Victor Munoz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Currently I'm considering R50, T41, T42 models, but I'm open to suggestions!
I had the opportunity to play with a T42p just yesterday. h/w-wise, I am impressed. I still have the machine available for some time, so if there are specific points worrying you, I can play with it a bit more - e.g. lspci output, default partitions layout, stuff like that. > It will probably not be possible to buy a laptop without XP installed. In the package I got, there was a paper stating that if I didn't want to use some of the pre-installed software, I could write to IBM and get a refund. It wasn't clear if the offer applied to the pre-installed OS or only to the pre-installed extra s/w. Maybe this is a French specific disposition. Also, maybe it is theorically possible but practically undoable. > I've read that one has to be very careful when first booting, > because Windows XP converts the file system from VFAT to > NTFS. It does. Careful, as in, I guess pulling the plug during the conversion might screw up things. Or as in, insert the install CD soon enough so you don't boot XP at all - It all depends on what you want to achieve. > 1. If I naively do a normal boot, then filesystem conversion will take > place, and I will not be able to (easily) resize partitions to make room for > Linux later? AFAIK, ntfs partitions can be resized. Maybe not all partition editors can do it, but I think Knoppix's can. Ubuntu can't right now, be it is on the roadmap. > Or the only problem with NTFS is that they're read-only? Linux's NTFS support is read-only (or read-write, if you are prepared to jumps through hoops). General piece of advice for dual-boot linux/windows machines: keep a VFAT partition somewhere. > 2. If I keep XP, then I also have to keep the "recovery" partition. Right? If you want to be able to "recover", I guess it's necessary. Otherwise, just wipe out the thing. > 3. If I keep XP, what would be a suitable partition size for it? I will not > really use it, just a backup in case I need to know about some hardware, > until I'm sure sid is working properly with all hardware. In my experience, 2/3 Go is about the least viable minimum size for XP these days. > 4. A simpler alternative would be to boot first time with Knoppix, which > seems to do a very good job detecting hardware. Learn all I have to learn > with Knoppix, and then delete all partitions and start with a pure Debian > system. If anything, that should be simpler than going the dual-boot road. > Any horror stories out there? Have a look at http://modular.fas.harvard.edu/t42/ (linked from http://www.linux-on-laptops.com) to get more info. > 5. This recovery partition, is of use only to Windows? The "delete all > partitions" part above is safe if I intend to have Debian only? Definitively yes. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]