Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

phuturism · 2020-11-25 01:55:08

cloverskull wrote:

I have a low grade fever and can’t taste or smell anything, but beyond that feel pretty much fine. Thanks everyone for all the support.
My new laptop arrives tomorrow! I’ll install BL on it. Any gotchas for a fresh install? I have used primarily arch for the past couple of years on my personal machines, but am ready to migrate back to Bunsen.

Great to hear you are doing OK so far.

Some of us had problems on install as our wifi routers would not recognise IPv6 requests and the install would hang at the network connection stage. If you experience this, you can disable IPv6 pre-install - solution here. https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic.php?id=6640

Last edited by phuturism (2020-11-25 01:55:51)

cloverskull · 2020-11-25 09:32:09

Thanks! We’ll see tomorrow how that goes. Good advice. Cheers.

cloverskull · 2020-11-26 11:45:10

Welp, looks like Debian (and thus, BunsenLabs) is a no-go for now unless I can find a wired ethernet port to plug into. This AirBNB has no such thing so I'm stuck.

For the record,

lspci -v

shows the following (in Arch, where my wireless card works):

00:14.3 Network controller: Intel Corporation Wireless-AC 9462
        Subsystem: Intel Corporation Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz
        Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16, IOMMU group 6
        Memory at ea238000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]
        Capabilities: <access denied>
        Kernel driver in use: iwlwifi
        Kernel modules: iwlwifi

Debian netinstall doesn't seem to play nice with my wireless card, nor does BunsenLabs. Pity. hmm

ohnonot · 2020-11-27 20:47:20

If you have a secondary device, it is possible to download the required packages and install them one by one with dpkg - probably going down dependencies, and starting with installing the last dependency. it's tedious but not really difficult.

cloverskull · 2020-11-27 22:58:16

It needs a newer kernel. This darn computer is too new for stable Debian. Alas...

smile

glittersloth · 2020-11-28 04:55:32

^ Not surprising. Debian Stable only works out-of-the-box on hardware from the Thatcher era. You'll need something bleeding edge for a kernel that works with that particular wireless chipset, like Arch(Bang) or Fedora, or maybe a "hardware enablement" point release of Ubuntu LTS if you want something longer term. I guess it'll depend on what iso sticks you have on hand since you can't download.

unklar · 2020-11-28 09:17:58

cloverskull wrote:

It needs a newer kernel. This darn computer is too new for stable Debian. Alas...

Where is the problem big_smile
for example:

mkdir -p ~/Downloads/kernels/
cd ~/Downloads/kernels/
wget https://packages.siduction.org/extra/pool/main/l/linux-siduction/linux-headers-5.9.11-towo.1-siduction-amd64_5.9-11_amd64.deb
wget https://packages.siduction.org/extra/pool/main/l/linux-siduction/linux-image-5.9.11-towo.1-siduction-amd64_5.9-11_amd64.deb

sudo apt install ./linux-image-5.9.11-towo.1-siduction-amd64_5.9-11_amd64.deb

or

sudo dpkg -i *.deb

or, if it should be backport, the collection

apt-cache search linux-image

to remove everything again:

sudo apt remove linux-headers-5.9.11-towo.1-siduction-amd64 linux-image-5.9.11-towo.1-siduction-amd64

Last edited by unklar (2020-11-28 09:19:08)

rbh · 2020-11-28 09:51:48

Or why not use precompiled licorice kernel:
https://liquorix.net

Last edited by rbh (2020-11-28 09:52:18)

cloverskull · 2020-11-28 22:33:10

I can't even get that far. smile Can't boot into BL's live session because the GPU is too new. Can't connect to wifi from CLI because can't use wifi card. Can't use bluetooth for tethering, same issue. Also can't use ethernet.

So getting to a point where I can build a new kernel is basically impossible. I have to _start_ from a newer kernel in the first place.

oh well. Thanks for the help anyway guys.

rbh · 2020-11-29 00:57:12

So, did you buy a new computer you can not use with your favorite dist?

Life is harsh... Still suffering from corona?

