Need bootable no install SL 7 DVD

[Yasha Karant]

My spouse's laptop appears to be failing in hardware -- there are 
repeated errors coming from the SL 6 boot screen including what appears 
to be a failing hard drive (but this could also be the mother board disk 
controller).


As we cannot afford a linux certified laptop, and I plan to upgrade her 
to a machine that is provisioned for 64 bit operation, we will need to 
find a commodity laptop at a big box merchandiser (typically under 
$500).  However, all of these machines will have MS Win preinstalled.  
In the past, if we are considering the purchase of such a machine, I 
have inserted a bootable standalone with Xwindows and network SL DVD -- 
if all of the hardware is recognized (that is, drivers exist), we will 
consider the machine.  If the machine has proprietary MS Win hardware 
(drivers not part of the "stock" SL distribution), we look elsewhere.


Is SL-72-x86_64-2016-02-03-LiveDVDkde.iso 
 
the correct image to burn to a DVD to be able to perform the above test 
(bootable, runs, but does not install anything on the existing hard 
drive)?  I prefer KDE to Gnome 3, but could burn the gnome variant 
(SL-72-x86_64-2016-02-03-LiveDVDgnome.iso 
). 
Will this test the WNIC as well as the video and audio cards in the 
machine?  Are there any predefined login/password accounts on the above 
ISO images, and if so, what account and password?  Typically, there were 
none.


Yasha Karant

Re: Need bootable no install SL 7 DVD

[Stephen John Smoogen]

On Apr 1, 2016 13:07, "Yasha Karant"  wrote:
>
> My spouse's laptop appears to be failing in hardware -- there are
repeated errors coming from the SL 6 boot screen including what appears to
be a failing hard drive (but this could also be the mother board disk
controller).
>
> As we cannot afford a linux certified laptop, and I plan to upgrade her
to a machine that is provisioned for 64 bit operation, we will need to find
a commodity laptop at a big box merchandiser (typically under $500).
However, all of these machines will have MS Win preinstalled.  In the past,
if we are considering the purchase of such a machine, I have inserted a
bootable standalone with Xwindows and network SL DVD -- if all of the
hardware is recognized (that is, drivers exist), we will consider the
machine.  If the machine has proprietary MS Win hardware (drivers not part
of the "stock" SL distribution), we look elsewhere.
>

Any of the live images should do this. However there may be 2 things to
deal with

1 many laptops no longer come with CD-ROM or DVD drives anymore.

2 most systems come with eufi secure boot turned on

The first problem can be dealt with a USB key built from the test image.
The second problem requires the image to be eufi aware and signed. Or that
you get the BIOS to turn off secure boot.

For sub 500/laptops I have had good luck with Asus and Linux. If you watch
the ars technic bargain web page you can sometimes score a very nice Dell
in that range also. (The Dell Linux developer laptop was at that range 2
weeks ago) good lucl

> Is SL-72-x86_64-2016-02-03-LiveDVDkde.iso the correct image to burn to a
DVD to be able to perform the above test (bootable, runs, but does not
install anything on the existing hard drive)?  I prefer KDE to Gnome 3, but
could burn the gnome variant (SL-72-x86_64-2016-02-03-LiveDVDgnome.iso).
Will this test the WNIC as well as the video and audio cards in the
machine?  Are there any predefined login/password accounts on the above ISO
images, and if so, what account and password?  Typically, there were none.
>
> Yasha Karant

Re: Need bootable no install SL 7 DVD

[olli hauer]

On 2016-04-01 21:07, Yasha Karant wrote:
> My spouse's laptop appears to be failing in hardware -- there are repeated 
> errors coming from the SL 6 boot screen including what appears to be a 
> failing hard drive (but this could also be the mother board disk controller).
> 
> As we cannot afford a linux certified laptop, and I plan to upgrade her to a 
> machine that is provisioned for 64 bit operation, we will need to find a 
> commodity laptop at a big box merchandiser (typically under $500).  However, 
> all of these machines will have MS Win preinstalled.  In the past, if we are 
> considering the purchase of such a machine, I have inserted a bootable 
> standalone with Xwindows and network SL DVD -- if all of the hardware is 
> recognized (that is, drivers exist), we will consider the machine.  If the 
> machine has proprietary MS Win hardware (drivers not part of the "stock" SL 
> distribution), we look elsewhere.
> 
> Is SL-72-x86_64-2016-02-03-LiveDVDkde.iso 
> 
>  the correct image to burn to a DVD to be able to perform the above test 
> (bootable, runs, but does not install anything on the existing hard drive)?  
> I prefer KDE to Gnome 3, but could burn the gnome variant 
> (SL-72-x86_64-2016-02-03-LiveDVDgnome.iso 
> ).
>  Will this test the WNIC as well as the video and audio cards in the machine? 
>  Are there any predefined login/password accounts on the above ISO images, 
> and if so, what account and password?  Typically, there were none.
> 
> Yasha Karant
> 

I read there is a linux edition from the 'Inspiron 15 3000', but I haven't had 
it in my own hands.
Maybe you can find some dedicated linux report.

