this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2025
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Not too long ago I installed Mint onto a laptop that turned out to have a network card by Broadcom, which doesn't have Linux support, so that didn't work. I'm going to upgrade my currently Windows PC to Mint at the end of Win10 support in October, and I want to be sure I don't have any hardware that is incompatible with Linux. Which manufacturers are obstinate like that?

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[–] Novocirab@feddit.org 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

If you have an AMD graphics card (or use Intel graphics), one of the biggest pain points is already nonexistent. If on the other hand you have a NVidia card, getting that to run often comes with (recurrent) pains. What is your graphics card?

[–] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Well, mine is a Nvidia 4060 Ti, and I don't have the money to change.

[–] Novocirab@feddit.org 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

It's still workable for sure.

Above all, memorize one thing: When you update, and then reboot, keep an eye on the computer during reboot, especially during the early stages. That's because every month or so, when the drivers have gotten updated, you will be presented with a (often blue) screen about MOK Enrolment, i.e. you need your UEFI that the new drivers are trustworthy. If you miss this screen, you'll boot into a black screen or so without anything telling you what the error is, and to fix it you'll have to enroll those keys manually -- this is not prohibitively difficult, but annoying. (That's if you have UEFI secure boot enabled. If you have it disabled, there is practically no pain at all, ever. You lose a bit of security though. Personally I have it disabled.)

[–] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Isn't secure boot unnecessary if nobody else has physical access to the computer?

[–] Novocirab@feddit.org 2 points 1 week ago

I think so, yes.