This is a brand new Spectre X360-14 OLED. It has an Intel® Core® Ultra 7 155H. It is my fourth X360-14 (one lost by Delta airlines). I also have a beat up Fujitsy T902 that I use on my shop bench. This new Spectre is the only one that has this problem.
For many years I have been using Clonezilla as a safe, Windows-independent, disc image maker that boots from a mini Linux VM. IT WILL NOT BOOT ON THIS MACHINE, but after a delay I get the message “Timed out for waiting for the udev queue being empty”. Clonezilla works perfectly on my 6-month old X360-14 OLED with Intel® Core™ i7-1255U and on a much older one with Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7.
I have had an extended discussion with Steven Shiau, lead developer of Clonezilla, and neither he nor I have been able to find a workaround. For example, I have tried Clonezilla with the latest Linux kernel, and with many older ones, and all fail in the same way. His last message was “Well, in that case, it seems the Linux kernel just can not support your hardware. Maybe you have to wait for newer Linux kernel.”. I suspect, however, that it’s a flaw in either the Ultra 7 155H or in the BIOS.
Do you have any suggestions for me? If anyone here has a contact at HP, can you pass this up the HP chain to make sure someone is aware of this? Lastly, if I can not get Clonezilla to work, do you have a recommendation of an disc imaging application that I can use on multiple Windows machines at a bearable cost? I am looking for secure, bootable, compressed, bare metal backup, not bells and whistles.
Sorry Lenny that no one has a solution for you so far - perhaps it is the Eclipse Holiday and someone can pick this up for you. What I know about Linux would fit under a thimble with room for my finger…
Glad to know at least one person read my note. I’ll probably post a not-very-encouraging update tomorrow.
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Hifihedgehog
(Hifihedgehog - Waiting for Surface Pro 10!)
4
Clonezilla is widely used in the industry including even by IT pros. You did the right thing by going straight to the developer because he will have the best insight and experience and especially for such a well-regarded and highly used backup solution. If you went to Steven Shias and he said no, I am afraid that is likely the best answer for the time being. 14th Gen is a completely new processor design on mobile and as such, there are bound to be gotchas like this that you are encountering. Have no fear because a solution is bound to come given the widespread use of Clonezilla. You are just too much on the cutting edge with it it would seem.
Thanks for your replies. I had posted here, at HP Community and HP Customer Service. The response from HP Customer service was just:
Unfortunately HP doesn’t support the Linux OS,
To find an alternative for the cloning software please contact our store support …
The one response at HP Community had nothing to offer for running Clonezilla/Linux on this machine, but suggested I take a look at Hasleo Backup Suite Free and, after reading some lengthy reviews, I did download it. It has much more functionality than I need and either runs in Windows or from a WindowsPE bootable disk, but I have had some teething pains trying to use it. Hasleo has, however, responded very quickly to each of my questions and I think I am now past the initial problems.
I would still prefer a completely Windows-indipendent backup scheme, and just being able to make and use a full disc image would be enough for me - I already have an XCopy based batch file that does very fast incremental and differential file backups and that’s quite sufficient given how little space I actually use for my own working files. I don’t know if the problem lies with the Ultra i7 processor, or the AMI Bios (there is contradictory information on the web, and some people have been able to load Linux on some Ultra processors) nor even whether a “fix” of the Linux kernel is even possible for this. Unfortunately, I have immediate need of an imaging solution, not because I’m a cutting-edge type, but more because I’m a computer Neanderthal with a particular need. And yes, if a real solution does come along Steven Shiau will be the one to find it.
The most important use of my PCs is as my daughter’s voice output, wheelchair mounted, 2-switch operated computer and for maintenance and development of her programs and for design of new handicapper assistance devices (mechanical, electronic and computational). This new HP has Win11 and it would be a total disaster for this - pop up windows, notices, ads etc. (even if non-modal) are equivalent to tying a gag on her. Microsoft has not yet released an LTSC version of Windows 11, so, once I have a restorable backup of the OEM install, and a way to clone from images of the other PCs, I will be putting Windows 10 LTSC on this machine.