I have an Asus Zenbook UX32VD with the following specs:
-13.3" 1920x1080 - 4 GB RAM - 500 GB HDD + 24 GB SSD - Nvidia 620M GT (1GB) + Intel HD 4000 graphics 1.9Ghz Core i7 (3517U)I want to install Ubuntu on an SSD. Is it possible? Which is the best version for my computer?
14 Answers
Everything should be fine. I don't see anything special, so there should be no problem. Like others have said, your SSD is a little small, but Ubuntu can actually be configured to boot Ubuntu off of the SSD and have all your data on the 500GB drive.
Since you do have NVIDIA, I recommend installing Ubuntu 15.10. NVIDIA can be troublesome on Ubuntu, so it's usually best to have the newest version of Ubuntu. You will pretty much have to update to the next version of Ubuntu every six months, but that's an easy process. If you really don't want to upgrade every six months, and would like that frequency to be decreased to every two years, go with 14.04.
If you want to install Ubuntu on the SSD and make sure all your data is on the HDD, here's the process.
- Download Rufus if you're on Windows and use it to burn the Ubuntu ISO you downloaded (Get 14.04 or 15.10 from here) to a USB stick.
- Reboot your computer and boot from the USB stick.
- Choose the
Try Before Installingoption when prompted. - Search for and open
GParted. - Use
GPartedto format your SSD asext4(this will wipe any data on the drive so make sure your stuff is backed up). - Go to the dropdown in the top right and select your 500GB drive.
- If you have any partitions on it, use the
Move/Resizetool to make it smaller. If you can, free up at least 150GB for Ubuntu. - Make a new partition in that free space, formatted as
ext4. - Click the
Applybutton and let the changes be made. - Now, open the
Install Ubuntuapp on the desktop (you can closeGParted). - Click through until you are either prompted with options on how to install Ubuntu, or are met with a partition selection screen.
- If you get the options, choose
Something Else... - If you get the partition screen, continue on.
- If you get the options, choose
- On the partition selection screen, right click the SSD and click
Properties. - As the mountpoint, choose
/. Also select theFormatoption and selectext4and the filesystem type. ClickDone. - Go into Properties of the partition you created on the 500GB drive and make the mountpoint
/home. You do not need to format this partition again. - Click
Continuein the setup and Ubuntu should install.
NOTE: You may have a problem getting into setup, as you have NVIDIA. You might be greeted with a screen of scrolling text with the word Nouveau among other stuff. If this happens, follow the steps below.
- Reboot and boot back into the USB stick.
- On the selection screen, highlight the
Try Before Installoption, but don't hit Enter. Instead, press e. - Use your arrow keys to bring the cursor to the end of the line beginning with
linux. - Press SPACE and type
nouveau.modeset=0. - Press F10 to boot into setup and follow the steps above.
Once you have Ubuntu installed and running, you may notice that the NVIDIA card isn't being used (low performance in games/HD videos). To fix this, open the Additional Drivers app and select a proprietary NVIDIA driver. I recommend against using the -updates option(s), as these versions are experimental and not fully tested, but you're welcome to try. Instead, choose the latest non -updates version. Click the Apply button and enter your password. Reboot and you will have NVIDIA be the default card for everything.
EDIT: Another note.
If your computer came with Windows 8 or later, you may need to turn Secure Boot off. It's not probable, but possible that it will get in the way. If you want turn it off, the setting will be in your BIOS settings.
That should be it. Your computer should run Ubuntu without issue. If you do have a problem, come back and ask here on Ask Ubuntu (do a little research first, as your question may already have an answer).
Any questions about my answer: just comment and I'll do my best to help :-).
My proposal
- SSD is supported in Ubuntu 16.04/... well if it is the standard SSD provided in the Zenbook.
- Keep Windows 10 in your system
Install the latest Long-term-release Ubuntu (now 16.04) as dual-boot in your system
- the manufacturer supports firmware/... updates in Windows 10; the laptop was designed for Windows 10; Linux support is missing much
- all Ubuntu versions will have some limitations without firmware updates; you can possibly fix/glue some of them without the updates but the updates of the manufacturer are the safest ways; however, the manufacturer says that you should not do firmware updates unless something is not working properly because it has its own risks
Note the NVidia GPU requires Bumblebee project's adjustments for Optimus, but may still have issues etc in power consumption/... Your integrated Intel GPU will work fine.
The answer depends on what you plan on doing with ubuntu. 24GB is a bit small for a fully usable Ubuntu. But if you only use it for Mails or something like that, it might suffice.
According to versions: Ubuntu has two different versions. LTS-Versions like 14.04 have longer support and you don't have to worry about the ending of support in the next time. Newer Versions come with shorter support cycles until a new LTS version is released.
Based on your configuration you can very well install Ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS. But i would recommend using something light like lubuntu
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