# Fedora KIWI image descriptions, modified to build & launch for Surface Pro 12" Gen 1 ![Fedora Workstation Rawhide running on Surface Pro 12"](docs/FedoraOnSurface.jpg) It is the fork of the original [KIWI image descriptions](https://forge.fedoraproject.org/releng/kiwi-descriptions), modified for launching Fedora Linux Rawhide Live ISO on Surface Pro 12" Gen 1 (and further installing it on the device). I bought this device as I viewed it as a great Linux GNOME tablet, but after several days, many hours of work of trying to do so, I must say that installing a distribution here (and then having it work fine) is a huge pain in the ass. > Special thanks to [harrisonvanderbyl](https://github.com/harrisonvanderbyl), this project wouldn't be possible without his huge contribution to this whole Linux on Surface ARM business! ## How to run **The compiled ISOs can be downloaded [here](https://dist.sayag.it/surface-pro-12in-ports/fedora/rawhide).** This KIWI project is built mainly on the base of Fedora Workstation Rawhide LiveCD ISO. Trying a stable version (the latest is Fedora 44 at the time of writing this) is possible, but not tested for now. If you want to compile this image manually, **the build arch must be `aarch64`**. It means that if you are on an `amd64` machine, you would have to use aarch64 instructions emulation tools like `binfmt`. Unfortunately, such a tool will drastically increase the compilation time. To build this on Fedora Linux: ```bash # Fetch submodules (if you haven't yet) []$ git submodule update --init --recursive # Install kiwi []$ sudo dnf --assumeyes install kiwi kiwi-systemdeps distribution-gpg-keys # Run the image build []$ sudo ./kiwi-build --kiwi-file=Fedora.kiwi --image-type= --image-profile= --output-dir ./outdir # An example for Workstation Live CD ISO, takes around 16 minutes []$ sudo ./kiwi-build --kiwi-file=Fedora.kiwi --image-type=iso --image-profile=Workstation-Live --output-dir ./outdir ``` ## What is left out (for now) * Live CD has to run in RAM, so `rd.live.ram=1` is set for cmdline. Otherwise, at least on my ancient flash drive, it fails to load multiple necessary services, including `polkit`. So, ~5 minutes of loading on USB 2 drive, while screen is not backlit, is to be expected. * No rescue vmlinuz. * No secure boot possible for this ISO for now, as the platform used is `efi` and not `uefi`. * No GRUB auto hidden menu. Trying to have the menu hidden results in system restarting after trying to boot it. * Hardware video encoding/decoding needs a firmware blob the image is not allowed to ship. The `qcom/vpu/vpu30_p1_s7.mbn` that `linux-firmware` provides is the same codec signed with Qualcomm's SecTools *test* key chain, which a retail Surface's TrustZone rejects -- `qcom_scm_pas_init_image()` fails and the kernel logs `qcom-iris aa00000.video-codec: error -22 initializing firmware`. The production-signed build exists only inside Microsoft's Surface driver package, which grants no redistribution right, so what ships here is the means and not the blob: * If you kept the Windows ARM64 partition, `surface-video-firmware.service` finds it on the first boot after install and copies `qcvss8380_pa.mbn` out of its DriverStore. Nothing to do. * If Windows is gone, download the [Surface Pro 12-inch driver pack](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=108199) (~500 MB MSI) and run `sudo surface-video-firmware.sh -m /path/to/SurfacePro_12in_*.msi`. There is no automatic download: the Download Center hands out per-session links. The kernel's device tree already points `iris` at `/lib/firmware/qcom/x1p42100/Microsoft/Surface12/qcvss8380_pa.mbn`, so the driver picks it up as soon as it is there. * Suspend on Snapdragon X is still very unstable. No deep sleep is available, so `mem_sleep_default=s2idle` was set. Even that leads to compromises as suspending via GNOME results in hard freeze, so the default power button behavior was changed to `interactive` and should not be changed back to `suspend`. ## Image variants Please look at [`VARIANTS`](VARIANTS.md) for details on the available configurations that can be built. ## CI information This project is yet to adapt CI, but it is coming. For now the images are being built and tested manually on my personal Surface Pro 12" Gen 1 (16 GB RAM, 512 GB storage). ## Licensing This is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, under version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see .