Install FreeBSD 13.3 on Thinkpad x250

01.06.2024 - [mss]_Cyclist - ~5 Minutes

Installation of FreeBSD with Wayland on Thinkpad x250

When my SSD died in my Thinkpad x250 it was time to replace it. All backups in place. Should be no problem. Wrong. Installation with ZFS on root went without problems. These came when I wanted to get i3 on xorg running. All drivers installed as documented in the handbook Yes, I wanted i3, but ended up with sway.

Step 1: Installation on ZFS

This step is straight forward. I do not think it is necessary to go into much details here. Just follow the installation instructions.

Download FreeBSD 13.3 (I just did not want to upgrade to 14.0 right now).
I went with the memstick because I did not have wired network. So I needed all components to be available offline.
Follow the instructions of the installer.
Upgrade FreeBSD

root@freebsd:~ # freebsd-update fetch install
....
root@freebsd:~ # reboot

Step 2: Wireless network

First identify the network cards:

root@freebsd:~ # pciconf -lv | grep -A1 -B3 network

em0@pci0:0:25:0:	class=0x020000 rev=0x03 hdr=0x00 vendor=0x8086 device=0x15a2 subvendor=0x17aa subdevice=0x2226
    vendor     = 'Intel Corporation'
    device     = 'Ethernet Connection (3) I218-LM'
    class      = network
    subclass   = ethernet
--
iwm0@pci0:3:0:0:	class=0x028000 rev=0x59 hdr=0x00 vendor=0x8086 device=0x095a subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x5010
    vendor     = 'Intel Corporation'
    device     = 'Wireless 7265'
    class      = network

The wireless card is iwm0.

So let’s configure this:

root@freebsd:~ # ifconfig wlan0 create wlandev iwm0
root@freebsd:~ # sysrc wlans_iwm0="wlan0"
root@freebsd:~ # sysrc ifconfig_wlan0="WPA SYNCDHCP"

Add your wireless credentials. Edit /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

network={
  ssid="FreeBSD"
  psk="PresharedKey"
}

In order to get it working

root@freebsd:~ # service netif restart

Step 3: Getting ports tree

We will use git to get the ports. First install git

root@freebsd:~ # pkg install git

Then clone the ports tree

root@freebsd:~ # git clone https://git.FreeBSD.org/ports.git /usr/ports

This will take a while to complete.

Step 4: Install video card drivers

First identify your graphic card

root@freebsd:~ # pciconf -lv|grep -B4 VGA
vgapci0@pci0:0:2:0:	class=0x030000 rev=0x09 hdr=0x00 vendor=0x8086 device=0x1616 subvendor=0x17aa subdevice=0x2226
    vendor     = 'Intel Corporation'
    device     = 'HD Graphics 5500'
    class      = display
    subclass   = VGA

So we need to install the Intel HD Graphics 5500 driver. Install

root@freebsd:~ # cd /usr/ports/graphics/drm-kmod
root@freebsd:~ # make install
root@freebsd:~ # sysrc kld_list+=i915kms

Now it is time to reboot and check if the driver is loaded.

Step 5: Install xorg

Install xorg and add your non-root user to the video group

root@freebsd:~ # pkg install xorg xinit
root@freebsd:~ # pw groupmod -m video mss-cyclist

Step 6: Install i3

Installation of i3 is simple.

root@freebsd:~ # pkg install i3 i3lock-color i3status

Create a ~/.xinitrc in your home directory

exec i3

Step 7: Try to start i3

This should not be too hard, should it? Until now everything went smooth. And now Murphy’s law kicks in trying to start xorg.

mss-cyclist@freebsd:~ % startx

Murphy around the corner

And now? A black screen shows up. A blank cursor in the uppper left corner. The fan of my Thinkpad goes wild. Nothing happens. The laptop is completely frozen. No luck in trying to kill xorg. No reaction to the keyboard. Only way to get around is to power it off the hard way.

I tried this several times without any success.

What is wrong?

Could be my trusted x250 died on me? Are these the wrong drivers? Nothing I tried seems to be working. Several hard resets further without any luck. Everything is working as expected - except xorg.

Ubuntu live cd

Just to make sure my Thinkpad is ok I downloaded Ubuntu and tried to start it as a live image. If Ubuntu will not run, then FreeBSD will certainly not run. To my relief Ubuntu started without any problems. Shortly after I was rewarded with a GUI. Some tests. Nothing wrong with my hardware.

GhostBSD

So when Linux is capable of running on my laptop, how can I get my beloved FreeBSD to get running? Next idea is to try a FreeBSD live cd. So I downloaded GhostBSD and run the live image. To my relief GhostBSD showed me the Mate desktop. So apparantly FreeBSD is capable to run on my x250 with GUI!

Back to the installation

Some fiddling around did not give any results. Screen still frozen, no way to start xorg. Several hard resets more leave me with the bitter thought to abandon FreeBSD (not really an option) or to buy a newer Thinkpad. Not the best prospects ahead.

Step 8: Wayland to the rescue

So there was still one option left which I did not consider. Give Wayland a try.

Installation of Wayland

root@freebsd:~ # pkg install wayland seatd
root@freebsd:~ # sysrc seatd_enable="YES"
root@freebsd:~ # service seatd start

The wayland compositor needs a runtime directory

root@freebsd:~ # mkdir -p /var/run/user
root@freebsd:~ # chown root:video /var/run/user

The runtime directory needs to be known in the XDG_RUNTIME_DIR environment variable. We will persist this later.

mss-cyclist@freebsd:~ % export XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/var/run/user/`id -u`

Installation of Sway

Luckily Wayland has Sway as a drop-in replacement for i3. So it should be familiar to use.

# pkg install sway swayidle swaylock-effects alacritty dmenu-wayland dmenu alacritty

mss-cyclist@freebsd:~ % mkdir ~/.config/sway
mss-cyclist@freebsd:~ % cp /usr/local/etc/sway/config ~/.config/sway

Following the FreeBSD handbook there are some important changes to be made ~/.config/sway/config

...
input * xkb_rules evdev
set $term alacritty
...

Step 9: Starting Sway

Now let’s try if this works:

mss-cyclist@freebsd:~ % sway

And to my surprise: sway is working. I am greeted with the sway GUI. Lucky me: I do not need to ban neither FreeBSD nor my x250.

Step 10: Persist `XDG_RUNTIME_DIR`

Last but not least: let’s not to forget to persist XDG_RUNTIME_DIR. Edit ~/.cshrc and add

setenv XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/var/run/user/`id -u`

FreeBSD Thinkpad Wayland