LG Gram 2021 Thread: 14, 15, 16 and 17

[RS4]

Here are the links to two threads from NBR archives which had loads of discussion on LG Gram 2021 models:

 

https://www.nbrchive.net/xfa/lg.29/LG Gram 2021 announced- 14, 16 and 17/

 

https://www.nbrchive.net/xfa/lg.29/Advanced LG Gram 2021 tweaking/

[RS4]

The LG update centre has two sections: Required and All list. The required section generates notifications and asks you to update whereas the All list keeps it optional. I am wondering should I update some of these apps listed in the All section.

 

I am thinking about leaving intel smart sound, it was never installed and is a new thing which can mess things up. LG stuff should be safe but what about updated DTS driver/app, can anyone check what version they are using? @John Ratsey @hfm @goldfrapp0x0309

 

 

 

 

[John Ratsey]

Here's my list of the updates:

The sound appears to be working OK.

 

I'm surprised that the BIOS doesn't get mentioned as I can't find any separate BIOS updater and it's version T2ZF0320 X64 dated 23rd April 2021. Most manufacturers have issued one or more updates during that time.

[hfm]

I usually leave DTS disabled, I use Dolby Atmos for Headphones instead.

[RS4]

Updated everything, no problems. Looks like LG does proper testing before release, all the past updates have also been stable, many notebook manufacturers introduce new bugs via updates. 

[RS4]

From what I have noticed the sound volume is slightly higher after the update, nice to see LG improving the products with updates.

[hfm]

I've noticed that my 2019 model has started to do this thing where audio will get "stuck" for lack of a better term for 3-5 seconds. Not sure it's specifically audio related or if it's something else. I could 100% pin it on the intel RST drivers in the past, but I don't have them installed right now. Shrug.

[extremecarver]

On 3/25/2022 at 2:42 AM, RS4 said:

From what I have noticed the sound volume is slightly higher after the update, nice to see LG improving the products with updates.

 

Deleting the DTS crap makes sound volume louder. For some places I still need third party tools to increase volume however.

[RS4]

On 3/28/2022 at 8:23 PM, extremecarver said:

 

Deleting the DTS crap makes sound volume louder. For some places I still need third party tools to increase volume however.

 

Hey @extremecarver long time no see. How did you come across this forum? Did you read the old forum messages before closure or from somewhere else?

[extremecarver]

Yes read on old forum. Not sure if this now is the most frequented forum for LG Gram

[Steerpike]

Question about device encryption on the LG Gram 17 2021 edition. 

 

I recently purchased a 2021 Dell XPS 17, and returned it for various reasons. During my brief relationship with the XPS 17, I discovered that even though it had only Win 11 HOME (which does not include bitlocker encryption), it still had an encrypted C:\ drive. This forum article describes the situation in detail - Turn On or Off Device Encryption in Windows 11 Tutorial | Windows 11 Forum (elevenforum.com) . Once I found that article, I disabled device encryption on my XPS 17.   I replaced the XPS 17 with a 2021 LG Gram 17, and today I went to turn off device encryption on it also, but to my surprise, there is no 'Device Encryption' entry in the Settings area. 

 

Here's the example given by elevenforums showing Device Encryption:

 

 

And here's the corresponding screen on my system: 

 

 

Now, I really don't WANT device encryption on the C:\ drive, but still - I'm curious to understand why it's not even offered as an option, given that it WAS an option on the XPS, and is clearly shown in the elevenforums article.  Any thoughts? 

 

Edit To Add - I note the ElevenForum article says your system has to support Modern Standby in order for this to be available. Well, my system certainly supports Modern Standby, but - I have disabled it so I can get back S3 sleep, so I wonder if that's what took the option away?  But if that's the case, is my drive still encrypted ... ? My XPS 17 system was encrypted on arrival, which surprised and concerned me.  I only found out when I had a Dell tech come to my home to replace the motherboard!

[John Ratsey]

Perhaps the standard Dell disk image is configured for all versions of Windows and includes the bitlocker setting whereas LG is aiming at the consumer market and only uses the Home version of Windows.

 

LG provides the option in the BIOS to set a password for each storage device and the manual includes the warning "If you forgot NVMe™ Password/SSD Password, you cannot restore the NVMe™/SSD."

 

I don't know enough about SSD security to know if setting a password enables encryption.

[Steerpike]

8 hours ago, John Ratsey said:

Perhaps the standard Dell disk image is configured for all versions of Windows and includes the bitlocker setting whereas LG is aiming at the consumer market and only uses the Home version of Windows.

 

....

The 'elevenforum' article says this: "Device encryption is available on devices (ex: tablet or 2-in1) that support Modern Standby and running any Windows 11 edition. If you want to use standard BitLocker encryption instead, it's only available on supported devices running Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education. Some devices have both types of encryption." which means, it's available on windows 11 home.

 

This article says "The BitLocker security feature is available on Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. However, on Windows 11 Home, you can use "device encryption," a limited version of BitLocker. It works identical to the full version but without many of the advanced management settings and capabilities, such as "BitLocker To Go. ..."" 

