Supported Models
Hundreds of Dell laptops are certified to run Ubuntu.
If you laptop is not on the list, or has been certified only on a backlevel version, this does not mean that it can't run Ubuntu, or can't run a newer version than the one listed as certified.
You can boot from the install media and choose the Try Ubuntu option to evaluate compatibility of a release with your laptop.
Install media choice
Install media can be downloaded here
If you don't have a specific reason to choose a particular version, such as a wish to use a specific certified release, Ubuntu 16.04.2 is recommended for a modern laptop.
Beware of using a years old release on on a recent model. While it might run, it may use a kernel lacking the ability to utilize chipset features related to best performance and power management.
These BIOS setting are recommended:
- UEFI boot with secure boot mode disabled
- Any SATA target disks and install media set for AHCI, without RAID
- If the install media shows twice on the bootable device list, choose the UEFI version as the boot device
Warning: If you are retaining Windows or another OS, and are installing Ubuntu as a second boot option, do not make any BIOS changes.
Install from a USB device is generally much faster than DVD media, and USB 3.0 is much faster than USB 2.0. However some laptops may not have USB ports fully recognized and operational during the early stages of the install process. If an attempted USB install fails or locks up during media access, you may find that an optical media install will succeed on the same laptop.
If you laptop has an AMD GPU, there are potential issues due to a transition from proprietary to open source drivers in later editions of Ubuntu. An older version in the 14.04.x series might be required to have your system work using a default install, without kernel option edits and other configuration edits.
Post Install recommended steps
At a terminal prompt, or optionally using a bash script:
#!/bin/bash
# install some package management tools
sudo apt install aptitude synaptic gdebi-core
# install some general purpose utilities
sudo apt install ssh p7zip-full gimp
# UI enhancement
sudo apt install guake nautilus-admin unity-tweak-tool
# Windows compatibility
sudo apt install exfat-utils cifs-utils
# Wine PPA newer than edition in 16.04 so use PPA instead
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-wine/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install wine
sudo apt install playonlinux winbind
# optional, mount Office 2010 disk and install using playonlinux app
# optional install some developer utilities for builds (YMMV)
sudo apt install build-essential mercurial git tmux
#install Java
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
sudo apt update
sudo apt install oracle-java8-installer
# Enable webex in Firefox - wlil not work in chrome
sudo apt install libxmu6:i386 libpangox-1.0-0:i386 libpangoxft-1.0-0:i386
# install golang
cd ~
curl https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.6.3.linux-amd64.tar.gz | tar xvz
sudo chown -R root:root ./go/
sudo mv go /usr/local
echo "export GOPATH=$HOME/work" >> .profile
echo "export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin:$HOME/work/bin" >> .profile
source .profile
go get -u github.com/tools/godep
go get -u github.com/jteeuwen/go-bindata/go-bindata
go get github.com/derekparker/delve/cmd/dlv
go get -u github.com/nsf/gocode
go get -u github.com/rogpeppe/godef
go get -u github.com/golang/lint/golint
go get -u github.com/tpng/gopkgs
# Android Studio, Visual Studio code, Arduino IDE
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-desktop/ubuntu-make
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ubuntu-make
umake android
umake ide arduino
umake ide visual-studio-code
# install visual studio code plugins for golang git yaml markdown docker kubernetes json c++ from editor
# Atom editor
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/atom
sudo apt update
sudo apt install atom
# Install Docker
sudo apt install apt-transport-https software-properties-common ca-certificates
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkp://p80.pool.sks-keyservers.net:80 --recv-keys 58118E89F3A912897C070ADBF76221572C52609D
sudo apt-add-repository 'deb https://apt.dockerproject.org/repo ubuntu-xenial main'
sudo apt update
apt-cache madison docker-engine
sudo apt install docker-engine=1.13.1-0~ubuntu-xenial
sudo usermod -aG docker $(whoami)
# Install VirtualBox
sudo apt-get install dkms
wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -
wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian xenial contrib" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install virtualbox-5.1
# install AWS CLI
curl -O https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py
sudo python2.7 get-pip.py
sudo pip install awscli
# aws help
# aws configure
# aws ec2 describe-instances
# install Review Board Tools
sudo pip install -U RBTools
# Install Typecatcher tool for google font addition
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:andrewsomething/typecatcher
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install typecatcher
# install google test
sudo apt-get -y install libtool
curl --silent -o gtest-1.7.0.zip http://googletest.googlecode.com/files/gtest-1.7.0.zip
sudo unzip gtest-1.7.0.zip -d /usr/local/opt/
sudo ln -s gtest-1.7.0 /usr/local/opt/gtest
cd /usr/local/opt/gtest
sudo ./configure
sudo make
sudo libtool --mode=install install lib/libgtest.la /usr/local/lib
sudo libtool --mode=install install lib/libgtest_main.la /usr/local/lib
sudo ldconfig
# install google log dev
sudo apt install libgoogle-glog-dev
Using browser, download and install Chrome, Slack, VMware Workstation, Zoom. etc by web download and install of .deb
enable VMware Workstation install
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/gtk-2.0/modules/libcanberra-gtk-module.so /usr/lib/libcanberra-gtk-module.so
Warning: If you are retaining Windows or another OS, and are installing Ubuntu as a second boot option, do not make any BIOS changes.
Does this mean that we don't have to make any changes in bios if we dual booting?