Brainstorming, part deux

[DoYouKubuntu]

Since my original thread went wildly off topic and got moved, and I still need input/ideas, let's try again.

System76 is working on building my new 17.3" Gazelle laptop right now. Here's a reminder of its specs, one of which--CoreBoot--made GG drool, but since I don't even know what that is, I don't know why!

Bottom line: it will arrive with Ubuntu 20.04LTS pre-installed. Everything will be on one partition. It will have a 1TB NVMe drive.

Given my COPIOUSLY DESCRIBED problems with the original, the 'lemon' as we're calling it, one of the excellent suggestions I got was to do everything one change at a time, documenting each change, so if something goes wrong I'll know which step caused it. With that in mind, but also keeping in mind that I do *not* like GNOME (or whatever U uses these days), I want to install K the moment I get it. Okay, a few moments after I get it--and verify that everything, like Wi-Fi, works properly.

Now, those of you who followed my year-long saga especially, what would you suggest? I'm using Pop on this identical Gazelle loaner and feel completely lost. I want K back ASAP.

To reiterate my preferred partitioning scheme, I want separate /, /home, /data, and [swap] partitions.

Please help me map out a game plan before the replacement arrives. If you did not follow my saga and/or have forgotten anything (and, like me, are too lazy to look it up! ), feel free to ask any questions about what happened with it.

[oshunluvr]

There are some unanswerable questions as to the way things will be when it's delivered, like the partitioning scheme.
Also, are you expected to keep the original install for warranty service?

Assuming it's all one partition using a swap file, there's several options as I see it:

1. Leave it all as is and install kubuntu-desktop onto your Ubuntu install, then remove ubuntu-desktop. Done.
2. Re-partition by shrinking the single partition, add your desired partitions, and mount them.
3. Wipe the whole thing, partition as you like, and do a fresh Kubuntu install.
4. Move into the 21st century and install using BTRFS instead of the antiquated EXT4 file system. Then you will only need a single partition and your home and data can be in separate subvolumes.

1 & 2 can be combined or only do one of them, whether or not you need to keep Ubuntu as-is for warranty is yet unanswered.
3 is the easiest IMO.
4 is the most flexible and useful.

[DoYouKubuntu]

There are some unanswerable questions as to the way things will be when it's delivered, like the partitioning scheme.
Also, are you expected to keep the original install for warranty service?

No, not at all. Thank goodness, or I wouldn't be getting a replacement right now!

Assuming it's all one partition using a swap file, there's several options as I see it:

1. Leave it all as is and install kubuntu-desktop onto your Ubuntu install, then remove ubuntu-desktop. Done.
2. Re-partition by shrinking the single partition, add your desired partitions, and mount them.
3. Wipe the whole thing, partition as you like, and do a fresh Kubuntu install.
4. Move into the 21st century and install using BTRFS instead of the antiquated EXT4 file system. Then you will only need a single partition and your home and data can be in separate subvolumes.

1 & 2 can be combined or only do one of them, whether or not you need to keep Ubuntu as-is for warranty is yet unanswered.
3 is the easiest IMO.
4 is the most flexible and useful.

Yes, #3 is what I've always done. Almost always. At one point with the lemon, I tried #1 instead--and it catastrophically failed. I never even got to the point of removing ubuntu-desktop! From the point I installed kubuntu-desktop and rebooted, it was a disaster.

I'm thinking about a combination of #1 and #2. Although #3 is what I'm most used to, it also removes everything, like drivers, S76 would've installed for the specific hardware the laptop has.

As for #4....sorry, but that's not going to happen. I'm comfortable with ext4, and having previously asked for *compelling* reasons to dump it, but not getting anything convincing, I'm sticking with it!

[Snowhog]

As to "...like drivers, S76 would've installed for the specific hardware the laptop has.". It would be a very good idea, IMO, to ask S76 what those specific drivers are, and are they available for download? Before I were to remove Ubuntu, I'd want to know the answer to that.

[DoYouKubuntu]

As to "...like drivers, S76 would've installed for the specific hardware the laptop has.". It would be a very good idea, IMO, to ask S76 what those specific drivers are, and are they available for download? Before I were to remove Ubuntu, I'd want to know the answer to that.

I don't expect you, or ANYONE, to remember this, SH, but at one point I did do all that. I mean I found out which drivers they used, downloaded and installed them. And--*IF* I'm remembering this correctly--you know what that left me with? A BLANK screen. As in a completely unusable computer. Installing S76's own drivers seemed like such a no-brainer, I had no reason at all to think it would lead to problems, but it did!

With all things considered, I think I'd really like to try Guest's #1 and #2. That way I retain all the S76 drivers, but I also get K plus the partitions I want. Thoughts?

[claydoh]

As to "...like drivers, S76 would've installed for the specific hardware the laptop has.". It would be a very good idea, IMO, to ask S76 what those specific drivers are, and are they available for download? Before I were to remove Ubuntu, I'd want to know the answer to that.

