The Acer ES11 132 Linux UEFI and Secure Boot Part 2

Continued from The Acer ES11-132, Linux, UEFI, and Secure Boot Part 1

DDR3L RAM notes before Debian, Fedora, or Ubuntu installation

In some developing markets such as the Philippines and Indonesia, the Acer ES11-132 is sold with 2 GB of DDR3L RAM, though in most markets the notebook comes with at least 4 GB. However, the ES11-132 has a single slot for upgrading the RAM up to 8 GB DDR3L, and users planning to run a Linux distribution with a modern graphical desktop environment such as Gnome 3, Cinnamon, or KDE4 or later, should consider investing in a RAM upgrade.

The ES11-132 with Fed ora 25 Gnome3 next to a Surface Pro 4. The ES11-132s form factor is comparable to the SP4.

The Intel Celeron 3450 on the ES11-132 is surprisingly responsive even with only 2 GB of RAM ,and with Fedora 25 Gnome installed, Gnome 3 works very well for single window tasks. Out-of-the box, even Windows 10 Home SL works with nary a chirp. However, unless youre planning to switch to a command line only FreeBSD 11 install, the 2 GB of DDR3L will not last you in the long term.

Note: Acer notes on their user guide that only professionals should perform the memory upgrade. Moreover, Acer places a sticker on the compartment door indicating that users void their warranty if they open the door.

The ES11-132 has a single compartment door for the hard drive and RAM. Unfortunately, it has a warranty sticker.

The lack of RAM is particularly noticeable during installation. A base installation using physical media of Ubuntu 14.04 or Debian 8 Jessie takes roughly more than three hours to complete - unusual since the process takes only half an hour at the most on my older Toshiba NB520 with an Intel Atom and 4 GB of RAM. If you are using an external optical drive to perform a Linux installation on the ES11-132, make sure you connect the drive using the USB 3.0 connector at the rear, and a second USB port if your optical drive requires additional power. Use the same rear USB 3.0 port if are using a bootable Linux LiveUSB.

Setup Utility and common boot errors

As mentioned in Part 1 of this s eries, update the BIOS regardless if you are dual-booting with Windows, or performing a full Linux installation. Once you reboot, tap the F2 button on the Acer logo to enter the InsydeH20 Setup Utility. Verify that the System BIOS Version is correctly updated on the Information tab.

My system came with v1.06 and updated using the Windows executable to v1.08, which is the current version of this writing.

Unlike manufacturers such as HP, Dell, Zotac, and ASUS, Acer severely trims down their UEFI system and pretty much limits any configuration changes from Setup Util ity. Unfortunately, you will have to make changes to Setup Utility to get Linux to boot and install. The two most common issues Linux users encounter are the "Security Boot Fail" and "No Bootable Device" errors.

Note: This article wont attempt to address issues related to all Linux distribution but focuses on Ubuntu 14.04, Debian 8 Jessie, and Fedora 25.