BlackBook Zero 14 Phantom (L36001) (L36011) (L36013) (L36015) (L36017) (L36018) (L36019) (L36022) (L36028) (L36088) Drivers & Software

Note: This custom version of Ubuntu has been updated to kernel 6.11.0, and configured and tested to work with this BlackBook model, and is the recommended version to install.

Instructions To Create a Bootable Ubuntu USB Installer

1. Download the Ubuntu image and save it to a location of your choosing.
2. Download imageUSB here to a location of your choosing. Extract it. This is required to copy the Ubuntu installer to a bootable USB drive.
3. Insert a USB drive that is at least 8GB in size. The drive will be wiped, so do not use a drive that has important data on it. For safety, make sure it is the only USB drive connected to your computer. This limits the risk of overwriting the wrong drive.
4. Run the imageUSB.exe file.
5. Follow these steps to get a bootable Ubuntu USB installation drive:
   a) Step 1: Click on the checkbox next to the name of the USB drive in the “Step 1: Select the USB drive(s) to be processed)” box.
   b) Step 2: Click on the radio button next to “Write image to USB drive”, which is the first option.
   Note: You can also untick “Post Image Verification” under the “Available Options” list, which is to the right of the Step 2 list. This will reduce the creation time and should not be needed.
   c) Step 3: Click on the “Browse” button below that, navigate to the folder where the Ubuntu image was downloaded, and select “Venom_BlackBook_Zero_14_Phantom_L360_Ubuntu_24.04.1.bin”.
   d) Step 4: Click on the “Write” button, then click “Yes” on the message box that pops up, and “Yes” again for the final confirmation box that pops up after that.
   e) Once the process has successfully completed, a green notice will appear that says “Imaging Completed.” If it fails, a red notice will appear with the words “Imaging Failed!”.

Installation Instructions

1. Plug the Ubuntu USB drive into a USB port and turn on the BlackBook.
2. Hold F2 until the computer enters UEFI settings.
3. Select the Security menu option.
4. Ensure “Secure Boot” is disabled, as it is not compatible. If it is already disabled, nothing further needs to be done and you can exit the settings. If it is enabled, click on the drop down box and change Enabled to Disabled, then press F10 to save and exit.
5. As soon as Step 4 has been completed, hold F7.
6. When the boot menu appears, select your USB drive, which should be the first option.
7. GNU Grub menu will load. Press Enter on the first option, “Try or Install Ubuntu”.
8. Follow the steps to install Ubuntu, either alongside the existing operating system or to replace it:
a) Select your language (default is English) and click Next.
b) Configure any desire accessibility options and click Next.
c) Select your keyboard (default is English (US)) and click Next.
d) Set up your Wi-Fi network by selecting the option “Connect to a Wi-Fi network”, choosing your network and entering Wi-Fi password. Alternatively, leave it as “Do not connect to the internet” to skip and do later. Click Next after making your choice.
e) Leave the default choice of “Install Ubuntu” and click Next.
f) Leave the default choice of “Interactive Installation” and click Next.
g) Click Next again on the next screen. There is only one option.
h) Select “Install third-party software…”. If you connected to Wi-Fi, you can also select the other option “Download and install support for additional media formats”.
i) Choose either “Install Ubuntu alongside…” or “Erase disk and install Ubuntu”. If installing Ubuntu alongside the original operating system, there is an extra step:

– Use the available slider bar to choose the partition sizes for Ubuntu and the original operating system. Click Next.

Note: At this step, if BitLocker is enabled on your drive, it will not proceed further. There will be message stating “Turn off BitLocker to continue” with a “Restart into Windows” button below. Click this to proceed with turning off BitLocker. Follow these instructions to turn it off:

– Reboot and log back into Windows.
– Click on the Start Menu and start typing in: bitlocker. Once “Manage BitLocker” appears under Best Match, click on it.
– Under “Operating system drive”, there should be something listed like “Windows (C:) BitLocker on”. There is an option called “Turn off BitLocker” to the right. Click on this.
– A message box will pop up. Click on “Turn off BitLocker”.
– Under “Operating system drive”, it will change to “Windows (C:) BitLocker Decrypting”. It will take a few minutes to decrypt. Once it is done, it will change to “Windows (C:) BitLocker off”, and you are ready to boot the Ubuntu installer again.
– Begin again from Step 5 above.

j) Type in your name, computer’s name, username, and password. Click Next.
k) Select your timezone and click Next.
l) Click on Install to begin the process.

Changing The Boot Order

If installing Ubuntu alongside Windows, by default, the Windows operating system will still boot automatically, not showing the Ubuntu bootloader options to select the desired operating system. To fix this, do the following:

1. Turn on (or restart) the computer. Hold the F2 key until the computer enters UEFI settings.
2. Select the Boot menu option.
3. Use the scrollbar to scroll to the bottom and click on “UEFI Hard Disk Drive BBS Properties.”
4. Click on the drop down list for “Boot Option #1” and select “ubuntu”. There should be two options. One will be like “Windows” or “Windows Boot Manager”. The other one should be selected for “Boot Option #1.”
5. Press F10 and hit the Enter key.

The next time it boots, a GRUB boot menu should show with options including “Ubuntu” and “Windows Boot Manager” in the list.