Looking for a special Linux distro for installation on a laptop

Find Me a Distro
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Hi all, :wave:

I´ve got a question regarding the installation of a Linux distro on a brand-new laptop.

Some of you might remember the topic “Adventurous laptop swapping”, which was discussed here: Adventurous laptop swapping .

Well, believe it or not, my ex-neighbour indeed took my advice to get a new laptop after all. :wink:
It came as a surprise to me, but it was the best decision she could make, I think.

I haven´t been to her place since then, so I don´t know anything about the device yet (not even its make and model). All I know is: it cost 299 Euros, so it should be
a laptop featuring rather modest hardware. :neutral_face:

Of course it came with Windows installed and my ex-neighbour wants me to put a Linux distro on it instead.

My plan would be to make a backup of the installed WIN system first (using clonezilla live), as the laptop should have come with 24 months of warranty.

After that: apply the nuke-and-pave approach (getting rid of WIN) and install a resource-friendly Linux distro instead (e.g. Bodhi Linux, Linux Lite, Debian, antix…).

One thing that might prove to be something of a stumbling block is that the laptop could be too new hardware-wise.

What if the built-in WLAN device (or any other part for that matter) isn´t supported by the kernel yet?

So I was thinking of installing some bleeding-edge Linux distro instead, one that gets the latest kernel updates with all its bells and whistles.

What about HWE kernels (rolling releases for the kernel) :question:
Wouldn´t the chances for good hardware support be better then?

So basically I´m looking for a Linux distro which meets the following requirements:

  • HWE/rolling release
  • resource-friendly

Does anyone know of a distro that can do that :question:

Many thanks in advance and many greetings from Rosika :slightly_smiling_face:

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Hi Rosika,

I did not know what HWE still for, so I did a little reading. I found out Ubuntu offers support for HWE. I also remember MX Linux offers a version for newer hardware. MX “ahs”, an “Advanced Hardware Support.

2 things to consider.

Have a good day.
Howard

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Hi Howard, :wave:

thanks a lot for your reply. :heart:

I´m sorry I forgot to tell about HWE. :bowing_man:

Brand new hardware devices are released to the public always more frequently. And we want such hardware to be always working on Ubuntu, even if it has been released after an Ubuntu release.
Six months (the time it takes for a new Ubuntu release to be made) is a very long period in the IT field. Hardware Enablement (HWE) is about that: catching up with the newest hardware technologies.

(kernel - What is hardware enablement (HWE)? - Ask Ubuntu )

Do you mean Ubuntu proper?
If that´s the case, then I´m afraid it won´t be a good candidate, as Ubuntu itself isn´t considered to be particularly resource-friendly. :slightly_frowning_face:

But thanks for pointing to MX Linux ahs. That might be worth considering.

MX-23_x64 “ahs”, an “Advanced Hardware Support” release for very recent hardware, with 6.4 kernel and newer graphics drivers and firmware. 64 bit only. For newer hardware.

(Download Links – MX Linux )

Have a nice weekend

Cheers from Rosika :slightly_smiling_face:

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I’d be inclined to use Balena Etcher to make a couple of USBs into live trial disks–MX, for one, and maybe KDE neon. They should be able to test compatibility in the new laptop without altering anything.

Best of luck!

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Hi Bill, :wave:

thanks for suggesting KDE neon.
I wouldn´t have thought of it.

That´s an excellent suggestion.
Of course, trying out a live medium to check if the distro is compatible with the hardware makes a lot of sense. :+1:

Many greetings from Rosika :slightly_smiling_face:

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Be careful. This machine might be a minefield of cheap components, for which there is not any Linux support whatsoever. It might also start showing mysterious problems (such as missing SMART) after a while.

First get info on make/model and check the Linux hardware database. Ask around a bit if anybody knows anything about the model.

Another possibility is that the machine is just VERY low spec and the manufacturer installed a load of spyware/shareware to cover costs.

