Go to BIOS settings by hitting the F2 key when the system restarts and enable UEFI boot. Under the secure boot setting, disable secure boot.
In this tutorial we are creating a brand new single boot Arch Linux system with 8GB of swap, 40GB of root and the remaining space for storage. I am allocating 40GB for root because I won’t be creating a separate /home partition and will be installing a lot of desktop environments later for testing so, for me, more space is better. Now Arch Linux and. Once the drive is ready, plug it into your Dell XPS 13, hit F12 when the system boots up and choose this USB Flash drive in the boot menu. You will see the Arch Linux command prompt. Get connected to the internet over wireless, as this laptop doesn’t come with an ethernet port. Then run the following command and follow the instructions on the dialog box to get connected: # wifimenu Use the arrow key to select the network, hit enter (you can ignore profile renaming) and then type the password for the network.
Now check if you are connected by pinging Google: # ping -c 3 www.google.com. If you get positive ping, you are all set. We will be using the parted tool to create a partition table and format the SSD. We will create four partitions: ESP (EFI System Partition), swap, root and storage. We will now be downloading and installing base packages. If you wish, you can edit the mirrorlist file so that you have the closest mirror set for the fastest download speed. Manoj tiwari holi songs mp3 download free.
Edit the mirrorlist file: # nano /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist Now use the arrow key and select the mirror closest to you, I chose the US server. Then use Alt+6 to copy that URL and move the cursor on the very top of the list and paste it there (Ctrl+U). Then save and close the file (Ctrl+x). Install the base packages: # pacstrap -i /mnt base base-devel We now have to create fstab on the new system.
The following command will create the file and populate it. # genfstab -U /mnt /mnt/etc/fstab We now have to configure different components. To do that we have to chroot into the new system: # arch-chroot /mnt /bin/bash. Grub is not working on this laptop so after much hunting around, I resorted to using systemd-boot in UEFI mode. I am setting up my system for US English, and choosing EDT as the time zone. Open the locale.gen file: # nano /etc/locale.gen Here you will see the list of languages.
I have a trick that will save you a lot of scrolling: US English is listed on top of the list as an example, just uncomment it there: “enUS.UTF-8” Save (Ctrl+O) and close (Ctrl+X) the file and then run the following commands: # locale-gen # echo LANG=enUS.UTF-8 /etc/locale.conf # export LANG=enUS.UTF-8 Set-up the time zone with this command and follow the instructions: # tzselect Once done, just create a symlink to set it as localtime: # ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/NewYork /etc/localtime However, we will be using UTC for hardware clock: # hwclock -systohc -utc. First we need to create the root password for the system so that we can perform administrative tasks as root. Run the following command and then enter a password when asked: # passwd Now create a user for this system. I'm using my own name in this example: # useradd -m -G wheel,users -s /bin/bash swapnil And now give this user a password: # passwd swapnil If you want, you can give this user sudo powers. Install sudo package: # pacman -S sudo And then run the following command: # EDITOR=nano visudo Find this line and uncomment it:%wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL Now let’s give this system a decent hostname (that’s the name that will appear on the network) # echo swapnil /etc/hostname We now have a fully working system.
But we still need GUI tools and a desktop environment. GNOME works best on the HiDPI display of this system, but you can install any DE you like.
From the for this device: When the SATA-controller is set to 'RAID On' in Bios, the hard disk (at least the SSD) is not recognized. Set to 'Off' or 'AHCI' before attempting to install Arch. If dual boot to Windows is intended, follow to work around the 'INACCESSIBLEBOOTDEVICE' error. The same goes for an Ubuntu install, most likely. Switch the SATA controller in BIOS to 'AHCI' or 'Off' before trying to install Ubuntu. If this doesn't work alone, try modprobe nvme to load the necessary driver for the NVMe SSD.
An early laptop receiving a weather chart, somewhere in the Pacific during my, circa 1990 As time passes, putting Linux on a laptop is becoming easier, because:. The Linux kernel is growing up and showing more awareness of the nature of the machines on which it is installed. The technical distinction between a laptop and a desktop is becoming smaller.
