Debian Buster on Lenovo C740

Setup instructions for installing Debian on Lenovo Yoga C740.

created: Thu, June 25 2020updated: Thu, May 15 2025status: in-progresstags:

Pre-Installation Details
Installation Choices
1. Upgrade Linux Kernel
“Out of the Box” Functionality Checklist
Post Install Remarks, Setup

I am following suit from Beryllium’s blog post setting up an Ubuntu/Windows dual boot.
However, I am not dual booting Windows, instead only using Debian 10.

Pre-Installation Details

I am using a Lenovo Yoga C740-14IML with 16 GB DDR4-2666 Memory, an Intel Core i7-10510U processor, and a 1TB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe for storage.
The laptop user guide can be found at the Lenovo support page.

Enter BIOS by holding down the F2 key during power on.
Boot device can be changed by holding down the F12 key during power on.
Disable secure boot in the BIOS to enable hibernate and suspend.
I left the hotkey settings such that the holding down Fn is necessary for the function keys F1-12, and pressing them otherwise will default to the hotkey functionality Volume Up/Down/Mute.

For my operating system image, I used the debian-10.4.0-amd64-netinst image.
I did not load the iwlwifi firmware, instead using a wired connection for my installation.

Installation Choices

I opted for the non-graphical installation approach.
For disk partitioning, I used the guided approach for setting up an encrypted LVM with a separate /home partition, opting to use 80% of my available physical storage space.
Additionally, I set the volume groups for my root and home partitions to use btrfs instead of the default ext4.

# list file systems, showing type, size, additional meta
df -Th

Filesystem                              Type      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
udev                                    devtmpfs  7.7G     0  7.7G   0% /dev
tmpfs                                   tmpfs     1.6G  9.3M  1.6G   1% /run
/dev/mapper/udia--lenovo--c740--vg-root btrfs      28G  5.7G   22G  21% /
tmpfs                                   tmpfs     7.8G  7.5M  7.8G   1% /dev/shm
tmpfs                                   tmpfs     5.0M     0  5.0M   0% /run/lock
tmpfs                                   tmpfs     7.8G     0  7.8G   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
/dev/mapper/udia--lenovo--c740--vg-home btrfs     719G   35M  718G   1% /home
/dev/nvme0n1p2                          ext2      237M  111M  114M  50% /boot
/dev/nvme0n1p1                          vfat      511M  5.1M  506M   1% /boot/efi
tmpfs                                   tmpfs     1.6G   12K  1.6G   1% /run/user/1000

For my desktop environment, I chose the Plasma/KDE option.

Upgrade Linux Kernel

After the OS installation finished, I noticed that my laptop could not boot into the display manager, showing only text in tty1.
When I attempted to run the startx, the following errors appeared in /var/log/Xorg.0.log:

[  3570.258] 
X.Org X Server 1.20.4
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
[  3570.259] Build Operating System: Linux 4.9.0-8-amd64 x86_64 Debian
...
Fatal server error:
[  3570.274] (EE) Cannot run in framebuffer mode. Please specify busIDs        for all framebuffer devices
[  3570.274] (EE) 
[  3570.274] (EE) 
Please consult the The X.Org Foundation support 
	 at http://wiki.x.org
 for help. 
[  3570.274] (EE) Please also check the log file at "/var/log/Xorg.0.log" for additional information.
[  3570.274] (EE) 
[  3570.277] (EE) Server terminated with error (1). Closing log file.

To resolve this error, I updated my linux kernel.
First, the buster-backports source needs to be added (to the end of /etc/apt/sources.list).

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ buster-backports main non-free contrib
deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian/ buster-backports main non-free contrib

Next, install linux kernel 5.4.

Linux kernel >=5.5 has a known Debian issue with audio drivers not working.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install linux-image-5.4.0-0.bpo.4-amd64 linux-headers-5.4.0-0.bpo.4-amd64 
# after installation completes, reboot
sudo reboot now

“Out of the Box” Functionality Checklist

The following devices were detected on the pci busses (output of lspci).

