Compatibility With Laptops (Lenovo Legion Y520 80WK)

[m_grommash]

Hi guys,

im planning on switching to Linux (most probably Ubuntu) this weekend but ive heard from my friend that Linux doesnt pair very well with laptops.
As the title says, I own Lenovo Legion y520 80wk and after browsing the Lenovo's website and forums I didnt manage to find my model in the compatibility list,
thus i have a question:

1) did anybody have experience with Lenovo Legion laptops (especially with my model)?
2) Is there much of a difference between Ubuntu installed on Laptops vs the ones on Servers? (because thats one of the main reasons im installing it)
3) Is the installing really worth it in general or that be a pain in the ass for me to use it when it comes to updating drivers and dealing with/audio/wifi/bluetooth compitability?

For reference:
1) Im a Windows user who got a bit tired of random viruses on my laptop (although recently ive been installing only programming related apps like code editors or SQL clients like PL/SQL from official websites)
2) The performance of my laptop been going down lately
3) Im switching to Linux to get used to its commands, which would be helpful in my future job that im switching into (Data Engineering), and would like to try something new in general
4) I never installed any OS myself (yes thats quite ironical to hear from a wannabe guy whos switching to tech job, but im very eager to learn)

Any answers and step-by-step guides would be much appreciated!

 

[Brickwizard]

Welcome
OK so you have a Lenovo y520 from around the beginning of 2017, made for Win 10, this should be able to run any desktop Linux you fancy, possibly a bit of work may be required for the Gforce graphics and whatever wi-fi chipset it has [I suspect it may be RTL]

https://www.linux.org/threads/what-is-the-best-linux-distribution-which-should-i-use.43789/

https://www.linux.org/threads/how-do-i-try-linux.45037/

How Do I Install Linux (A General Guide) • Linux Tips

 

[m_grommash]

Welcome
OK so you have a Lenovo y520 from around the beginning of 2017, made for Win 10, this should be able to run any desktop Linux you fancy, possibly a bit of work may be required for the Gforce graphics and whatever wi-fi chipset it has [I suspect it may be RTL]

https://www.linux.org/threads/what-is-the-best-linux-distribution-which-should-i-use.43789/

https://www.linux.org/threads/how-do-i-try-linux.45037/

How Do I Install Linux (A General Guide) • Linux Tips

Many thanks, i’ll take into consideration the links. Tomorrow i’m getting a 6gb pendrive to download the Linux installer - will that amount of space be enough?

And what drivers do i have to download for my new OS?

 

[Brickwizard]

to make an installation bootable ISO pen-drive, it needs to be a min of 4 gb so 6 will be fine, i always say get the best quality you can afford, cheap ones often cause problems]
Linux comes with 90% of the drivers you will require, many of which will self install, some graphic and wi-fi will need to be done manually.

 

[m_grommash]

Welcome
OK so you have a Lenovo y520 from around the beginning of 2017, made for Win 10, this should be able to run any desktop Linux you fancy, possibly a bit of work may be required for the Gforce graphics and whatever wi-fi chipset it has [I suspect it may be RTL]

https://www.linux.org/threads/what-is-the-best-linux-distribution-which-should-i-use.43789/

https://www.linux.org/threads/how-do-i-try-linux.45037/

How Do I Install Linux (A General Guide) • Linux Tips

Hi, Wizard. I'm preparing for the Linux installation with your guide and once I flashed the installation file with BalenaEtcher, I encountered the following message from Windows: format the disk in drive before you can use it.

I could do the formatting since I have no files on my flash drive but the formatting option that is set by default is FAT32 (and not exFat, which is my format of flash drive), but the questions are:
1) After flashing the Linux installer, Windows started to recognize my flash drive as 2 separate disks, ( F: ) and ( G: ) ( and not just ( F: ), should i format both of them?
2) Will the formatting damage the flash drive?
3) Do i have to even do anything with it or just start the installation since the flash drive will be seen by computer during installation anyways?

Thank you in advance

 

[Brickwizard]

Which Distribution have you chosen?
1] if your mean your usb drive with the installation ISO on it, then format as a single drive as Fats ot ex-fats
2]formatting any drive will completely wipe any information on it, if it has been use to store files/folders, then thease will need to be saved to another source
3] once you start to install linux you will get the partition manager pop up, use the drop down box to select the target drive,[if you have more than 1] otherwise select install alongside windows [the installer will partition the disk for you and install grub] or select use complete drive, this will wipe the Hardrive compleatly and install your Distribution to it.

