I finally got around to giving my old Surface Laptop 2 a second life with Linux. I went with Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition, and I’m really glad I did.
One tip: gnome on a tablet is amazing, the best way to use a tablet.
I have a ThinkPad x1 tablet gen 2.
I adore Linux Mint, it’s my goto workhorse distro. If I need a general use computer that I want to #JustWork I throw Linux Mint on it.
Cool! Next time, use Balena Etcher instead of Rufus
Edit: I remember for sure that there was a wiki page that said not to use these tools because they modify the image (I think Rufus extracts the image to a FAT FS?).
However, the Ubuntu wiki now reads:
Rufus
Rufus is the tool in Windows that is recommended officially by Ubuntu. A tutorial is available from here.
Belena Etcher has some issues with “telemetry” that’s turned on by default. Which is why I don’t recommend it.
I used Rufus quite a bit back on Windows and never had issues burning Windows or Linux ISOs to flash drives with it.
Interesting, though I always use dd on Linux
There is a dd-like mode on Rufus as well called “RAW Mode”.
Why?
Because those ISOs are meant to be written directly to a disc or a drive.
However, it seems that Rufus has a dd mode. You can use that instead :)
… Linux Mint kept coming up as one of the best choices for people used to Windows …
i switched jobs recently and my new employer gave me a windows 11 workstation.
i learned the hard way that i can no longer effectively use the gui driven interface and i think it’s because i haven’t used windows in an real capacity for the last 15 years and my difficulty with it became clear to my management, so i ended up getting a mac.
ever since then, when i read statements like the one i took from the article above, it makes me wonder if i should do the same thing considering my difficulty w windows as it currently is.
gui driven interface
I navigate Windows almost entirely through keyboard shortcuts, ‘run’ commands, and the search box
Familiarity with any OS takes time
Wait wifi doesn’t work with the Surface Kernel?
if I’m understanding right it had stopped working for them on Windows too…
Sounds like it was an issue with their specific device. Never had a WiFi issue running Mint on my Surface for years.
It didn’t work for me on my Surface Pro 7 with LMDE but i had an Ethernet adaptor and when i did an update it all worked.
To expand a little it worked on the initial LMDE install but I did the Surface Pro update from git hub
https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface
and it borked the wifi driver but it did give me touch support, better BT etc and an udate via the Ethernet adaptor then fixed the WiFi issue
My dad has a Surface Pro 7 that their friend is no longer using that I’m excited to migrate over. Glad to hear the experience is smooth.
Just an FYI. I just went through a giant debacle doing this. Surface pro 8 top of the line 32gb ram model. DO NOT expect the touch to be phone or daily driver ready. Text box keyboards do not pop up or if they do its so delayed in typing that you’ll give up using it. ZERO 3rd party software closes the gap, onboard or any other keyboard that is virtual won’t help. Stick with the Folio or keyboard and mouse and your good. Linux is no quite there for touch support atleast not Mint.
The battery life will be a few hours at best even tweaked to hell for energy savings. It will get hot under any real usage beyond browsing and a handful of tabs. Especially while charging and using.
I tried the new Dell 2 in 1, the Surface pro 8, I ended up back on a laptop its just smoother and easier and the overall hardware is better including battery. I was wanting this to work so bad. The slate concept seems good on paper but not IRL. There’s a reason they haven’t gained as much traction in the market as you’d expect.
This is all totally fine as I already have a laptop for daily use. I’m primarily interested in the digitizer for things like notes and drawing.
Yeah…I bought the Dell too. It also bothers me that the camera module is still not compatible. Even though they’re supposed to be intel-made.
What I did was I bought a new Opal Tadpole and plugged it right in and it is one of the smallest clip on 4k webcams you can buy. If not the true smallest. I used it once. Otherwise new in box if your interested. I’d take 100 for it. It’s really small so it stays out of the way. Only reason I’d part with it is because I switched away from the surface pro 8 where I needed it and back to a dell laptop and distro where I no longer need it. Used literally once. New with box.
I run fedora 42 gnome on a surface pro 7+ that needed a new home. Great tablet. I do not like the touch screen keyboard resizing when I type to suggest words, but I haven’t found a way to address that.
Other than that, it has been great.
Great job! I’ve always avoided Surfaces because the guides to running Linux on them are always like 30 pages long.
I just did the same with mine! I’m loving it so far and previously on windows I had to disable 3D to use Godot but on mint 3D is kinda usable. It at least doesn’t crash lol