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Device 9b61 (rev 0c)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Device 9b41 (rev 02)
00:04.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Skylake Processor Thermal Subsystem (rev 0c)
00:08.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Skylake Gaussian Mixture Model
00:12.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Device 02f9
00:13.0 Serial controller: Intel Corporation Device 02fc
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Device 02ed
00:14.2 RAM memory: Intel Corporation Device 02ef
00:14.3 Network controller: Intel Corporation Device 02f0
00:15.0 Serial bus controller [0c80]: Intel Corporation Device 02e8
00:15.1 Serial bus controller [0c80]: Intel Corporation Device 02e9
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Device 02e0
00:17.0 SATA controller: Intel Corporation Device 02d3
00:19.0 Serial bus controller [0c80]: Intel Corporation Device 02c5
00:19.2 Communication controller: Intel Corporation Device 02c7
00:1d.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Device 02b4 (rev f0)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Device 0284
00:1f.3 Multimedia audio controller: Intel Corporation Device 02c8
00:1f.4 SMBus: Intel Corporation Device 02a3
00:1f.5 Serial bus controller [0c80]: Intel Corporation Device 02a4
01:00.0 Non-Volatile memory controller: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd NVMe SSD Controller SM981/PM981

Marked items indicate no further setup required.
Items not checked required additional configuration before full functionality was available.

Audio
- Speakers working using Linux Kernel 5.4, does not work in Linux Kernel 5.6.
- Microphone appears to have an issue. When attempting to conference call, only “Monitor of Built-in Audio Analog Stereo” was available.
- Testing using audacity revealed only static noise when recording. However, the static noise was mutable by the laptop hotkey for the microphone.
Battery
- Battery indicator appears in the bottom right corner and shows the charge when not plugged into AC. When plugged into AC, laptop charges.
Web Camera
- Running mplayer tv://, I see myself appear on the screen. (mplayer can be installed through apt)
Bluetooth/Wifi
- No adapters available.
Touchpad
- Multi-touch scrolling, tap emulation worked with no issues.
Keyboard Hotkeys (Partial)
- Working:
  - Mute F1
  - Volume Down F2
  - Volume Up F3
  - Microphone On/Off F4
  - Browser Refresh Page F5
  - Touchpad On/Off F6
  - Airplane Mode On/Off F7
  - Switch display device F10
  - Keyboard Backlight Fn+Spacebar
- Not working:
  - Enable/Disable Integrated Camera F8
  - Lock Screen F9
  - Screen Brightness Down F11
  - Screen Brightness Up F12
Touchscreen
- Touch inputs appear to simulate mouse events
USB/USB-C
- Appears to work with no issues
Fingerprint Scanner
- Not supported by fprintd. Low priority, will likely not use even if supported.
Suspend (Suspend to RAM)
- Ran “Suspend to RAM”, screen shuts off. On keyboard event, screen turns back on, lock screen appears.
Hibernate (Suspend to Disk)
- Ran “Hibernate”, screen shuts off. On press of power button, laptop resumed from hibernation with no issue.

To diagnose these errors, I read through the dmesg output.

Enabling WLAN and Bluetooth

sudo dmesg | grep 'wifi\|bluetooth'

[   12.231809] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-50.ucode (-2)
[   12.231884] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-50.ucode failed with error -2
[   12.231907] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-49.ucode (-2)
[   12.231973] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-49.ucode failed with error -2
[   12.231991] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-48.ucode (-2)
[   12.232055] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-48.ucode failed with error -2
[   12.232072] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-47.ucode (-2)
[   12.232138] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-47.ucode failed with error -2
[   12.232154] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-46.ucode (-2)
[   12.232220] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-46.ucode failed with error -2
[   12.232237] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-45.ucode (-2)
[   12.232300] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-45.ucode failed with error -2
[   12.232317] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-44.ucode (-2)
[   12.232383] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-44.ucode failed with error -2
[   12.232400] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-43.ucode (-2)
[   12.232466] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-43.ucode failed with error -2
[   12.232483] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-42.ucode (-2)
[   12.232549] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-42.ucode failed with error -2
[   12.232565] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-41.ucode (-2)
[   12.232628] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-41.ucode failed with error -2
[   12.232645] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-40.ucode (-2)
[   12.232711] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-40.ucode failed with error -2
[   12.232727] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: firmware: failed to load iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-39.ucode (-2)
[   12.232792] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: Direct firmware load for iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-39.ucode failed with error -2
[   12.232796] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: minimum version required: iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-39
[   12.232855] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: maximum version supported: iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-50
[   12.232915] iwlwifi 0000:00:14.3: check git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git
[   12.523137] bluetooth hci0: firmware: failed to load intel/ibt-19-0-1.sfi (-2)
[   12.523234] bluetooth hci0: Direct firmware load for intel/ibt-19-0-1.sfi failed with error -2

The firmware requested in the dmesg logs iwlwifi-QuZ-a0-jf-b0-* is for the Intel Wireless 22000 series. The product specification for my laptop model suggests that I should have received an Intel 9560 11ac, 2x2 + BT5.0.
I am unsure if this is an issue with Linux incorrectly determining the make/model of my WLAN hardware, or if I was shipped a laptop with a slightly newer components.

