Bare Metal Install Advice

[6th_sense]

Hi folks,

Note: This is my first post on thinkpads.com ....

Issue:

I wish to install Linux on my newly purchased P53s laptop - however, it has windows 10 installed on it. I am going to upgrade the SSD from 256GB to 1TB, and was wondering what the best way to install Linux would be. Linux will be the only OS running on the machine, when I'm done.

Options I am Considering:

I was thinking of purchasing a 1TB SSD drive and having it installed in the machine in lieu of the existing 256GB drive - prior to the install of Linux. However, I am not sure that it is a good idea to not have Windows 10 initially installed (or cloned to the new drive) - for purposes of modifying the BIOS - until Linux can boot properly and start installing.

Question:

Should I consider cloning Windows 10 to the new drive, prior to installing Fedora (my favourite distro - because I am familiar with it), or should I install the new drive completely blank and then start the Linux installation process?

[Cigarguy]

Take the old 256 SSD out and install Linux on the new drive. Put the old SSD aside and swap it back when/if you want to sell the machine. I wouldn't bother cloning anything.

As for the BIOS update. Do it before the swap. Most BIOS will still update via a stand alone installer thus not requiring either Windows or Linux to do so.

[6th_sense]

Hey Cigarguy,

Thank you for responding...

BIOS update isn't what I had in mind:

I wasn't thinking of doing a BIOS update per se. I guess I was looking to change the BIOS settings, so that Linux could boot.

BIOS settings that might be changeable only by Windows 10 is the issue that bothers me:

For instance, I have heard others mentioning that the BIOS needs to be brought out of UEFI mode, or perhaps secureboot needs to be turned off etc...

I am wondering if you think that these won't be an issue and that I can in fact install Linux without having to worry about changing BIOS settings - which I believe might only be facilitated by having Windows 10 talk to the BIOS and give it the go-ahead to change, before I can in fact start booting another OS (in this case the Linux installer). Once I've set the BIOS up right - I was thinking to have the drive switched... - Is this something that would work?

Would also like to know the best BIOS settings for Linux:

I am also interested in finding out what people think are ideal BIOS settings for a Linux Install.

[axur-delmeria]

IMo it's best to disable UEFI and Secureboot, and stick to Legacy BIOS mode. I don't know how good the UEFI support of major Linux distros are, but sticking to tried and true legacy mode wouldn't hurt.

[MikalE]

I didn't know newer Thinkpads would even accept another operating system besides Win 10 on seventh generation Intel processors and later without extensive BIOS mods and such.

What's the poop on this? I would like to roll back to Windows 7 Pro on my new Dell, but I don't think this is possible with a ninth generation Intel CPU.

[axur-delmeria]

What's the poop on this? I would like to roll back to Windows 7 Pro on my new Dell, but I don't think this is possible with a ninth generation Intel CPU.

IIRC it usually due to Intel not bothering to write Win 7 drivers on newer hardware.

[MikalE]

That may be, but I seem to remember reading here about something in the BIOS refusing a load of anything but Windows 10 on seventh generation and newer Intel processors.

[axur-delmeria]

I don't have a computer(desktop or laptop) anywhere close to that recent to verify if it's true or not, sorry.

[UMPC2024]

That may be, but I seem to remember reading here about something in the BIOS refusing a load of anything but Windows 10 on seventh generation and newer Intel processors.

https://arstechnica.com/information-tec ... d-windows/

[Cigarguy]

The BIOS doesn't really care which OS you boot to. So unless you know what you are doing I would leave the BIOS to default and boot directly to Fedora. The biggest issue you might find is that Fedora don't have the driver for some hardware. Best way to check this is to run a live distro and play with it for a while. A week or 2 weeks should give you a good indication of what works and what won't. For something that doesn't work, check Fedora's support/forums as most big Linux distro is pretty will supported. I am not familiar with that model Thinkpad or Fedora but the principle holds true. I mainly use Linux Mint on older machines.

Almost all hardware manufacturer develops new machinery to work on, tested on, and run Win 10. That's the monopoly. Some will care and take steps that their latest hardware works on Linux. By Intel's decree, AFAIK, none of the newer CPU, chipset and motherboard will run Win 7 or 8.1. These large corporations can easily support their older OS if they want to but that would cut into their profits.