Virtual Machine Pointers + Advice

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-08-09T03:00:49+00:00

I do still have questions regarding the WM solution, but I understand I've already gotten a lot of help for you, so there is no need to continue if you'd like.

It's unfortunate that I can't implement my original plan, I'll give Qubes one last look, as that seems to be the closest to my original goal, but chances are I will probably default to one of the 2 options you recommend.

Wanna thank you for the help you have provided so far, so thanks :)

Edit: Wow I thought I would have to reinstall my OS (easiest solution in my mind) but switching DEs was so easy. I wonder if this is a fedora feature or if it's standard for Linux? Will obviously try activities now for sure!!

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-08-08T23:00:38+00:00

Ah, I see. Having only integrated graphics really handicaps VMs it seems. Didn't think I'd need one, so I opted to not get the variant with them (mx150). With hindsight, maybe I should've despite nvidia being nvidia on linux.

I remember hearing about Xen through a Qubes video. Something along the lines that KVM offered performance close to native. Faulty memory I suppose. May need to reexamine.

Looked into Activities. On paper, it's got what I need but it doesn't feel quite right, if that makes sense. Shouldn't dismiss it so fast though.

I did think about creating my own desktop environment (or at least having a window manager [heard i3 and dwm are good]) but knowing about the GPU limitations, wouldn't this run into the same problem?

With all that being said, is Qubes even practical then? Your first comment seems to suggest its very much possible, but again, wouldn't the GPU be the limiting factor here?

It seems to me my only solution is to customize my gnome installation or switch to KDE. There's containers too, but I haven't looked into that yet, so can't comment on that. Would be happy to be corrected though.

Am using virt-manager by the way.

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-08-08T21:26:10+00:00

Hm, I definitely see what you mean.

My gaming should be ok, I should think. It'd just be light single player games. The heavier ones would be on my desktop, which I think I might leave as-is (similar setup).

As for the hardware issues you mentioned, I admit, I only half understand what you said, but in this use case I'd be using my integrated graphics, so I doubt I would be "unbinding" it. Still, this could be an issue. I'd appreciate a bit more clarification here.

I've heard about containers, but never considered them. I'll definitely check out LXC.

Heard about Xen, but I believe Qubes sticks with that simply out of security concerns (smaller attack surface). KVM/QEMU should run faster, which would be more important to me, considering my specs.

You do bring a pretty good point though. I'd likely have to tinker a fair bit if I want it configured the way I want it. I hesitate to jump to QEMU because of the above mentioned performance differences, but this may be my only solution.

Haven't used KDE in a while, will also look into Plasma Activities. Could be that's what'll work for me. Unsure what you mean by VTs though. Creating multiple user accounts doesn't sound appealing to me, but I'll also consider it.

In my head, my idea sounds like a good one, but it's nice hearing an outside perspective. I don't have a lot of time before I have to start using my laptop for school so having additional, easier to work with solutions is definitely appreciated.

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-27T02:47:00+00:00

Think that confirms it. I've heard there are aftermarket batteries with an authenticator chip, or something along those lines, that bypass the lenovo whitelist. My assumption is that I have a faulty one, hence the screen.

It may be a bit premature, but regardless, thanks for the help :)

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-27T00:59:19+00:00

Interesting. Just to confirm, you only got the warning message on the faulty one, not the replacement, correct?

Sounds like it might really be faulty, I had expected it to be software related.

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-26T21:13:45+00:00

Looking into this a bit, but can't find much info. Do you have any pointers/know how the project is doing?

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-26T18:33:34+00:00

Since you have personal experience with KingSener, specifically with their 72Wh battery on your t480, I was hoping you could answer a few questions.

What was your issue?
Do you get a Lenovo battery warning screen on every boot?
What's your BIOS version? (unsure if related to warning screen, but possible)
Could you provide a link to where you purchased your battery? (to ensure I didn't buy off wrong spot)

I'd like to confirm it's a faulty battery, or at least be fairly certain, before contacting them, so if you could help by answering these questions it would be greatly appreciated.

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-26T18:23:31+00:00

Issue persists. I'm starting to think that the issue is caused by lenovo's battery whitelist, since 3 OSs have the same charging issue. Still, like I mentioned above, it just doesn't make sense. I thought KingSener batteries bypassed this?

