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Thread: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

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    Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    I dreamed of a linux laptop that just worked. I got the latest gazelle professional. I was a fool.

    1. It does not hibernate. That's fine. I should have read the page more carefully. It should have been clear from the feature list explicitly mentioning suspend that I wouldn't be able to hibernate.

    2. If I plug a monitor in via HDMI, I get really high kworker cpu usage and the mouse is really really laggy.

    3. It often wakes from sleep with a black screen. I have a functioning mouse cursor, but I can't see the desktop. I resort to switching to a terminal(ctrl-alt-f1) and restarting the desktop manager. Losing everything I was working on and defeating the purpose of a sleep function.

    Is there another offering from system 76 not be plagued with linux issues like this?

    4. This is unrelated to linux: I got a matte display because I didn't like reflective glossy displays. For some reason the frame around the display is a glossy and reflective surface.
    Last edited by whatislinux; September 27th, 2012 at 04:57 AM.

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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(


  3. #3
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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    1. Hibernate is disabled by default due to it being inconsistent-some people have it working perfectly, others usually get failures for resuming from hibernate. I personally love hibernate, as I can swap the batteries out without shutting down, but I rarely do things that I can't save and then shut down to swap the battery. But, until I can get hibernate to cooperate with me, I'm leaving it disabled.
    Also, hibernate on Windows 7 is currently buggy as well. (Unrelated, but I just thought I'd bring it up.) Although it is reliable in bringing the desktop back up, it makes my computer slower than molasses, and I have to wait about a minute before it responds when I click stuff for about an hour. It's like the hard drive is spinning at 1200 RPM trying desperately to pull the processes off the drive and back into the RAM (which obviously can't be true, given that mine spins at 7200 RPM). Think about ice cream-sometimes, they freeze it so cold, you have to wait 20 minutes for it to thaw enough just to be able to put in the scooper. This is basically what it does to the drive, only for an hour, and it is still slightly slower after that until I reboot.
    2. Currently, System76 does not have any GPUs on their laptops, and Intel HD graphics are handled by the CPU, so the CPU gets the short end of the stick in this case.
    But, a laggy mouse is weird in any case-they don't use much processing power to begin with.
    3. Not waking from Suspend properly is something Ubuntu has always struggled in (in my experience when I installed it on my friends' laptops), like WiFi and GPU drivers.
    4. The frame around the display is basically unchangable unless you do it by taking it apart and reassembling it. When they meant display, they meant screen.
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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    I currently have a Lenovo T500 and a Lenovo W520 and both work with all function buttons, LCD brightness, etc.

    I have not tried hibernation as I either sleep or shutdown.

    I am in the market to replace my T500 and currently looking at the T530.

    I had a System76 Gazelle and it worked as well (with the System76 drivers installed), but I returned it due to issues with the battery life and the overly warm palm rest on the left hand side.

    My money would be getting a Lenovo, but take a look at the list posted above of certified laptops.

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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    Ubuntu is not the only Linux, you could try a distribution (such as Debian, Slackware, or CentOS) that is designed more for stability?

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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    Quote Originally Posted by cprofitt View Post
    I currently have a Lenovo T500 and a Lenovo W520 and both work with all function buttons, LCD brightness, etc.

    I have not tried hibernation as I either sleep or shutdown.

    I am in the market to replace my T500 and currently looking at the T530.

    I had a System76 Gazelle and it worked as well (with the System76 drivers installed), but I returned it due to issues with the battery life and the overly warm palm rest on the left hand side.

    My money would be getting a Lenovo, but take a look at the list posted above of certified laptops.
    +1

    @OP - For what it's worth, I just bought this one from Costco. Good specs, solid build, for not a lot of money. A good value IMO, considering the 90 day no questions asked return policy, the fact that Costco extends the computer warranty an additional year, and they offer free technical support through their concierage service.

    http://www.costco.com/Lenovo-G570-La...100007837.html
    Last edited by OrangeCrate; September 27th, 2012 at 11:26 PM.

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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    Quote Originally Posted by whatislinux View Post
    1. It does not hibernate. That's fine. I should have read the page more carefully. It should have been clear from the feature list explicitly mentioning suspend that I wouldn't be able to hibernate.
    Hibernate is disabled in Ubuntu. It's not something we really have any control over, but hibernate is a hackish solution to a problem that no longer really exists.

    Quote Originally Posted by whatislinux View Post
    2. If I plug a monitor in via HDMI, I get really high kworker cpu usage and the mouse is really really laggy.
    This sounds like a software glitch, as I can't replicate it here in the shop.

    Quote Originally Posted by whatislinux View Post
    3. It often wakes from sleep with a black screen. I have a functioning mouse cursor, but I can't see the desktop. I resort to switching to a terminal(ctrl-alt-f1) and restarting the desktop manager. Losing everything I was working on and defeating the purpose of a sleep function.
    This is caused by a bug within Ubuntu; any laptop running Ubuntu will experience this problem. It's caused by Ubuntu failing to resume properly when the lid is opened (It's not handling the resume trigger properly under certain suspend conditions). You can work around this issue in the meantime by suspending with the menu entry or by using the Fn+F4 hotkey. The system will always resume properly when suspended using these methods.

    Quote Originally Posted by whatislinux View Post
    4. This is unrelated to linux: I got a matte display because I didn't like reflective glossy displays. For some reason the frame around the display is a glossy and reflective surface.
    That is by design; the screen itself, however, should be matte. We don't have matte display bezels.
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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    I have the same machine, and suspend resumes perfectly 100% of the time with Gnome Shell or Xubuntu. System76 has suggested in the past that it can be fixed with kernel updates, but FWIW it really seems to be related to Unity.

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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    Quote Originally Posted by ufugu View Post
    I have the same machine, and suspend resumes perfectly 100% of the time with Gnome Shell or Xubuntu. System76 has suggested in the past that it can be fixed with kernel updates, but FWIW it really seems to be related to Unity.
    Unity is actually just a plugin of Compiz, so it could be a problem going all the way back to Compiz.
    Also, my desktop runs Unity and has 0 problems with waking from sleep (except if the kernel manages to panic, and I have to attempt to force a shut down, but that only happened once due to a glitchy package).
    Backups are amazing. 99% of data loss can be prevented by spending less than $100 on an external drive.
    If you have seen an error, there is a good chance someone else has, too. Google is your friend.

  10. #10
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    Re: Is there a linux laptop that just works? monitor, hibernate, sleep :-(

    I might be a bit late to the party here, but I believe I can tell you why your mouse lags with HDMI.

    HDMI is a bit infamous for input lag. The longer the cable, the more noticeable the lag becomes. I'd advise not going much longer than 3 feet.

    Might not necessarily be your problem, but it's a thought.

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