I'm thinking of quiting windows and go with linux

[beickus]

ubuntu is so much faster booting - and the c drive seems to struggle with vista

[warnec]

I'm [b]sure[/b] the first thing I'll do after purchase is erasing Windows 7 entirely (maybe I'll make an external backup) and installing Ubuntu 10.10 (it won't be stable yet, but for modern laptops it's wiser to install as recent OS as possible)

One other thing (besides better effects with compiz, virtual desktops, better look, and faster bootup) is tp_smapi for ThinkPads:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Tp_smapi

It's farily hard to properly set up and configure, but it delivers everything Windows has, and some other functionality, one which I admire in particular : [b]ability to configure, which battery is discharged.[/b] Great when You have Ultrabay battery, because in Windows it is fully discharged as the first one and You can't change that. With tp_smapi, there is even a script which makes sure that both main and ultrabay battery have the same charge levels all the time (scripts switches between them to ensure the same charge percentage)

You can also control that ex. both batteries stop charging at 90% when connected to AC, and you are presented a warning when they drop to ex. 40% (useful to improve battery life, see more here:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Maintenance#Battery_treatment

)

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

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beickus wrote:

ubuntu is so much faster booting - and the c drive seems to struggle with vista

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you don't need the forum's approval to do the transition. Lot of people run linux on the thinkpads.

[zoltanthegypsy]

@beickus:  I'm a Linux fan, but I have to say that Win 7 runs really nicely on my T400.  Vista, not so much. Never thought I'd say something positive about a MS OS. I was forced to buy this thing with Vista on it.  Grrr.  Once I went to '7,  I was much happier.

@warnec: Burn your Product Recovery Media before you do anything else.  You may not want WinX on your machine, but the next owner might.  You can make the recovery media now for the cost of a few pieces of plastic, or $$ later.  Or you might want to take a walk on the dark side and give '7 a try...

@EVERYBODY: Burn your Product Recovery Media immediately on opening the box your new StinkPad came in.  NOW! (and don't fidget when I'm yelling at you...)

Z.

[warnec]

Just remember switchable graphics won't work. AFAIK, You can either set discrete Nvidia or integrated Intel chip in the BIOS. Switchable graphics support is in the works, but it will work only on the open-source GPU drivers for Linux, and these are currently inferior in many areas to their closed-source proprietiary counterparts which don't support switchable graphics.

@ zoltanthegypsy:

But it would require having the hidden recovery partition always available? Or not? I am planning to overwrite whole partition table, so that's why I'm asking. (I'm planning to buy a laptop with an SSD drive, and with it, proper manual patition alignment is crucial for the drive's life and performance, and that's why I want to do it myself)

[zoltanthegypsy]

warnec,

If I understand your question correctly, the answer is no.  The recovery partition is necessary when burning the recovery media, or when doing a restore to factory via the Think button (using the image in the recovery partition).

It is not necessary when restoring from the created media.  Everything necessary will be on the burned DVD and your HD/SSD will be completely rewritten.

Z.

[warnec]

@zoltanthegypsy:

great to know. thanks a lot.

[Anubis29]

Do it!

I have a dual boot  (linuxmint x64 8 and Windows Ultimate x64). Both were a replacement for the retarded vista that came with my laptop.

 I use windows about once or twice a week to use skype video conferencing with my mother who is in another country. Other than that, ALL the time it's linux.

I manage a large system admin department for a web hosting company and it's perfect for my work as well. Windows 7 runs much better than vista but I'm very comfortable in my linux environment anyways so it wasn't much of a choice. I would highly recommend linuxmint for anyone making the transition from windows (yes, over ubuntu) since it's even more refined than ubuntu.

[MrPeter1985 Guru]

Triple boot is so much fun.

[beickus]

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Anubis29 wrote:

Do it!

I have a dual boot  (linuxmint x64 8 and Windows Ultimate x64). Both were a replacement for the retarded vista that came with my laptop.

 I use windows about once or twice a week to use skype video conferencing with my mother who is in another country. Other than that, ALL the time it's linux.

I manage a large system admin department for a web hosting company and it's perfect for my work as well. Windows 7 runs much better than vista but I'm very comfortable in my linux environment anyways so it wasn't much of a choice. I would highly recommend linuxmint for anyone making the transition from windows (yes, over ubuntu) since it's even more refined than ubuntu.

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I have run many editions of ubuntu for the last 3 years from usb flash - also tried fedora, and a couple more but didn't like them

i was looking for a x-ubuntu alternative a long time... man you convinced me i'll try linuxmint and tell you