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MSI GF63 8RD Notes
This laptop utilizes NVIDIA Optimus technology to switch between the integrated Intel graphics and the dedicated NVIDIA GPU. Optimus machines are known to be troublesome to get running properly on Arch Linux.
While performing a normal install of Arch on this machine, I was initially running into PCI errors that were filling the console, as well as certain commands that caused the system to lock up completely.
I am adding these notes as a reference for the steps I took to get Arch working better on this machine. Note that I do not plan on using Arch for any GPU-intensive tasks on this machine, so I have settled for simply getting this running smoothly with the integrated Intel graphics for now.
When performing a fresh install of Arch on this machine, I found that adding a couple kernel parameters prevented the PCI errors and system locks. I am not sure yet if this is the best solution, but this is working without any noticable side-effects so far.
When initially booting the livecd from the flash drive, press e on the boot manager screen while the Arch Linux entry is selected. This will allow you to edit the kernel parameters before proceeding. Add pcie_aspm=off nouveau.modeset=0 to the end of the string, then press Enter to continue booting.
Later on, when creating the boot loader entry for Arch Linux at /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf, these same parameters should also be added to this boot entry. Additionally two iwlwifi parameters should be added to help with a random WiFi disconnect issue. The complete file should look like this:
title Arch Linux
linux /vmlinuz-linux
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
options root=<root partition> rootfstype=ext4 pcie_aspm=off nouveau.modeset=0 iwlwifi.11n_disable=8 iwlwifi.swcrypto=1 rw add_efi_memmap
Since I do not currently plan on using Arch for GPU-intensive tasks on this laptop, I have not looked much into getting the dedicated GPU working. In case I ever change my mind and decide to research more into getting this working, these links should provide a good starting point: