On 13/09/2026 2:14 pm, Steinar Bang wrote:
- Flash firmware modification, which requires a Windows installation I
no longer have[3]
Is there any chance that firmware updates are packaged for fwupd?
Is service manual available for the model of your laptop? It may
describe how to perform factory reset (drive may be wiped, so backup
your data before). User manual might contain it as well, but I consider
it less likely.
Perhaps there is a recipe how to prepare bootable media for recovery if
some error happens during firmware update and the device is bricked.
In the case of HP laptops expected location of firmware file for
recovery is described inside .exe archives with firmware updaters. It
does not require Windows. Some users managed to run the updater using
wine to create a media for regular firmware update.
Even if you are not going to flush firmware, read changelog.
On 11/09/2026 9:51 pm, Steinar Bang wrote:
Further googling told me I had most probably run into a known acer issue
where an NVRAM overwrite causes a bogus BIOS password.
I recall I have seen some workarounds related to NVRAM in articles on
UEFI secure boot troubleshooting. Perhaps some commands may be adapted
to inspect if there is no room on the NVRAM storage.
On July 24 2026 I suddenly discovered that the function keys on my Acer
laptop[1], running "trixie" only did their hardware functions
Likely just a coincidence, but the date is not so far from expiration of
MS secure boot keys. Firmware might be buggy.
<https://lwn.net/Articles/1029767/>
Jake Edge. Linux and Secure Boot certificate expiration.
20 years ago I fixed repeating corruption of BIOS settings on a
*desktop* by replacing its RTC battery that was discharged. I have no
idea if something similar may happen with modern laptops.
I am skeptical concerning xev. I would start from reading logs for
/dev/input* devices detected during boot (sudo journalctl -b). Libinput
tools might be better for diagnostics, but would not help if the issue
with system firmware settings.
Have you tried to boot a live image to confirm that the issue is not due
to some OS setting?
