RTL8723DE WiFi Driver install

The Realtek 8723DE Wifi driver is not supported natively in the Linux kernel. The Bluetooth functionality for this chipset is supported but for some reason it does not work on newer kernels. But here are the instructions to get the WiFi working.

// rpm-based distros like fedora
% sudo dnf in git dkms kernel-headers kernel-devel  
% sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools"

// deb-based distros like ubuntu/mint
% sudo apt install git dkms kernel-headers kernel-devel build-essential

// Create a directory for git repos and clone the git repo
% mkdir repos
% cd repos 
% git clone -b extended https://github.com/lwfinger/rtlwifi_new.git

// build and install the driver using dkms
% cd rtlwifi_new 
% sudo dkms add ../rtlwifi_new 
% sudo dkms build rtlwifi-new/0.6  
% sudo dkms install rtlwifi-new/0.6 
%sudo /bin/sh -c 'echo "options rtl8723de ant_sel=2" >> /etc/modprobe.d/rtl8723de.conf' 
% sudo modprobe -v rtl8723de ant_sel=2 

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Wireless-and-Networking/Realtek-8723DE-wifi-module-amp-Bluetooth-Linux-driver/td-p/6477307

Problems booting Linux on HP G7 laptops

There is a major problem running Linux on HP laptops; during the boot process, the screen will go black and never display anything. This issue is due to the LCD backlighting.

You can fix the issue by appending the text

acpi_osi=Linux acpi_backlight=vendor

to the linux boot line. You can do this manually in the Grub menu by editing the commands before booting; you highlight the boot entry and press either the “e” key or the “tab” key, depending on the version of Grub you are running.

Reinstalling Grub

When Microsoft Windows is reinstalled on a multiboot computer, it will overwrite the MBR wiping out the existing Grub install. To reinstall Grub do the following:

1. Boot to the most recent ArchLinux install CD and select the correct architecture (on dual ISOs).
2. Mount your existing ArchLinux install on /mnt: mount /dev/sda# /mnt
3. If necessary, mount your boot partition: mount /dev/sda# /mnt/boot
4. Reinstall grub: grub-install –root-directory=/mnt /dev/sda

Older instructions

To install the grub bootloader from a LiveCD:

• Mount the root filesystem
  • mkdir /mnt/root
  • mount -t ext2 /dev/?da? /mnt/root
• Populate the dev and proc filesystems
  • mount -o bind /dev /mnt/root/dev
  • mount -t proc none /mnt/root/proc
• Change to the mounted root filesystem
  • chroot /mnt/root
• Install grub in MBR
  • grub
  • find /boot/grub/stage1
  • root (hd0,0) # Use the info from the above find command
  • setup (hd0) # Use the info from the above find command
  • quit
• Reboot!