Linux on Vaio NR

Has anybody had any luck in getting linux onto sony vaio nr? Im getting one for uni, and it comes with vista, which i dont like, and i want to put maybe mint onto it as a dual boot...

Ive read that sony's are difficult to get linux onto...?

If the laptop was to break, and needed to be sent back under warrenty, would installing a different OS void the warenty?

Thanks in advance!

 

For Linux compatibility with specific laptop models, it's usually more useful to go to forums specific to users of your target hardware, if they exist. In this case there's the following forums to check out;

1) First, of course, is our very own NBR Sony Laptop Forum
2) There's ClubVAIO from Sony
3) And finally an unofficial VAIO Village forum to check out

Looking for posts there with VAIO NR and Linux may turn up some user experiences. Next you can try the forums for the Linux distro you will want to use, like the popular Ubuntu and their User Forums. You can also visit Ubuntu's Laptop hardware compatibility page, and see that there is a community Sony laptop page, which lists the following VAIO NR110 installation reports;

Ubuntu Gutsy on an NR110
Ubuntu Gutsy on an NR11Z

Lastly, Googling VAIO NR and Linux provided this Ubuntu user forum thread and there's several people there who have installed Linux on an NR. There are sites that collect user installation "howto" reports regarding Linux installations on various laptops, to check out for answers to Linux laptop compatibility. These include;

TuxMobil
Linux on Laptops
The Linux Laptop Wiki

I've never owned or tried to install Linux on a Sony laptop, but due to the popularity of the brand, I think it's safe to say that there's a lot of user community support for Linux on these laptops. So it shouldn't be too difficult to find Linux support for most Sony laptops. (If you look at the sites above, you'll see that the Sony section is quite large)

In terms of your warranty question, you'll want to ask Sony before you buy what their official position is, but it shouldn't matter what OS you have installed. Remember to frame your question as to hardware break/fix warranty support, which they should provide regardless of OS, NOT software support, which they won't provide for Linux. I've always gotten around this issue by using an additional hard drive, swapping out the original one when I receive the laptop, and then installing Linux on that drive. Then if I ever have to send the laptop in for warranty service, I simply swap hard drives and send it in.

Good Luck..

 

Sony is an OEM that likes to use a lot of specialized hardware, so it may be difficult to get it working with Linux. To this day, I have to edit a config file to get sound working on my VAIO desktop, even though the problem has existed in Ubuntu for over 2 years. I don't know what the situation with laptops is though.

 

Could you give us detailed (manufacturer) specs, or perhaps the exact model of your laptop?

 

Cheers! I'll have a good look at these!

 

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