The percentage of overall PC sales represented by laptops is becoming bigger, forcing a recognition of their requirements. I remember early laptops and how profoundly they differed from desktops. I also remember early Linux kernels and how they would strangle on anything but a small number of widely known desktop models. Early laptops tended to be very expensive for their abilities. They gave the dinstinct impression that they were an imitation of the Real Thing™, sort of like a dollhouse instead of a house — a rehearsal for desktop reality. Laptops also tended to have rather short lives compared to desktops. I can't tell you how many laptops I've thrown away after embarrassingly short service lives, including perhaps half a dozen, now sleeping with the fishes, tossed overboard as I sailed around the world.
Some of these issues are present in current laptops, but to a lesser degree. They're still more expensive than desktops of the same capacity and processing speed, and they do tend to expire more quickly, but manufacturers are reacting to their popularity by engineering them better, and well-understood market forces are making them less expensive. Given the history of laptops as a plaything of wealthy early technology adopters, perhaps it will surprise you to know that MIT's Nicholas Negroponte has chosen laptops for his much-discussed project, meant to make modern computer technology available to third world children.
Negroponte very clearly sees a tipping point in laptop design, in which laptops will become less expensive to own and operate than equivalent desktops. This hasn't happened yet, and at the moment his project is long on hope and short on hardware, but I think Mr. Negroponte got one thing right — as to personal computers, laptops are much more personal than dekstops.
Some modern laptops meet a demand exemplified by the laptop being discussed here — as replacements for desktop machines. This trend in laptop design, just getting started at the time of writing, shows that manufacturers are responding to consumers' dislike for the giant-breadbox model of personal computing. I have two recent Dell desktops in my computer room (Dell Precision 450), and over time their patent ridiculousness is slowly dawning on me. They are each about six times larger than they need to be, and their interiors are mostly air.
To be specific, the desktops each occupy almost 2000 cubic inches of space. By contrast, the subject of this article (Dell XPS M170) occupies about 305 cubic inches (that's about 1/6th the volume), and yet it delivers most of the performance of the bigger machines.
This particular laptop is also more expensive than an equivalent desktop, so I have to justify it to myself, but that is not difficult. I spend much of my time on the road (or on the water), places I can't take a desktop. For example, each year I take my boat to, where for about four months I don't have either the space or power for a desktop machine. Readers may wonder how important a laptop can be in the wilds of Alaska. After all, how many wireless access points are there? My answer is that I use the laptop for open-ocean navigation. My boat has a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite receiver that tells the laptop where I am, the laptop contains a huge repository of nautical charts in electronic form, plus some routes I have created that I want the boat to travel along, and finally, leaving nothing to chance, the laptop steers the boat.
So yes, if I can get a better or more reliable laptop, try to stop me.:) In the past I have disliked the typical small laptop displays and poor resolution, and absolutely hated the little keyboards and the little touchpad stand-ins for mice, but some of these issues are going away. In fact, I just noticed that this new laptop has a display equal in size to my standard desktop panels (17 inch diagonal).
I have always used an ordinary mouse instead of the provided touchpad, which means I rarely try to use a laptop in its eponymous locale (that is to say, 'in my lap'). Dell XPS M170.
Notice the silly blue lights. Apparently someone at Dell saw 'The Fast and the Furious'. Now for the essence. Obviously I could have accepted the default operating system that comes with all modern PCs, thereby supporting the continued existence of a vast and evil empire, but I prefer Linux, in both a practical and philosophical sense.
As to Linux, Dell Computer is slowly coming around, now offering some desktops with Linux pre-installed, but this isn't true for laptops yet. I would like to ask those of my readers who are inclined, to specifically request Linux on each and every machine they purchase from Dell. I think over time Dell will get the message. I have been running various flavors of Red Hat Linux since about 1995, and used other Linux or Unix versions before that.
Over time I have had one or another version of Windows installed on a dual-boot machine, or two machines, one running Windows, one Linux or Unix. I ran Windows for the simple reason that there were some programs only available for Windows, programs I was too lazy to write myself. But my personal turning point came when XP was released (or perhaps it escaped), and (because of something called 'product activation') I realized I would have to ring up Darth Vader to allow me to install his product. At that moment I laid plans to evict Windows from my life, and after a period of withdrawal I have managed to do without Windows almost completely.
