Installing Fedora 20 on a Skyfire III

R

rapiddescent

Bronze Level Poster
It's actually quite easy.

USB
The first job is to create an install. I used liveusb-creator, instructions can be found here: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/How_to_create_and_use_Live_USB. I always use the NetInstall version because it is quicker to create an up to date install

Boot
Switch on the new PCS SkyFire and press F11 repeatedly so you get the boot menu. Boot from the usb key and start the install. There are lots of resources on the web to help you with the install. Either have these ready on another screen or print them out before you start. The sites below tell you how to get dvd, extra fonts, mp3 etc working. Usually just cut 'n paste commands and it installs itself free from the internet.

http://www.mjmwired.net/resources/mjm-fedora-f19.html
http://www.linuxfederation.com/things-to-do-after-installing-fedora-20/

Configuration
Whilst I ordered a Windows 7 64bit DVD with the laptop, I'm not interested in the operating system on the disk. So I selected the standard install on the disk in the installation setup and deleted everything from the disk. I'll be using VirtualBox for my windows 7 install later.

There's not a lot to do actually. Just add some passowrds and choose the window manager you want, I use KDE and make sure you unclick the tick box so that it always downloads the latest packages from the internet.

I am using the standard nouveau nvidia drivers but some may wish to use the kmod-nvidia package if you are playing games.

Does everything work?
yes. The screen is in 1080p, the sound works, the bluetooth works and the wifi works - all with no extra configuration or any driver install - it "just works". The 1080p screen is fabulous for me and I'm glad the skyfire III has recently got this option.
 
Stephen M

Stephen M

Author Level
Cheers for that, I am undecided betwwen Skyfire III and Optimus V for my next laptop so the info useful (wins you your first rep :))
 
R

rapiddescent

Bronze Level Poster
It was so easy that I nearly didn't post anything!

I also was looking at the Optimus V vs the Skyfire. For me, the build prices were withing a few quid of each other and I went for the Skyfire because I thought the case looked a bit more resilient (I travel a lot). I was about to buy the old Inferno (the midget version) but PCS withdrew it from sale last year so this, I think, is the next best thing.

I went for the 240Gb Intel 335 SSD. I'm very glad that I did because Fedora takes about 10 seconds to load up and even though I only went for an i5 instead of an i7, this laptop feels very fast. If you are a coder or have good eyesight and like lots of windows visible then the 1080p screen is really good and again, works right out of the box with xorg and KDE.

I haven't found any odd hardware that doesn't work with Fedora 20, even the soft buttons work to change the volume and screen brightness. The only slight bug so far is that I don't know how to access the BIOS settings, none of the (quite good) documentation that came with it said how to access them.
 
Stephen M

Stephen M

Author Level
On my Voyager, F2 before boot up gets to the BIOS. I think the more robust case will probably be the deciding factor in me getting the Skyfire as I travel a bit. I will most likely dual-boot mine as I intend to do a bit of music work on it and a dedicated OS with plenty of audio and viseo stuff would be handy but I would still want a Debian, Fedora or something like that for my main system.

I will be interested to hear how you go on with your Skyfire.
 
R

rapiddescent

Bronze Level Poster
half a days work - and I'm still amazed how good this is, OK I'm still in the honeymoon period. I've just noticed that the screen is not shiney (unlike my old dell xps). The fan noise is noticeable and there is a warm draft coming out the left hand side of the laptop case, but the fan is constant and quiet - which is important for open plan offices. Fedora 20 is pretty good too. I've been a RH user since before Fedora days so I was always going to be a fan - but this is the first laptop I've bought that required no extra configuration for hardware.
 
R

rapiddescent

Bronze Level Poster
To get to the BIOS, it's the DEL key - but you have to be very quick. The BIOS was setup with pretty much the default settings tyou'd expect and is Linux friendly.
 
R

rapiddescent

Bronze Level Poster
NB: forgot to say that the SkyFire III specification was largely normal except for an SSD and N-135 Intel networking.

Code: 
[root@pcslaptop ~]# lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor DRAM Controller (rev 06)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor PCI Express x16 Controller (rev 06)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 06)
00:03.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio Controller (rev 06)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family USB xHCI (rev 05)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset High Definition Audio Controller (rev 05)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #1 (rev d5)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #3 (rev d5)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #4 (rev d5)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family USB EHCI #1 (rev 05)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation HM87 Express LPC Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.2 SATA controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family 6-port SATA Controller 1 [AHCI mode] (rev 05)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 05)
01:00.0 3D controller: NVIDIA Corporation GK106M [GeForce GTX 760M] (rev a1)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2200 Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 13)
04:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Centrino Wireless-N 135 (rev c4)
 
R

rapiddescent

Bronze Level Poster
just noticed that the SD Card reader is not recognising cards. Will do some more work to make sure that it isn't just a faulty SD Card. I think it is a pretty standard controller linked to the USB slots - however, the USB seems to be working fine.
 
P

Pennyblue

New member
Hi rapiddescent, I recently got a skyfire iii and am also running fedora 20 (64bit)! I was looking into installing the video card drivers through this guide. You have the same lspci setup as me, however, where it lists the nvidia card as a '3D Controller' rather than a VGA controller. I was just wondering if you, or any others know whether this will be a problem during setup? I tried to ask on the guide's comments but it gives me an infinite redirect loop when I try to reply -_-;. I'm a little worried about just going for it because I did the same while using ubuntu and soft bricked my machine :) and I have work to be getting on with in the meantime.

Thanks very much!
 
R

rapiddescent

Bronze Level Poster
I think this is because the Skyfire III has two graphics cards. I just tried to install the NVidia drivers and realised that I had been using the integrated graphics and Nouveau the whole time.
 
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