Seems like a good time to -- assuming anyone's still using a netbook. Long-time Slashdot reader writes: I'm looking for a cheap lightweight netbook that is Linux-friendly, i.e. Lets me install Linux without any shoddy modern BIOS getting in my way. The Lenovo 100S-11 looks really neat, but I just read about installation problems.

Are there any alternatives? And if there aren't, what experience do you guys have running Linux on a Chromebook using Crouton -- the Linux-parallel-to-Chrome-OS hack? Is it a feasible alternative to dumping ChromeOS and installing a 100% lightweight Linux?

His budget is around $200, and he ends his submission with 'Many thanks from a fellow Slashdotter.' So leave your suggestions in the comments. What's the best cheap Linux-friendly netbook? I have two X201s, and the biggest problem with both is that the wifi needs replacing, and I can't be bothered to do that. (Basically I use the ethernet port, though I have known some USB wifi dongles to cause total lockups.) That said, my recommendation to anybody who does not need a high-end gaming or 3d laptop, and is on a budget, to go for something like a refurb Lenovo thinkpad.

They're just so much better built and designed than consumer laptops, and provided you stick with the Windows 7 Pro they were d. The Asus X201E/F201E (X or F depending on where they were released) are GREAT. I have bought several of them on ebay, put in a cheap 120 GB SSD and installed Ubuntu. Perfect Netbook. It's cheap, it's solid, very lightweight, very good screen (although glossy), decent keyboard, even has a USB 3 (plus 2 USB 2). Battery is good for 4 hours of work or 1 movie (or 2 episodes).

The power adapter is fairly small and light too. They even look decent. Fairly good build quality too. So far none of the 6 I. Thinkpads have been solid workhorses for me. Do _not_ expect to run extensive virtualized environments or multiple docker containers, and under _no_ circumstances use the default Gnome or KDE window managers common to modern Linux distributions. There are many better window managers, far more stable and far less resource gobbling window managers.

But a few days ago I installed last updates for my Windows 10 Home which caused me problem. The Ethernet interface is disconnected and the HDMI interface does not detect my second display. Update of all drivers for my laptop does not help me and it occurs everytime short after restart. Is there any way to fix it?

Since the underlying graphical environment is one of the most memory, disk, and battery consuming features of modern Linux operating systems, keeping the environment lean will make it perform far better and extend its physical lifespan. Not sure why you say that. Computers haven't advanced that much in the last 5 years. My x220 runs a normal desktop with fancy compiz effects.

And I regularly run Windows 7 in a virtual machine. It can handle that just fine. And I'm sure Docker would be fine. Gnome 3 also runs just fine. You can pretty much load up the RAM on the x220 as much as some current laptops.

It's got 4 cores at 2.6 GHz and can handle 8 GB RAM. Besides more cores and more RAM, current laptops are not any faster. In fact the x. _Modest_ virtualization, and modest graphics, can work well on reasonably modern laptops. Note that I said 'Do _not_ expect to run extensive virtualized environments or multiple docker containers'. I was referring to environments I've personally worked with where people set up one VM as a highly secure firewall for testing, another for database operations, another for web services, another for credentials management, etc., etc.

If you start running each of those VM's with Gnome active, expect to run out of r. I swore off buying used computer equipment two weeks ago.

I got a Samsung tablet at a pawn shop for a little over $100 a few months ago. Its CPU failed two weeks ago, and there's really no repairing a tablet or laptop. I don't know if Acer still makes Aspire Ones any more, but Kubuntu works on mine better than Windows does.

Unfortunately, KDE 'Windows eighted' its desktop. I'm looking for a distro with a less insane, more customizable interface. I'm also trying to find one that will run on a Gateway 450 lapt.

Thanks to the original Slashdot poster. I really need to replace my old MSI u100. I use it for light web browsing, remote terminals, and configuring equipment in the field. Sadly everyone seems to be abandoning the still usable 32bit CPU's The old Thinkpad x200 thru x230 really look like a good deals. They even have tablet versions. A slightly increased screen and keyboard size will be welcome. Great keyboards for terminal use.

I can use the expressport to install firewire for debugging other machines. Just get a regular Chromebook, unlock it and install Linux. That depends on whether the unlocking process also disables the firmware's 'security feature' of begging the user to reenable 'OS verification', which wipes the drive and reinstalls the stock OS. If someone unwittingly activates a wipe, you lose all uncommitted work and the use of the laptop until you return home to the recovery media.

I only recall seeing that on powerup and its a quite easy thing to answer 'no' to. Never perceived it as a problem. In normal day-to-day work the device was just sleeping and waking and I don't recall any such prompt.

Also, nothing of value should exist on a single storage device. On the road I'll carry an encrypted USB stick to backup important files to periodically. There is not excuse for not having a backup. Also, nothing of value should exist on a single storage device. On the road I'll carry an encrypted USB stick to backup important files to periodically. There is not excuse for not having a backup.

