Linux Laptop 2008-2012 changelog

Guide link: https://ifixit.com/Guide/Laptop+Linux+Ma...

Translators: I am finished with this guide in it's entirety. At this point translation is now more ideal. With that being said I still DO NOT recommend translating System Selection yet - the system I picked has (very) expensive problems and I need to weigh out if I want to find a new laptop or spend the money on these potentially expensive repairs. I'm probably going to end up changing out the hardware because it's likely going to go over my 40-50% threshold I use to gauge if a device is worth repairing.

Everyone else: If anyone thinks that I shouldn't release this guide with how long it took to work one (2 years) please give this guide a chance. Most of the problems I am having are related to finding good hardware. I also had a lot of issues with content as this was a guide I nearly abandoned in 2014 when I flagged it for deletion, which was never accepted. That's why I began to rework it in 2015; it was going to sit there dead otherwise.

Non patrol threshold advisory: Since this isn't a standard guide, I have set the required reputation for automatic acceptance to 20k. This is not a deterrent - it is a countermeasure against bad edits since this guide isn't like my other guides. You can edit it but this just means someone who has 20k+ reputation will need to approve your edit. This is simply a special case that justifies a reputation that's impractical for the average user to attain quickly. With that being said, this is a reduction of 10k since it was 30k before this change.

So this is guide that I have had so much trouble with over the course of nearly 2 years. After a through cleanup of the original content (most of the content was too far gone, original or content I tried to retain but had too many problems doing so with). Now that that part is fixed, this guide is now ready for release. I also had to deal with two bad systems as well, since the original system (HP IQ506) had expensive problems that weren't worth fixing.

I also wanted to release wireless testing information, but this was one of the ideas I ended up giving up on. This would become difficult to maintain, so I didn't bother releasing with this content for publishing time. I also waited until Debian 9 came out because of this idea that never came to happen.

I'm not 100% done on the pictures, but I am done with the text content. I still need pictures for HDD/New, while most of the other steps I'd like to do this with are wishlist items (i.e. new pictures would be nice, but aren't needed). I'd also like to take some of my own pictures for the AMD processor step, because I borrowed a picture from this guide because I needed something quickly. I also don't think it's worth buying a laptop just for one picture, even if it's broken.

As it stands, this release is anticlimactic. The first release was a mess and took too long and had to be pulled back because I released it incomplete. The second release is what I should have put out but neglected to do because I felt like it took too long and a incomplete guide with a lot of problems was better then a non-release. It is now at 100% completion for text, but not pictures.

Update (9/5/17-9/6/17)

I released this guide too early and I need to continue to work on it as a private guide. It will remain private until I fix the major problems and have a near perfect release.

I don't plan on giving Toshiba an inch, so do not ask about including them with a specific mention in ANY PART of this guide. I am not testing Toshiba hardware to any extent, even for a whitelist.

The main things I want to focus on are cleanup and per line character reduction. I also want to consolidate the guide warnings and remove any redundancy as well.

When I get around to making the Desktop guide, I will port the main content that I can share to that guide and adjust certain lines accordingly as most content is shareable, but may need to be adapted.

Some changes I have made so far:

  • (Laptop) Dropped the Pentium T4 Series processor listing. Replaced with Pentium (SB/IB) because the T4 series is on the way out.
  • Reworded most steps in a major way. (Most shared between the Laptop and Desktop guide, but I am making tweaks per guide to match up the content).
  • Text thinning.
  • Warnings have been condensed into single groups (Desktop so far. This may not stick).
  • (Laptop and Desktop) Removed the processor brand from the lines in the processor steps. It's in the line title, so this doesn't need to be there.

Update (9/8/17)

I may not be able to work on this for a while, so I am pushing as much as I can out while I am ahead. I am in an area of the state I live in where I will at least be affected by the wind (and likely some rain) from Hurricane Irma. Hopefully nothing serious happens, but I'm not sure yet. I anticipate the worst that will probably happen is minor property damage.

I am still having issues with the ThinkPad in terms of finding a fan to try and fix the cooling issues. My second fan came, but it doesn't fit.

