Linux on a Surface Pro 4? Looking for Recommendations?

[DadOfRCA]

Hi Folks,

I'm new here, and thanks for having me.

I've installed Ubuntu on my Surface Pro 4. It works ok, but not great. Frequent freezing up, and some Wi-Fi drops. I'm about 3 weeks into my attempts to stop using big tech as much as possible. Does anyone know of another version of Linux that might work better on this hardware?

 

[DadOfRCA]

I ended up trying out Linux Mint, and so far it's working really well.

 

[Condobloke]

G'day DadOfRCA, and Welcome to Linux.org

That is good news !

Before you get too immersed in Linux Mint, take the time to locate Timeshift

It will already be installed.....click on Menu and type in Timeshift.

Hopefully, you have an external hard drive that you can save at least one 'snapshot' to.

Timeshift works in a similar way to system restore on Windows.

It will only take 10 minutes or so to save a snapshot......that way if you happen to screw something up badly, you can restore your system to the snapshot you have taken.

Do this

Settings...select RSYNC

Location...select where you will store the snapshot/s (external hard drive is preferable)

Schedule...if you have a drive with plenty of space you can elect to save several snapshots.....or just keep one or two...

Users...Include All

Filters...under the + icon select both lines

Thats enough....go back to main screen of Timeshift, and select Create

grab a coffee.....5 minutes approx...maybe a few minutes more seeing it is the first one.

In subsequent snapshots Tiemshift will only need to save whatever has changed since the last one.....so will be much quicker than the first .

If you get into any bother, just yell out. We have got your back.

 

[DadOfRCA]

You must be clairvoyant! Because I just finished setting that up. I saw a notification suggesting it, so I went through the setup. I'm loving this! My laptop is running well, Outlook data migrated to Thunderbird, OneNote converted to Joplin, my vital apps are installed and working well.

 

[Condobloke]

Wow !...On a roll!

Joplin sounds interesting. Have a peek at Zim. It is also in the Software manager.

Timeshift is just the best 'save my backside" app out there. Extremely reliable.

I only keep 3 snapshots.

One is the first one I took just after installing

The other two are spaced across a month.....when it builds up to three or more I delete one or two to bring the total back to 2. A bit messy but it works for me.
Be careful to only delete a snapshot from the Timeshift window.

If you seriously manage to screw things badly.......you can boot the pc to a usb stick with your os on it (LM20.1) and then access Timeshift on the usb live (without installing)....go through the settings I gave you above....and restore one of your snapshots. That's it, you are running again.

I use Thunderbird to access Gmail....works like a charm.

Anyway, well done !

If you need help, just yell.

Open a fresh topic if you need to.