 

[m_grommash]

Which Distribution have you chosen?
1] if your mean your usb drive with the installation ISO on it, then format as a single drive as Fats ot ex-fats
2]formatting any drive will completely wipe any information on it, if it has been use to store files/folders, then thease will need to be saved to another source
3] once you start to install linux you will get the partition manager pop up, use the drop down box to select the target drive,[if you have more than 1] otherwise select install alongside windows [the installer will partition the disk for you and install grub] or select use complete drive, this will wipe the Hardrive compleatly and install your Distribution to it.

I chose Ubuntu (the latest version)
Yes, i meant the usb drive with the iso installation on it, but if I format the flash drive, wouldn't the installer be gone too?
UPD: tried to format the flash drive. Didn't work. The windows message pops-up: Disk is protected against overwriting (I think it means write-formatting, I just don't use english version of windows so I translated the message myself)

 

[Brickwizard]

Yes, i meant the usb drive with the iso installation on

ok so this is what i do almost daily, download my chosen distribution as an iso file [make sure you download the AM86 version for AMD and most Intel chips, or the arm version if you have an arm chip] open my write program, insert the USB, and tell it to write to the USB, and format the drive [it will automatically be wiped and formatted Fats/exfats] then the ISO written to it.

UPD: tried to format the flash drive. Didn't work. The windows message pops-up: Disk is protected against overwriting

Sounds like there is a write protection application at the beginning of the USB that need clearing

 

[Brickwizard]

if still having problems then try Rufus to write your ISO to the Pen-drive, [not my favourite writer but sometimes works better with windows]

 

[m_grommash]

ok so this is what i do almost daily, download my chosen distribution as an iso file [make sure you download the AM86 version for AMD and most Intel chips, or the arm version if you have an arm chip] open my write program, insert the USB, and tell it to write to the USB, and format the drive [it will automatically be wiped and formatted Fats/exfats] then the ISO written to it.

Sounds like there is a write protection application at the beginning of the USB that need clearing

Let me make sure I understood you right: by "my chosen distribution" you mean the one I downloaded - Ubuntu? and by "my write program" you mean BalenaEtcher?

If so, i did these steps and did write the iso file to the usb with BalenaEtcher, but the content of the usb became invisible to my laptop after (it doesn't say how many GB I have on my flash drive and doesn't open either) and for some reason my laptop now sees it as 2 separate flash drives.
I tried formatting the 'F:' flash drive but not so sure about trying the same thing with 'G:' (the clone of 'F:' that I mentioned)

I've tried possible solution of impossibility to format the disk where to solve this I have to change the 'read-only' attribute of my flash drive from 'yes' to 'no', but it's already set as 'no' (not read-only), so I shouldn't encounter this problem when formatting but I do..

 

[Brickwizard]

what hapens when you switch off the laptop, put the USB in then switch on whilst tickling the short boot key [Lenovo that's either F8,F10 or F12] I would start with F12 as that is the most common,?
what you should get is a short boot menu showing your HDD your USB pen-drive and any other storage devices, if this is what you get then select USB and enter, Ubuntu should now load into trial [live] mode, once this is installed make sure everything including sound and wi-fi are working, then select install and follow the instructions in my guide.

note as your machine was made for W10 make sure you disable Secure boot [usually in the BIOS/UEFI under security] and fast boot/quick start [usually found in the BIOS/UEFI under power settings]

 

[m_grommash]

what hapens when you switch off the laptop, put the USB in then switch on whilst tickling the short boot key [Lenovo that's either F8,F10 or F12] I would start with F12 as that is the most common,?
what you should get is a short boot menu showing your HDD tour USB pen-drive and any other storage devices, if this is what you get then select USB and enter, Ubuntu should now load into trial [live] mode, once this is installed make sure everything including sound and wi-fi are working, then select install and follow the instructions in my guide.

note as your machine was made for W10 make sure you disable Secure boot [usually in the BIOS/UEFI under security] and fast boot/quick start [usually found in the BIOS/UEFI under power settings]

Hi, Wizard, I did as you said and opened the boot menu. I selected “try or install Ubuntu” and loading screen appeared. Seems like everything works fine, but I have a few questions:

1) I totally forgot to mention that my thermal paste wasn’t changed in quite some time and due to that the laptop stopped seeing its graphic card, so it works with an implemented basic video card (that is quite weak) will there be any problem with graphic card drivers installations?
2) Are they even installed by default?
3) If yes, can I install them myself later on when i’ll fix my laptop in the near future?
4) Does linux see basic laptop graphic cards? (this graphic card doesnt have any name i suppose so i cant give you any for reference)

 

[Brickwizard]

