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I have a HP Pavilion dv6 laptop (dv6-6b55er). Can I install the latest Ubuntu (13.04) without having any problems such as missing drivers, performance.. etc. Any advise is highly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

AzkerM
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Red October
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2 Answers2

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As per Ubuntu, HP Pavilion dv6 is Ubuntu certified hardware.

Check out the list of HP hardware being certified here.

DV6 is certified by Ubuntu for

  • Processor: Intel Corporation Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2450M CPU @ 2.50GHz
  • LAN: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller

  • Chipset:

    • Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1

    • Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 4

    • Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 6
  • GFX dedicated: nVidia Corporation GF108M [GeForce GT 630M]
  • GFX integrated: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller

So most of the stuff should run out of the box for you. However as @Rinzwind has mentioned, please try using a live CD/USB before installing it on the laptop.

Ubuntu recommends Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS 64-bit as recommended version. Keep in mind the certification notes

Slow resume from suspend This system does not not meet our performance criteria for resuming from suspend, but suspend/resume is functional and other functionality is not affected.

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It seems the Proprietary drivers create problem, so please do the following as mentioned in the thread here.

  1. Install firmware-b43-installer (+ b43fwcutter automatically added)
  2. Uninstall the bcm-kernel-source package
  3. Remove the original Wireless STA driver from Additional Drivers
  4. Reboot

Hope this solves his issues

Community
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k1chy
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  • fixed the link :) and who needs resume anyways! Anything on the wireless TS mentions in comment on my answer? – Rinzwind Sep 17 '13 at 09:55
  • Thanks :) The Wi-Fi seems to be a standard problem with Pavilion laptops (esp dv6). Somebody has posted solution here, which is to install Broadcom proprietary drivers in Additional drivers. I had a bad experience with the drivers on Elementary OS for GFX and Wi-Fi, so, I did not bother since everything worked out of the box for me. – k1chy Sep 17 '13 at 10:07
  • It seems the Proprietary drivers create problem, so please do the following as mentioned in the thread here. 1. Install firmware-b43-installer (+ b43fwcutter automatically added in Synaptic) 2. Uninstall the bcm-kernel-source package using Synaptic 3. Remove the original Wireless STA driver from Additional Drivers 4. Reboot Hope this solves his issues. – k1chy Sep 17 '13 at 10:17
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For questions like this Ubuntu has the Live DVD. Download it, burn it, boot from the DVD and try Ubuntu. It runs totally in memory so it is a bit slow but it will not change anything on your hard disc.

You can try out if your wireless works. You can try printers, external discs and basically examine all your hardware before deciding to install Ubuntu.

But if you want to make sure upfront that all your hardware is supported you need to write down all the brand names, model numbers and if possible chip set and search for those on the web.

Rinzwind
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  • thank you for your advice - I made it exactly so. Everything works fine, except of connecting to wifi-router. But I think this is a subject for another question :) – Red October Sep 17 '13 at 09:48