I recently purchased a Lenovo Ideapad S10e with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 preinstalled. I have created an account with Novell but the site asks for an Activation code to register my system. My documentation from Lenovo doesn't even mention Linux (it's all Windows) much less provide an Activation code.

When I run Novell Customer Center Configuration from YaST it goes through a process which at the end says:

Your configuration was successful
An update server has been added to your configuration

At no point am I asked to create an account I can use to access the Novell Customer Center website.

The Novell Customer Center Configuration entries it creates do mention a username but it's a 32 character hex string which the Novell Customer Center website doesn't accept.

Although I guess the key thing is I have the necessary Configured Software Catalogs and they do seem to work, I wonder if they will only work for a limited period?

I know with preinstalled Windows the onus is on the PC Manufacturer to support the software, would the same be true with SUSE Linux preinstalled by Lenovo?

Thanks for any advice

Lester

I just purchased an S9e with Novell SLED installed and I am having the same issue. The only serial number I can find is the series of numbers after S/N on a stick on the bottom of the case. This is not accepted. I've tried other numbers

 

Either that or the Novell site is just broken. It doesn't give you any useful feedback like "incorrect password, sod off" so who knows? Hopefully someone reading this... 

 

Or perhaps all the linux people have already wiped SLED and put Ubuntu Netbook on it? 

 

Thanks for any insight, 

I had little joy with either Novell or Lenovo.  I have  now wiped SUSE Linux and replaced it with both Ubuntu and Fedora.  In the end SUSE Linux didn't offer anything the others didn't have.  Generally I found Ubuntu 9 quicker and simpler to use and configure. btw I tried Ubuntu netbook but had strange problems with it so stuck with Ubuntu 9.

I used the restore disc and set up the Novell Customer Center Configuration during the initial installation. I told it to include registration information under the "Include for convenience" section... I don't recall that in YaST. It did some stuff, taking forever, and eventually landed me at a Novell web page where I was prompted to click "Continue." There was no prompt for a serial number or anything. After a few more minutes of doing whatever it was doing and accepting Novell's public keys, I ended up with functioning updates. Yay!

 

That said, I've discovered that the 4GB model I have doesn't even have enough leftover space to apply the updates. LOL!

 

I'm going to try Ubuntu Netbook Remix and Moblin but, like you, I'll probably settle with the latest regular Ubuntu (or as much of it as I can fit on the drive!)