System76 use a PPA for firmware/drivers/etc, so it can be used no matter which Ubuntu variant one installs, or if one needs to reinstall
https://support.system76.com/articles/system76-driver/

PopOS has this enabled by default iirc

So install Kubuntu, replacing the existing OS, formatting as you like, and set up the PPA, edit the apt preferences, etc to get the good drivers.

Note the extra step if the laptop will have an Nvidia GPU.

[DoYouKubuntu]

System76 use a PPA for firmware/drivers/etc, so it can be used no matter which Ubuntu variant one installs, or if one needs to reinstall
https://support.system76.com/articles/system76-driver/

PopOS has this enabled by default iirc

So install Kubuntu, replacing the existing OS, formatting as you like, and set up the PPA, edit the apt preferences, etc to get the good drivers.

Thanks claydoh. I'm pretty sure you're the one who pointed me to their drivers last time around, too! So you think I should wipe the drive, partition and format as I like, and install K fresh on a clean drive? Should I use the same flash drive I used to install K on the lemon?

Note the extra step if the laptop will have an Nvidia GPU.

Yes, it will come with NVIDIA.

[claydoh]

As for #4....sorry, but that's not going to happen. I'm comfortable with ext4, and having previously asked for *compelling* reasons to dump it, but not getting anything convincing, I'm sticking with it!

For someone who is making a very large number of tweaks and customizations, and trying many different things to get that look you want, btrfs for your / and $HOME would be a no-brainer. Taking a snapshot before tinkering literally takes a second, or two. Restoring is quick as a reboot.

Partitoning is only very slightly different. You still need an EFI partition, then you have the btrfs (which will have volumes for root and home), then you have your ext4 data partition at the end (and a swap file/ partition, if desired), if you don't use a second drive.

Do I recall you saying you have a spare NVME drive, one that was replaced under warranty, or something? Your Gazelle has TWO NVME drive slots Something to consider, down the road.

[DoYouKubuntu]

For someone who is making a very large number of tweaks and customizations, and trying many different things to get that look you want, btrfs for your / and $HOME would be a no-brainer. Taking a snapshot before tinkering literally takes a second, or two. Restoring is quick as a reboot.

Partitoning is only very slightly different. You still need an EFI partition, then you have the btrfs (which will have volumes for root and home), then you have your ext4 data partition at the end (and a swap file/ partition, if desired), if you don't use a second drive.

What you're saying certainly makes sense, and--at another time in my life--I probably would've done it. But after what I've gone through this past year, with problems I never even IMAGINED having [as a Linux user], I'm just not too keen on rocking the boat right now. By sticking with what's familiar, I figure I'm at least reducing my chances for problems. (Not that that worked with the lemon.)

Do I recall you saying you have a spare NVME drive, one that was replaced under warranty, or something? Your Gazelle has TWO NVME drive slots Something to consider, down the road.

Oh, shoot, I was hoping no one would bring that up yet!! Yes, I have the 500GB drive that was the lemon's original drive. Since we concluded that the laptop's problems must be hardware-related, we replaced its hard drive--and when we did that, I asked them to send me a 1TB drive instead, so that's what I installed; the 500GB drive is sitting on my desk.

The new laptop will arrive with a 1TB drive. We now know that the 500GB drive was NOT the source of the lemon's problems. I was going to wait until the new one was well and truly running like it should before even posting about adding the other drive. But now that you've brought it up.... What do you think? Should I throw caution to the wind, stick it in the new laptop, then wipe/partition/install as I like? Ugh....I don't know about that... I think I'd rather wait.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Wow!! I was *not* expecting this, but I got a notification from UPS saying I have a delivery from S76 TOMORROW!! I thought it would be at least a week or two. It says between 12:00 and 4:00 tomorrow, so we'll see.

Can we get our collective gray cells working to help me decide on a plan? This minute, I'm thinking of using claydoh's suggestion, i.e., do what I always do--wipe the drive, partition and format as I want, and install K fresh and clean. Then add the S76 repository, install appropriate drivers, etc. Unless someone says otherwise, I intend to use the 20.04LTS I burned on a thumb drive and used for all [of the many] installations of K on the lemon. But I'm also still considering Guest's ideas, specifically #1 and #2 in his list.

Opinions gratefully accepted, as always.

[jglen490]

In my opinion, oshunluvr's option #3 provides the best solution to getting you to a proper Kubuntu. But, I would go one step further.

When I got my brand new HP laptop from my family last Christmas, I set it up and the warranty, also, using the Windows install on the existing NVME drive that came on it. I then immediately ordered a new NVME drive, replaced that one for the original drive and immediately installed Kubuntu 20.04. The original drive complete with Windows is sitting in the HP's box in a closet and will remain there until sometime after the warranty on the HP expires.

