In order to install Ubuntu onto this device you will need to turn off secure boot. I did not find an option for legacy boot, but as long as your live cd/dvd/usb-drive has efi boot you're golden. After cloning the entire hard drive (I can't stress this enough, because that's the only way to restore Windows if you so desire - and you may, because 14.04 coupled with the newness of this device is still very "beta.")
When performing the installation you will want to choose "Something Else" (I think that's the wording). Only mess with the actual Windows OS partition. Just delete it, then create two new partitions: 1) An ext4 partition as root, leaving a few GBs for swap, and then 2) a swap partition.
One thing that annoyed me about the Windows partition was that it ran out of space so quickly. With the OS and all of the updates by themselves you probably had about 7-10 GBs of space left (if you're lucky). At one point I had less than 4 GBs left (which is ridiculous) on a 64 GB hard drive - and I hadn't even installed any large programs. The hard drive space with Ubuntu is more than adequate, unless you're planning on building an HD video library - you need to rethink your choice in hardware if you're looking to do that.
Once you get it installed do
Code:
sudo apt-get install laptop-mode-tools
then
Code:
sudo apt-get install indicator-cpufreq
These two programs helped to increase the battery life and made the system run much cooler. Without them your Pavilion x2 will run extremely hot.
I have not figured out which partition install grub on yet. I've tried sda and sda1, but in both cases the laptop/tablet will begin a repair process. Not to worry. It will take you to a point where you can choose to boot using a device, then you can choose "Ubuntu" to boot from. This only happens when you shutdown or restart the system. If you frequently close the lid to put it to sleep, it will simply open to the login screen when you reopen your x2 for use.
You can tell the OS itself is not yet geared toward touchscreens. You can, however, tell that Canonical is moving in that direction with the inclusion of a few Ubuntu Touch-esque features you will find if you install Gnome Desktop Environment (not sure if it's Canonical or Gnome). There is a very IE Metro-ish browser included in the Gnome Desktop installation that seems like it would be quite useful as more elements of the OS utilize the potential of the touchscreen.
If you like to detach your screen (I'm assuming you would if you purchased a device like this
) you will have to make sure you start the OnBoard onscreen keyboard ahead of time. The keyboard takes a little getting used to, but it is very functional. One thing I did notice, however, is that if you run into a situation where you need to intervene to correct an issue with the current run of the OS, you may need to reconnect your keyboard. That said, don't go too far from your keyboard if you go into tablet mode.
There may be some things I'm forgetting, but I'm overall pleased with 14.04 on this device (again, wifi doesn't work with any other version as far as I can tell). Pleas chime in if you have the device, or ask any questions. I'll at least attempt to answer them.
I must say, I've been waiting to get full-blown Ubuntu on a tablet PC! As "beta" as it feels so far, I'm very pleased with the results and am excited about the potential!
Adv Reply
Bookmarks