[kwlug-disc] MX Linux - is it good to install on a laptop

Thu Apr 15 19:48:46 EDT 2021

Your idea makes sense.

Ushe, this is what I settled for my distro-trialling laptop, which happens
to be a T420 too:-)
- T420 with Nvidia Optimus, 16G, upgraded CPU to i7-2670QM, a 256G mSATA
SSD and a 500G 2.5" SSD
- Win10Pro64 installed on the 500G SSD as the "primary" OS(100G partition)
- Mint 20.1 next on a 100G partition,
- The remaining 300Gig used to do bare-metal installs of whatever to play
with

I find bare-metal installs to be the best way to really put a distro
through it's paces.
I had some issues trying the Deepin distro in Virtualbox 6.1-ish and
justdecided to do bare-metal installs for trialling.

Weekly, I blow away something(the "whatever") that I no longer care for
using the program called GPARTED. I have done this dozens of times with
nary an issue, GRUB does not whine at me for doing so...yet.

On an aside, I use MX in a USB stick(Live with Persistence) for dealing
with issues on Windows and Linux installs.

Ushe, check this link for the T420 Hardware Maintenance Manual here:
https://support.lenovo.com/ca/en/manuals/um006438-hardware-maintenance-manual-thinkpad-t420-t420i
It is chock full of lovely details about that laptop you have, details like
the mSATA socket and all that.

Good luck in your journey, you will have a ton of fun playing around.

Thanks,

Ron S.

On Thu, Apr 15, 2021 at 5:16 PM Ushe T <ushetaf at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> Thank you all for your input.
>
>
>
> The following is a thought process I have reached based on your
> recommendations and suggestions so far.
>
> Let me know if it makes sense.
>
>
>
> The goal is to learn Linux and become better at using Linux on a daily
> basis. Based on the suggestions provided for a new user. I think I will
> start with Linux Mint.
>
> Which means installing Linux Mint on the Lenovo T420 laptop.
>
>
>
> At the same time, I am thinking of creating VM and installing MX Linux. As
> per my understanding MX Linux is solid and good distro with great tools.
>
>
>
> Regarding Arch. I am thinking that I may tackle Arch Linux using a VM at
> later stage after gaining some confidence using Linux Mint.
>
> I read that Arch Linux requires one to pay attention to documentation and
> the recommended usage tips throughout its usage.
>
> It seems to me that it may take much longer grasp and learn how Linux
> really works and understanding how all the components come together through
> Arch Linux.
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
> Ushe
>
>
>
>
>
> Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone
> *From: *CrankyOldBugger
> *Sent: *Thursday, April 15, 2021 11:56 AM
> *To: *KWLUG discussion
> *Reply To: *KWLUG discussion
> *Subject: *Re: [kwlug-disc] MX Linux - is it good to install on a laptop
>
> I started with Ubuntu, and I still use it today.  I've played with Mint,
> which was also good, but it had some hardware issues in my case, so I did
> some distro hopping for a while until I settled back with Ubuntu.  But to
> be fair, Mint is usually hardware-friendly.
>
> Fedora is also good, as mentioned by other people in this conversation.
> If you hope to work with Red Hat in a corporate environment later on, then
> Fedora is a good starting place.  Until recently CentOS would have filled
> that same role but it's a fading memory at this point.  You could keep an
> eye on the many forks that are popping up now, but they might turn out to
> be a shell game...
>
> I also agree that new users should avoid Arch or its derivatives.
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, 15 Apr 2021 at 11:32, Doug Moen <doug at moens.org> wrote:
>
>> Speaking as a long time Ubuntu user who has recently started using
>> Fedora, I would recommend an Ubuntu based distro for new users. Fedora
>> lives on the bleeding edge, which is good if you want to be using the
>> latest versions of everything all the time, but it's bad if you don't want
>> to be covered in bandaids from the papercuts. You have to learn how to
>> customize Fedora to get it up to the usability level of the Ubuntu default
>> install. I am specifically not happy with default, uncustomized Gnome
>> desktop running on top of Wayland. Ubuntu customizes Gnome to make it more
>> usable for Mac and Windows users, and defaults to X11 instead of Wayland
>> because Wayland is not ready for general use.
>>
>> Mint is a highly regarded derivative of Ubuntu that fixes some issues
>> that people have with Ubuntu. It is supposed to be better for beginners,
>> and fixes some ethical/malware concerns, eg concerning the Snap store. I
>> haven't tried Mint, but someone previously recommended it in this thread.
>> https://itsfoss.com/linux-mint-vs-ubuntu/
>>
>> On Thu, Apr 15, 2021, at 10:37 AM, Nickle, Brian wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> I am running Manjaro on my original Pinebook because it is the only
>> distro that has active support for this device.  I have run into update
>> issues that I have had to manually fix.  Manjero still requires you to read
>> the release notes before performing an update. As such I feel it is not
>> very good for new users not as a daily driver anyway.
>>
>>
>> My  recommendation would be to use ubuntu, debian or maybe fedora as a
>> new user.  Honestly I think ubuntu has the best mix of good user
>> documentation application repository for new users.   All this said I would
>> highly encourage anyone new to linux that wants to truly understand how it
>> works go through the install of arch in a vm building up the system really
>> gives you an understanding of how the parts work together.
>>
>> My 2 cents
>> Brian
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