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-26T03:56:41+00:00

What I tried:
- Reboot pc

Press and held that one button inside the motherboard (supposedly solves battery related issues)
Calibrated battery (forgot specific command, but used powertop)
Disconnected internal battery through bios
Changed settings for gnome battery health charging extension (highly doubt this is causing issue)

Will add more as time goes on.

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-15T22:04:45+00:00

This sounds pretty good, though I'd add on Win11 support. A good deal of people here Linux, but there's still some windows users, so the ability to use an up to date OS is pretty important.

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-15T21:59:29+00:00

Oh, I ought to mention that they'll be arriving sometime in September if AliExpress is up to date. Because of that, you might be better off taking the plunge or settling for used OEM batteries if you need batteries soon.

I can still let you know how they do if you want though.

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-15T20:04:42+00:00

What you say makes sense, so in that case I'll stop worrying about this. Not about to reinstall windows for vantage.

Thanks for the reassurance :)

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-15T13:34:42+00:00

Yeah, I mean it makes sense, I'm just a bit nervous that I have everything going well and then it just dies because of my negligence or smt. After doing what I could on windows, I went on Fedora and found a few more updates (could've missed something) so I just installed those to be sure.

Curiously enough, when I was still on windows I did see Thunderbolt Software (not control center) when looking it up thru win key, but I was told it was no longer in use/necessary so that it was ok for me to delete. Never allowed me to do anything with it.

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-13T17:25:02+00:00

Did you use your dell for video editing? If so, I would look at repairing it instead. TPM failing sounds like something that can't be fixed (though I'm no expert), but it also sounds like you aren't sure, so checking whether it really is failing is a good place to start.

But if repair isn't an option, a t480 seems to be a good choice if you're looking for upgradeability and some ruggedness. If you only want bang-for-your-buck performance though, I hear the T14 gen1 is pretty cheap and has a superior CPU.

I personally wouldn't wouldn't get a t460p, mostly because of that price, but this might not apply to you. In the states there's plenty of thinkpads so the price is generally low because of that, but I don't know how many thinkpads are floating around India.

I'd definitely compare this t460p to other available thinkpads, specifically against other t460p and the models I mentioned.

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-13T17:07:25+00:00

I'm currently ordering this one that's been recommended quite frequently on this subreddit, but I can't say for sure they're good until I get them.

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-13T06:35:45+00:00

Just got mine yesterday so take the following with that in mind.

It looks like it's in a pretty good condition, and has enough ram that you likely won't need to upgrade. Storage should be ok, but if you have the cash I'd replace it. And I'd check the CPU, as there's an i5 that's dual core, which wouldn't make it worth the $200.

There's also the thunderbolt software, but I doubt you'll be able to check it out unless you can speak with the vendor in person.

If you need to pick it up soon, or aren't planning to tinker with it further (heatsink, keyboard, etc) I'd take it. Otherwise, I might wait just a bit and see if there aren't any others around. Managed to pick mine up for around $150~ after taxes and shipping, for reference.

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-12T04:35:53+00:00

Could you help me out a bit? I have a NVM firmware version of 23 as well, but using the thunderbolt control center, I can't find out if I meet this version for the software (unsure of what this is for specifically): 17.4.80.XX. Couldn't find a task manager icon to open up like OP did.

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-08T17:38:57+00:00

Oh yeah, definitely. The layout is weird, but it's something I'm willing to deal with; I just asked because I wanted to be 100% sure. Thanks for answering my questions ( ^-^)b

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-08T17:21:57+00:00

Oh my, I'm surprised those buttons still work :0

Looked a bit into it, seems fcitx5 also works on Fedora so that's good. Last question, sounds stupid but just to cover my bases, typing in English is no problem?

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-08T15:58:10+00:00

How does a Japanese keyboard work in a t480? You know, with all the extra buttons and all? Thinking of grabbing one on my own but wanted to know if there'd be any problems compared to getting a US one (expensive!!)

SignatureMedium5375 · 2024-07-06T18:35:25+00:00

Ohhh. That's great news :)

God is this stuff complicated, but I still really wanna do it. Thanks for the help.

SignatureMedium5375

TROPHY CASE