Bug#954081: debian-live-10.3.0-amd64-gnome.iso fails to load desktop on Acer A515-43-R19L laptop

[Mike Haag <mhaag85893@gmail.com>]

Package: debian-live
Severity: important

I first updated the BIOS using the supplied Windows 10, then replaced the
supplied 128GB SSD with a new 500GB SSD.

Verified the iso file with SHA512, and tried running as both DVD and USB thumb
drive:

Grub starts as expected.

1. Attempted to start the live desktop environment from the first Grub menu
item, "Debian GNU/Linux Live (kernel 4.19.0-8-amd64)".
2. Multiple status messages are displayed. Then, a Debian splash screen is
briefly displayed, followed immediately by a blank screen with a blinking
cursor, and the system freezes.
3. Ctrl-Alt-Del will reboot the laptop into the Grub menu.

The graphical installer (third Grub menu item) runs, and appears to complete
successfully. But, the installed system exhibits the same problem: Multiple
startup messages, and the system freezes before the desktop environment starts,
just displaying a blank screen and blinking cursor.

For what it's worth, I also tried several other Debian-based and RPM
distributions. Could only get a working system with the RPMs:

1. Debian: The following produce the same results as above.

     debian-live-10.3.0-amd64-gnome+nonfree.iso
     debian-live-testing-amd64-gnome.iso
     debian-10.3.0-amd64-netinst.iso

2. Ubuntu 19.10 and LinuxMint 19.3: The live distributions work as
   expected. Installed systems begin to boot but then both fail with
   unspecified watchdog soft lock errors before their respective desktop
   environments start.

3. Fedora 31: Live runs as expected. Installed system boots and runs as
expected.

4. OpenSUSE Leap 15.1: Live runs as expected. Installed system boots and runs
as expected.

The only recommendation I could find using the Acer user forum and other
internet searches, was to try editing the Grub menu line to "nomodeset", but
that doesn't work. There was also some theorizing that the kernel needed to be
updated to 5.0, but openSUSE 15.1 is kernel 4.12, and that is working.

Looking for advice and suggestions: I do not know how to proceed with further
trouble-shooting.

Thanks, Mike



-- System Information:
Debian Release: 10.3
  APT prefers stable-updates
  APT policy: (500, 'stable-updates'), (500, 'stable')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)

Kernel: Linux 4.19.0-8-amd64 (SMP w/4 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /usr/bin/dash
Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system)
LSM: AppArmor: enabled