> I am thinking of buying a laptop, probably second hand, with the > intention of running linux only. Does anyone have any experience with > installing and using linux on laptops? Can anyone recommend any > particular laptop brands/models for running linux? What can I do to make > sure that any laptop that I buy will be useable with linux? (for > example: tests I can run on the laptop while in the shop, useful tools - > tomsrtbt?, etc...)
Step one is to look through the HOWTO's and MINI HOWTO's- some truly valuable info in there. Second- you really want to load from CD- Option one is to use a pcmcia cdrom (parellel port cd's appear to require drivers that you don't have in the base disk images.) You MUST have a floppy on board to boot form, and it's nice to have for rescue operations. (This is my experience so far, and is based on the fact that most older laptops don't have bootable cdroms). I've had good experience with the Thinkpad from IBM (I'd advise either a 755 or later model). An onboard cdrom is a waste of battery time and money- I think. Used laptops cost a lot more with cd's than without. (and a pcmcia cdrom can be had for $60 if you are patient.) The IBM thinkpad series also accepts the wonderful DOCK-II docking station, which has a fully supported adaptec aha152x (sp?) scsi controller and installing from cdrom on one of these is easy. (scsi cdroms are *sweet*).You also have an open bay and an open spot on your internal scsi cable. This also has two open isa slots and two additional pcmcia slots. The removable hard drive (on mine, a 755CE, it's a 540meg) is easy to replace and hard drives can be had- in the thinkpad casing, for 3040 bucks. There are also (big bennie) some hacked video modes for X that work well. The major downside is that thinkpads use mwave sound/modem cards. These are currently not supported under linux, though work is being done on that. There is a hack for linux involving a special boot floppy which will get the sound working, but the modem is a no-go. I'm to be testing an NEC versa V series as soon as the rest of the parts arrive- research indicates that there won't be a problem with it, but Thinkpad 755/760 series laptops and parts tend to run a bit less (money), and with higher performance, on ebay at least. The seller for me is the engineering of the Docking station- having the capability to put a complete scsi based desktop together (I have a scsi cdrom, 5430 meg scsi drive, pcmcia modem, keyboard, trackbal and old cast off crystal scan monitor- grand total $120) . Koyote
