How I Put Linux On A Microsoft Surface Go In Just An Hour – Please do not post support questions here. Please read the forum rules before posting. Threads in this forum are automatically closed after 6 months of creation.
Some time ago I happened to own a MS Surface Pro 3 Tablet with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage.
How I Put Linux On A Microsoft Surface Go In Just An Hour
I received a new genuine MS keyboard / cover from someone who bought stock from a closing business.
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I decided to run Linux on it, but installing on 64GB of storage is a pain in the neck, and removing Windows still leaves room for documents, apps, and other stuff.
I’ve done some experiments and Mint does work – in a limited way, but it’s a pain. Installing Surface Kernel fixes this but not the Storage problem, but I can fit a 256Gb MicroSD card in it and probably up to 512, but that might just be a rumour.
I was wondering what I would use it for anyway. And then I realized something that should have been obvious. I use a VPN to network all my Linux computers rather than a traditional LAN. It’s simpler, less hassle, and also means I can turn on the machine remotely using the Wake on LAN feature in the BIOS if I want to. I have more or less WiFi connection.
I usually need extra RAM and Storage when I’m in my WiFi range. For example, I can sit on the Patio and use the tablet like a laptop to do some work without sitting inside, or I can use it like a tablet and connect to about 4TB of Books or 3TB of video. It can be nice when the weather starts to change.
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So now NoMachine, via VNC, via my WiFi, I have a MS Surface Pro 3 with 16GB RAM, 40TB storage.
There is no noticeable lag, even using video, unless I set the screen resolution higher than 1920 width;
I am very pleased with myself because I was thinking of buying a 8GB / 256GB Surface Pro 5 tablet for Linux.
This solution is much better in every way. If for some reason I need to use the tablet in the car where there is no Internet or WiFi, I can set up a Mobile Hot Spot on my phone, or just use Nord with Windows for security. The main goal is not to use Surface on an unsecured Internet or Wifi connection.
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I just thought I’d post this for anyone who has one of these nerds at home and wants to run Linux, or rather Mint.
Another VNC solution that works on Windows and Linux like RealVNC would be nice. I simply found NoMachine to be cleaner and faster than any of the dozens of others I’ve tried over the years.
Current base OS: MINt 21.3 with KDE Plasma 5.27 (using Compiz as WM) – Kernel: 6.5.0-15 on Lenovo m900 Tiny, i5-6400T (intel HD 530 graphics) 16GB RAM.
Cinnamon 22 Thinkcentre M920q + 2 Thinkpad T440p (upgraded) + Lenovo Y50-70 (all with VB) + 2 PC NAS drives XFCE21.2 + ASUS Atom (2011) with Q4OS-32bit + 10 year old Lenovo NAS for backup
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These are interesting devices, but for me anyway, a little expensive new to justify. I thought about the Couples Unit before I got him a Mac.
I would encourage you to continue working on a Linux / Open Source solution and stop being complacent about how easy surveillance and collection hackers have made it for everyone to stay on their insecure platform(s). Data is king and literally rules our binary environment and collects whatever numbers they want!
When I have more time, I’ll move the Surface Pro 3 to a similar environment, 64GB can be difficult to accommodate, but there is a micro SD slot for storage and SD cards up to 1TB. Good luck!
LMDE 6 | i7-4790 @ 3.60GHz x 8 CPU | 15.6GiB RAM | NVD9 1.9GiB GPU | 931GiB SSD | 298 GiB HD LMDE 6| 2 Duo T5270 @ 1.40GHz x 2 CPU | 3.9GiB RAM | NV86 117MiB GPU | 465 GB SSD
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I don’t need NoMachine’s Cloud Service. I am very happy to use a Free app that allows me to connect to anything at home without any Internet connection.
However, if I’m traveling and need to access my system from somewhere using public WiFi, I think I’ll use NoMachine more than anything else. Most people don’t care what they use once they’re on a Social Network. As for companies that collect data, I feel comfortable with the risk of data collection by NoMachine when I use Google, Proton Mail, Microsoft, Apple and hundreds of others.
I mean we use Mint. See how many times the forum has been hacked. Nothing is safe on the Internet. Most things on the Internet are not secure.
So instead of something that works on a hit and miss basis like Tigervnc or vinagre and a few other things in the repo, using a commercial VNC that actually works – all of which I’ve tried and “some” work well enough. To use more or less – it makes sense.
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After some mishaps using Mint on my 4 / 64 GB Surface 3 or the newly arrived 8 / 256 Surface 3, I decided to give Kubuntu a try. It worked, and after some things needed to be changed, I decided to make a Persistent bootable USB stick, an almost invisible button.
Now I have a Bootable Linux that changes all settings and themes and allows me to install Apps. I think the only pain is that I had 32 or 63 GB USB sticks, so I ended up with 30 GB / root and 30 GB / home.
But I can access all internal SSD drives in Windows anyway, so it’s not a drama. On the bigger machine I have a 220GB data drive that I can use.
A USB drive is so small. It’s a little warm, but not sticky enough to be uncomfortable when using the Surface without a keyboard.
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It got me thinking. I’m interested in trying LMDE 6, and although I don’t like many things about Cinnamon (so I’m running Mint 21.2 w/KDE), I could live with Cinnamon if I didn’t use it. It’s elegant and functional.
So I tried to make a Persistent bootable USB drive with LMDE. It took me half a day yesterday and again today, but I was able to get it working on my main desktop system. I then tried to boot it on my other main system and it was Show No Show. Completely refused to load. This is surprising since both are identical Lenovo ‘Tiny’ systems with i5 processors.
I tried a constant load live stick on this machine and it was fine. Does not like to load a fixed stick. So this is something to investigate.
Interestingly, I hit the stick on a larger surface and it loaded. And it works perfectly.
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Now I have a Surface Pro 3 running LMDE 6 and Win 11 Professional is still in the Surface Boot partition if needed.
I have Kubuntu bootable as a permanent Live OS on my Surface 3, which allows me to keep Win 11 if I need to for some reason.
If I installed Mint 21.2 Cinnamon, I think it might work better than Kubuntu, but I would lose a lot of personal stuff that I use. Kubuntu remains for now, because installing Kubuntu back into Mint to run it directly is a pain in the ass.
I decided to write this answer on Surface using LMDE while I had Firefox open to see if it was practical.
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So far LMDE looks and works great on the Surface pro, and making a “Permanent” bootable USB means I can install things that allow Cinnamon to change, like installing Thunar for file management and Geeqie for images – and every time I boot, it’s a live USB with those changes saved opens the flash.
I would say there are things that are not working yet. I haven’t looked into the cameras and currently I don’t think they work, even though they appear in the Hardware list. I may be proven wrong, but it’s been hours.
But I would say – if anyone has a Surface Pro 3, make a Persistent Live USB stick (preferably a small one) and put LMDE 6 or regular Mint Cinnamon on it.
But be warned. – There is a trick to making a Persistent stick for LMDE because
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