Anyway, be careful with this machine. Cheap usually means that corners have been cut.

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Hi Xander, :wave:

thanks to you, too, for your reply.

I wish I could tell you anything about make and model.
It seems I have to wait until I get a chance to visit my ex-neighbour and then take a look at the laptop personally.

Uhh, that sounds unfortunate. :neutral_face:

What do you mean by “after a while”? If anything is amiss, shouldn´t it show immediately :question:

That´s a good suggestion.
https://linux-hardware.org/ comes to mind.

That would be on WIN then, right?

That´s to be nuked, so hopefully it won´t give us any trouble.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Many greetings from Rosika :slightly_smiling_face:

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Personally I would not move directly to Linux…

Why

If it goes wrong and you have to return it to the shop or supplier then first reaction would be the problems are due to you taking windows off and putting Linux in its place.

If it comes with the usual 2 years cover wait till that expires before doing it. Then the supplier cannot come back to you.

Then I would go for LMDE so it’s a rolling update and works like windows in look and feel.

Safe bet but I recommend that to all new computer buyers.

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Hi Rosika,
That’s my opinion…

Which distro do you feel most comfortable using to solve any problems?

That’s the one you should have on a USB flash with Ventoy and test on your ex-neighbor’s laptop, because you’ll be the one providing support.
If everything works, perfect, you’ve got it sorted out, otherwise tell here what problems you encounter.

You don’t know if you’ll run into hardware problems

In my opinion, if I had a new laptop and put in a new distro that I didn’t know and had problems, I’d be desperate and wouldn’t know what to do (I’m already desperate for distros I know…).

If I wanted to venture out, I’d also put Manjaro KDE on the Ventoy flash disk to try it out :wink:

Jorge

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Hi Rosika,
HWE is an Ubuntu term.
The equivanplent in Mint is Mint Edge edition
The equivalent in MX is MX “ahs”

Of those three , I think only MX is rolling release… it is semi-rolling

Any full rolling release will get you recent hardware support… so you could go Solus, Arch, Void, Gentoo
and
I think Ubuntu has a rolling release too.

I think I would stay with a distro that you are familiar with … you dont want to learn on a friend’s computer.

The main thing to get resource friendly , is to use a lightweight
DE.
Regards
Neville

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Opensuse Tumbleweed is a rolling release with your choice of DE. XFCE maybe the least resource hog

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Hi all, :wave:

thanks to all of you for your latest posts. :heart:

@callpaul.eu :

I see what you mean.

It´s exactly for that reason that I mentioned in my post #1:

… so that she could revert to the initial state of the laptop if need be.

She was already in the very same situation a few years back when she purchased an HP laptop (299 Euros exactly).
This one was pretty much overwhelmed with WIN 10 and you couldn´t use it at all. :neutral_face:

No joking: it was unusable in every respect.

She couldn´t return it either. So it was either a case for the trashcan or for Linux.
I put Bodhi Linux on it at the time and it has been working like a charm ever since. :+1: .

I suspect it will be the same case now.

Thanks for the recommendation.

@Tech_JA :

Thanks for your opinion, Jorge. :heart:

That would be Linux Lite, as I´m using it myself.

But as long as it´s a Linux distro it doesn´t really matter much. :wink:

Yes, that´s certainly the way to go.

O.K., I´ll take that into account. Thanks for suggesting it.

@nevj :

Thanks Neville.

That´s good to know.

I think Mint can also be relatively resource-friendly as long as you choose a modest DE (like xfce).
I´ll have to look if Mint Edge comes with it as well…

O.K., that´s the key message then. :+1: Thanks also for your suggestions, Neville.

@TrekJunky :

Thanks, Cane, for suggesting Opensuse Tumbleweed.

I´ll make a list of all distros suggested by all of you.

Once again: Many thanks to you all :heart: .

