Small, quick guide to set up Manjaro on the XPS 15 9560

Dell XPS 15 9560 Manjaro Setup instructions

# 1. First of all of course get Manjaro:
https://manjaro.org/get-manjaro/

# I recommend using Etcher to copy the image to your USB:
https://etcher.io/

# 2. Before installing make sure:
# - Secure boot is disabled in BIOS
# - Your SSD, HDD or NVME drive is set to AHCI instead of RAID
# - Fastboot should be on Auto or minimal, but this shouldn't matter to much

# 3. Once at the GRUB menu do the following (these steps are important, Manjaro won't even boot otherwise):
# - For drivers select the nonfree option instead of free, there is no support for Pascal GPUs yet (is planned for 4.12)
# - Hover over the option 'From stick/hdd' and press 'e' to edit the boot entry
# - Look for 'quiet' in the boot entry, after quiet you should type the following:
nouveau.modeset=0 nogpumanager pcie_aspm=off acpi_backlight=none acpi_osi=Linux acpi_osi=!

# It should now look something like this: 
quiet nouvea.modeset=0 nogpumanager pcie_aspm=off acpi_backlight=none acpi_osi=Linux acpi_osi=!

# 4. Now just install Manjaro like you normally would.
# After install repeat step 3 as Manjaro will still not be bootable without

# 5. Once Manjaro is installed pretty much everything is set up already.
# Manjaro handles things like installing Bumblebee beautifully, but there is one more thing we should do.
# We need to add the boot arguments given in step 3.
# I recommend using something like grub-customizer (available from AUR or https://launchpad.net/grub-customizer)
# This is an UI for making Grub customizations

##### Using grub-customizer #####
# - Open up grub-customizer
# - Go to the 'General settings' tab
# - and add the following after quiet: 
quiet pcie_port_pm=off acpi_backlight=none acpi_osi=Linux acpi_osi=! acpi_osi='Windows 2009'
# Press 'ctrl + s' or click save and we are done. Your installation should be fully working now.

##### Using terminal #####
# sudo nano /etc/default/grub
# Find this line and make sure it looks like this:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="nouvea.modeset=0 nogpumanager pcie_aspm=off acpi_backlight=none acpi_osi=Linux acpi_osi=!"
# run 
sudo update-grub2 # (or update-grub if update-grub2 is not symlinked)
# to update your Grub config and we are done.

# Some last notes
# I get around 5 to 8 hours of battery life on a i7, 16GB, 512GB 4k model 9560. 
# Stay on kernel 4.9 (standard on Manjaro right now). 
# I have tried 4.11, but it was hard-locking/freezing my XPS 15 every few minutes or wouldn't even boot up.
# 4.11 only adds NVME power management so we aren't missing out on anything.
# Once 4.12 hits I will test and update this guide, hoping there is better support for Pascal as well.

# Update as of May 2018
# Latest install of Manjaro is possible using the exact same instructions.
# The current kernel version used by Manjaro is 4.14 and it seems to run fine.

# Update November 2018
# I've updated the boot parameters as I found the originals didn't work for me anymore

# Additional notes
# (Thanks @Cznielsen) For the XPS 9570 it seems this flag is necessary 'systemd.mask=mhwd-live.service'
# (Thanks @Jonathancollinet) Some people needed this flag to boot Manjaro: 'acpi_rev_override=1'
# (Thanks @stucash) For fixing power management of the intel graphics use these parameters: 'i915.i915_enable_rc6=1 i915.i915_enable_fbc=1 i915.lvds_downclock=1 i915.i915_psr=1 drm.vblankoffdelay=1'

@buchdag are you suggesting replacing those ‘acpi_osi’ overrides with the i915 parameters? If yes could you share the setting you’ve got? I am wondering how much battery you get? as 5-8 hours from OP already looks darn good. Thanks very much!

