Disables the IO-APIC for IRQ routing or PCI scanning.

   * Try booting with "nolapic"

         o Disables the local APIC.

I can't even get Fedora or Kubuntu to boot up at all on my XPS laptop.  How did you get that to work?

I do not speak for dell.

Linux is not a supported operating system.

Screw it.  This thing won't do what I want it to, its going back.  If Dell can't get their freaking BIOS or UEFI right then let them keep the darn things.

Well, can't return it. Had to use "acpi=off" to get Fedora 16 installed, then after an update to the latest kernel I failed back to "pci=noacpi", and got all the procs up.

Dell offered incentives to keep the laptop, I finally took 'em.  :D  

I found a working solution for my Dell XPS 13 L321X, starting point was exactly as described by the OP: latest BIOS version is A08 released on Sept 2013, won't boot an USB GPT partition but just Legacy/MBR ones, therefore I had to find a way to create a working Tails install with Persistence preserving the GUID structure that's necessary for persistence to function.

I've been immensely helped by a segment of one of the procedures posted here, and as you may guess ...I've "gone Hybrid"!

Here is what I did, recorded out of memory just after having completed the process. If you have questions or find it not 100% clear or working in your case feel free to reach back to me/PM.

---Given 2 USB keys, let's call #1 the transient one needed to install from a mac osx system as I did, and let's call #2 the destination where we want to create our Tails final install ------------

1. format #1 as FAT32/MBR, and install the latest Tails ISO with dd on it (instructions here, sections 1/7 and 2/7 only!)

2. boot #1 on Dell XPS, and launch Tails Installer from there towards #2

3. plug #2 into a second UEFI-compatible laptop (I used an old HP I've around here at home), and create Persistence

4. boot Dell XPS with #1, insert #2 after login, open a Root Terminal and execute ‘gdisk /dev/sd_’ on #2

5. recovery and transformation options (experts only)

6. make hybrid MBR

7. Type from one to three GPT partition numbers, separated by spaces, to be added to the hybrid MBR, in sequence: [just type 1]

8. Enter an MBR hex code (default 83): [1c]

9. Set the bootable flag? (Y/N):

10. Unused partition space(s) found. Use one to protect more partitions? (Y/N):

11. Enter an MBR hex code (EE is EFI GPT, but may confuse MacOS): [0a]

12. write table to disk and exit

13. Boot from #2, all works like a charm!

Let me know if this works for you as well, and have fun!