Mint and Laptops

[MurphCID]

have you applied the power management tweak? that might be necessary

https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.c ... html#ID2.1

And I get this:

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murph@murpht480s:~$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

enp0s31f6  no wireless extensions.

wlp61s0   IEEE 802.11  ESSID:"Murphnet"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:5.785 GHz  Access Point: A4:97:33:71:42:78   
          Bit Rate=866.7 Mb/s   Tx-Power=22 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on
          Link Quality=70/70  Signal level=-40 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:52   Missed beacon:0

murph@murpht480s:~$ xed admin:///etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf

** (xed:3303): WARNING **: 11:33:20.139: The specified location is not mounted

** (xed:3303): CRITICAL **: 11:33:29.403: xed_conversion_error_info_bar_get_encoding: assertion 'menu' failed
murph@murpht480s:~$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

enp0s31f6  no wireless extensions.

wlp61s0   IEEE 802.11  ESSID:"Murphnet"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:5.785 GHz  Access Point: A4:97:33:71:42:78   
          Bit Rate=866.7 Mb/s   Tx-Power=22 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on
          Link Quality=70/70  Signal level=-40 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:58   Missed beacon:0

murph@murpht480s:~$ 

[antikythera]

I just do it with nano, it's more reliable but the 'complicated' way

[matm]

Mint 20.3 works very well on Dell XPS15:

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$ inxi -b
System:    Host: heron Kernel: 5.15.0-46-generic x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: Cinnamon 5.2.7 Distro: Linux Mint 20.3 Una 
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: Dell product: XPS 15 9500 v: N/A serial: <superuser/root required> 
           Mobo: Dell model: 0RHXRG v: A03 serial: <superuser/root required> UEFI: Dell v: 1.13.0 date: 02/10/2022 
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 78.6 Wh condition: 78.6/84.3 Wh (93%) 
CPU:       6-Core: Intel Core i7-10750H type: MT MCP speed: 800 MHz min/max: 800/5000 MHz 
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel UHD Graphics driver: i915 v: kernel 
           Device-2: NVIDIA driver: nvidia v: 470.141.03 
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.13 driver: modesetting,nvidia unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa 
           resolution: 1920x1200~60Hz, 1920x1200~60Hz, 1920x1080~60Hz 
           OpenGL: renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti/PCIe/SSE2 v: 4.6.0 NVIDIA 470.141.03 
Network:   Device-1: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 driver: iwlwifi 
           Device-2: Realtek RTL8153 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter type: USB driver: r8152 

[MurphCID]

I just do it with nano, it's more reliable but the 'complicated' way

I like Nano myself, but I did not want to mess things up so I followed the directions (for once).

[MurphCID]

Why is it that Mint just works so well on laptops? The Gold Standard.

[MurphCID]

Can you really run Debian on a laptop and not have firmware issues? Also would plain jane Debian (KDE NOT Gnome) work well?

[antikythera]

Can you really run Debian on a laptop and not have firmware issues? Also would plain jane Debian (KDE NOT Gnome) work well?

I guess you could with the non-free ISO to get you a fighting chance of a network connection to continue the install. GNOME Debian is the main one, even KDE from them wants to drag in GNOME packages. You'd probably want to enable backports for your HP and the other fairly new laptops you have. I'd certainly need to use backports with mine.

[MurphCID]

Can you really run Debian on a laptop and not have firmware issues? Also would plain jane Debian (KDE NOT Gnome) work well?

I guess you could with the non-free ISO to get you a fighting chance of a network connection to continue the install. GNOME Debian is the main one, even KDE from them wants to drag in GNOME packages. You'd probably want to enable backports for your HP and the other fairly new laptops you have. I'd certainly need to use backports with mine.

No Debian would only go on the T480s. The others run Mint 21 or LMDE5.

[majpooper]

Can you really run Debian on a laptop and not have firmware issues? Also would plain jane Debian (KDE NOT Gnome) work well?

I guess you could with the non-free ISO to get you a fighting chance of a network connection to continue the install. GNOME Debian is the main one, even KDE from them wants to drag in GNOME packages. You'd probably want to enable backports for your HP and the other fairly new laptops you have. I'd certainly need to use backports with mine.

I am a little out of my depth here but I have tested Debian quite a bit on various laptops but mostly Lenovo and have had mixed results concerning firmware issues. For full disclosure most of my testing has been with Debian netinstl testing - not stable. Interestingly Debian advises to install stable netinstl and then upgrade to testing . . . . I guess that is a good idea but I never do it that way and I am not sure why that is recommended. I have installed both the free and non-free (firmware .iso versions). Personally I like the free version and if I need to install some missing firmware I install that as needed using a firmware .deb package ( I have accumulated and saved several of these packages and keep them on hand but seldom need them). As far as backports are concerned I am not sure exactly how they relate to firmware unless they are needed to upgrade to new firmware package. I never use backports because I am on testing and my understanding is

packages in the stable-backports suite are taken from Debian testing

at least that is what the Debian WiKi says.
I do edit

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/etc/apt/sources.list

to add non-free and contrib

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deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bookworm main non-free contrib
 6 deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bookworm main non-free contrib
 7
 8 deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free
 9 deb-src http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free

But as a hack I may be missing something which would be par for the course.