Anyway, back to the changes I have made:

  • (Both) I have WIP and the reason I consider it WIP in the title. I am doing this for tracking purposes, so I at least know where each step stands in terms of being complete. Most steps are under the (Almost done) category, but some needed enough rework that it didn't get that label or I have a specific reason for not considering it almost finished. If the step does not have such a mark, it should be assumed complete.
  • (Laptop) I started overhauling the Desktop hard drive step, since this is still a partial tester for good ideas. I take good ideas from the laptop guide and incorporate it into the Desktop guide and then take the ideas I like from the Desktop guide to port them to the Laptop guide.
  • (Both) The Media step has been changed to discourage DVD use unless you have no choice).
  • (Both) The secure Boot disable steps have been split into three sections, instead of two.
  • (Laptop) I have added a place for Dell DMI BIOS Optimus management. I may not end up using it, but it's there if I need it.

9/10/17

In my effort to get as much done just in case Irma does a lot of damage, I have gotten this much done:

  • (Both) I have updated the Legacy BIOS hard drive addressing warning.
  • (Laptop) A lot of steps were considered final today. Any appropriate changes were carried to the Desktop guide as they were made. 10 steps are now considered finalized. 9 steps are still WIP but many of them should be pushed to final status soon. I made too many changes to quickly look at these last 9 steps to quickly determine they are more or less completed.

9/11/17

  • (Laptop) More revisions.
  • (Laptop) More steps being finalized.
  • (Laptop) RAM is almost final.
  • (Laptop) SSD is almost final.
  • (Laptop) HDD/Used changed.

9/12/17

  • (Laptop) legacy BIOS drive warning is final.
  • (Laptop) RAM is final.
  • (Laptop) HDD/Used is final.
  • (Both) SSD is final.
  • (Both) Changed the intel-microcode to optional but recommended instead of being the other way.
  • (Desktop) Brought the mobile app note into parity with the Laptop guide.
  • (Desktop) Brought the time variation per system up to to parity with the Laptop guide.
  • (Desktop) Brought the age recommendation up and into parity.
  • (Laptop) Started the Dell DMI BIOS Optimus step. I still may not complete it but I'd rather start it just in case.

9/13/17

Read me: The Desktop guide for 2008-2012 is abandoned. I'm going to wait a little bit before I make a desktop oriented guide since 2008-2012 is a nightmare for covering AMD.

Here is a hint how convoluted how AMD platforms are. Also, this is where I had to start to find a processor list. Here is how simple getting a processor list for AMD mobile platforms is.

  • General final refinements.
  • WIP note added to individual lines as needed. I have waited some time after giving it the designation to overlook the designated lines and cleared it from 23 to 8. These remaining 8 WIP lines have major changes.
  • (Laptop) Dell DMI/Business final revisions.
  • (Laptop) Reference UI Secure Boot BIOS disable reverted to WIP.
  • (Laptop) Fixed a mistake where I put the processor inclusion line in (Oops!)
  • (Laptop) Added Radeon 7000M/G Series.

9/15/17

  • Final cleanup before release is considered.
  • Finishing any remaining WIP lines.
  • Made Disable Secure Boot final again.
  • Reduced WIP lines down to 2.

9/16/17

I am beginning to do the final revisions before I release the guide to clear any final issues up that I may have missed before. Everything else is done at this point (or is as close to done as I can manage).

  • WIP lines down to 0.
  • 128GB SSD final.
  • Dual GPU laptop warning revised.

9/17/17

  • Removed information on how modifiable BIOSes are from the WLAN/WL step. I don't want the average user trying to use modified BIOSes to fix the problem for obvious reasons. If someone asked in an answer I'd have no problem explaining it, but I can't provide enough context to get the average user to fully understand what they are doing.
  • Fat trimming to reduce the character count per step.

9/18/17

I am down to 8 lines with major issues to fix. Once I get past these troublesome lines I should be ready for re-release :-)

  • Fat trimming to reduce per step character count.

9/20/17

  • General text thinning
  • Removal of unconfirmed information

9/21/17

  • Fixed an card listing mistake in the IGP step.
  • General text thinning.
  • Restructured the steps to disable Optimus. This is worded more as a step by step guide on how to deal with these features. (Dell/Lenovo)

9/22/17

  • Working on the remaining issues. Most of these are minor, but some of them are major.

9/23/17

  • Made the final changes.
  • Ready for re-release.
Reply to discussion Subscribe to discussion

Is this a worthwhile discussion?

Score 0
Add a comment