(Doesn't this sound like the rant of a recovering alcoholic?) I am now running Fedora Core 4. That's as close to the cutting edge as I want to get, and I find it manageable with various tweaks I will be discussing later on. I don't have much difficulty installing it (and its predecessors) on the various desktop and laptops I own. And I am accumulating a pile of Windows XP OEM disks.:) Now to the specifics.
The laptop is a Dell XPS M170 with an 80 GB hard drive, 1 GB of RAM and a Pentium 'M' processor with a 2 GHz clock. After installing Fedora Core 4, in preliminary tests I found that both the hard drive and the CD/DVD drive were way below expectations in read/write performance. I knew I had to solve this problem. Some preliminary notes. For those of you who don't do much Linux system testing, I have some suggestions. In the list below, the symbol '$' means 'run in a shell as a normal user', and '#' means 'run as root'.
I'll be using this notation convention through this article. Please, avoid running commands as root if you possibly can. Find out what clock speed the system is currently using: $ cat /proc/cpuinfo grep MHz cpu MHz: 1995.391. Test the performance of a hard drive: # hdparm -t /dev/sda Timing buffered disk reads: 122 MB in 3.02 seconds = 40.45 MB/sec. List system PCI devices: $ /sbin/lspci (long list of PCI bus devices). List system USB devices: $ /sbin/lsusb (long list of USB bus devices) The above 'hdparm' test result is for the Dell XPS laptop as it is now, but at first there were several differences.
One, the hard drive read test result was very poor, as in about 2 MB/sec. Two, the drive was associated with the device '/dev/hda', not '/dev/sda'. The difference?
It turns out that the /dev/hda assignment means the kernel thinks the drive is ATA (or, equivalently, IDE), the older, slower drive type. I happened to know this drive was SATA (serial ATA), a recent big improvement in bus interfacing, at least in principle. Find out if a system has a SATA controller: $ /sbin/lspci grep -i sata 00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801FBM (ICH6M) SATA Controller (rev 03) I decided to remedy the hard drive performance deficiency. My first step was to browse Google postings on this topic, in particular that part of Google dedicated to Linux issues:. Through reading what other people had done to squeeze maximum performance out of their SATA drives, I produced a successful strategy that I will summarize here. The basic issue is that a Linux kernel with default option settings will assume connected drives are ATA, but this safe, conservative assumption backfires if the drives are SATA.
In the case of SATA drives, the default kernel behavior will result in slower drive performance than the older ATA technology drives, even though SATA drives are much faster if handled correctly. After applying some of the first steps in the list below, I managed to get the hard drive up to expected speed, but the CD/DVD drive was a tougher nut to crack. The entire list below was required to get both the hard drive and the CD/DVD drive performing at top levels (and resulted in both drives being identified as SCSI):.
Get a suitable kernel source and install it. My examples here were with respect to kernel version 2.6.13.1, some details will change over time (and I don't aggressively replace my kernel on a regular basis). Create/edit (source path)/.config, either by hand or by using the 'menuconfig' or 'xconfig' kernel configuration helper apps. Here's an easy way to move to your current kernel's source directory in the various incarnations of Fedora: $ cd /usr/src/linux-`uname -r` Here are the primary changes to the kernel configuration. In /usr/src/linux-`uname -r`/.config, make these changes:. Select 'SCSI device support', not as a module. CONFIGSCSI=y.
Select 'Serial ATA (SATA) Support', again, not as a module. CONFIGSCSISATA=y. Deselect ATA/ATAPI/MFM/RLL support: CONFIGIDE=n CONFIGBLKDEVIDE=n The strategy here is to force the kernel to treat both drives as SCSI/SATA, rather than making the default ATA assumption. With the above changes, the hard drive will be treated as SATA, and it will be fast. But to get SATA support for the CD/DVD drive, we need to edit one of the kernel source files:.
Edit /usr/src/linux-`uname -r`/include/linux/libata.h. Change these lines: #undef ATAENABLEATAPI #undef ATAENABLEPATA to this: #define ATAENABLEATAPI #define ATAENABLEPATA.
Recompile and install the new kernel. If you have taken all the required steps, the hard drive and the CD/DVD drive will have new device assignments: Before - After /dev/hda - /dev/sda /dev/hdc - /dev/scd0 And your 'hdparm' test should produce the result listed above, e.g. Disk read speed about 40 MB/sec, which approaches the performance of a modern desktop. Testing a CD/DVD drive is more difficult, and the 'hdparm' read test doesn't reveal much, because a CD/DVD drive doesn't actually have a very high read/write speed, but the performance improvement is there nonetheless.