For anyone who has problem with power management as well, you can also add these parameters to grub setting (after quiet):
i915.i915_enable_rc6=1 i915.i915_enable_fbc=1 i915.lvds_downclock=1 i915.i915_psr=1 drm.vblankoffdelay=1; any permutation as you wish but I would suggest definitely the first three. manjaro has a page for some of the settings and this page also could be very useful.
Bear in mind you don't have to do this in installtion or chroot (but for us XPSers probably we have to :)), you can always write a i915 config file under /etc/modprobe.d/i915.conf.

I am back for an update with batter life, my setup was manjaro with i3, kernal version 4.17, XPS 15 9560. With mild usage (moving mouses and opening terminal, wondering around, etc), I've gone to 30% left after 6 hours running time.

For 9570 I couldn't boot the USB without adding at least

systemd.mask=mhwd-live.service

To ignore the hw-check

Hey everyone, I have updated the document with my latest settings and added the suggestions from @stucash, @Cznielsen and @Jonathancollinet

Thanks a lot!

hello, there is a typo on "nouvea.modeset=0". the correct option is "nouveau.modeset=0"

@alexpazzo thanks, updated it

Great summary. Could not get with my XPS15 9560 into GUI from USB-boot but once I figured out that I had to and how to change boot parameter and just replaced "quiet" with " 'acpi_rev_override=1" it worked great.

It's a little but annoying that although I selected a non-US keyboard layout the USB-based system still worked with US-keyboard layout (which makes entering and editing the boot parameters a little bit tricky).

Thank you a lot, this saved me a lot of time with Manjaro + i3.

Also, the tips of @Jonathancollinet were very useful. I've installed Manjaro using all the options litest but the option "acpi_rev_override=1" was enough and avoid my boot process to freeze.

I'm installing Manjaro KDE 18.0.4. From what I understand, the only change that has to be made is acpi_rev_override=1... correct?

Funny thing is the installation went thru properly, but when I try to boot into manjaro, laptop gets stuck at the dell logo. where am i going wrong?

@prakharsinha i have exactly the same issue and also dell laptop and KDE

im getting stuck on Load/Save Screen Backlight Brightness of backlight:intel_backlight

Anybody had WiFi issues with Dell XPS 9560? After a while connection gets lost and trying to turn off and then on freezes the system.

@prakharsinha i have exactly the same issue and also dell laptop and KDE

you have to update your grub to achpi rev override =1 and update it.

Thats what I had to do

Dual-boot Windows 10 & Manjaro (i3) (xps 9560)

Thanks @meirbon & @federicourban

1. Disable Secure boot
2. Change RAID to AHCI
3. Use acpi_rev_override=1 in the live boot parameters
4. Install with nonfree
5. Chroot into the nvme0n1p2 (in my case) after installation and before reboot to add acpi_rev_override=1 to /etc/default/grub
   add it on the line with ....CMD_DEFAULT="quiet acpi_rev_override=1" like this.

EXTRA: you can easily chroot by running 'sudo manjaro-chroot -a' and then pressing '1' to select the first & only option.

6. run 'sudo update-grub' ... in my case it kept hanging but was easily fixed with 'sudo pacman -Syyuu' and then run 'sudo update-grub' again.

7. Reboot, log into Manjaro... open terminal and run 'sudo os-prober' && 'sudo update-grub'

Congrats... dualboot complete! You should now be able to choose OS on every boot

Looks like acpi_rev_override doesn't do the trick anymore, at least in my case.
On my 9570 with 4K panel, i7 and 1050ti I still need to set acpi_osi=! acpi_osi="Windows 2009" in order to even reach the desktop in LiveUSB environment (otherwise it freezes completely).
However, when I set the acpi_osi parameter, I get an ever so slight, but noticable keyboard and touchpad lag, plus the touchscreen isn't working.
This happens with both Intel and NVIDIA graphics set as default, on the following systems that I've tried:

• Fedora 31
• Ubuntu 19.10
• Ubuntu 18.04.3
• Arch Linux
• GParted LiveCD

Am I missing something here?

I reinstalled a couple of weeks ago & it still worked.

I sadly don't know what goes wrong with your install :/

What BIOS version are you on?

