My first installation of linux on a 5 year old laptop
My first hurdle is understanding that i need to add a boot sequence and navigate to the EFI file in my mounted pen drive.
second hurdle is understanding i need to disable secure boot so that the dell bios doesnt think something is wrong and always run the bios repair program.
third is understanding that i need to disable Intel rapid storage for the full install (luckily linux mint tells us this)
and honestly the hardest thing was installing fastfetch cuz theres a lot of outdated information out there on how to install it on Mint.
the process took about 4 hours, i consider it very lucky that i was able to do it so fast.
resources that helped me:
devicetests.com/boot-usb-uefi-…
How To Boot from USB in UEFI Mode on Dell Inspiron: A Workaround | DeviceTests
Learn the workaround to boot from USB in UEFI mode on Dell Inspiron laptops with our step-by-step guide. Get your device up and running in no time.Brent Cohen (DeviceTests)
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Dariusmiles2123
in reply to PrinceOfSloth • • •My god your install process sounded really difficult.
This coming from someone running a Surface Go 1 and MacBook Pro 2012 which weren’t really linux friendly for the install process.
In the future, I’ll probably only get used devices as I’m kind of anti consumerism, but I’ll be careful to always get something reslly Linux friendly.
My last experience with anything from Dell was my first Linux install in the 00’s and it was really easy. I guess Dell has regressed in this regard.
Anyway welcome to Linux!
relativestranger
in reply to Dariusmiles2123 • • •if you go in not knowing what to do, it can seem 'difficult'. but it's mostly like on any other oem prebuilt:
optional: prep the target disk (backups, wipe or clear part table, etc), reset bios to defaults.
if necessary: switch from raid or rst to ahci sata mode, default boot mode to efi, disable secure boot. note that some distributions support secure boot but your method of creating an installer might not--you may be able to re-enable if you want after install.
note that hp systems have a hoop to jump through (a confirmation prompt to disable) after disabling secure boot on the next startup. do not use esc key to trigger boot menu, use f9 for boot menu, f10 for bios entry.. as esc will cancel the confirmation code prompt and automatically re-enable secure boot.
insert or plug-in installer, hit the magic key upon power on (f12 for dell, f9 for hp) to bring up boot menu and select installer media, boot and run installer.
Zorsith
in reply to Dariusmiles2123 • • •blobchoice
in reply to Dariusmiles2123 • • •I’m glad you said this, I was thinking “I just plug in the USB stick and install Linux”
In fact, the hardest but for me is remembering the special key to press upon boot up so it goes into boot selection mode and I can just select my USB stick…
HouseWolf
in reply to blobchoice • • •Some laptops don't really let you boot from external install media so easily nowadays.
I helped a buddy get Linux Mint on their "old" laptop to try it out. But it turned out you needed some manufacturer provided code to unlock booting from anything but the main harddrive within the bios.
We contacted support but never heard back. We did find a work around when they decided to swap the existing HDD for an SSD, they used a USB to sata cable to install Mint on the SSD from their desktop then installed the SSD into their laptop in place of the original drive so it booted straight into that.
Dariusmiles2123
in reply to HouseWolf • • •Well if it means thst every computer company is starting to make it difficult to change your OS, it’s worrying.
It’s also good that nowadays you have companies like Tuxedo, Slimbook and others, but I prefer recycling old computers given the choice.
cRazi_man
in reply to PrinceOfSloth • • •Welcome to Linux. Glad to see you're not letting the hurdles get in your way and are working through solutions. There's more to come.
You say "5 year old laptop" as if that's ancient... 10th gen Intel 😄. I don't even look at laptops newer than 5 years. Don't need much more for internet tasks and office work.
Zorsith
in reply to cRazi_man • • •Ive got an HP Zbook g6 coming my way soon I'm excited about, and its way overkill for what I'm gonna use it for; i just need a bigger laptop because i have giant meat hooks for hands and I actually use the numpad
Tl;dr, you can get a lot of laptop at decent prices looking at "older" hardware
FriendBesto
in reply to cRazi_man • • •Really like Linux in general.
harsh3466
in reply to cRazi_man • • •Bombastic
in reply to PrinceOfSloth • • •brown567
in reply to Bombastic • • •like this
Bombastic likes this.
appropriateghost
in reply to brown567 • • •AntiOutsideAktion
in reply to PrinceOfSloth • • •obnomus
in reply to PrinceOfSloth • • •harsh3466
in reply to obnomus • • •+1
I'm having a ton of fun learning and scripting in bash!
obnomus
in reply to harsh3466 • • •harsh3466
in reply to PrinceOfSloth • • •