Linux on a Laptop (Ubuntu)

[charlieharper]

I'm pretty new to Linux computing. So I finally thought of giving Ubuntu a try, by dualbooting it with Windows 8 on my hp dv7-6006tx laptop. Laptop Specs

But after installation, I immediately realised that the fan of the Laptop is spinning very hard and there's a considerable amount of heat underneath, when the laptop was on idle, IE NOTHING RUNNING. - this rarely occurs when running Windows (Unless I'm rendering or encoding movies).

So I'm not sure if this is maybe an incompatibility issue, or if I just need the latest driver software and that things? What also concerned me was how quickly it drained my battery. It didn't even last 30mins, where I can use it for over 2 hours on Windows.

Please advice me, as despite of this issue, I'm really enjoying Ubuntu and would love to make further use of it!

Thanks!

 

[Vegeta]

Install the latest catalyst drivers:
http://askubuntu.com/questions/1242...y-to-install-ati-catalyst-video-drivers-fglrx

Have you installed any other apps that didn't come pre-installed? Chromium is a CPU hog on Ubuntu on certain hardware(don't think it has been fixed), uninstall it

 

[The_Unbeliever]

Welcome to the Revolution!

 

[Vegeta]

Welcome to the Revolution!

+1
askubuntu.com is your new best friend. Sort out those 1 or 2 issues you have, its worth it.

 

[charlieharper]

Great, thank you! Busy downloading -> will keep you updated on my progress.

 

[Tinuva]

Ubuntu should definitely be able to last a while on a laptop. I run a customized version of Ubuntu, so no the regular Ubuntu, but it easily lasts up to 4 hours on battery, which is kind of insane. This is on the first Acer laptop I got via FNB.

It is probably just an update away, make sure after you install Ubuntu to do a full update, to ensure you have the latest fixes, there were problems with power at some point, and the fixes for them is in the latest kernel.

 

[charlieharper]

So far, done 3 fresh installs of Ubuntu. From serious driver errors, that I didn't know how to recover, to the Login Loop that doesn't allow me to Login to my account.

But I'm gonna play with this till I get it right.

 

[charlieharper]

Also, should I install 32 or 64bit?

 

[Nod]

Also, should I install 32 or 64bit?

64-bit should be fine.
It came with Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 according to your spec sheet.

 

[Vegeta]

So far, done 3 fresh installs of Ubuntu. From serious driver errors, that I didn't know how to recover, to the Login Loop that doesn't allow me to Login to my account.

But I'm gonna play with this till I get it right.

Connect your PC to the internet when installing ubuntu, and allow it to download updates & drivers while installing

 

[Tun@]

I had the same problem with AMD GPU in a HP Laptop doing the same thing - there's another choice of driver to use which fixed the issue..sorry can't remember what they called it.

 

[reneg8or]

I have used various distros side by side and also alongside XP SP3, Vista and 7 Ultimate. AriOS, Sabayon, Ubuntu, OpenSuSe, Mint. Of all these, Mint with KDE was by far the best user experience, the most stable, with excellent performance. Mint is Ubuntu refined for actual use and on par with Windows. Had it running on various laptops, new and old, and it is way ahead of anything Microsoft. You can even buy a cheap laptop of a tad over three grand and still have a lovely machine, even with just 2GB RAM. Using LibreOffice and PIM organizer comes via Evolution but I am using Thunderbird & Lightning with Zindus to sync contacts with Google. All working fine and uses little resources. My CPU idles most of the time and I use 160 -270 meg RAM mostly, but sometimes it uses up to 500MB RAM. Each app on its own desktop and never any clutter. Just keep it updated so your drivers are latest release.