HCL - Dell Latitude E5420 (i5-2520M) with Qubes 4.2.1

User Support HCL Reports
1

Qubes-HCL-Dell_Inc_-Latitude_E5420-20240415-180221.yml

---
layout:
  'hcl'
type:
  'Laptop'
hvm:
  'yes'
iommu:
  'yes'
slat:
  'yes'
tpm:
  '2.0'
remap:
  'yes'
brand: |
  Dell Inc.
model: |
  Latitude E5420
bios: |
  A14
cpu: |
  Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2520M CPU @ 2.50GHz
cpu-short: |
  FIXME
chipset: |
  Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family DRAM Controller [8086:0104] (rev 09)
chipset-short: |
  FIXME
gpu: |
  Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller [8086:0126] (rev 09) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
gpu-short: |
  FIXME
network: |
  Intel Corporation Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 [8086:4238] (rev 3e)
  Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries NetXtreme BCM5761 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe [14e4:1681] (rev 10)
memory: |
  6041
scsi: |
  WDC WDS120G2G0A- Rev: 0000
  TOSHIBA MK2561GS Rev: 0D  
usb: |
  2
certified:
  'no'
versions:
  - works:
      'FIXME:yes|no|partial'
    qubes: |
      R4.2.1
    xen: |
      4.17.3
    kernel: |
      6.6.21-1
    remark: |
      FIXME
    credit: |
      FIXAUTHOR
    link: |
      FIXLINK

Qubes OS Version: R4.2.1

Xen Kernel: 4.17.3

Dom0 Kernel: 6.6.21-1.qubes.fc37

Notes:

  • WIFI: This laptop originally comes with Broadcom BCM94313HMG2L instead of Intel Centrino. So I didn’t test on that card, but should work out of box.
  • CPU: Took from broken Thinkpad T420, since it’s comes with VT-d support. My Latitude model comes with Core i3-2310M without VT-d.
  • Battery: My battery died so I’m waiting for new one. So no battery life test for now.

Remarks:

  • Required to boot/install in Legacy Boot (CSM), unless it wont boot.
  • LAN do not work out of box, you need to pass PCI permissive mode to true.
  • Suspend the laptop fixes high cpu temp and cpu usage, but may reduce cpu performance.

Known Fixes:

All the fixes I found out by myself.

Immediately rebooted after Xen booting into dom0 kernel.

This happens in Live USB, but I didn't test on installed system.

Also, this can be fixed by booting/installing with legacy boot mode.

LAN won't work

This also can be fixed, but I don't recommend it, since it increase attack surface. So use Wifi if you can.

See here.

If you really want to use LAN, then using command below inside dom0 after fresh install.

qvm-pci attach sys-net dom0:0a_00.0 --persistent -o permissive=true

Suspend working, but after wake up, it reduce cpu performance.

The only temporary fix is to restart.

Weirdness of Dell:

or it just only me?

Enabling VT-d.

You don’t really, If you already turned on VT-x.
it enabled both of them If I’m not wrong. There’s no option for enabling VT-d.

Installation on this laptop

I really need to install this at least 3 times.

First install was issue with login screen, second was stuck on luks password input.
After that I have no problem with installation.

Qubes-HCL-Dell_Inc_-Latitude_E5420-20240415-180221.yml (1.0 KB)

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I will provide some info again.

What is working and what not:

  • Fn Key: Working, including volume buttons and brightness control
  • HDMI: Not tested, but should work
  • Sound: Working
  • Wifi: Working
  • Keyboard: Working
  • Touchpad: Working
  • Bluetooth: Not tested, but should work too
  • LAN: Do not work out of box, but there’s a fix
  • Suspend: Partial, cpu performance down when wake up

Do I recommend?
No. but If you only have one, you might try.

Custom BIOS not available yet iirc, but someone said should be possible to port.

https://www.reddit.com/r/libreboot/comments/17u20ua/porting_sandy_bridgeivy_bridge_dell_latitudes/

and there is a pull request for dell latitude e5420, not sure if it’s working or not. Interesting.

https://browse.libreboot.org/lbmk.git/commit/?id=6b11f1b055466982747f65665506173a0b22557b

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