Linux on my school laptop?

Software & Operating Systems Linux
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1

i am currently enrolled in school and i was wondering, could i put Linux on my school laptop?!?!? i am currently running a windows surface pro 1. my questions would be 1) would everything work with Linux (the type cover the touch screen etc.) 2) could i install this in one night? (i work, go to school full time, and take online classes) time is a premium... and, 3) this may be a stupid question but does android studio / intelej work under Linux?

i know all of my school software and sites work under ubuntu so that will be the distro I go with. but if anyone could answer my questions and alleviate my fears that would help... thank you.

2

Just to clarify - you are using a Surface tablet right and not a Windows laptop?

Wendell has been mucking with a Surface Pro and linux for a while now.

I haven't done this myself, but some other folks might have some advice as well.

3

that video is for the surface pro 3, not the 1... i am not sure if that makes a difference, but if not sweet ill follow the steps in this guide.

4

Ah gotcha. I missed the "1" in your post. Is it a Surface RT model?

Also, do you know if the school has any rules about "modifying" the device?

5

If the surface pro works right now for you, I don't see any reason to do so. If there ends up being complications, then you are going to be in a rut.

6

this is a surface one pro, i purchased it myself out of pocket for school. i needed something small and cheap.

7

and to you BIG_AI the surface works OK, however i am not a fan of windows 8.1, or of windows in general, and if i am going to be fighting uphill to get this degree with it. i want to feel comfortable with my OS and trust the security in it. not to mention that i am not a fan of windows privacy policy.

8

Did you see this thread?

I agree with @Big_Al_Tech - I wouldn't bother messing with it myself since the device is school property (do you need to return the device or do yo get to keep it as part of your tuition?). If something goes wrong either during the OS swap or something unexpected occurs down the road as a result of the switch, that could leave you high and dry with school work deadlines looming.

9

I understand your position, just make sure to do some research. Don't want to be stuck with out a computer. Wouldn't be a bad idea to test Ubuntu on a computer somewhere else (live usb) to see if what you use at school works.

10

I would if I could. Sadly there's a few peices of software that only run on mac or windows. I also have the Asus Transformer Book T100 and it doesn't support linux all to well anyways.

11

well, i spent the night installing ubuntu on the laptop. the reddit article you posted was incredible! thank you so much. there are a few slight hitches. I took both of your advice to heart and left win 8.1 on there and i'm dual booting to ubuntu. so far the only major grip is that the trackpad isnt working. but there is another part of the article i have not done yet. all in all thank you for the help with this!

12

It probably has some sort of admin lock down on the UEFI so you can't put on diffrent OSs, and if they don't, at least in my school, It is against policy to modify hardware or software so help you god. This is the tax payer were talking about, and if they want windows on the 2 in 1, they paid for it. But I'm just playing devils advict, I would personally get virtual box and run an ubuntu VM, less legal complications, depends on cpu though.

13

OOHHHHHHHHHHHHH, i thought this was school provided hardware. DERP :p

14

well about a week later and things seem to be working well. a few slight hiccups but everything seems fine, the track pad on the type cover is twitchy, but the touch screen works and the pen works. it took some effort to set things up with my school wifi. all in all great experience swapping over. thank you for linking the article. and for the help.