Mastodawn

Szescstopni 1d ago

Jan Wildeboer 😷

FTR (For The Record): Most, but not every Windows 10 PC or Laptop will run Linux. Especially in consumer oriented models you will often see weird parts that are not supported by Linux. Certain WiFi cards, touchpads and many more components can be problematic. With business level machines you are often more lucky. These machines often are certified with certain Linux distros (Ubuntu, Red Hat and more).

So always try, but be prepared it might not always JustWork™

Jan Wildeboer 😷

(This is why I love to buy refurbished Lenovo ThinkCentre Tiny PCs for my homelab. They are Linux certified and JustWork™ ;)

LovesTha🥧1d ago

@jwildeboer and generally the cheap refurbs you can find will work, because most of those come from corporate environments because the refurbers like to buy bulk lots of similar boxes from corporate auctions.

Jan Wildeboer 😷

@LovesTha Yep. They are typically swapped after the 3 year onsite warranty ends :)

LovesTha🥧1d ago

@jwildeboer After the beancounters treat their value as 0 for ease of accounting.

tom jennings 1d ago

(Not that it's a universal solution, but a Think Penguin wifi card is supported by all distros of *nix. Wifi card support is a serious problem with Linux.

*Support end* of course doesn't mean windows 10 stops working. I dislike Microsoft as much as anyone bit those cheering the demise of people's personal machines are just annoying.)

Carsten Pfeffer 1d ago

@jwildeboer but it might be worth trying it out using a live system on a flash drive

Jakob Thoböll - R.I.P. Natenom 1d ago

@CarstenPfeffer
and maybe even a second live system...
@jwildeboer

Jan Wildeboer 😷

@CarstenPfeffer Absolutely! That's always the best approach. Just be prepared that it might not work and even when drivers exist for obscure parts, they might not be up to date for newer distros and ca be difficult to install.

Tofu Musubi 1d ago

@jwildeboer
Glad that distros can be given a test run off a disc or thumb drive before installation. Phew!

@frueheneuzeit 1d ago

@jwildeboer is this based on lived experience or a general impression?

Jan Wildeboer 😷

@stefan_hessbrueggen Lived experience at install parties and with devices from friends and family. Some Realtek network cards are typical candidate for frustration. Touchpads also. Sometimes they kinda work but are jittery, don't work with multifinger etc.

@frueheneuzeit 1d ago

@jwildeboer people should just live in emacs and use their keyboards as $(DEITY) intended. :)

David Palk#RejoinEU 💖🇪🇺🕊🌈1d ago

@jwildeboer Thanks Jan, explains my issues. I keep trying unsuccessfully on an old iMac I was 'gifted'.

@jwildeboer they had databases about that back then, I heared ...

@jwildeboer I always buy refurbished older thinkpads for Linux work, like newest is x13.

A.B. Murrow 1d ago

@jwildeboer Incidentally, Canonical keeps a decent list of hardware that does work: https://ubuntu.com/certified

They're certified to run Ubuntu, but they'll run most other things too.

Certified hardware | Ubuntu

Ubuntu Certified Hardware has passed our extensive testing and review process, ensuring that Ubuntu runs optimally out of the box, ready for your organisation. Canonical provides continuous support throughout the lifecycle of the Ubuntu release to ensure quality, functionality, and maintenance for up to 12 years

Ubuntu

Gary Houston 1d ago

@jwildeboer maybe you could add a USB mouse or WiFi module, or is it harder?

john r red-horse 1d ago

I've had pretty good luck with a few of these types of machines. When they are encountered, they're often obstacles not complete roadblocks.

Incompatible firmware on the other hand? You're dead on arrival. :(