On 04/01/2016 12:34 PM, olli hauer wrote:
On 2016-04-01 21:07, Yasha Karant wrote:
My spouse's laptop appears to be failing in hardware -- there are repeated
errors coming from the SL 6 boot screen including what appears to be a failing
hard drive (but this could also be the mother board disk controller).
As we cannot afford a linux certified laptop, and I plan to upgrade her to a machine that
is provisioned for 64 bit operation, we will need to find a commodity laptop at a big box
merchandiser (typically under $500). However, all of these machines will have MS Win
preinstalled. In the past, if we are considering the purchase of such a machine, I have
inserted a bootable standalone with Xwindows and network SL DVD -- if all of the hardware
is recognized (that is, drivers exist), we will consider the machine. If the machine has
proprietary MS Win hardware (drivers not part of the "stock" SL distribution),
we look elsewhere.
Is SL-72-x86_64-2016-02-03-LiveDVDkde.iso
<http://ftp1.scientificlinux.org/linux/scientific/7x/x86_64/iso/SL-72-x86_64-2016-02-03-LiveDVDkde.iso>
the correct image to burn to a DVD to be able to perform the above test (bootable, runs,
but does not install anything on the existing hard drive)? I prefer KDE to Gnome 3, but
could burn the gnome variant (SL-72-x86_64-2016-02-03-LiveDVDgnome.iso
<http://ftp1.scientificlinux.org/linux/scientific/7x/x86_64/iso/SL-72-x86_64-2016-02-03-LiveDVDgnome.iso>).
Will this test the WNIC as well as the video and audio cards in the machine? Are there
any predefined login/password accounts on the above ISO images, and if so, what account and
password? Typically, there were none.
Yasha Karant
I read there is a linux edition from the 'Inspiron 15 3000', but I haven't had
it in my own hands.
Maybe you can find some dedicated linux report.
She needs a laptop *NOW*. At a local Office Depot (a USA office supply
big box chain), I have found:
HP Pavilion Laptop Computer With 15.6" Screen & 6th Gen AMD Quad-Core
A10 Processor, Windows® 10, 15-ab153nr Item # 473975
Item # 473975
OfficeMax # 25099857
Manufacturer # N5R26UA#ABA
processor speed 1.8 GHz
processor brand AMD
maximum memory capacity 8 GB
optical drive SuperMulti DVD burner
hard drive type hard drive
Product Condition new
wired connectivity 10/100 Ethernet
manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
screen size 15.6 inches
integrated speakers Yes
video hardware AMD Radeon R6 Graphics with up to 4352MB total graphics
memory
peripherals included none
gaming PC no
front camera/webcam Yes
wireless connectivity 802.11b/g/n; Bluetooth
Operating Systems Windows 10
modem no modem
weight 4.89 lb
brand name HP
memory type DDR3L SDRAM
processor type A10
2 in 1 no
maximum battery life 7.5 hours
hard drive capacity 1 TB
screen resolution 1366 x 768
numeric keypad yes
memory card reader Yes
memory 8 GB
eco-label/standard ENERGY STAR; EPEAT Silver
processor model Quad-Core A10-8700P APU
ports 2 SuperSpeed USB 3.0; 1 USB 2.0; 1 HDMI; 1 RJ-45 (LAN); 1
headphone-out/microphone-in combination jack
warranty length 1-year limited
model name Pavilion 15-ab153nr
audio hardware B&O PLAY with dual speakers
Touchscreen no
Although this is a consumer machine (mine is a HP but
commercial/industrial/semi-"mil-spec", and fully supports SL), she does
not need to use it the way I need to.
I am assuming another 3 to 5 years. Other than a bit small in RAM for
full 64 bit operation, it should work -- and still has a RJ-45 802.3
jack for wired use. From what I can tell, all of
the hardware has SL 7 intrinsic drivers. Unless I know the box is
"linux certified" (my HP was), the only way I can check a consumer
commodity machine is to boot and verify that all of the hardware is
"seen" and "works".
How does one defeat UEFI for testing purposes in store?
Yasha Karant