Linux contains basic bios drivers [which You are on] this is fine for now, as we can now progress,
we need to check the chipset for both Graphics and Wi-Fi.
in test mode connect to the internet, next open a terminal [black icon with >=] type in [or copy and paste from here]
inxi -G
inxi -Nn

then copy the reports back here
[you may need to install inxi from the software manager]

we will then be able to point you to the correct drivers

 

[Brickwizard]

I forgot to say enter after each command

 

[m_grommash]

Linux contains basic bios drivers [which You are on] this is fine for now, as we can now progress,
we need to check the chipset for both Graphics and Wi-Fi.
in test mode connect to the internet, next open a terminal [black icon with >=] type in [or copy and paste from here]
inxi -G
inxi -Nn

then copy the reports back here
[you may need to install inxi from the software manager]

we will then be able to point you to the correct drivers

I forgot to say enter after each command

No worries! I understood you but it’s just a bit late and I have to wake up in 4 hours for my work, so I’ll do that tomorrow.

By the way, I managed to install the OS ( with your help) and it runs smoothly. Very pleased with Linux first time impression.

But I know that it’s just a start! See you tomorrow, Wizard, thank you again

 

[Brickwizard]

I have to wake up in 4 hours for my work

Im ready for bed and will be up again in 7 hrs and on line in 8,

 

[m_grommash]

Im ready for bed and will be up again in 7 hrs and on line in 8,

Hi, Wizard, I am back from work and I just noticed that after turning my laptop on, instead of opening Ubuntu straight forward, the laptop opens the boot and it asks me what I want to choose - just like it did when I was installing my OS.

Among all choices it does have not only Ubuntu but also Windows. Seems like I did choose wrong hard disk when installing OS and my Windows is still installed (although i didn’t choose dual boot option during installation) can I still erase the memory from the hard disk where windows belonged (and still remains as i suspect)?

And after we done, are there any „starter drivers” that I should download for my fresh Ubuntu? And if yes, where do I have to find them? because I’ve noticed that Linux users also use repositories or just linux application stores (don’t remember the exact name) for downloading software

 

[Brickwizard]

Among all choices it does have not only Ubuntu but also Windows.

for now that's fine at least you still have windows as a fallback, until you are used to Ubuntu [as I run far more distros on test than you have I get quite a long list to choose from,]
what we now need to concentrate on are the Wi-Fi and graphics, [run the inxi as above] the only other things to consider are peripherals [printers/scanners/print readers etc] that may need specialist drivers

 

[Brickwizard]

I’ve noticed that Linux users also use repositories or just linux application stores

Now this is a different topic, so this is MY own opinion on the matter,

The distribution builder will have tested any applications [Linux and IOS call them apps , MS calls them programs] to be fully compatible with their build, so for the safest installation we always try the Distribution repository [which is accessed by the software manager], but can also be accessed using Synaptic, these will also install any dependencies, you can also use the terminal, but dependencies do not always install
second choice is from a recognised repository belonging to a third party [parts manufacture, GitHub etc] [if in doubt just ask one of us will say if we think it may be a problem]
PLEASE avoid installing any app or dependency from any other third party link, this is the fastest way to corrupt your Linux

NOW to reiterate from my how-to guide, once you are happy with your set-up use "TIMESHIFT " or similar recovery app. Oh and make sure you turn your firewall on, it comes as a part of most builds but is not activated

 

[m_grommash]

for now that's fine at least you still have windows as a fallback, until you are used to Ubuntu [as I run far more distros on test than you have I get quite a long list to choose from,]
what we now need to concentrate on are the Wi-Fi and graphics, [run the inxi as above] the only other things to consider are peripherals [printers/scanners/print readers etc] that may need specialist drivers

Yes you were right, I need to install inxi first.
This is the result i get:

~$ inxi -G
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel HD Graphics 630 driver: i915 v: kernel
Device-2: NVIDIA GP107M [GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile] driver: nvidia
v: 535.171.04
Device-3: Bison EasyCamera driver: uvcvideo type: USB
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.11 with: Xwayland v: 23.2.6 driver: X:
loaded: modesetting,nvidia unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915
resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz
API: EGL v: 1.5 drivers: iris,nvidia,swrast
platforms: x11,surfaceless,device
API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 24.0.5-1ubuntu1
renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 630 (KBL GT2)
~$ inxi -nn


Network:
Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
driver: ath10k_pci
Device-2: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet
driver: r8169
IF: enp4s0 state: down mac: 8c:16:45:30:70:6b
IF-ID-1: enx429c2865b3f9 state: up speed: N/A duplex: N/A
mac: 42:9c:28:65:b3:f9