Does Spin 5 or 7 support Linux Mint single boot (NO Windows 10) with everything working?

MaxPat

I plan to buy 4 notebooks like Spin 5 or Spin 7, and on two of them, I need to install Linux, preferably Mint18 and have ALL functionality working (touchscreen, touchpad, wireless, bluetooth, etc) without any quirks (crashes, connectivity issues, etc.).

 

Has anybody tried that successfully ?

 

I am planning to buy some tomorrow Nov. 28 using special discounts, so I need to know ASAP if somebody has done it successfully, or at least the chances to be able to install Linux down the road within 3-6 months. If the chances are slim, I would get a different brand alltogether, but I like the Spins.

 

Thank you!

 

Owafo

Swift 3, relased about the same time, does not, according to multiple web reports. I can find no one reporting success with Linux 64 (lots of distributions tried) and while Linux 32 can be installed, there are lots of compatibility issues that make some capabilities inoperable. See: http://community.acer.com/t5/Swift-Spin-S-and-R-Series/Ubuntu-on-Swift-3-SF314-51-74FW-black-screen-after-menu-on-Live/m-p/464481/highlight/true

 

It is odd that these Linux issues exist, because their BIOS vendor brags about their comprehensive test suite for ensuring compatibility with operating systems. "Deploy platforms with multiple OSes with a single secure BIOS. blah blah blah" https://www.insyde.com/products

 

Maybe Acer has told them not to bother with Linux (or Windows 7, which is also a problem with Swift 3).

Owafo

Swift 3, relased about the same time, does not, according to multiple web reports. I can find no one reporting success with Linux 64 (lots of distributions tried) and while Linux 32 can be installed, there are lots of compatibility issues that make some capabilities inoperable. See: http://community.acer.com/t5/Swift-Spin-S-and-R-Series/Ubuntu-on-Swift-3-SF314-51-74FW-black-screen-after-menu-on-Live/m-p/464481/highlight/true

 

It is odd that these Linux issues exist, because their BIOS vendor brags about their comprehensive test suite for ensuring compatibility with operating systems. "Deploy platforms with multiple OSes with a single secure BIOS. blah blah blah" https://www.insyde.com/products

 

Maybe Acer has told them not to bother with Linux (or Windows 7, which is also a problem with Swift 3).

MaxPat

Thank you Owafo for your detailed response.

 

I ended up buying four Spin 7 yesterday on sale at Costco for just $899 each. I had read the first link, and I just sent an email to Insyde vigorously complaining about their lack of LInux support, even though they state that their BIOS allows you to "Deploy platforms with multiple OSes", and that they have Linux "experts" on their team.

 

I used to love Windows 2000 and XP, was ok with Windows 7, but cannot stand Windows 8 or even 10 due to the increased MS spyware regardless of how much you disable or even try to filter MS chatty traffic at the firewall level.

 

Thanks to Costco's generous 90-day return policy, I'll keep them for a while trying to get some LInux distro working, whether in single or dual boot with Windows 10, since there aren't any more Windows 7 drivers for these new machines (which I can understand from the manufacturer's perspective).

 

I'll share back with the community if I get anything working on the Spin 7.

 

Enjoy the Holidays !

smccarthy945

Yes, the Spin 5 works AWESOME with Linux Mint! I bought the I5 version at Coscto and took a chance that Linux would work and I am glad I did. Everything works perfectly. Touchscreen. touchpad, screen, keyboard backlight, etc. There isn't anything that doesn't work. The only issue I have is that if you put the laptop in tablet mode, the screen won't rotate automatically but I think that's an issue with all versions of Linux. Otherwise, everything works perfectly. The leyboard and touchpad even lock when you put it in tablet mode so you can't accidentally hit a key by mistake. 

 

And man does it run fast with Linux!

padgett

I would be surprised if the BIOS is the problem other than the difficulty in changing from a UEFI to a LEGACY boot. The BIOS must have certain standard capabilities to be approved for Wiondows and most graphics systems are well known.

 

Personally have not bothered much with Linux recently other than Kali for network diagnosis but have played with Fedora and Ubuntu in the past, mostly booting from USB drives & using Rufus.

 

What are the problems being encountered and with what hardware ? May look into it but all of my hardware is pre-Spin/Swift.

 

Downloading 18.2 32 bit (Sonya) now. What is different about mint ?