 

So this suggests there should be 'something' available in win 11, but it's not available on the LG Gram for some reason.   Since I don't want it (I was looking to disable it), this is not a big issue I'm just curious to understand why it's not there. Perhaps the SSD doesn't support it. 

 

This Asus article explains how to view status information on the feature - Run 'System Information' as an administrator, then scroll down to 'Device Encryption Support'. On my system, it says 

 

(I can't figure out how to copy the text of that message!). It says Reasons for "Failed automatic device encryption: Hardware Security test interface failed and device not modern standby, un-allowed DMA-capable bus/device(s) detected, Disabled by policy, WinRE is not configured"

[hfm]

On 4/21/2022 at 12:52 PM, Steerpike said:

The 'elevenforum' article says this: "Device encryption is available on devices (ex: tablet or 2-in1) that support Modern Standby and running any Windows 11 edition. If you want to use standard BitLocker encryption instead, it's only available on supported devices running Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education. Some devices have both types of encryption." which means, it's available on windows 11 home.

 

This article says "The BitLocker security feature is available on Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. However, on Windows 11 Home, you can use "device encryption," a limited version of BitLocker. It works identical to the full version but without many of the advanced management settings and capabilities, such as "BitLocker To Go. ..."" 

 

So this suggests there should be 'something' available in win 11, but it's not available on the LG Gram for some reason.   Since I don't want it (I was looking to disable it), this is not a big issue I'm just curious to understand why it's not there. Perhaps the SSD doesn't support it. 

 

This Asus article explains how to view status information on the feature - Run 'System Information' as an administrator, then scroll down to 'Device Encryption Support'. On my system, it says 

 

(I can't figure out how to copy the text of that message!). It says Reasons for "Failed automatic device encryption: Hardware Security test interface failed and device not modern standby, un-allowed DMA-capable bus/device(s) detected, Disabled by policy, WinRE is not configured"

 

I believe for that to work you have to have Secure Boot enabled, TPM 2.0 enabled, I think Data Execution Prevention (DEP) and running in UEFI mode..  I believe you also need to enable virtualization. There will be a performance hit for it, so be aware of that.

[Steerpike]

11 hours ago, hfm said:

 

I believe for that to work you have to have Secure Boot enabled, TPM 2.0 enabled, I think Data Execution Prevention (DEP) and running in UEFI mode..  I believe you also need to enable virtualization. There will be a performance hit for it, so be aware of that.

FWIW, all those settings are in place. Also, I verified that WinRE is in place (since that message I showed above references WinRE).  It just may have something to do with the fact I'm not in 'modern standby' mode (I disabled Modern Standby so I can get 'S3' standby back).  But logically, to me, if the device shipped with an already-encrypted drive (that's how my Dell XPS 17 arrived), I don't think the act of turning off 'Modern Standby' would have un-encrypted the drive 'on the fly' - surely it doesn't happen instantaneously (disabling Modern Standby is simply a matter of setting a registry key and rebooting).  The next logical step in my investigation would be to re-enable modern standby and see what options are available. But since I don't want it anyway, I guess I'll stop pursuing it for now; it was more a curiosity than anything. 

 

[hfm]

19 hours ago, Steerpike said:

FWIW, all those settings are in place. Also, I verified that WinRE is in place (since that message I showed above references WinRE).  It just may have something to do with the fact I'm not in 'modern standby' mode (I disabled Modern Standby so I can get 'S3' standby back).  But logically, to me, if the device shipped with an already-encrypted drive (that's how my Dell XPS 17 arrived), I don't think the act of turning off 'Modern Standby' would have un-encrypted the drive 'on the fly' - surely it doesn't happen instantaneously (disabling Modern Standby is simply a matter of setting a registry key and rebooting).  The next logical step in my investigation would be to re-enable modern standby and see what options are available. But since I don't want it anyway, I guess I'll stop pursuing it for now; it was more a curiosity than anything. 

 

 

Can you just enable modern standby temporarily for science? Hah

[Steerpike]

5 hours ago, hfm said:

 

Can you just enable modern standby temporarily for science? Hah

I probably will!  Stay tuned ... 

[RS4]

Installed 2TB SSD SK Hynix Gold in the second slot, took some effort in prying away the back panel, must say the older laptops with exposed screws were much easier to disassemble.

 

Another thing to appreciate about the LG Gram is the good quality LG Chem batteries, it is more than a year since getting this laptop and the wear level is at miniscule 1.4%, have never heard of weird battery expansion/bulging which is a common complaint with Dell XPS.

[John Ratsey]

Removing the back panel gets easier with more practice.

 

My 2021 Gram 17 came with about 9% battery wear but was second-hand and I don't know how the battery was treated by the previous owner. I set the battery saver to limit the charge to 80%. Unless one needs all-day use on battery the full 80Whr is generous. If it's possible to operate with battery charge between 20% and 80% then the battery life expectancy will be much improved as most of the wear on the chemistry occurs at the limits of the charge range. High charge and discharge current also doesn't help but the low thermal limits on the CPU mean that high power drain won't occur.

[RS4]

I have also set the charge limit to 80% as my laptop is plugged in most of the times.