Hacker News Reader

Comment by aidos | Hacker News Reader

Does anyone know what the story is for running Linux on EliteBooks?

For context, I'm in the market for a slightly older laptop for my daughter. Something that I could maybe pick up on ebay (in the UK) and upgrade some components would be ideal. Would prefer one I can put Linux on.

The Chromebook route turned into a pain when I tried it so I'd like a machine I have some control over.

View on HN

I use Debian testing on a EliteBook 850G2. I disabled the ATI/AMD gpu since I don't need its computing power, so I don't have any notes on GPU part, but with on board intel graphics, everything is very very smooth. Only non-functional item is the fingerprint reader. I get ~7hrs of battery life with normal system administration / development workflow on a KDE desktop. System runs very cool, and fan seldom kicks in if you push the computer hard.

I've just remembered: I've used the laptop with a Dell U2411 monitor via DisplayPort, a Dell E2211H monitor via DP -> HDMI adapter and HDMI/DVI cable, both without any issues (incl. hot-plug).

I can answer any specific questions if you wish.

Thinkpads might be a good option. Linux support is fairly good, especially the older models and the T-Series does have some models with upgradable RAM and battery. (Not the slim T4x0s)

I did have a look at Thinkpads but was somewhat overwhelmed by the number of models. Will have a look at the T series to see what's around. Thanks for the tip.

The W series are workstations. Solid, fast, heavy, expensive.

I think the workstations start with "P" these days. Good machines.

I’m somewhat in love with the older x2x0 as well, rock solid machines that can take a beating, small and lightweight, good Linux support as well.

Got a T450s with upgraded ram to 20GB, 4gb soldered + 16 added by myself. Got two batteries. Internal one can't be changed but the back battery is surely detachable / replaceable with a larger one.

right, I have a T460s and the extra back battery doesn't exist for that model any more.

Which model? In my experience with the Elitebook/Zbook workstations Linux runs fine, but always with minor problems (top panel buttons not working, issues with shutdown [does not actually shutdown, have to press power button], TurboBoost being disabled until reboot, varies by distro)... HP really don't seem to care about Linux, either.

So that sounds like a little bit of a "no" for linux on these machines!

Generally, enterprise class laptops have reasonable Linux support, though it may take a few months for a new model to get sorted out and then there may be corner cases around weird hardware.

Some enterprise class laptops are available with Linux though not always through the website (about 18 months ago, I was required to phone call about a Thinkpad). Sometimes, Linux comes with a discount proportional to the Windows license (Dell was doing this at least as recently as last year).

Historically, Thinkpads are "the Linux laptop." The community of Linux on Thinkpads is very strong. https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkWiki

I'm running Ubuntu 17.10 on an EliteBook 800 G3. It works great until you try normal things with the docking station, the video drivers freak out. It's kind of random, but always happens when connecting it to the docking station.

I ran Fedora on a ProBook 4320s (Intel GPU) in 2011-2015, no problems. The only inconvenience was the WiFi/BT adapter (Ralink, I think), which had out-of-tree drivers; I had to rebuild the interface after kernel updates. But a year or so later they added a driver in the kernel.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com