Some Linux distributions run better on this hardware than others. On my Dell Inspirion 5680, Ubuntu is the only distro that can wake up from sleep. Still, I have decided to switch to CachyOS and publish the results in the timeline below.
Timeline
Fresh install of Ubuntu 24.04
Resolved initial App Center issues with: sudo snap refresh and
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade.
Bonus! Ubuntu configured my old HP Laserjet P11505n automatically
After closing the App Center, I was able to do a small update by using the terminal as previously
Spent time to configure this PC for web design by installing Gimp and GPT4All which, lately, can take advantage of the NVIDIA 1070 graphics card as long as I use LLMs that are < 6 GB in size
Firefox upgrade available; installed a 280 MB update (including new kernel) without issues
I was surprised that Cannoncial released a small ~10MB update so close before debuting Ubuntu 24.04.1
486 MB Update, no issues
Didn’t realize that this was the long awaited 24.04.1 LTS upgrade.
KVM Virtmanager
Now that the point upgrade has happened, I installed Virtmanager to to do some experimental tests using virtual machines before committing to a longer, more rigorous testing phase
Installed two guest operating systems and in comparison with Manjaro, I was not happy with screen resolutions. Maybe installing a newer operating system will serve me better?
Installed CachyOS KDE Plasma
After configuring CachyOS, I will install Virtualbox and if the user experience is better than yesterday, I will permanently switch this PC to CachyOS.
CachyOS’s first update included kernel 6.10.8-2 and the computer rebooted noticeably faster and without issues.
Installed Virtualbox and two instances of Debian 12. The reason for doing so is that the VMs can be backed up. If I install a different OS, I can import the qcow2 files backup and continue from where I left off. This is one of the reasons to use virtual machines.
87.41MB update installed fine.
Today, I had to print a document and setting up the printer would have been a time-consuming task on CachyOS. Instead, I booted Ubuntu 24.04.1 in live-preview mode and was impressed that that printing just worked.
A massive 547.08 MB update included VirtualBox 7.1. The update caused no issues and the virtual machines booted as they did prior to the update.
Notes
Sep 6, 2024: Virtual Machines: The 12-core processor makes this PC ideal for running virtual machines. To install Virtualbox on CachyOS, open the terminal and type: sudo pacman -S virtualbox
and follow the prompts (defaults are OK). Reboot and start adding two virtual machines:
- Debian 12 for web design
- Debian 12 for Python programming
Configuring an operating system for web design and Python programming is time-consuming and therefore, I have switched to using virtual machines. Doing so has too many advantages to list such as snapshots, backup of the qcow2 file which let’s me move the VM to a different computer or, import it after reinstalling the host operating system.
August 9, 2024: Printing Support: Ubuntu seamlessly configured an old HP P1505n Laserjet printer, earning it a permanent spot on my network. In addition, Ubuntu is the only distro that can wake up from suspend / sleep as soon as I touch the mouse or keyboard. Impressive.
Gnome Disks
I am impressed by KDE Plasma but miss Gnome Disks for creating a bootable USB sticks:
- Insert USB stick and open Gnome Disks
- Delete all the partitions on the flash drive
- From the top menu, select “Restore disk image”
- Select the ISO image (Download directory?)
- Follow the prompts
When using KDE Plasma, I substitute Gnome Disks with SUSE Studio Imagewriter
Update Sept 2, 2024: Installed Gnome Disks on KDE Plasma to benchmark USB stick.