I personally test both a computer's display and its DVD drive by playing a DVD movie using Xine or another similar video player program. To play a DVD without glitches or dropped frames, a computer has to be properly tuned in a number of ways. On that topic, to really test a DVD drive, run Xine from the command line like this: $ xine -verbose=3 dvd:/ If there is anything wrong with your system's configuration or kernel options, Xine will complain about dropped frames in the shell output, or the sound won't synchronize with the video, etc. Link download plants vs zombies 2 full cho pc matic. In extreme cases Xine will launch an XWindows dialog to complain about your crappy system. There were no big surprises here, and (after installing the that can't be included with Fedora) I was able to get the full display resolution of 1920x1200 without much difficulty. One use for the 'TwinView' feature Some notes:. I don't list all the possible resolutions I might want to use in the 'Screen' section, instead I edit the configuration on the fly using a Perl script and then restart XWindows, for the single resolution of interest.
That way, the desktop resizes along with the display (someday XWindows will allow a meaningful change of resolution without restarting). I use NVidia's TwinView feature to drive a second, larger monitor on my boat, one that I can see while I am watching out for logs and icebergs in Alaska. Just comment out the TwinView lines if you don't want this feature. When I took this laptop to my boat for testing, I had left it in the 1920x1200 pixel, full-resolution mode, but when I plugged in the second monitor and turned on the system, the XWindows boot-up routine detected the second monitor, noted my wish for TwinView, assessed the capabilities of the connected monitors and chose a resolution they could both share, exactly as I had hoped.
I was astonished. I had ordered this system with one of the wireless adaptors that Dell offers in their slick online ordering system, but once I started configuring it, I realized I had made a mistake. The default wireless interface choice was an Intel 2200BG, which I must say I haven't had much luck with. I tried both the and an approach that uses the Windows driver managed by a program called, but regardless of the setup, the signal levels were far too low and the interface misbehaved in a bunch of ways. At that point, I realized I was repeating a prior experience on a laptop of a different make, but using the same wireless interface — I mean exactly the same experience, even the part about low signal levels. On the earlier occasion I had completely disassembled the laptop, thinking there was something wrong with the wireless antennas, only to realize the problem was the Intel interface.
But for the Dell, I realized I had some spare interfaces that I trusted, even though the manufacturer (Broadcom) steadfastly and notoriously refuses to reveal any hardware details that would allow a native Linux driver to be created. I popped a Broadcom BCM4306 into the Dell, set up a combination of the Windows driver and, and the problems disappeared. The computer as urban spoiled-rich-kid race car. Now that it's been tuned up, this laptop is quite a performer. Its overall speed (meaning a combination of processor, RAM and hard drive speeds) rivals my desktop systems.
Ironically, something I didn't realize when I ordered it, its display has the highest resolution of any monitor I own, and its 17' diagonal display is really quite large for a laptop, but that's all right with me, because I don't use laptops as laptops — I don't pack one around with me and I don't have to make it work sitting on my lap. And I always use them plugged in, so I don't care about battery life either. One more thing. I don't know whose idea it was to put the six groups of froo-froo lights on this system, but (mostly because of my age) I know I'm not the right audience for this 'feature'. But, after due reflection, I figured out how someone came to believe this functionless gimmick would sell computers. This system is sort of pricey, so its natural audience is people like me, people who actually need a terrific computer. But, for a small additional cost, Dell could attract another audience, the same people who think the cars in 'The Fast and the Furious' (a movie seemingly about urban street racers) actually need to have those cool colored lights underneath to go faster.
When I first noticed the lights and as a first impression, I thought someone at Dell had lost his mind. The computer business is really quite cut-throat, worse than the TV manufacturing business and more so each day, and no one wants to risk professional suicide by adding a gewgaw to a design that won't pay for itself in the finished product. But after some reflection, I realized the designers had actually thought it over before adding the lights, realizing someone like me wouldn't care much one way or another, but they would surely attract an entire additional group of customers: spoiled rich kids (SRKs).
