Dual boot Ubuntu with Win10 Home

[dwivedialok]

Hi
Is this config OK for configuring Ubuntu on same SSD drive? Any advice for any changes to make it any cheaper without sacrificing performance. I will be using Ubuntu for Java programming and running work related docker containers, but not very high throughput, just local functional testing using up to 5/6 docker containers at a time. On windows, main usage will be some heavy Excel spreadsheet crunching.

Many thanks in advance

Chassis & Display
UltraNote Series: 14" Matte Full HD IPS 60 Hz 45% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor i7-10510U (1.8GHz, 4.9GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
INTEL® HD GRAPHICS (CPU Dependant) - 1.7GB Max DDR4 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
1 x 40W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
Battery
UltraNote Series 36WH Lithium Ion Battery
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.1 PORT (Type C) + 1 x USB 3.1 PORT + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
ULTRANOTE SERIES UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Chassis
Clevo NL41CU FHD (i7-10510U, FHD, 60Hz N4, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price: £793.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[Stephen M]

It looks OK, in case you have not looked here the Ultranote is mentioned a few times: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/threads/linux-laptop-compatibility.60811/

If you are getting a new machine you could swap the W10 from the old one on to this, it would save a good few quid.

 

[RobJN]

Hi @dwivedialok. Did you proceed to buy the 14" UltraNote V (NL41CU)? If so, could you please let me know how you got on with installing Linux on this. I am particularly interested to hear if the Linux installation worked ok with the Samsung NVMe SSD option as I have read posts about another PCS laptop (the 14" Lafité IV) which doesn't work with NVMe drives as the BIOS is locked to Intel RST/RAID option and cannot be set to ACHI to allow these drives to work on Linux.

Any help much appreciated.

 

[Stephen M]

The BIOS problem with the Lafitte is being looked at by PCS but seems it may be a one off as no problems have been reported with other chassis. To be sure it would be worth calling or emailing PCS to get information on the Ultrnanote BIOS.

 

[RobJN]

I have some updates on this. Firstly I wrote to PC Specialist:

I have researched this laptop and found other retailers selling it with Linux so I am confident that it will work. What I am a little concerned about is the forum post about another laptop (the 14" Lafité IV) in which the user is unable to change a BIOS setting to allow Linux to see a NVMe SSD drive. I believe that in this case the BIOS is locked and the user is unable to change the drive setting from Intel RST/RAID to AHCI. Hopefully this is just affecting that laptop and not the one I am interested in. Are you able to confirm if it is possible to disable RST via the BIOS on the 14" Ultranote V?

To which I received a positive response:

So the laptop should support RST and you can enable AHCI. So NVME SSD’s should work on the laptop.

I therefore went ahead and purchased the 14" Ultranote V with a NVMe SSD, specifying no Operating System. As other threads have noted, PC Specialist send out the laptop with a unlicenced version of Windows 10 even when you request no OS. I believe this is for testing purposes when they are building the laptop. As my partner will also be using this laptop I have currently left Windows 10 on it. The intention is that she gets to test Ubuntu and if there are any problems we can just buy a license for Windows 10. As such, I am dual booting the 14 Ultranote V with Windows 10 and Ubuntu. No issues.

No hardware driver issues detected yet. I've tested all these things so far in Ubuntu 20.04.1 LTS:

1. - Wifi
2. - Webcam
3. - Built in microphone
4. - Build in speakers
5. - Built in Mousetracker
6. - Keyboard functions (brightness and volume adjust, mute, switching LCD on/off, aeroplane mode, sleep)
7. - An external USB drive in one of the USB 3.1 sockets
8. - HDMI out

All good. No issues.

 

[RobJN]

Please feel free to reply here if you would like me to test anything else on the laptop (hardware within Ubuntu).

 

[Stephen M]

Glad you got Ubuntu working on it. I am gradually migrating away from Ubuntu as find it is not the distro it was. Manjaro (https://manjaro.org/) is easy to install and seems to work well with everything, it is Arch-based but is a lot more newbie friendly than Arch, you may find your partner prefers it to Ubuntu.