Has anyone installed Linux onto an Intel RST SATA drive?

[Bob Proulx]

bsimpson nvastro.com wrote:
> Bob Proulx wrote:
> > But that means that AMD laptops will often have Broadcom WiFi chips.
> > Because they won't have Intel WiFi and Broadcom is the next most huge
> > vendor of WiFi chips.  And that's another bad Linux combination!
> > Because Broadcom is a terrible vendor and won't release a free
> > software open source driver for their WiFi chips.  It is very easy to
> > end up without working WiFi.  One must be cautious.  I have a gifted
> > Dell laptop that I can only use plugged into an ethernet wire because
> > of that problem.
>
> At the store I can check what Windows is using for a WiFi device
> driver.  If it says “Broadcom” should I walk away, or is there any
> hope?

Nope.  "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

Your best bet at the store is to bring a live booting USB that you
know works and then boot it.  Test that things work.

* Graphics
* WiFi
* Storage
* Suspend-Resume (to usb swap, don't touch the installed disk)
* Everything else I have forgotten to list here...

That's the best way.  Seeing it work.  Or not work.  Either way.  Then
you will know.

Bob

P.S. In recent years it seems things with Broadcom have improved,
somewhat, on the relative scale of being a zero to being maybe a one
out of ten.  It's now possible to install some binary drivers.  These
are not free software.  They are not distributed with any of the
software distros.  You would need to always install them and manage
things yourself.

Which is simply not worth it for me.  I have too many other things
that are more worthwhile to do with my time than to babysit
troublesome binary vendor modules.  Plus even if it works today there
is no guarentee that the kernel api won't change tomorrow in an
incompatible way.

I am sure there will be at least one person reading this who is doing
this though and could provide you with feedback about the process.
And maybe I have been living under my rock too long and things have
really changed.  I find that happens sometimes.  And then I pull the
rock back over my head and hunker down again.

Regardless it is always best to test things first and then you will
know.