Linux friendly notebook
 

Hi there,

I am having problem setting up Ubuntu on Lenovo ideapad notebook, the Boardcom wireless disabled by default, the Intel display also does not work properly, both require 'special treatment' to fix, but will fail again after each kernel update this is extremely annoying, as much as typing this on a Samsung Android tablet which the screen keep jumping around !!
Linuxmint seems to have better support on the display but locks up when turning wireless on, I don't know this is only with Lenovo or a common issue, but I decided to try something else. I don't need state of the art specification but something that works, something with more common and mainstream hardware design, anything recommendation ?

I recommend you just buy an external, probably USB wifi card. I also have an integrated broadcom chip on my system and it seems to not work well. It may also have caused crashes in the past.

I have never had much success getting a fully functional installation of Ubuntu on laptops. I have had pretty good success with Open Suse 11.x In my opinion, the installer (software, not the human) is one of the most important and overlooked distinctions between Linux distros. My advice is to try various distros until you get one that works.

--- rod.

Broadcom cards require a special "non-free" firmware, which you can easily install using the Ubuntu Restricted Hardware Manager.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Wi...Driver/bcm43xx

Make sure you have the "dkms" package installed, which will facilitate kernel updates.

You should try a few different Distros via a Live CD or DVD. This will give you more options to choose from and then you choose the one that works with the laptops default hardware. That will eliminate any extra configuration. Also using Rewritable Media will save you a ton of discs unless you don't mind having 15 Distros on 15 Discs.

Thanks Guys, I tried a number of Debian based distro they all have the same problem, also tried Puppy Linux and 3 different USB adapter only one worked, I am more use to Debian it seems to be more stable if the hardware supports so I will stick to it, just want to find a notebook with more 'conservative' hardware design, I know ATI is pain in the neck on Linux so it must be Intel for example, what about Fujitsu and Acer, any success story ?

I used Swift Linux (an offshoot of antiX-M11-i686) without a hitch after running the smxi script on a Lenovo G560. You may want to try either one.

Dell laptops (don't know if that translates to netbooks) seem to be generally compatible. Most recently I've had Open Suse 11 and Scientific Linux 5 install well on a couple of 'Inspiron' class laptops. I've got a Toshiba laptop with an apparently intractable problem relating to the implementation of ACPI. Seems any of their laptops with a 'Insyde H20' BIOS are similarly afflicted.
--- rod.

What model laptop is it?

I would guess that you've got a 'sandy bridge' (intel CPU + video on the CPU) laptop. 'Sandy bridge' support is getting better, but its still not 100%..and older versions of ubuntu will have some serious issues with sandy bridge video.

I cant point you at any particular model without knowing your country, budget and intended use.

Avoid the 'latest and greatest', in particular with CPUs, GPUs and wireless. Its better to have a slightly older model laptop with no bugs than it is to have a brand new system thats unstable.

Try to get the most open source friendly wireless you can find. I'm not super fond of intel, but intel wireless is a decent choice...hard to find on the cheaper laptops though, if the laptop manufactuer/retailer even lists the wireless card.

ATI/AMD GPU support with linux is a lot better than it used to be. A lot of the 'avoid ATI video cards' advice dates back to when ATI dropped support for most of the old cards.

BTW, you may already know this, but just in case you dont- most of the newer laptops with 'sandy bridge' CPUs and nVidia GPUs are using a setup called 'optimus'. It has no offical support from nVidia with linux. While some people have got the nVidia GPU to work with linux on some 'sandy bridge' laptops, it can be hard or impossible. Avoid.

From what I've heard fujitsu isnt exactly linux friendly, and acer.....I'll leave my opinion of acer out of here.

Thanks for the info., now I got a ThinkPad X220i and most problem solved, at least I got the wireless working out of the box so I can download patches, the display needs some fine tuning that's all. My last notebook was a ideapad U160 and it cost half as much as the ThinkPad, some times money can solve problem ha !

The screen now locks at 1024x768 instead of 1366x768, I am looking for the Intel HD graphic driver, any idea where I can find it ?

All problem solved after latest update, thanks guys !