Tomorrow, I’ll be doing a drawing for the winner of my weekly computer giveaway.

The model for this week is a ThinkCentre M710q Tiny with Intel i3-7100T processor, 8GB memory and 120GB storage.

Linux will be pre-installed. One of the reasons I am doing this is to bring attention to Linux distros like:

  • Artix
  • Devuan
  • Void
  • Slackware
  • NetBSD (which is not Linux)

For a chance to win, just be a subscriber of my email newsletter.

https://retroedgetech.substack.com/

#Linux #Lenovo #ThinkCentre #TinyMiniMicro #NetBSD #artix #slackware

RetroEdge.Tech Newsletter | Matthew | Substack

Newsletter on the cutting edge of retro tech: not-so-new computers, Lua programming, Linux, BSD and more. Click to read RetroEdge.Tech Newsletter, by Matthew, a Substack publication. Launched 4 years ago.

The saga continues.

So the #ThinkCentre boots via PXE, gets an IP address and #TFTP root in the reply, fetches /boot/pxeboot.0 and loads it, sends a DHCP request for root-path, which mounts via #NFS, loads the remaining components and I finally see the #FreeBSD bootloader... which promptly freezes just like via USB.

🧘 it's sunday

So neither .iso nor .img will boot #FreeBSD off of a USB thumbdrive or another, ventoy or raw.
The #ThinkCentre M73 freezes at installer boot screen.

#PXE it is. Weirdly #dnsmasq changes the boot file (#wireshark showed me it appends `.0`) in the proxy ACK, but not in the original offer. Whatever, `cp`.

But now it seems like the file size is erroneously transfered, and therefore the #TFTP transfer gleefully halts mid-file.

At least now it's stalled at a blinking cursor instead of freezing.

Sigh...

#homelab #selfhosting #bsd

I'll be giving away this ThinkCentre Tiny. Doing the drawing on Wednesday, May 6th, 2026.

For a chance to win, just be a subscriber of my email newsletter.

More details: https://retroedgetech.substack.com/p/weekly-computer-giveaway

#Lenovo #ThinkCentre #giveAway #TinyMiniMicro

@RcrdSgrd Could you tell more details about the device, name / type and hardware configuration (CPU, RAM, GPU, Screen Size).

I had simply more luck πŸ˜‰ or did something different. Installation and running debian on different machines, new and old ones, from Dell (Desktops and Laptops), Lenovo (Desktops and Laptops), intel nuc (Desktop) and Terra (Laptop), Razer (Laptop) was without any problems.

#linux #dell #vostro #latitude #precision #xps #lenovo #thinkpad #thinkcentre #intelnuc

Replacing my #raspberrypi 4B server with a #thinkcentre m93p.

The #thinkcentre has more ram, a 512 GB #sdd and can handle external drives far better than the #raspberry does.

Finally, also lucky to get rid of #rasberrypios in favor of #debian and #arm in favor of #amd64 .

I think I will first migrate #apache2 with #nextcloud, and then the E-Mail server (#postfix & #dovecot) in a second step.

The latter is probably more difficult.

Now on #trixie. The raspberry still runs a 32bit version of the raspberrypios, so a new installation was necessary sooner or later, anyway.

Took this as the occasion to also replace the hardware with something better.

OK, funny thing. This was not caused by anything in the UEFI, like some setting I set wrong. This was caused by a faulty miniDP-to-Displayport cable. Replacing the cable and suddenly I have UEFI boot screen and everything after that visible on both VGA and Displayport outputs.

#homelab #Lenovo #M700SFF #HellYeah #AdminLife #SelfHosting #Linux #DevOps #ThinkCentre

I got #Slackware 15 on a #ThinkCentre M73 SFF (i3-4160 with 4GiB and an SSD), no sweat.

Then installed #OpenBSD on it just fine, it's running now.

However, #NetBSD fails on "no root devices" or similar and #FreeBSD, which is what i'd really like to install due to native #ZFS, just freezes on the boot screen.

These are all ISOs on the same Ventoy USB disk.

Boosts and suggestions appreciated.

How performant would #ZFS be on a #Thinkcentre with an i3 -4160 and 4 GiB of DDR3 RAM?
Would it be usable as a headless remote storage/backup box with 3x 1TB SATA SSDs in RAIDZ1?

If I can get #FreeBSD to boot on it that is. #homelab #selfhosted #selfhosting

(boosts welcome)

I got my hands on some Lenovo Thinkcentre M700 SFF recently and am impressed by the quality of the whole setup. Sure, replacing the SSD means tearing apart half of the case, but it is really easy and comfortable. The case is a beast, not sure who would win if it was hit by a car...

Funnily enough, the first couple of boots I could get screen output via DisplayPort, but for unknown reasons the machine decided to only show the UEFI/BIOS output via VGA. Luckily, I still have a monitor that accepts VGA input...

Does anyone know if there is a switch in the firmware to fix this? I did not find anything, but as the firmware menu is enormous, maybe I just missed it? As it worked before it should be possible...

#homelab #HellYeah #Linux #SelfHosting #DevOps #Lenovo #ThinkCentre #M700SFF