That's why I said 'lose all uncommitted work and the use of the laptop', not 'lose data' altogether. After you return home where you keep your backups, you can restore the OS and restore your data back to the last commit. But until you arrive, you're out of luck unless you carry enough restoration media to restore not only 'important files' but also the. Now that the wifi drivers work out of the box with the most recent Linux distributions, the HP Stream 11 works well and has a better keyboard than the Lenovo. Secureboot can be turned off in the BIOS. You might have to tinker with the synaptics.conf file to get the clickpad functions to all work the way you want them.

Both battery life and performance are decent. (I'm using the older Celeron N2840 version - there's a newer N3050 version that I haven't tested running Linux. Strangely, for raw compute power. For less than the budget mentioned, I recently bought a seven year old business class / 'durable build' name brand laptop. I installed the current mint distro, allowing it to completely replace the obsolete version of MS windows that was on it.

This worked out so well that I bought a second, and bought Win 10 for it. I wound up with 2 shiny aluminum clad business laptops with my two favorite operating systems. They even came with extra batteries. I know this is not what you asked for, but, I felt, worthy of. I'm writing this on a Dell Latitude E6500 I picked up for $50.

64 bit 2.8ghz core2duo processor, 4GB of ram and 500GB hard drive and a dedicated Nvidia GPU with it's own ram. Big, heavy but built like a brick with a bright screen. It's awesome and I don't mind lugging 10 pounds around since the keyboard is a delight to type on.

The only thing my Macbook pro has better is the trackpad. Running Peppermint 7 OS on it and I find myself using it more than the Mac for internet stuff even though the Mac has a. Being older you probably won't have any issues getting the drivers to work (although I have had bad luck Toshiba laptops), and of course there won't be any SecureBoot headaches either. The main thing I'd look out for is bad keyboards. In fact when I'm using my laptop as a desktop replacement I always use an external keyboard to cut down on wear and tear. Replacing keyboards can be a pain in the neck so I'd look on iFixit or some other repair site for ones where this repair is easy.

I actually didn't have. [amazon.com] I bought 3 of these. 1.6 GHz Braswell Celeron N3050 processor, actually better than the new version that recently replaced it. 2GB DDR3 RAM, Ok that's just barely enough but it does work ok 32GB flash memory This machine is totally silent, fanless and no hard drive. Well built with a good Intel 802.11ac wireless chip.

This was Microsoft's attempt to compete in the education market against Chromebooks. It failed because even 32 bit Windows 10 is too bulky to run well on this machine. I replaced Windows with 64 bit Ubuntu Linux using the XFCE desktop. I don't know if Unity will run on this machine but I don't like Unity anyway.

It's best to install Linux with the UEFI boot left in place. Ubuntu works ok with UEFI. You just have to follow the online instructions. My last Notebook was a Windows 8 Notebook that I immediately formatted without booting into Windows one time with my Particular Linux Distribution. I could boot it using CSM or non-Secure Boot UEFI. I never booted Windows once, What I don't know is, (I've considerd ChromeBooks for a while) can a ChromeBook boot from a Linux install DVD and completely eradicate the Chrome OS Installation and boot only the Linux install of my choice, or will the BIOS get in the way, because ChromeOS is completely useless.

These are ten year old laptops going from $60-$200 on eBay depending on condition and options. They will run Mint or Ubuntu with nothing customized, and support a built in RJ45 network port, lots of USB ports, up to 8GB RAM, SSD, etc. I give them out at Christmas to friends struggling with Windows. Note: They come with two graphic adapter options. One of which is Nvidia.

If you get the one with Nvidia you *must* install the proprietary 'blob' driver from Nvidia, as the open source Nouveau driver does not (d. I croutoned a Lenovo 100s Chromebook ($150 on sale) over two months ago and since then have been using it five days a week for about four hours a day on my long train commute.

Most of that time has been in Blender 3D (which required a few tweaks to its system preferences due to graphics crashes). Some observations: 1. You have to be in 'Developer Mode' and push Ctrl-D when rebooting.

Once I accidentally hit the spacebar (which will reset to a fresh install of ChromeOS, deleting your crouton installation) bu. Chromebooks are pretty high quality and worth considering especially given the price. From experience: ChromeOS is a nice idea but the web isn't there yet and Google's (slow) integration of Android, to a certain extent, is a surrender in recognition of that fact. I wasn't impressed with Crouton. Well, know, wait, that's unfair: what Crouton does is impressive, but it's one of those things where you think 'This is what you want', and you get it, and you realize that wasn't really what you wanted. Crouton offers a way to get a user session from Ubuntu (or whatever) to co-exist with your ChromeOS session, but it only really works if you want one of the major desktops on an older version of Ubuntu. And when you finally get it working, you end up asking yourself 'Why?

Why not have full Ubuntu, rather than just a user session?' And then you say 'Ah, but this lets me switch between ChromeOS and half assed Ubuntu' and then you slap yourself and say 'Why the f--- would you want ChromeOS if you're running Ubuntu anyway?' The next step is [chrx.org].