-- 
olli

Re: Need bootable no install SL 7 DVD

[Yasha Karant]

On 04/01/2016 12:34 PM, olli hauer wrote:

On 2016-04-01 21:07, Yasha Karant wrote:

My spouse's laptop appears to be failing in hardware -- there are repeated 
errors coming from the SL 6 boot screen including what appears to be a failing 
hard drive (but this could also be the mother board disk controller).

As we cannot afford a linux certified laptop, and I plan to upgrade her to a machine that 
is provisioned for 64 bit operation, we will need to find a commodity laptop at a big box 
merchandiser (typically under $500).  However, all of these machines will have MS Win 
preinstalled.  In the past, if we are considering the purchase of such a machine, I have 
inserted a bootable standalone with Xwindows and network SL DVD -- if all of the hardware 
is recognized (that is, drivers exist), we will consider the machine.  If the machine has 
proprietary MS Win hardware (drivers not part of the "stock" SL distribution), 
we look elsewhere.

Is SL-72-x86_64-2016-02-03-LiveDVDkde.iso 

 the correct image to burn to a DVD to be able to perform the above test (bootable, runs, 
but does not install anything on the existing hard drive)?  I prefer KDE to Gnome 3, but 
could burn the gnome variant (SL-72-x86_64-2016-02-03-LiveDVDgnome.iso 
).
 Will this test the WNIC as well as the video and audio cards in the machine?  Are there 
any predefined login/password accounts on the above ISO images, and if so, what account and 
password?  Typically, there were none.

Yasha Karant


I read there is a linux edition from the 'Inspiron 15 3000', but I haven't had 
it in my own hands.
Maybe you can find some dedicated linux report.

She needs a laptop *NOW*.  At a local Office Depot (a USA office supply 
big box chain), I have found:


HP Pavilion Laptop Computer With 15.6" Screen & 6th Gen AMD Quad-Core 
A10 Processor, Windows® 10, 15-ab153nr Item # 473975


Item #  473975
OfficeMax # 25099857
Manufacturer #  N5R26UA#ABA

processor speed 1.8 GHz
processor brand AMD
maximum memory capacity 8 GB
optical drive   SuperMulti DVD burner
hard drive type hard drive
Product Condition   new
wired connectivity  10/100 Ethernet
manufacturerHewlett-Packard
screen size 15.6 inches
integrated speakers Yes
video hardware 	AMD Radeon R6 Graphics with up to 4352MB total graphics 
memory


peripherals includednone
gaming PC   no
front camera/webcam Yes
wireless connectivity   802.11b/g/n; Bluetooth
Operating Systems   Windows 10
modem   no modem
weight  4.89 lb
brand name  HP
memory type DDR3L SDRAM
processor type  A10
2 in 1  no
maximum battery life7.5 hours
hard drive capacity 1 TB
screen resolution   1366 x 768
numeric keypad  yes
memory card reader  Yes
memory  8 GB
eco-label/standard  ENERGY STAR; EPEAT Silver
processor model Quad-Core A10-8700P APU
ports 	2 SuperSpeed USB 3.0; 1 USB 2.0; 1 HDMI; 1 RJ-45 (LAN); 1 
headphone-out/microphone-in combination jack

warranty length 1-year limited
model name  Pavilion 15-ab153nr
audio hardware  B&O PLAY with dual speakers
Touchscreen no



Although this is a consumer machine (mine is a HP but 
commercial/industrial/semi-"mil-spec", and fully supports SL), she does 
not need to use it the way I need to.
I am assuming another 3 to 5 years.  Other than a bit small in RAM for 
full 64 bit operation, it should work -- and still has a RJ-45 802.3 
jack for wired use.  From what I can tell, all of
the hardware has SL 7 intrinsic drivers.  Unless I know the box is 
"linux certified" (my HP was), the only way I can check a consumer 
commodity machine is to boot and verify that all of the hardware is 
"seen" and "works".


How does one defeat UEFI for testing purposes in store?

Yasha Karant