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    [Newb] Considering switching to linux

    Discussion in 'Linux Compatibility and Software' started by iamtehwalrus, Jun 27, 2008.

  1. iamtehwalrus

    iamtehwalrus Newbie

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    I just got a Lenovo ThinkPad X61s (with Vista)

    I've never used linux before, but I'm sort of curious. My plan was to reformat entirely and install ubuntu

    however, my main concern was that my thinkvantage software wouldn't work. The things that come to mind are my battery power manager and the active protection system (hard drive "airbag")

    If I reformat and use linux instead, will I lose these options? I'm sure I'd still be able to change my power settings, but will my hard drive protection stop working?

    Is there anything else I might "lose" if I switch to linux?
     
    iamtehwalrus, Jun 27, 2008
    #1
  2. wearetheborg

    wearetheborg Notebook Virtuoso

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    I would not recommend wiping out vista. Do a dual boot and keep both OS's.
    There has been some experimental work on linux active protection system. Not sure if it will work.

    I believe you will also lose the power manager features
     
    wearetheborg, Jun 27, 2008
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  3. bmwrob

    bmwrob Notebook Virtuoso

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    I think Ubuntu is a good choice, but I'd recommend trying the LiveCD prior to installing, just to see exactly what does work on your machine. You may find that a different distro works better (though I doubt it). Besides, distro-hopping is fun for most of us. Good luck.
     
    bmwrob, Jun 27, 2008
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  4. lemur

    lemur Emperor of Lemurs

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    What does that mean?

    On my Compal IFL90 (aka Sager NP2090) I have all the power manager features I could want.
     
    lemur, Jun 27, 2008
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  5. wearetheborg

    wearetheborg Notebook Virtuoso

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    I was thinking about the battery power manager. In thinkpads with windows, you can choose when the battery will start charging to maximise battery life.

    iamtehwalrus, however you CAN control CPU frequency.
     
    wearetheborg, Jun 27, 2008
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  6. Bog

    Bog Losing it...

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    ThinkVantage is Windows software unless I'm mistaken, so Linux won't run it. The HD protection system (an accelerometer that parks the R/W heads when it detects sudden acceleration) won't work out of the box, but you should check ThinkWiki to see whether it can be set up.
     
    Bog, Jun 27, 2008
    #6