If you don't understand the SRK phenomenon in its full dimensions, you have to go see 'The Fast and the Furious,' a movie that is only apparently about urban car racing. It is in fact a well-designed celebration of conspicuous consumption and diligent avoidance of reality.
It is also, in some measure, a commentary on Los Angeles — nowhere on earth do people worship cars as they do in Los Angeles. One character in the movie, played by Vin Diesel, can afford his race cars only because he steals whole truckloads of merchandise right off the highway, so his character at least touches a sordid kind of reality, but the rest of the characters are obviously congenital SRKs — no visible means of support, bored, shallow, attracted like moths to any sort of superficial attraction.
For example, colored lights. What I am saying is I figured it out.
Because SRKs are real, and because they shop, Dell's decision made sense. Someone will buy this computer based on its resemblance to a tricked-out urban race car. But don't let all the pandering turn you away. This is actually a terrific laptop.
Install Linux On Dell Xps 10 Tablet
. Boot Windows to disable hibernation and Fast startup. Open command prompt as administrator and execute: powercfg /h off. Open the 'old version' of the Windows Control Panel.
Go to Power Settings and uncheck 'Fast startup'. If it is not visible, enable 'Show hidden settings'. Shutdown the machine completely - do NOT reboot.
Boot from the Ubuntu installation media. Select Try Ubuntu without installing. Open GParted (to do this press the Windows key and type 'GParted').
Check whether there is free unallocated space on the disk, if not:. Shrink the Windows partition to generate some free space. Create a new ext4 partition - in a size that fits your needs. Create a new swap partition - the same size as the RAM. On the desktop click Install Ubuntu.
Choose Something else. Select the new partition you had created for Ubuntu before. Select / as mount point and ext4 file system as the format. For the boot loader location select the same disk on which Windows is installed. The boot loader will automatically be installed to the existing EFI partition. Notes:.
I suggest to create a minimum of 20 GB space for the Ubuntu operating system. In case you don't want to hibernate Ubuntu, you don't need the swap partition. Assuming you have sufficient RAM, a swap partition is optional on a SSD drive. Screenshots giving examples to demonstrate the setup and what GParted shows:. sda = HDD (personal data). sdb = SSD (operating system). sdc = USB (installation media).
In addition to the steps outlined in, which helped me through the installation process, I had to manually add the boot entry to the boot menu before I was able to open GRUB and continue booting after installation. To do this, I followed; open up the BIOS, go to Boot Sequence, click 'Add Boot Option' and using the file selector, pick the file shimx64.efi in 'EFI/ubuntu'. Move your newly created boot option to the top of the list. Save and you should be able to select your newly added option. Press 'e' to update the Ubuntu option and add nouveau.modeset=0 after splash.
This allowed me to finally boot in to Ubuntu 15.10.
I've used earlier models of the Dell XPS 13 with Ubuntu. While I loved my high-end ones, you can still get a lot of work done with even the low-end systems. You see, Dell has been working with Canonical to make great.
Barton George, Project Sputnik and Linux lead at Dell, said, 'When Project Sputnik debuted over five years ago we launched with one config of our XPS 13 developer edition on Ubuntu 12.04. Fast forward to today and thanks to the interest and support of the community, we are able to announce that our seventh generation XPS 13 developer edition now comes with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. 18.04 represents Project Sputnik's fourth preloaded LTS. We're already looking forward to Sputnik's fifth LTS in 2020.' Read also: Will Cooke, Canonical's Desktop engineering director, added, 'Dell's superior hardware combined with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS provides an excellent, reliable experience straight out of the box.
Building on our over the last six years, we look forward to seeing 18.04 LTS roll out on further Dell models in the coming months.' The new Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition 9370 is available today in the United States. Dell's site, however, is still having trouble displaying the new editions. If you can't get through on the website, you may need to call Dell at 888-346-2289. The laptops will be available in Canada and Europe in September.
By registering you become a member of the CBS Interactive family of sites and you have read and agree to the, and. You agree to receive updates, alerts and promotions from CBS and that CBS may share information about you with our marketing partners so that they may contact you by email or otherwise about their products or services. You will also receive a complimentary subscription to the ZDNet's Tech Update Today and ZDNet Announcement newsletters. You may unsubscribe from these newsletters at any time. ACCEPT & CLOSE.
Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |