New Laptop running Mint.

[MurphCID]

Well I just got the Spouse-Unit a new HP AMD Ryzen 7 laptop. She got tired of shoveling coal in her older laptop, so I switched them out (I got busted, but that is another story). So I took her old laptop and installed Mint 19.1 on it tonight. Here is what she had, and I now have:

Operating System • Windows 10 Home(1) NOT ANY MORE!!!
Processor • 7th Generation AMD FX™ 9800P APU(2a)
• Quad-Core
Processor Speed • 2.7GHz up to 3.6GHz(7)
Processor Cache • 2MB Cache
Memory • 8 GB DDR4 SDRAM (1 DIMM)
Accessible memory
slots
• Memory slot not user accessible
Video Graphics • AMD Radeon™ R7 graphics(14)
Hard Drive • 1TB 7200RPM Serial ATA hard drive(4b)
Finish and Features • HP finish in dark ash silver
• Front-facing HP Wide Vision HD Webcam with integrated dual
array digital microphones(9)
Display • 15.6-inch diagonal Full HD(39) IPS UWVA WLED-backlit
multitouch-enabled edge-to-edge glass (1920 x 1080)
Wireless Option • 2x2 802.11ac WLAN(19) and Bluetooth®(26)
Digital Media • Multi-Format Digital Media Card Reader
Audio • Bang & Olufsen with dual speakers
Keyboard • Full-size island-style backlit keyboard with numeric keypad
Pointing Device • HP Imagepad with multi-touch gesture support
External Notebook
Ports
• 1 USB 3.0 Type-C™(42)
• 2 USB 3.0 Type-A (1 HP USB Boost)
• 1 HDMI
• 1 Headphone-out/microphone-in combo jack
Dimensions • Unpackaged: 0.74 in (H) x 14.96 in (W) x 9.84 in (D)
• Packaged: 2.72 in (H) x 21.73 in (W) x 12 in (D)
Weight • Unpackaged: 4.79 lb(76)
• Packaged: 7.54 lb
Security • Kensington MicroSaver® lock slot
• Power-on password
• Accepts 3rd party security lock devices
Power • 45W AC adapter
• 4-cell 55.67 WHr Li-ion prismatic battery

In two paychecks, I am going to install a 1 tb SSD (probably an MX-500), in the system. In the mean time I will be using this with the built in 7200 rpm drive. So far Mint seems to have no issues with the Radeon R7. I am now doing the configuration, and software updates. So far, so good.

[MurphCID]

So far so good. The mechanical HD is much slower than an SSD, so that will be the first upgrade. Wifi "feels" much snappier than under Windows for some reason. Had a couple of tweaking issues, especially with screen brightness, but I think that is fixed. I seem to have no issues with the Radeon R7 driver, and the driver manager says no drivers needed. So far Power usage sucks, so I am adding TLP. Even with TLP power usage sucks, so I might need to try and get a new battery on this thing. I have cranked down the brightness to under 50% since it is so bright. I think the boot times will be fixed with the SSD.

[Pierre]

that's an fairly decent spec'd machine - - so it's surprising that win-10 was so bad.

but - installing an LinuxMint Cinnamon system - would be the smarter move.
( how did you get caught out ? )
surely the machine is not *that* different

[MurphCID]

Power on button was different, and it booted up 10x faster than her old one. Plus she says it is lighter than her old one. I never expected her to notice. Oh well busted. It ran great under Windows 7 but was just dog slow under Windows 10. Battery life is looks to be about 60% of that on my HP Spectre running linux mint 19.1.

The nice thing is she did not fuss too much. She actually likes the new laptop. This weekend I am going to purchase a 500gb SSD and try and install it.

[MurphCID]

Ok, got the new SSD (Crucial MX500 500gb) and after much cussing and a dropped screw (which landed on the dog, so she was freaking out while I was pawing through her fur to get the blasted screw), the ZIF cable was not a Zero Insertion Force, it was a "No way in heck am I coming out of this socket" cable. So I had to remove the battery to get the hard drive out since the battery blocked the ZIF. Once it was out, things went ok, till one of the rubber feet fell off the desk (again onto the dog, who by this time was completely traumatized since she thought she was getting a bath or something), re-assembled it, got a CMOS error, rebooted into Mint from the USB drive, and it has worked so far. Alright, now I am configuring things. Keep your fingers crossed.

Ok talk about small footprint! With 13 gb of music files, photos, etc I am only using 28 gb of space on the 500 gb ssd. Now I just wonder how it will run Civilization V? Oh snap, it found, installed, and is now printing from the HP Officejet printer, and I did not do anything, Mint found it, installed it, and it just works. MINT IS THE BEST!

I tried to reduce Swappiness and keep getting an error:
murph@murph-HP-ENVY-x360-m6-Convertible:~$ xed admin:///etc/sysctl.conf

** (xed:7071): WARNING **: 13:19:51.059: The specified location is not mounted

(xed:7071): Gdk-CRITICAL **: 13:19:51.063: gdk_window_get_window_type: assertion 'GDK_IS_WINDOW (window)' failed

I then tried this:


murph@murph-HP-ENVY-x360-m6-Convertible:~$ sudo xed etc/sysctl.conf
[sudo] password for murph:

(xed:6986): Gdk-CRITICAL **: 13:18:22.703: gdk_window_get_window_type: assertion 'GDK_IS_WINDOW (window)' failed

[lsemmens]

Moral of the story: let the dog outside first!

[MurphCID]

I will put the dog out next time, she loves to hide under my desk. I tried this using Nano, and it worked like a charm:

Well tried it again and got this:

murph@murph-HP-ENVY-x360-m6-Convertible:~$ sudo xed /etc/sysctl.conf
[sudo] password for murph:

(xed:2379): Gdk-CRITICAL **: 17:16:32.179: gdk_window_get_window_type: assertion 'GDK_IS_WINDOW (window)' failed

** (xed:2379): WARNING **: 17:17:20.301: Set document metadata failed: Setting attribute metadata::xed-position not supported
murph@murph-HP-ENVY-x360-m6-Convertible:~$

Using Nano, I had no issues. GO figure. I like Nano it reminds me of the old Wordstar program. With Nano I had swappiness=1 which is where I wanted it to go. It was not terrible to take down, and so I might replace the battery, and the wifi card with a faster Intel 9260 Wifi Card.

[MurphCID]

Latest update, the SSD switch went well, the system boots, and runs much faster. Battery life still sucks after adding TLP, but I might need a new battery, which HP does not make it easy to find the part number(s) but I did. The included charger (45 watts) DOES NOT charge the computer while I am playing Civilization V on it, not enough power delivery. The screen is really nice, and I have cut down the brightness some to save some battery life. I decided that I will not replace the wifi card since I am getting better wifi reception in Mint than in Windows!

On a side note the dog now hides under my desk whenever I pick up the laptop and turn it over. Since she is a Golden Retriever mix, she has a LOT of hair, and the screw was very small.

[cgs1025]

Golden Retriever and Mint = great combination!

[Portreve]

Well I just got the Spouse-Unit a new HP AMD Ryzen 7 laptop. She got tired of shoveling coal in her older laptop, so I switched them out (I got busted, but that is another story). So I took her old laptop and installed Mint 19.1 on it tonight. Here is what she had, and I now have:
<-- snip -->
In two paychecks, I am going to install a 1 tb SSD (probably an MX-500), in the system. In the mean time I will be using this with the built in 7200 rpm drive. So far Mint seems to have no issues with the Radeon R7. I am now doing the configuration, and software updates. So far, so good.

Recently I was talking with a friend of mine who was telling me places have started selling SSDs for a lot less recently. Now, mind you, I already have a 250GB Samsung 850 in my 2011 MBP, so I'm not personally looking for another unit, but I decided for the heck of it to look around. The prices really have dropped lately (though Sammy's SSDs are still not so cheap).

Tiger Direct: Crucial MX500 Internal SSD - 2.5-inch Form Factor, 1TB Capacity, SATA 6.0Gb/s, 560MB/s Read, 510MB/s Write, with 9.5mm Adapter

[Dot_mdb]

>>Golden Retriever and Mint = great combination!<<

I would add:

Golden Retriever and Mint and magnetic screwdriver = great combination!

Bill

[MurphCID]

>>Golden Retriever and Mint = great combination!<<

I would add:

Golden Retriever and Mint and magnetic screwdriver = great combination!

Bill

That is a true statement. She is the best dog I have ever owned, and unfortunately she is getting old.

So far the laptop is running well, the power brick at 45 watts just does not have enough power to charge it unless I really crank down the brightness. That is a laptop problem, not a Linux Mint problem. Mint is running flawlessly on this system, and the SSD has made a big, big difference in boot times.

[lsemmens]

Try installing Mint in the Retriever, she might get a new lease on life...................

[MurphCID]

Try installing Mint in the Retriever, she might get a new lease on life...................

I tried she took one look at the flash drive and ran......She had just returned from the vet, and I think she was a afraid where I might insert the flash drive....

[lsemmens]

[MurphCID]

I am really liking this new PC, it has a wonderful screen, and the SSD upgrade has really made a difference.

[smurphos]

murph@murph-HP-ENVY-x360-m6-Convertible:~$ xed admin:///etc/sysctl.conf

** (xed:7071): WARNING **: 13:19:51.059: The specified location is not mounted

(xed:7071): Gdk-CRITICAL **: 13:19:51.063: gdk_window_get_window_type: assertion 'GDK_IS_WINDOW (window)' failed

Just a note that those xed errors are harmless noise...as long as the file opens in a xed window it's fine.

BTW sudo xed is a bad idea (can bork up ownership of your dconf database), sudo nano as you discovered is fine and sudoedit (which defaults to nano in Mint) is the safest command line method of editing files not under your ownership.

[MurphCID]

murph@murph-HP-ENVY-x360-m6-Convertible:~$ xed admin:///etc/sysctl.conf

** (xed:7071): WARNING **: 13:19:51.059: The specified location is not mounted

(xed:7071): Gdk-CRITICAL **: 13:19:51.063: gdk_window_get_window_type: assertion 'GDK_IS_WINDOW (window)' failed

Just a note that those xed errors are harmless noise...as long as the file opens in a xed window it's fine.

BTW sudo xed is a bad idea (can bork up ownership of your dconf database), sudo nano as you discovered is fine and sudoedit (which defaults to nano in Mint) is the safest command line method of editing files not under your ownership.

Thank you. It did not work in XED for whatever reason, but worked great in Nano.

[MurphCID]

On my HP Spectre x360 and did sudo apt upgrade and WOW! upgraded everything, then sudo apt autoremove got rid of old kernels. I know this is old hat to many, but to me it was pretty darn interesting using terminal, and it was SO FAST! I feel like I have passed another milestone in my linux education.

[MurphCID]

QUESTION: Other than re-installing Windows, and then going to the HP site to update the BIOS, does anyone know how I can get the latest BIOS from HP for this machine and get it installed?