Dell XPS 15 9560 System BIOS - 1.16.0 - 9.73 MB - Urgent
According to SupportAssist

But Manjaro was installed just before I updated my BIOS to that version.

Oh, my bad, I have a 9570, not 9560.

Can I ask you maybe to try running Manjaro Deepin edition on your XPS? I've installed it but it freezes the screen after 5-10 minutes of uptime so I'm not sure if I need to apply these steps while installing Deepin edition (since after the installation I can login and DE is properly loaded).

I installed Manjaro today through your guide and i was wondering. I used the Free Option for drivers and after installation Manjaro booted normally. Is it necessary to edit the following string in Grub: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="nouvea.modeset=0 nogpumanager pcie_aspm=off acpi_backlight=none acpi_osi=Linux acpi_osi=!"

@Jobra1995 this guide is quite old by now and probably isn't up to date. When I got my XPS 15, Nvidia's Pascal GPUs were causing many issues if you weren't using Nvidia's drivers. The nouveau driver probably is a lot better nowadays thus you don't necessarily require all those flags. Still, if you want all the performance you can get out of your GPU I'd suggest installing the proprietary drivers.

@meirbon just to get it straight for myself would that mean re installing Manjaro with the Non Free Drivers? And then seeing how it fares and use the flags if necesarry?

Sorry for the probably stupid questions but i'm a new Linux user and choose Manjaro as my first Distro cause it seemed interesting and challenging.

@meirbon just to get it straight for myself would that mean re installing Manjaro with the Non Free Drivers? And then seeing how it fares and use the flags if necesarry?

Sorry for the probably stupid questions but i'm a new Linux user and choose Manjaro as my first Distro cause it seemed interesting and challenging.

Manjaro/Arch might be a bit much if you are new to Linux. I would recommend Debian or Mint if you start to have problems with Manjaro. You do not need to add those flags though that you mentioned if you are going to use the proprietary drivers.

Manjaro/Arch might be a bit much if you are new to Linux. I would recommend Debian or Mint if you start to have problems with Manjaro. You do not need to add those flags though that you mentioned if you are going to use the proprietary drivers.

I kinda want to run into problems with Manjaro as it would speed up the learning process of getting used to Linux. I don't mind learning the hard way. But i'll start by installing the proprietaty drivers for now :)

acpi_rev_override=1
This is essential. Without this X11 will hang up when dealing with nvidia.

pcie_aspm=off
without this kernel spit out some pci error/warning

modprobe.blacklist=nouveau
just don't touch nouveau driver. it's abandoned. at least to xps 15 9560

both nouveau and acpi_rev things are important for safely boot into livecd and normal system.

acpi_rev_override=1
This is essential. Without this X11 will hang up when dealing with nvidia.

pcie_aspm=off
without this kernel spit out some pci error/warning

modprobe.blacklist=nouveau
just don't touch nouveau driver. it's abandoned. at least to xps 15 9560

both nouveau and acpi_rev things are important for safely boot into livecd and normal system.

Actually you don't need to blacklist Nouveau because when you select nonfree install in boot menu it automatically does it for you and installs Nvidia with PRIME.

Just to report that I successfully installed Manjaro 20.0.1 with the nonfree drivers and I didn't have to add any flags in the grub configuration.
Just switch to the nonfree drivers in the grub menu when you boot from the live USB and the installation will take care of installing the nonfree drivers.

After that system boots perfectly fine

I installed the latest Manjaro 20.2. The installer boots with proprietary drivers but after installation it still requires the changes in the kernel parameters to boot.

Also, after updating the installation, lightdm couldn't start for me. I installed the video-linux package from cli and then rebooted to receive a severely f**ked screen with weird vertical bandings, and display stretched horizontally. I removed the package and the system reverted to mesa graphics. That fixed all of my troubles for now.

Here's the system details

OS: Manjaro Linux x86_64
Host: XPS 15 9560
Kernel: 5.9.16-1-MANJARO
Resolution: 1920x1080
WM: i3
Terminal: alacritty
CPU: Intel i7-7700HQ (8) @ 3.800GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 630
Memory: 3860MiB / 7533MiB