Output of lspci -vv -s 00:14.3 does not appear to provide any useful identifying information.

00:14.3 Network controller: Intel Corporation Device 02f0
        Subsystem: Intel Corporation Device 0034
        Control: I/O- Mem+ BusMaster- SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B- DisINTx-
        Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx-
        Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 16
        Region 0: Memory at b1218000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
        Capabilities: [c8] Power Management version 3
                Flags: PMEClk- DSI+ D1- D2- AuxCurrent=0mA PME(D0+,D1-,D2-,D3hot+,D3cold+)
                Status: D0 NoSoftRst+ PME-Enable- DSel=0 DScale=0 PME-
        Capabilities: [d0] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+
                Address: 0000000000000000  Data: 0000
        Capabilities: [40] Express (v2) Root Complex Integrated Endpoint, MSI 00
                DevCap: MaxPayload 128 bytes, PhantFunc 0
                        ExtTag- RBE-
                DevCtl: Report errors: Correctable- Non-Fatal- Fatal- Unsupported-
                        RlxdOrd+ ExtTag- PhantFunc- AuxPwr+ NoSnoop+
                        MaxPayload 128 bytes, MaxReadReq 128 bytes
                DevSta: CorrErr- UncorrErr- FatalErr- UnsuppReq- AuxPwr+ TransPend-
                DevCap2: Completion Timeout: Range B, TimeoutDis+, LTR+, OBFF Via WAKE#
                DevCtl2: Completion Timeout: 16ms to 55ms, TimeoutDis-, LTR+, OBFF Disabled
        Capabilities: [80] MSI-X: Enable- Count=16 Masked-
                Vector table: BAR=0 offset=00002000
                PBA: BAR=0 offset=00003000
        Capabilities: [100 v1] Latency Tolerance Reporting
                Max snoop latency: 0ns
                Max no snoop latency: 0ns
        Capabilities: [164 v1] Vendor Specific Information: ID=0010 Rev=0 Len=014 <?>
        Kernel modules: iwlwifi

The necessary firmware is currently in buster-backports.
This should already be added in your sources due to the earlier step of upgrading the kernel.

sudo apt -t buster-backports install firmware-iwlwifi
# Restart the machine
sudo reboot now

Bluetooth requires no additional setup after WLAN is available.

Hotkey Diagnosis

To view the scancode that maps to the hotkeys, I switched to a new tty (e.g. Ctrl+Alt+Fn+F1) and ran the showkey --scancodes command. By default, the graphical display is on tty7.

showkey --scancodes
0xe0 0x3b 0xe0 0xbb             # mapped to Hotkey F8
0xe0 0x5b 0x26 0xa6 0xe0 0xdb   # mapped to Hotkey F9

showkey
# pressed Hotkey F8
keycode 212 press
# released Hotkey F8
keycode 212 release

# pressed Hotkey F9
keycode 125 press
keycode 38 press
# released Hotkey F9
keycode 38 release
keycode 125 release

The display brightness hotkeys did not show any output when pressed.

It appears to be related to Ubuntu Bug#1872311.
A corresponding discussion post on the Lenovo forums was linked, but no solutions were provided.

Update (July 9, 2020): It appears that after putting my laptop into hibernation (not suspend to RAM) and waking up, the brightness controls hotkeys work as intended.

Workaround: use software controls for display brightness management, or hibernate and wake up.

Built-in Microphone Not Detected

This appears to be related to Ubuntu Bug#1845797.

Workaround: use an external USB microphone.

Post Install Remarks, Setup

The setup was non-trivial and required lots of fine tuning and troubleshooting.
These issues are relatively minor with acceptable workarounds.

That being said, I would not recommend using linux on this hardware until these issues are patched.

Refer to the workspace quality of life specification for user and system preferences.