How much pain are my in for with trying to get FreeBSD working on modern laptop? reddit / freebsd ---------------------------------------------------------------------- frellus · 2022-08-09 17:01 Hardware: * Dell XPS 15 9520 * Processor: 12th Gen Intel i9-12900HK * Video: NVIDIA GeForge RTX 3050 TI Laptop GPU My background: Normally Mac laptop, longtime UNIX/Linux sysadmin and used FreeBSD in the very distant past (1990s). So I have a spare new Dell XPS 15 laptop from work, and I installed Ubuntu desktop on it. I was blown away with how easy it was and how integrated the hardware was. I know Dell has done work in the past to make their laptops compatible with Linux, and it showed. So I installed FreeBSD 13.1 on this beast and here are the problems I've encountered and am encountering after one day: * couldn't boot from USB key \[FIXED - turned off TPM and SecureBoot in BIOS\] * cannot suspend laptop - acpiconf nor sysctl shows a S3 state I can use to suspend the laptop * fans running 100%, CPU/laptop running extremely hot So I'm not inexperienced, and I was assuming I would have to struggle with something like wifi or bluetooth and maybe the video, but I didn't expect basic hardware support that I would be doing things like acpidump and trying to google for things which I'm getting no hits on. My question is: how much pain should I expect, are these insurmountable challenges or should I give up because my laptop is too "new" ? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- myzt · 2022-08-09 17:37 Too much. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dddddavidddd · 2022-08-09 17:44 If suspend/resume doesn't work, there probably won't be an easy fix (unless you consider ACPI hacking easy!). To see if there's a fix in the pipeline though, you could download a snapshot of 14-CURRENT, boot from the installer USB, then open a shell and try to suspend and/or see if the fans run at 100%. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- chez_les_alpagas · 2022-08-09 19:21 I'd be extatic if I could get sleep and hibernate working on a new XPS just in Ubuntu. I wouldn't even dream it possible in FreeBSD. If you carry on and get it running smoothly, please post a how to! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cybersecurityjobseek · 2022-08-09 19:56 >eplyGive AwardShareReportSaveFollow > >level 1myzt · 2 hr. ago ecstatic FYI like ecstasy ---------------------------------------------------------------------- vermaden · 2022-08-09 21:30 > fans running 100%, CPU/laptop running extremely hot You should try this: - https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2018/11/28/the-power-to-serve- freebsd-power-management/ > My question is: how much pain should I expect, are these insurmountable challenges or should I give up because my laptop is too "new" ? It may or may not be too new. You can search for similar hardware to see how it worked for others: - https://wiki.freebsd.org/Laptops Regards. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- frellus · 2022-08-09 22:25 Great suggestion - I tried to install latest snapshot but got a core when it attempted to bring up the wifi driver (which worked without issues with 13.1). I'll probably end up holding off until 14.0 is officially released then, but in the meantime will look through changes to see if anything is addressed for my issues. I didn't even think of going this route - cheers. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- frellus · 2022-08-09 22:28 Not sure which XPS you have, but I just freshly installed Ubuntu Desktop 22.04 and everything works out of the box on it. I close the lid, it suspends, I open and touch a key and it comes back -- screen locked and everything. You might want to give it a spin. Power management seems to be working too, the CPU isn't too hot and the fans are quiet running X. Not trying to advocate against FreeBSD here, I really wish I had the time/skills to dig into this, but I'm rapidly looking at giving up or getting much older hardware. It's a shame too -- this XPS laptop is phenomenal. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dddddavidddd · 2022-08-10 00:03 Best of luck! If 13.2-RELEASE comes out before 14.0, it might also work for you since changes usually take just a few weeks to go from CURRENT to STABLE (from which RELEASE is cut). (Release timeline for 13.2 and 14.0 isn't posted anywhere right now, I think) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Salemhadeth · 2022-08-10 02:57 Expect a lot ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IanArcad · 2022-08-10 04:09 You've gotten a lot further than most people get - my Elitebook had no sound or wifi. I think next I would check out your settings in /boot/loader.conf and see if you can make any progress there, as those are relatively simple to change. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- setwindowtext · 2022-08-10 05:40 For me S3 doesn’t work on any laptop, old or new. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- TrenItaglia · 2022-08-10 09:21 get ready to spend time making wifi, bt, brightness, fans, keys working ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Catsssssssss · 2022-08-10 17:51 I tend to take some flak for my stance, but I am a staunch FreeBSD proponent - for server implementations. Using it as a desktop works for some select hardcore devotees, but for most people, I prefer to recommend any other platform. Full disclosure, I depend on Windows for my day job and have lived long and happily enough to avoid arguments about which is better than what. What works best and what works for you is what you should use. As a case study, however, installing FreeBSD with a desktop can be a fun (and frequently frustrating) challenge. Driver availability and compatibility for this purpose is limited. Wifi is a frequent delinquent, and while your desktop might end up looking pretty, the graphics drivers aren't nearly as optimized as they are for more desktop oriented platforms like Linux and Windows. So where am I going with this? Definitely try it out! You will learn a lot in the process. Just don't expect your mind to be blown - other than by your own accomplishments after you get your desktop environment up and running. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- frellus · 2022-08-10 21:10 Extremely fair answer - I agree with your viewpoint and there are no points lost from me to FreeBSD. The reason I wanted a laptop environment was mainly to have a playground for server-side features such as virtualization and jails, but I will go the route you suggest and stick with my Mac or Linux laptop and play with VMs and physical servers. The best answer I could have hoped for was "here's the site about laptops you dummy" or "yea, pain .. but if you're up for it go for it". Cheers! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Catsssssssss · 2022-08-11 06:15 It's definitely the "yea, pain" the first few times around, and if you set your mind to it and decide to go for running a FreeBSD desktop, you are set for a future of compromises. For servers, it is truly a gem. I run more than 200 servers in various settings, and the average uptime is around 300 days - only shutting down or rebooting for major OS upgrades or hardware swaps. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- grahamperrin · 2022-09-01 07:05 > … latest snapshot but got a core when it attempted to bring up the wifi driver … Which driver, what's the card? Developers will take an interest. and so on. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- grahamperrin · 2022-09-01 07:08 > cannot suspend laptop - acpiconf nor sysctl shows a S3 state I can use to suspend the laptop `sysctl hw.acpi.supported_sleep_state` What's reported? FreeBSD bug [260994 – Sleep, wake: document the requirement for Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) drivers; include the console context](https://bugs.freebsd.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=260994) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- grahamperrin · 2022-09-01 07:09 > For me S3 doesn’t work on any laptop, old or new. That's extraordinary. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- grahamperrin · 2022-09-01 07:10 > my Elitebook had no sound or wifi. Which model, exactly? No problem here with an Elitebook 8570p. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IanArcad · 2022-09-01 14:53 I have a Elitebook 840 G5. I'm glad your 8570p works, but that's a pretty old laptop to use. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- grahamperrin · 2022-09-01 17:44 We have much more modern HP models in use, I simply haven't requested one for myself yet. I have 14.0-CURRENT on a mobile hard disk drive, when I last used it to boot a new HP ProBook, it was fine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IanArcad · 2022-09-01 21:16 Sorry - I didn't mean to be judgemental. I appreciate the info and will check out 14.0. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- grahamperrin · 2022-09-02 01:27 No problem :-) I should say, try the latest RELEASE before experimenting with CURRENT.