Last edited by rbh (2020-11-29 00:57:31)

johnraff · 2020-11-29 04:07:31

If Debian Sid has a new enough kernel, then it should be possible to install most of the BunsenLabs packages there - they are mostly scripts and config. There'll certainly be some tweaking needed, but something very close to BL should be doable.

ohnonot · 2020-12-04 19:56:30

Hey cloverskull, how are you doing?
Meaning the sickness, the computer stuff is sorted out I presume?

cloverskull · 2020-12-05 09:34:13

Thanks for checking in. smile This computer doesn’t play nicely with linux, sadly. No matter the distro, there are a handful of issues...I think it’s just too new. The mic and audio issues I was running into, even on fresh kernels, were basically insurmountable.

So...it’s a Windows 10 laptop now. Thanks to WSL2, it’s not the absolute worst thing in the world. Alas...

As for my health, I’m dealing ok. Quarantining for now, consistently with a low grade fever. The symptoms get pretty gnarly at night. It’s like some real crappy allergies and I keep my asthma rescue inhalers nearby. Thus far I haven’t had to make any emergency trips to the doctor, so hopefully I’ll be on the mend soon.

That said, I haven’t yet felt like I’ve gotten any better, per se. Each day is kind of a crap shoot. We’ll see how it goes.

I still need a linux laptop for my RedHat cert exams, since I know the Lenovo won’t work out. Suggestions appreciated smile

glittersloth · 2020-12-05 12:02:01

^ That's strange. Lenovo sell selected ThinkPads with Fedora as an option, and the current X1C is one of those. I would have assumed that everything worked with a current kernel.

Sorry to hear about your symptoms not getting any better. Were you prescribed any antibiotics? Hydrate and sleep lots.

ohnonot · 2020-12-06 08:51:07

cloverskull wrote:

This computer doesn’t play nicely with linux, sadly. No matter the distro, there are a handful of issues...I think it’s just too new.

I thought this was a given when we gave our advice. And I, too, thought it would be better on a thinkpad. Even with ArchLinux? It has a page on the wiki which seems to mention Audio issues, too.

So...it’s a Windows 10 laptop now. Thanks to WSL2, it’s not the absolute worst thing in the world. Alas...

You can't be serious...

As for my health, I’m dealing ok. Quarantining for now, consistently with a low grade fever. The symptoms get pretty gnarly at night. It’s like some real crappy allergies and I keep my asthma rescue inhalers nearby. Thus far I haven’t had to make any emergency trips to the doctor, so hopefully I’ll be on the mend soon.
That said, I haven’t yet felt like I’ve gotten any better, per se. Each day is kind of a crap shoot. We’ll see how it goes.

Thanks for reporting back.
It's clearly more than a flu, but you have excellent chances of getting over it, even with asthma!
The news is always over-reporting on the negative side, remember that.

cloverskull · 2020-12-06 19:13:49

It's a Windows 10 laptop temporarily. With linux (whether it be Arch, Debian Sid, Ubuntu 20.10, Void, anything else I've tried) I have neverending problems with audio and microphone which I need right now to virtually spend time with my family since we'll be apart for the holidays.

Additionally, in Windows, even while hammering the CPU, I have gotten consistently over 5hr per charge on the battery. In linux, even with every possible optimization I could figure out, I never got over 2 hours. It's worth mentioning that there doesn't seem to be a current way in any of the linuxes I've tried configuring to accurately make the OS know whether or not the charger is plugged in.

WSL2 is thus far quite a bit of fun to play with. I have Ubuntu, Debian, Kali, and Fedora all basically containerized but running at very near bare metal speeds, so all is not lost smile

Thanks again!

DeepDayze · 2020-12-06 20:26:14

Maybe when Beryllium comes out it should have better OOTB support for the new GPU and hardware in your Lenovo.

glittersloth · 2021-01-08 11:51:23

Been a while. You holding up okay, cloverskull?

#26 2020-11-25 01:55:08

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#27 2020-11-25 09:32:09

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#28 2020-11-26 11:45:10

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#29 2020-11-27 20:47:20

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#30 2020-11-27 22:58:16

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#31 2020-11-28 04:55:32

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#32 2020-11-28 09:17:58

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#33 2020-11-28 09:51:48

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#34 2020-11-28 22:33:10

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#35 2020-11-29 00:57:12

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#36 2020-11-29 04:07:31

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#37 2020-12-04 19:56:30

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#38 2020-12-05 09:34:13

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#39 2020-12-05 12:02:01

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#40 2020-12-06 08:51:07

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#41 2020-12-06 19:13:49

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#42 2020-12-06 20:26:14

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

#43 2021-01-08 11:51:23

Re: Linux workhorse laptop - New Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 8?

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