Laptop recommendation?

[oygle]

Have used Ubuntu now for about 9 years now, using 13.10 with Kubuntu at present. I have always had a desktop, and basically no major problems. The desktops have ASUS motherboards in them.

I'm needing a Laptop and there are so many mentioned in the 'Laptop Compatibility List". Is there a list of 'most recommended laptops' or 'pre-installed', so that I can narrow the searching down a bit. As the laptop will replace the desktop, I need it to run Ubuntu/Kubuntu "out of the box" please.

So, if there are any recommendation please ?

Also, can I simply reformat the HDD on a laptop, create 2 partitions, and run Kubuntu on the primary and Windows on the secondary (This is what I do now on one desktop).

Oygle

[SeijiSensei]

We've had good success with Lenovos.

As for dual-booting, yes you can reformat the drive as you describe. Make sure you install Windows first.

I prefer choosing one operating system that I usually work in (Ubuntu in my case) and install the other OS in a virtual machine using VirtualBox. This machine has a Win7 VM inside a Kubuntu 14.04 host. I don't use Windows very often so that's a good arrangement for me. If you want to play games, you'll probably be happier with a dual-boot arrangement as many demanding games need to talk directly to the video hardware and won't install in a VM (Final Fantasy XIV is the latest culprit for me).

[oygle]

We've had good success with Lenovos.

Okay thanks, that's 2 recommendations now for Lenovos. I didn't know they were IBM.

As for dual-booting, yes you can reformat the drive as you describe. Make sure you install Windows first.

As I use Kubuntu the most, I'd want that to boot as default. is there a way to setup grub so that Kubuntu is the default and then I press a function key at boot to bring up the menu, to then select Windows ?

I prefer choosing one operating system that I usually work in (Ubuntu in my case) and install the other OS in a virtual machine using VirtualBox. This machine has a Win7 VM inside a Kubuntu 14.04 host. I don't use Windows very often so that's a good arrangement for me. If you want to play games, you'll probably be happier with a dual-boot arrangement as many demanding games need to talk directly to the video hardware and won't install in a VM (Final Fantasy XIV is the latest culprit for me).

I have no need of games, but will look at Virtual Box. I have never used that.

Thanks,

Oygle

[SeijiSensei]

Okay thanks, that's 2 recommendations now for Lenovos. I didn't know they were IBM.

They were IBM's laptop manufacturer, but IBM spun off Lenovo when it got out of selling hardware. It's now an independent company based in China.

As I use Kubuntu the most, I'd want that to boot as default. is there a way to setup grub so that Kubuntu is the default and then I press a function key at boot to bring up the menu, to then select Windows?

Yes, you can tell grub which OS to boot by default. It's set in /etc/default/grub. On a multi-boot system you should see a menu of choices when the machine first boots. If that doesn't appear, you can force it by holding down the Shift key during boot.

[oygle]

As for dual-booting, yes you can reformat the drive as you describe. Make sure you install Windows first.

Do I have to install Windows first ?

I wanted Kubuntu on the primary partition and Windows on the secondary, if possible.

Also, is it better to buy a laptop with a NVidea or AMD card (dedicated 2 GB).

Thanks,

Oygle

[oygle]

Also, in regards to purchasing a Laptop with Windows 7 pro or Windows 8, is there any BIOS restrictions that would force installing the OS in the primary partition ?

Can't remember where I read something like that. Or, I guess is there anything in M$ Windows products that force installing to primary partition ?

Thanks,

Oygle

[SeijiSensei]

Windows does not play well with others. There may be methods to install it after Ubuntu, but the reverse is always much easier. The order on the hard drive does not determine the order of booting. As I said, that is controlled by the grub boot loader that Ubuntu will install and configured with entries in /etc/default/grub.

I have used both NVIDIA and AMD/ATI adapters and would definitely choose the first of these. AMD has a nasty habit of dropping Linux support after a few years.

I'm using a Lenovo with a "hybrid" Intel/NVIDIA architecture. One of the nice features of this machine is that you can select the adapter using a simple toggle switch on the front of the machine. Life isn't nearly as easy on an HP machine I have with an Intel and an AMD adapter.

[oygle]

Okay thanks, I won't worry about Windows being installed then, better to leave it "as is" and just get GParted to add a partition for Kubuntu. Will only go for a NVIDIA video card also.

Thanks very much for your help.

Oygle

[sudodus]

Please remember to backup you original Windows system (the whole drive or at least make a recovery disk) before starting to edit the partitions.

It is recommended to use a Windows tool to shrink the Windows partition, C: with NTFS. So do it from inside Windows. And after that you can use gparted to prepare for Kubuntu.

If you buy a new computer it is probably delivered with Windows 8 installed in UEFI mode, and UEFI makes it harder to install linux (dual boot) compared to old style BIOS. A large part of the support at the Ubuntu Forums today is helping people to dual boot in UEFI mode. See these links

UEFI Installing - Tips
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI

The following links do not describe exactly what you need, but it might contain useful tips, how to make things work.

Try Ubuntu (Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, ...) before installing it
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/In.../UEFI-and-BIOS

[oygle]

Yes sudodus, the laptop I will buy will have either Windows 7 pro or Windows 8.x pre-installed. Some very helpful information in those links.

Thanks heaps,

Oygle