Chrx is a tool to actually install Ubuntu on your Chromebook - I mean, properly, not a subset. The process feels a little like installing Slackware on a Gateway 2000 PC from the late 1990s, which is odd because Chromebook hardware is more standardized, but, well. You'll need to patch your Chromebook's BIOS, for example. Oddly it's to support something called 'Legacy boot', which raises an obvious question. Chrx does allow you to partition the laptop's SSD so you can keep ChromeOS for those occasions it might be useful. But otherwise you get to install either pure Ubuntu, or (the default) a modified version called GalliumOS which has its own 'optimal' desktop.

I'm running the latter, with Cinnamon, and it mostly works, except the multimedia keys don't do anything (so I can't adjust the volume easily), and the mousepad is always 'tap to click' for some reason. Like I said, it's like installing Slackware on a 1990s PC. If you have patience, a Chromebook is a good idea. Like I said, very high quality hardware for the price. But you need patience. Oh, I forgot to stress.

An SSD is a life-saver. They're rapidly coming down in price so if you get a laptop without one, just buy one already. 32 GB in my Chromebook is too small for media at times, but modern SSD's are comparatively huge, and cost next to nothing. Rock Plaza Central Are We Not Horses Rearing. I got a 250 GB for my computer for $45 shipped and it's not the 'fastest' SSD (I've got faster ones in my computer as well), but it was cheap and it's still (actual) 15x times faster than my next physical hard drive. SSD's are night-and-day diff. I've been running crouton on a toshiba chromebook for a couple years now and I use it with surprising frequency.

Cummins Incal December 2012 Movie on this page. I spend most of my time on the linux side, running terminals, vpns, and some custom chat and web apps. It's not my main system but I frequently use it as a supplement. The downside of the config is the annoying/slow 'developer mode' bios warning on reboot that you get from unlocking the chromebook bios, and the 3-4 commands you have to run after each reboot to get crouton up and running and happy. Luckily you don't need to reboot often.

My average is about once every two months because I've let the battery run down too far. I'm very happy with it especially for the price.

First with Crouton you can work with many Unix distributions, but if you wipe / install Linux clearly you can work with any one you want. Second, if you really want Linux and wish to use it 50, 70 or 80 or 99% of the time, you should prob.

Install Linux. I've used Ubuntu since 2009 as primary desktop until 2015 (July) when I purchased a Chromebook Pixel -- I use that device as my primary desktop, and use Crouton running Ubuntu when there is something I can't do in Chrome OS like run Audacity, record in Skype, etc. 14.04 LTS Unity with touch works very well. I'm currently using Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS but not w/ Unity - it doesn't work as well but is reliable.

Now that I have access to Android Apps I now have fewer reasons to run Ubuntu. ChromeOS + Linux (via Crouton) + Android Apps = is really an amazingly powerful system. ChromeOS is fairly secure, Android Apps offer a lot of flexibility and Ubuntu/Linus can do mostly everything else. Thanks for all the wonderful input, I'm learning quite a bit. I get the 'refurbished ThinkPad' path, I've done that myself. My large refurbished 15' W530 running Xubuntu 16.4 LTS is basically my luggable workstation. However, knowing myself I'd get a 12' X230 for 350 Euros, then an extra battery pack for 200 Euros to extend the battery life from 4 hours to 16, then I'd get extra RAM and an SSD and land somewhere around 800 - 1000 Euros.

I'd have a small and good machine that would be overkill for. Airs always rate low on repairability, 90% of the 11in form were sold with only 4gigs and usually a small ssd, which has a proprietary connector, newer models even use Apple's pentalobe screws (which are ridiculously small and easy to strip). Yes, the pentalobes are a pain in the ass, but only when you first encounter them. Anyone who regularly goes inside computers has a multi-driver set with Phillips, Allen (hex), Torx, pentalobe, trilobe, square, security Torx, and flat. (Did I miss any?) I fixed-up my girl's MacBook Air with a bigger SSD. Also stuck in a micro-CF card with a case-flush outer bezel for a scratch HD. RE RAM, many Macs have been found to support more than in the official specs.

Go to [macsales.com], and y. I bought a Lenovo S21e about a year ago. A few hours with the Windows sales and merchandising festival of tricks wore me out.

For the conversion to Ubuntu Linux I wound up getting a USB 3.0 port extender with an ethernet socket and three USB 3.0 ports, plus a 128 Gig micro SD card. I did a more or less conventional install of the latest Ubuntu Linux, I believe from a 2 Gig USB flash drive with the computer attached to the Internet by way of the external ethernet connection provided by the port extender dev. Get an inexpensive Windows 10 machine to guarantee that you can run all the software you need, and run whatever distro of Linux you want in a VM. And have the spyware that comes with MS Windows sniff the keyboard and send all your passwords to only Satya Nadella knows where? Anyway: Linux is just much more usable: I have spent some 6 hours installing, then a couple of weeks later: uninstalling and reinstalling printer drivers for an HP printer on a friend's MS Win 10 box.

My Linux Mint laptop (Mate desktop) printed a test page on it in about 60 seconds and just works, drivers already there. MS Windows is just user hostile and hard to use.