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I am interested in using Ubuntu OS on my 'ThinkPadL410' laptop but when i searched for the required drivers in the lenovo website i didn't find any for Ubuntu .

Can anybody tell me where can i find the required drivers , or tell me if i cannot install ubuntu at all on it.

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  • Thinkpad machines of the same "marketing name" (L410 in your case) could be configured in totally different configurations. Discrete vs integrated graphics, Intel WiFi or budget type of WiFi card, etc. We can't tell if and which drivers you need. Just install Ubuntu and come back with a more specific question about some hardware which does not work out of the box.
    – gertvdijk
    May 23, 2013 at 11:54

3 Answers 3

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Probably you do not need any further driver other than the ones already included in the Linux kernel that powers Ubuntu.

Go ahead a test all your system with the Ubuntu LiveCD, that is the best way of doing it. If you notice anything more specific missing (ie: wireless, or some buttons) create a new question about that, reboot the laptop, remove the CD and no changes will actually happen to it.

From all I see your system should not have any issues running Ubuntu, test it.

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  • Thank you for your fast reply , but is the LiveCD can check all the drivers before installing ? as i need to be sure all the drivers exist before i install it. thanks again
    – k.elgohary
    May 23, 2013 at 10:56
  • Linux does use drivers as Windows does, they are present most of the times in the Kernel supplied with a distribution and just there, the chances that you need to build an external driver to be used by your system are very remote. The best way to test that is by using the livecd and see if everything boots and works "out of the box", else open up a new question specific for the hardware part that is not working properly. May 23, 2013 at 11:12
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Perhaps you do. It isn't clear whether the L series ThinkPads are eligible for the tp_smapi driver. Try asking in the ThinkPad SL and L Series forum or the Linux Questions forum at ThinkPads.com. Since the closely related SL series isn't covered by the driver, I suspect the L series isn't either.

If you discover your laptop will benefit from tp_smapi, install the package as noted at ThinkWiki.org. Open a Terminal (keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+T) and execute these commands:

sudo apt-get install tp-smapi-dkms
sudo modprobe tp_smapi

Any time you perform a distribution upgrade, say from Ubuntu 14.04 to 14.10 later this year, re-add the module:

sudo modprobe tp_smapi
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Ubuntu has always worked for me. Make sure you enable proprietary drivers in the installer and check the additional drivers app in Ubuntu.

Windows always requires you to download replacements for their garbage(MS Edge, OneDrive, etc) Ubuntu Generally works out of the box.

Getting Old GPU drivers is a problem, but that is always the case, regardless of the OS.

Ancient hardware is always an adventure

One important drawback and benefit of Ubuntu is its multi-package nature. Updates are not from one central company, they are many small updates. This can be annoying, but it also allows you to keep 100% up-to-date all the time. If a new version of one package is incompatible with your hardware(Like >5.15 kernel and NVIDIA driver 390), you can choose not to update that piece while still updating all other pieces to their latest version. Security updates are still provided for LTS versions. Windows just ditches you after like 5 years.

Get Ubuntu PRO. But don't use livepatch unless you really hate restarting your computer and you have new hardware that won't get broken by kernel updates.

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