So, I too want to make the switch for Linux and decided that I will be going with Ubuntu, and I also want to put it on a laptop and on my current desktop. Can Ubuntu be installed on this? If not what kind of laptop will you guys recommend for having Linux on it?
laptop: http://www.frys.com/product/8673430?site=72premail021716
My current desktop specs:
NZXT X61
Intel ssd 530
Corsair vengeance 2x8gb
Roswill Hive 750w
MSI Z97A GAMING 6 ATX LGA1150
NZXT s340
Should work fine.
For desktop, try booting from usb first (unetbootin or such to get ubuntu on stick) and just see how you feel/like it.
As for the Laptop, I don't see any problem why not.
Do you plan to have dualboot on desktop or plain linux?
That laptop is not great, I'd look at second hand laptops since the price to performance on budget laptops is generally terrible.
However this one is in the same price range and has a lot better specs, I'm sure if you look around a bit more you might be able to find one better.
Linux would run on the ATOM but it would not be the smoothest experience. Ubuntu and ATOM would not mix that well and may be sluggish. Puppy Linux and ATOM may work better.
The only reason why I'm showing this laptop is because its on sale for 169 because of a promo code that I have.
Also about having Linux on my desktop, I was thinking about getting a second ssd and installing Linux on that and switching over to windows to game; from what I understand they'll stop support for windows 7 and install windows 10 in it.
i have a similar build as you, Linux will run great on an SSD. I have a Samsung 850 EVO
I don't know about that laptop. I bought a used Lenovo 420 off of ebay for $169 and its the best laptop I've ever owned.
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Yeah, I'd go Puppy if all you need is web browsing. If you want a more full featured experience try Xubuntu or Lubuntu, although Lubuntu can be a little quirky at times. GNOME is not the most lightweight desktop environment
If youimited on budget, buy a second hand laptop.older lenovos are great. I think the x200 is the best they have with excellent Linux support. Put an ssd init and its like new.
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The Ubuntu installer comes with a "live mode" so you actually boot directy to Ubuntu's Desktop. From this, try to see if things like you Wi-fi works "out of the box"
Also I will probably suggest Ubuntu-gnome, Kubuntu or Xubuntu. I can't stand the desktop environement they put on Ubuntu. (Regarding the laptop, since it has an Atom processor, maybe look at Xubuntu, the XFCE desktop is a bit lighter on the system...)
Ubuntu (and it's family of distributions) is nice because they are ment to "just works" after installation, and they have a large comunity to help you with solving things.
what about this laptop? do you think it will work with Linux?
That laptop comes with windows 10... it should run linux fine. you may want to try to find out what the maker is of the wifi/bluetooth first though.
Googling "ideapad 100s linux" doesn't come up with encouraging results. You're prolly gonna go through hell if you want linux on that machine.
The main concern I have with this laptop is the video card. There have been a lot of issues with the the desktop completely freezing up. You can't even use the mouse or keyboard.
JuliaOnly7d3
This sounds familiar. It's not the distro that is the problem. It's the kernel itself. It won't matter which distro you switch to because you will encounter the same problem. Intel Gpu's have been freezing since the 3.17 kernel. In order to keep this from happening you have to lower your idle on your GPU. It's not as bad as it sounds.
This is an article in Arch Wiki:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/intel_graphics2
This is the kernel bug report:
https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1090511
(Pay no attention to my comment on this page. I forgot to upgrade Grub. I would correct it but the site won't let me log in)
Here is how you fix it:
1) Open your terminal
2) Enter this command and supply your password: sudo nano /etc/default/grub
3)Look for this line in Nano: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
4) Use your arrow keys to get to that line.
5) Add a space and put this in: intel_idle.max_cstate=1
Edit: (The space goes after "splash" and between the quotation mark. The new setting should appear befor the quotation mark)
6) Hit ctrl and x
7) Type y to confirm and hit enter.
8) Type in this command: sudo update-grub
9) Type in this command: sudo reboot
I hope this works. It's not an ideal solution because it will slightly increase your power consumption, but your computer will function. This bug has been driving me bat shit crazy for over a year.
Have you tried coffee.drink();
?
Posting from my T420 with Ubuntu Gnome right now. I got mine off ebay for the same price haha, maybe we bought from the same vendor? Its been great, I did a lot of research and already had an opinion to buy enterprise over consumer grade. Its not a good looking laptop, but its been great- once I put an SSD into it-- its become my daily driver.
OP, you could likely get more power on ebay, and a lot of the Lenovo and HP offereings are enterprise retired systems that were lightly used, likely in a docking station and most models have good linux support (google around).
Run ubuntu live on your laptop and make sure you can get everything working before you install. IE trackpad, wireless, bluetooth, sound etc etc.
I only use desktop machines myself so no real experience with laptops
I'm on a tight budget and I just want a laptop that can support Linux and that is not too expensive, I'm trying to make the transition.