HP ZBook Studio G4

Installation

EUFI setup

  1. Boot into the UEFI:

    Press: [F8] during boot (before posting!)

  2. Enable booting from USB:

    EUFI > Advanced > Secure Boot Configuration > Configure Legacy Support and Secure boot →Legacy Support Disable and Secure boot Disable

  3. Enable Debian-compatible graphics (otherwize the installation wizard will hang after its first screen):

    EUFI > Advanced > Build-in Device options > Graphics → Discrete

  4. Exit & Save changes:

    Press: [F10]

Bootable installation USB creation

  1. Download the operating system:

    Debian image / ISO

  2. Place image/iso on an USB stick and make it bootable:

    Win32DiskImager (when using Windows)

Installation wizard execution

  1. Boot from USB stick.

  2. Follow the installation wizard.

    This Guide assumes you to install the Debian desktop environment, the SSH server and the standard system utilities at the Software selection dialog:

Utility tools installation

  1. Install your text editor of choice: 
    $ apt install vim

Proprietary driver installation 😡

iwlwifi driver installation 😡

  1. Edit the proprietery modules to apt and append contrib non-free to the regular Debian package row: 
    $ vim /etc/apt/sourceslist
  2. Update the apt repository cache and install the iwlwifi firmware package: 
    $ apt-get update && apt-get install firmware-iwlwifi
  3. Reinsert this module to access installed firmware, as the iwlwifi module is automatically loaded for supported devices: 
    $ modprobe -r iwlwifi ; modprobe iwlwifi`

NVIDIA display driver installation 😡

  1. Edit the proprietery modules to apt and append contrib non-free to the regular Debian package row:

    $ vim /etc/apt/sourceslist

  2. Update the apt repository cache and install the nvidia driver for the OS type at hand:

    $ apt update && apt install linux-headers-$(uname -r|sed 's/[^-]*-[^-]*-//') nvidia-driver

  3. Restart your system to enable the nouveau blacklist.

  4. Log-in.

  5. Start the NVIDIA tool:

    Search for NVIDIA (press: [Windows] to open the search tool)

  6. Configure the NVIDIA X Server Settings as deemed fit:

    EXAMPLE:

    DP-3 - (LGD) > Color Correction > Brightness → -0.50

    DP-3 - (LGD) > Color Correction > Contrast → -0.50

    *

Configuration

Vino (Gnome desktop sharing)

SSH login hardening

  1. Install the open ssh server (if not installed already during the Debian installation wizard).: 
    apt install openssh-server
  2. Edit the authorized_keys file and add your public RSA key: 
    vim ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
  3. Edit the ssh daemon configuration file: 
    cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.bak && vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config
    1. Turn on RSA key authentication: 
      - #PubkeyAuthentication yes
+ PubkeyAuthentication yes
    2. Turn off text-password authentication: 
      - #PasswordAuthentication yes
+ PasswordAuthentication no

OPTIONALLY: In some cases the SSH daemon does not start automatically at boot:

systemctl enable ssh

Nextcloud

  1. Add repo: 
    add-apt-repository ppa:nextcloud-devs/client
  2. Add key to your keyring: 
    apt-key adv --recv-key --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com AD3DD469
  3. Edit /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nextcloud-devs-ubuntu-client-disco.list and change the repo to zesty: 
    vim /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nextcloud-devs-ubuntu-client-disco.list
  4. Update the apt repo cache: 
    apt update
  5. Install the actual client: 
    apt install nextcloud-client

Also see: /Nextcloud/client-installation section of this site

OpenVPN

  1. Install the openvpn package on both client and server. 
    apt-get install openvpn
  2. Install the additional package network-manager-openvpn-gnome to enable OpenVPN in the Gnome NetworkManager: 
    apt-get install network-manager-openvpn-gnome
  3. Open the (Gnome) Network tool:
    • Click the Activities button on the top-left side of the screen (or press [Windows] key) and Search for Network).
  4. Import the config file from the VPN:
    • [+] > Import from file...

      TEMPOARILY: Fix the 'Gnome network non connection issue' (browsers time out when browsing):

      1. Open the advanced VPN settings from the just imported VPN connection:
        • VPN title > [cogwheel] > Identity > [Advanced...].
      2. Check: ☑ Use LZO data compression

Displaylink

As discussed on the Displaylink forum:

  1. Install the git tooling (if not installed already): 
    apt install git
  2. Clone (copy/download) the git displaylink-debian repository: 
    git clone https://github.com/AdnanHodzic/displaylink-debian.git
  3. Start the cloned shell script: 
    ./displaylink-debian/displaylink-debian.sh

    ALTERNATIVELY: Download and run script without Git:

    wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AdnanHodzic/displaylink-debian/master/displaylink-debian.sh
chmod +x displaylink-debian.sh && ./displaylink-debian.sh
  4. Open the Gnome Displays options (e.g. click the Activities button on the top-left side of the screen (or press [Windows] key) and Search for Displays), to configure the display settings as deemed fit!

    ALTERNATIVELY: Start it from CLI

    Issue `gnome-control-center display`
  5. Consult Post Install Guide!

REFERENCES:

  • Debian on ZBook G3

    NOTE: Not a ZBook G4, but it is the best match I can find at the time of writing.