My HP with Kubuntu 20.04 (now 20.04.3) runs just fine, no anomalies, no errors, and boots happily every morning.

[DoYouKubuntu]

In my opinion, oshunluvr's option #3 provides the best solution to getting you to a proper Kubuntu. But, I would go one step further.

When I got my brand new HP laptop from my family last Christmas, I set it up and the warranty, also, using the Windows install on the existing NVME drive that came on it. I then immediately ordered a new NVME drive, replaced that one for the original drive and immediately installed Kubuntu 20.04. The original drive complete with Windows is sitting in the HP's box in a closet and will remain there until sometime after the warranty on the HP expires.

Yes, but--thankfully--dealing with a company that ONLY sells Linux computers, I don't need to worry about that.

And even when I did, back when I routinely paid the 'micro$oft tax' on a new computer, I'd wipe its drive IMMEDIATELY without ever booting it up. I didn't even want to see that miserable so-called OS. One exception was when I wanted to test running Roller Coaster Tycoon on a native window$ system. I ran it, noted the awful, choppy, jumpy graphics and slow game play, then wiped the drive, installed K, and eventually installed RCT and played it. It ran smooth as Silk soy milk!! No choppiness, fast as can be.

One thing I'm confused about--when you buy a computer pre-installed with window$, don't they provide a recovery method? IOW, couldn't you wipe the original drive, then restore it back to its shipping state if you needed to use its warranty? (Assuming the drive hadn't died, of course.)

My HP with Kubuntu 20.04 (now 20.04.3) runs just fine, no anomalies, no errors, and boots happily every morning.

Yeah, prior to S76 I always bought HP computers, and that was my experience, too.

I got an update: my order is out for delivery!

[jlittle]

One thing I'm confused about--when you buy a computer pre-installed with window$, don't they provide a recovery method? IOW, couldn't you wipe the original drive, then restore it back to its shipping state if you needed to use its warranty?

In my somewhat limited experience, on OEM Windows there's an extra recovery partition, or extra partitions, that can be used for a factory reset. If you wipe the drive, you wipe the recovery partitions. This practice has the downsides that the partitions sit there taking up a lot of space, and if they're used Windows then has to update itself from the original install to make itself current, a lengthy and messy process. IMO the practice only suits recovery during the hardware warranty period. My work laptop was like this, a Lenovo, and it's about four years old.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Hold on to your hats boys!! (And any other girls who happen to be around here.) It came!! Actually...

TWO System76 laptops came! I told the UPS guy I was expecting *a* laptop, not two. He said I could refuse one, but I said no. I wanted to take my time sorting out which is which. I'm guessing that the second box has my old laptop in it. Based on the tracking number S76 had given me, I opened the box I thought was the new one. And it was!! So I fired it up. And....

It was supposed to arrive with Ubuntu 20.04LTS on it. Guess what? It's running Pop. And it's sitting on an "install Pop" screen, which I don't want to proceed with.

All things considered, I believe I'm going to attempt to boot and install from the flash drive containing K 20.04. I still have this loaner in case I royally screw that up! Stay tuned...

ETA: The new laptop is a good inch wider than the original(s). I mean both outside and its screen. Yet its description says it's 17.3" like the originals.

Okay, rethinking what to do given what I got. System76 has a page about installing other environments, including K. I think I'm going to try that and see how it works out. If I can't partition the drive as I like, then I'll move on to plan B.

[DoYouKubuntu]

So I got the new one up and running; even though I can't imagine not using K, I have to say that its Pop looks really nice. It has some interesting things/features I never saw on the loaner. But....guess what?

Would ANYONE be surprised if I said there's a problem?

And I didn't do it!! The 1TB drive it was supposed to have, turned out to be a 500GB drive. I know exactly how/why this happened, and I've already contacted S76. When I ordered the original (the lemon) I only had a 500GB drive put in. During our very loooooooong saga of repairing/troubleshooting the lemon, I got and installed a 1TB drive as a replacement. I PAID for that upgrade. During the planning stages of getting the replacement, I specifically said 'be SURE the updated configuration is used, not the original, in other words, make sure it has a 1TB drive not 500GB like the original order.' Oh well. I'm now waiting to see what they're going to do next.

I have to say this laptop flies! It's beautiful, too, and easily an inch wider than the other two. I don't have a tape measure handy, but it's definitely bigger. I took pics.

Right now, since there's nothing to lose, I'm following the instructions I found on S76 to "apt install kde-standard" (I've already enabled root's password). Oh, it's done! I'll see what K looks like on it....

ETA: Wow! K looks fantastic! And it's just as blazing fast as I've ever seen. I haven't even begun customizing it yet--and since I won't be keeping this hard drive, there's no point spending time doing that. But the installation went flawlessly and now I have K + S76 drivers, etc., so it's all [basically] good!