[MurphCID]

Looks good to me. BTW the Darter Pro has a constant and annoying issue with USB-C/Thunderbolt, if I have booted it, and then insert the external drive it does not see the drive. If I reboot with the drive still in the laptop is sees the drive. It only happens on this particular laptop which is a Darp7 (second gen Darter) from System 76. It did not have this issue under Mint 20.3. I might have to either roll back to 20.3 or re-install POP!_OS on this particular laptop.

[MurphCID]

Now the Darter Pro (#2) will not see any USB-C device no matter how many reboots. This is annoying. It is the only one that has that issue. I might put Mint 20.3 back on it today, or POP!_OS depending on my mood.

[John_B]

"A few months ago, [Matt] realized he needed another battery for his Thinkpad X230T. The original battery would barely last 10 minutes, and he wanted a battery that would last an entire plane flight. When his new battery arrived, he installed it only to find a disturbing message displayed during startup: “The system does not support batteries that are not genuine Lenovo-made or authorized.” The battery was chipped, and now [Matt] had to figure out a way around this."

Feb. 11, 2016
Unlocking Thinkpad Batteries | Hackaday
https://hackaday.com/2016/02/11/unlocki ... batteries/

[Lady Fitzgerald]

"A few months ago, [Matt] realized he needed another battery for his Thinkpad X230T. The original battery would barely last 10 minutes, and he wanted a battery that would last an entire plane flight. When his new battery arrived, he installed it only to find a disturbing message displayed during startup: “The system does not support batteries that are not genuine Lenovo-made or authorized.” The battery was chipped, and now [Matt] had to figure out a way around this."

Feb. 11, 2016
Unlocking Thinkpad Batteries | Hackaday
https://hackaday.com/2016/02/11/unlocki ... batteries/

Big deal. That doesn't tell how to do it. Lenovo's still on my Specialized High Intensity Training list.

[John_B]

"A few months ago, [Matt] realized he needed another battery for his Thinkpad X230T. The original battery would barely last 10 minutes, and he wanted a battery that would last an entire plane flight. When his new battery arrived, he installed it only to find a disturbing message displayed during startup: “The system does not support batteries that are not genuine Lenovo-made or authorized.” The battery was chipped, and now [Matt] had to figure out a way around this."

Feb. 11, 2016
Unlocking Thinkpad Batteries | Hackaday
https://hackaday.com/2016/02/11/unlocki ... batteries/

Big deal. That doesn't tell how to do it. Lenovo's still on my Specialized High Intensity Training list.

Perhaps others who have such machines may get more out of the article,

[heavy metal]

Linux Mint 20.3 Cinnamon x64-bits on Panasonic ToughBook CF-C1 | Dell Latitude E6410 | HP Elite Book 8540P.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

"A few months ago, [Matt] realized he needed another battery for his Thinkpad X230T. The original battery would barely last 10 minutes, and he wanted a battery that would last an entire plane flight. When his new battery arrived, he installed it only to find a disturbing message displayed during startup: “The system does not support batteries that are not genuine Lenovo-made or authorized.” The battery was chipped, and now [Matt] had to figure out a way around this."

Feb. 11, 2016
Unlocking Thinkpad Batteries | Hackaday
https://hackaday.com/2016/02/11/unlocki ... batteries/

Big deal. That doesn't tell how to do it. Lenovo's still on my Specialized High Intensity Training list.

Perhaps others who have such machines may get more out of the article,

How?

[John_B]

Big deal. That doesn't tell how to do it. Lenovo's still on my Specialized High Intensity Training list.

Perhaps others who have such machines may get more out of the article,

How?

By reading through it and its included links.

[AndyMH]

No problems here with a T430 and third party batteries.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Perhaps others who have such machines may get more out of the article,

How?

By reading through it and its included links.

I missed the links. When I did try to read through the links, all of it went completely over my head except for this disclaimer near the end:

"do not attempt EC firmware modification at home unless you understand what you are doing. If something goes wrong with an EC update, there is a high likelihood of bricking your laptop, the only recourse being connecting to the EC via JTAG. I will not be held responsible for this. You should also understand that poor quality lithium ion cells can cause fires, as has been seen in the recent spate of hoverboard fires. I will also not be held responsible for this."

There is also the little matter of not having the test equipment needed and knowing how to use it.

Methinks I'll pass and Lenovo will remain on my Specialized High Intensity Training list.

[John_B]

How?

By reading through it and its included links.

I missed the links. When I did try to read through the links, all of it went completely over my head except for this disclaimer near the end:

"do not attempt EC firmware modification at home unless you understand what you are doing. If something goes wrong with an EC update, there is a high likelihood of bricking your laptop, the only recourse being connecting to the EC via JTAG. I will not be held responsible for this. You should also understand that poor quality lithium ion cells can cause fires, as has been seen in the recent spate of hoverboard fires. I will also not be held responsible for this."

There is also the little matter of not having the test equipment needed and knowing how to use it.

Methinks I'll pass and Lenovo will remain on my Specialized High Intensity Training list.

I concur with your essential approach; conduct pre-purchase research to avoid such arbitrary restrictions on consumer choice and budgets. In particular, once such an affected notebook and its proper batteries reach EOL, what then? Scrap an otherwise useful laptop? Nay.

Being an autodidact and a skeptic, I'll never invest in bait & switch hardware. There are plenty of older, user serviceable notebooks around (a service guide is still available for the one in my signature) that meet my modest needs and whose Linux support is mature.