Question which linux distro for testing a Thinkpad?

[Throbbing Angel]

Hiya,

I have what i consider to be an expensive Thinkpad which I bought last year for a course/training/exams and possible work in cybersecurity. Win 11 Pro, lots of RAM etc. Piss poor battery life as detailed in these two threads one and two

I am mainly using my Macbook for most computer tasks that are not cybersec related and when I am doing cybery things I am usually sat at a desk so can plug in (because of the poor battery life).

However...

I want to test the battery life with another OS and have questions about that.

i can do most cybersec stuff in Linux too, so was thinking of using a distro to test the performance, but:

• Don't want to install over Windows 11
• Don't want to dual boot
• Don't know if running a distro from a USB stick or from RAM will give me a reliable test of the battery life in the same way
• Don't know which distro to choose really (I was thinking of using Ubuntu and Kali together)

Any advice or suggestions on this?

 

[two sheds]

I moved over from Ubuntu to Mint several years ago after recommendation on here - not sure how they differ now but I really like Mint. Might be worth testing from USB just to see what it's like. Or run a VM, mind you I'm not sure that would be accurate either. Someone who knows might know

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Thanks two sheds, I think

 

[two sheds]

I always do my best










which given the results is a bit of a shame really

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

I’ve had many flavors running on thinkpads. Ubuntu has all the drivers. Debian runs smoothly as does Kali

 

[xenon]

I'd try ubuntu desktop off usb boot as perhaps closest to a full featured OS as Windows, if it's about performance testing.

Bare in mind it's not going to be accessing the disk, so that may have a battery impact. Perhaps not so much with SSDs now though.


Or just go with Kali.

 

[Saul Goodman]

Do you have a spare M.2 SSD you can drop into it?

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Do you have a spare M.2 SSD you can drop into it?

I don't want to mess with the machine, hence no installing over Windows. This is a scenario where I may be trying to wangle my money back off Lenovo or have them replace the machine.

 

[two sheds]

Can't you just complain based on the Windows performance? Would Lenovo be any more interested with Linux figures?

 

[souljacker]

Bit confused. Do you want it just to test the battery life or to do your security stuff? If it's the latter, definitely get Kali. If not, my preference is Mint.

 

[Chz]

I moved over from Ubuntu to Mint several years ago after recommendation on here - not sure how they differ now but I really like Mint. Might be worth testing from USB just to see what it's like. Or run a VM, mind you I'm not sure that would be accurate either. Someone who knows might know

Mint is just Ubuntu with a friendly face, really.
Ubuntu specifically has a "run from a USB key" version, not sure how many others do. Though, as already said, if you're into infosec then Kali would be most beneficial, even if it does lack some drivers that may improve battery life.

 

[two sheds]

Yes basically ubuntu - Mint's got a bootable USB option too.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Can't you just complain based on the Windows performance? Would Lenovo be any more interested with Linux figures?

Bit confused. Do you want it just to test the battery life or to do your security stuff? If it's the latter, definitely get Kali. If not, my preference is Mint.

Mint is just Ubuntu with a friendly face, really.
Ubuntu specifically has a "run from a USB key" version, not sure how many others do. Though, as already said, if you're into infosec then Kali would be most beneficial, even if it does lack some drivers that may improve battery life.

Yes basically ubuntu - Mint's got a bootable USB option too.

This thread is all, and only, about battery life performance.

It has been shit since day one and the promised sunlit uplands of 14 hours are laughable. I'm getting 2 to 3 hours when browsing Urban and the like and doing nothing else with battery saver turned on.

 

[two sheds]

Surely that's enough to complain direct to Lenovo with?

Eta: the bits about live booting for Mint etc is because you don't want to mess with the system.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Surely that's enough to complain direct to Lenovo with?

Eta: the bits about live booting for Mint etc is because you don't want to mess with the system.

I did complain when I got the thing.
Was asked to bear with it and see if it improved.
Got distracted by my cybersec studies.
It didn't improve.
The things is used less now and had sort of been forgotten about until I needed it for a specific task this week and it's obvs still crap and this has annoyed me enough to ask the OP question about Linux to get some sort of comparison and a handle on whether it's the OS implementation or something physical that's causing poor performance.


Is there any point in doing another factory reset??
Starting afresh with the current Win11 install

Could/might/would that possibly make a difference??

Tried it in the weeks after receiving it to no avail.

 

[two sheds]

How long have you got under guarantee? Did you pay by card for example?

I'd be tempted to go back and say you've done what they told you to and that didn't work, could you have another one/money back please. If they want you to try with another OS fair enough but I'd have thought that it doesn't work with Windows should be enough of a fault. Can always say that it's a Windows system that you don't want to mess with, because that's true, too.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Yeah, paid on a credit card for safety reasons.

Without looking, I'm still within the first 12 months by a few months. I may have sprung for a 2 or 3 year warranty OR it may have been included, I can't recall without digging out the emails.

This is a case of the ADHD tax in action (or rather, inaction, iyswim)

 

[two sheds]

Just forward your original email with a cheery update and a request?

 

[souljacker]

You can run a battery report in powershell

powercfg /batteryreport /output "C:\battery-report.html"

If you put Mint on, you can run upower -e to find your battery then -i to get info on it.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

You can run a battery report in powershell

powercfg /batteryreport /output "C:\battery-report.html"

If you put Mint on, you can run upower -e to find your battery then -i to get info on it.

Aye - they had me send them battery reports a number of times during my initial flurry of contact. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[souljacker]

I suppose you could just install some super lightweight linux so it uses the least resources. The battery might last a bit longer that way. Crunchbang or Puppy would do it.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

Well, yes, but as I've said, I'm reluctant to do this yet if I'm possibly returning the device to Lenovo. But a smaller resource load should see battery life improve.

I've always ran Puppy from RAM in the past because it goes like lightning. And this wouldn't be a useful comparison in this case.

Do any of you know anything about frugal installations of Linux? I recall looking at this a few years back but never bothered with it. As opposed to a full or dual boot installation where the iso is fully unpacked to the disc.

Plus, we're on UEFI Bios now rather than a BIOS bios iykwim. I know nowt about UEFI and it's quirks

 

[two sheds]

i know fuck all about uefi bios too, but the system took care of it for me

 

[kalidarkone]

I’ve had many flavors running on thinkpads. Ubuntu has all the drivers. Debian runs smoothly as does Kali

Well thank you