Hy !
I have mostly the same problem, on the same laptop. For the kernel error I installed linux mint 17.3.
It works fine. My only problem is wifi. I searched how, but I didn't realy got it. How do I install ath10k ?
I tried to update and upgrade it didn't worked. Maybe should I install it manualy ? Wich one should I install ? https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/xenial/+package/linux-firmware
Thanks !
PS : This subjet was a very big help for me. Thank you, realy !
PS2 : I have the lastest BIOS : 1.7