New Laptop compatible with Centos 8.2

Issues related to hardware problems
javier1122
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New Laptop compatible with Centos 8.2

Post by javier1122 » 2020/10/30 21:59:56

Hello,

I have read Centos WIKI tutorials for compatible laptops but all of them are very outdated (4-6 years old laptops).
I need a recommendation from the forum for a 100% compatible laptop of a well-known manufacturer like ASUS, Dell, Lenovo or Acer.

Mainly that the wifi driver is stable and works, and touchpad/trackpad also works by default. In general, all works stable.

It is really extremely complicate to find a compatible laptop, as manufacturers are launching ubuntu on them nowadays.
Even Redhat or fedora adds more drivers and do not move them to centos.

Any help is appreciated.

Regards,
Javier

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SecCon
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Re: New Laptop compatible with Centos 8.2

Post by SecCon » 2020/11/01 07:55:24

I can't recommend any laptop.

But.

let's say you look at the forums for a specific brand. In my case I went for Lenovo and since I see they release laptops with Linux distros on them I looked in their forums for additional info. I have installed different distros on my Lenovo and most work very well, but I cant tell you that "this" laptop will work. I already had my Lenovo and went from Windows to Linux as a bit of testing, nothing else. I do have OpenSUSE installed on it right now with zero issues.

Ask in the brand forum, see if they have users with other distros. It is easy to test using a "LiveCD" but then you need to get the laptop first, not the other way around.

I also found 40 matches searching for "laptop" on these forums, maybe some of the hits could be relevant.
Windows SysOp - Linux wannabe > CentOS newb.

javier1122
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Re: New Laptop compatible with Centos 8.2

Post by javier1122 » 2020/11/01 13:42:42

Thanks.
I try to look on Redhat forum for a compatible version for their system to have an idea:
https://catalog.redhat.com/hardware/workstations/search

But, then i realize Redhat & Fedora adds more driver support than CentOS. Seems, "on purpose" they remove drivers.

Thats why, i is extremely difficult to find a "new" laptop offered on any easy to find place to buy a Centos 8.2 Laptop fully working without issues.
Almost all notebooks i tested have wifi unstable, touchpad or trackpad do not working, or needs to recompile source code to build driver.

This is a field CentOS moderator and team need to focus, as Lenovo and others are moving to Ubuntu, which i also tested in many laptops and works perfect.

Still waiting from the forum an exact Laptop model fully working by default with CentOS. At least, CentOS coders need to have 1 CERTIFIED working workstation if they want to have a strong platform.

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TrevorH
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Re: New Laptop compatible with Centos 8.2

Post by TrevorH » 2020/11/01 14:52:52

But, then i realize Redhat & Fedora adds more driver support than CentOS. Seems, "on purpose" they remove drivers.
Not true. CentOS is a rebuild of RHEL and has exactly the same kernel configuration with the same drivers enabled.

Fedora is totally different and has drivers for everything including the kitchen sink enabled.
The future appears to be RHEL or Debian. I think I'm going Debian.
Info for USB installs on http://wiki.centos.org/HowTos/InstallFromUSBkey
CentOS 5 and 6 are deadest, do not use them.
Use the FAQ Luke

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SecCon
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Re: New Laptop compatible with Centos 8.2

Post by SecCon » 2020/11/01 15:33:17

Debian on the other hand... can casue issues for non intel hardware... been there and jumped ship. Thats why I am here... :D
Windows SysOp - Linux wannabe > CentOS newb.

javier1122
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Re: New Laptop compatible with Centos 8.2

Post by javier1122 » 2020/11/02 00:30:56


Not true. CentOS is a rebuild of RHEL and has exactly the same kernel configuration with the same drivers enabled.

Fedora is totally different and has drivers for everything including the kitchen sink enabled.

Well, if it is a rebuild it should work similar, but if i install redhat on any compatible certified list everything works smooth and without any issue, but if i install centos8.2 i have disk detection problems, etc.
Same list on : https://catalog.redhat.com/hardware/workstations/search
Do not work perfect on CentOS.

Still i wait for 1 (one) just one compatible laptop........ of any brand name.......
*Ubuntu works perfect in all notebooks i tested...but i need CentOS as it is same as my servers.

Javier
Last edited by javier1122 on 2020/11/03 14:30:44, edited 1 time in total.

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SecCon
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Re: New Laptop compatible with Centos 8.2

Post by SecCon » 2020/11/03 08:45:00

Going to test it on a Lenovo Thinkpad T460s. It is not the latest, but could give an indication.
Windows SysOp - Linux wannabe > CentOS newb.

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SecCon
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Re: New Laptop compatible with Centos 8.2

Post by SecCon » 2020/11/03 14:15:46

And it is ok, audio, storage, cpu, video, network... everything seems to work .

Anything in particular I should look up?
Windows SysOp - Linux wannabe > CentOS newb.

javier1122
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Re: New Laptop compatible with Centos 8.2

Post by javier1122 » 2020/11/03 14:30:17

SecCon wrote:
2020/11/03 14:15:46
And it is ok, audio, storage, cpu, video, network... everything seems to work .

Anything in particular I should look up?
Please check the following:
1) Touchpad / trackpad works correctly
2) Wifi driver is stable. (there is no alert "Wifi Adapter Not found" after some reboots, it often appears on some notebooks)

It is important that it works on one way directly installation, without any issues (or needs to manual recompile drivers, etc.)

Javier

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SecCon
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Re: New Laptop compatible with Centos 8.2

Post by SecCon » 2020/11/03 15:44:26

javier1122 wrote:
2020/11/03 14:30:17
Please check the following:
1) Touchpad / trackpad works correctly
2) Wifi driver is stable. (there is no alert "Wifi Adapter Not found" after some reboots, it often appears on some notebooks)

It is important that it works on one way directly installation, without any issues (or needs to manual recompile drivers, etc.)
Javier
Logged in as root:

- Wifi identified correctly, installed over Wifi (I have Ubiquiti equipment), signal is fine, no glitching. Rebooted after two updates, still takes wifi, no reconnect issues. Even Bluetooth works out of the box.
- Touchpad works, can use some of it's two finger commands, like scrolling and rightclick ( I have to say I am not a very proficient touchpad user - prefer to connect an external mouse). No warnings. Touchpad has additional settings identified within Settings.


Just to be clear, this is the laptop: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/se/en/prod ... pad-t460s/
Windows SysOp - Linux wannabe > CentOS newb.

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