Have a nice day and many greetings from Rosika :slightly_smiling_face:

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Ill second Neon. I have it installed on five old Thinkpads for a local business. Once I installed the software - they just use it - no messing around - and its been solid.

The post about cheaper hardware possibly not being supported… I agree with that also. Someone purchased a HP 15.6" laptop with a i5 adn 12gb ram – installed Kubuntu and its running great! Not a problem in over a year. They purchased 2 more but the specs are less - same series though - but the price was around $300 on sale … same OS, installs fine but little things are causing problems. Ive never had to check for the mouse track pad to work before, wireless was seen but didnt work at all- same with bluetooth. That computer at that price HP had to use worse components that they normally use.

I use Kubuntu on my older Thinkpads and just by tweaking the settings you can reduce resource use and its worked fine for me.

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Hi Wade, :wave:

thanks for also recommending Neon.

Yes, I think you´re right. HP laptops can vary in some respects quite a bit.

The HP one my ex-neighbour purchased a few years ago is an HP_15-db0400ng which came with a price tag of 299 Euros.
Like I said, it was useless with WIN 10 but had no difficulties at all running Bodhi Linux.
Later I put Linux Lite 6.4 on it, which it handled just fine as well. :wink:

I would like to specify make and model of the new laptop but she´s either unable on not willing to disclose any of the details by phone.

Oh well, I´ll just have to wait for an occasion presenting itself to have a look at it. :wink:

Many greetings from Rosika :slightly_smiling_face:

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It would be nice if you are going to be supporting it you could have some input on the purchase too. Oh well. You’re a good friend to help.

She might have the best luck and best value with a used business class computer.

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@Rosika
I would recommend before you nuke whatever Windows is installed on the laptop is to try a VM with either Linux Mint or Ubuntu, to even see if the laptop will even handle Linux.

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It may be easier to do that with a live usb drive
and
I wonder if there will be any secure boot issues with this laptop?

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If W11 is involved, I am sure their will be!!!

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Hi again… , :wave:

… and thanks to all of you for your latest replies.

@pdecker

I´m trying to get in touch with my ex-neighbour´s daughter.
In fact it´s her who purchased the laptop for her mother. :wink:
She might know the details…

Thanks for the compliment. :blush:

@Daniel_Phillips :

That´s a possibility, of course. Thanks for mentioning it.

But I don´t want to waste my time with WIN, if it can be avoided.
So I may take up Neville´s suggestion

The thing is: I need to know the shortcut for the boot-menu for that particular machine.
I´d have to research it first and therefore I need to know the make and model.

@nevj :

I´ll report on that as soon as I have the info.

Thanks so much to all of you :heart:

Chers from Rosika :slightly_smiling_face:

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Hi all, :wave:

in the meantime I got the information about the laptop in question.
My ex-neigbour´s daughter provided it for me. :wink:

It´s the following:

MEDION® AKOYA® E3223, Intel® Celeron® N4120 Prozessor,
Windows 11 Home (S Modus), 33,8 cm (13,3’') FHD Display, 128 GB SSD, 4
GB RAM, Convertible

I found it here:

  • It seems to come with Windows 11 Home (S Modus) preinstalled.
  • Intel® Celeron® N4120 processor (1,10 GHz, bis zu 2,60 GHz, 4 kernels, 4 Threads and 4 MB Cache)
  • Intel® UHD Graphics
  • 128 GB M.2 SSD
  • 4 GB DDR4 RAM up to 2.666 MHz

So:

  • do you have any comments about this product (or a convertible in general)?
  • should I look out for something in particular when installing a Linux distro on it?
  • as for the SSD: is there anything special to take into account (as compared to HDD)?

Thanks a lot to all of you.

Cheers from Rosika :slightly_smiling_face:

P.S.:

Medion Akoya E3223 seems to have entries in linux-hardware.org:

https://linux-hardware.org/?view=computers&type=Convertible&vendor=Medion&model=E3223+(All)

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