Running core on an upgraded notebook under Bodhi.

[Jet Cash]

Following on from my USB stick thread, I thought I would start a new thread discussing the setting up and running of an archiving node on an upgraded Huawei D16 notebook. It was the unwanted installation of Windows 11 on this machine that was the catalyst. After this installation the machine seemed to be running ( walking ? ) like an old man, and not something suitable for a guy with a name like Jet Cash. The first upgrade by me was the swopping of a 512Mb ssd for a 2Tb one. and I managed to pick up a SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen4 M.2 2280 Internal Gaming SSD at a good price. The form factor, and the interface is the same as the old SSD, and if you are going to upgrade, it is important to check these two parameters on any drive you consider buying. Exchanging the drive is a simple matter once you have opened the case. There is one tiny screw to remove, and the old drive sits up and begs. You remove the old one, and slip in the new drive.  Then hold it down to replace the screw. On replacing the cover, you should restart the computer and enter the BIOS setup. On this machine, you hold down the f2 key to gain access. Check that the hard drive is listed as 2Tb ( or whatever size you have purchased ). Now comes the part that held me up for a few hours.

You need to enable USB booting from the stick with your Linux ISO image burnt on it. There are loads of sites in Google explaining how to create this stick.  Now comes the part that held me up for a few hours. Microsoft doesn't want you to install anything via a system other than Windows, and, of course, you want to get rid of all the Microsoft stuff that you can. You have to make a number of changes in the BIOS to effect this. First you have to promote the USB port to the top of the boot options. Then you have to disable the hard drive in both the boot list and its BIOS entry. Then you need to remove or disable the Microsoft OS blocking routine. I forget what this is called, but I can post it later if anyone is unsure. Hit F10 to exit and save changes. Then power down and restart the computer. I prefer this slightly longer process to the simple run on from the exit. It seems to allow the PC to register all the changes, and sometimes these can be missed with a runon. If all is OK, then your machine should boot from the stick and give you 4 or 5 options. The first is to run Bodhi from the stick, and you might like to try this first to see if you like it.Once things seem to be OK, then power off the computer and restart it. Now take the second option, which is to install Bodhi on the SSD. Let this run, and choose your options from the installation menus. If all looks good, then power off, and remove the USB stick. Restart by entering the BIOS, and reset it to factory setting. Now make any changes you want to, such as disabling fingerprinting.. Restart the computer, and you should be in the exciting world of Bodhi.

Bear in mind that Bodhi is a minimal version of Ubuntu, and you will have to install many of the apps that you might expect to find preinstalled. Bluetooth is one example. I'll cover the installation of these, together with Bitcoin core in my next post.

ps. I love the crisp freshness of Bodhi. I did have a bit of a hiccup this morning, as it found a corrupted config file. Given that I had just spent 3 hours messing around in terminal, I'm prepared to accept that this was my fault Bodhi managed to correct these, and a simple reboot brought it back to its standard splendour.

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[Churchillvv]

Fortunately, I will love to try out these steps, but at the same time, I have a lot of schemes to cover for my academics, so hence I wouldn't be running the bodhi setup now, and I'm also not capable of punching new devices right now. 
 
But I did like the procedures you took and the additional distribution you gave; it's quite relatable. But what I think you should do is make the thread more of a guide thread. The way this particular thread is written looks more like a story than a step-by-step guide thread (the composition is poor). @Jet cash Sincerely, this one is looking like a story note. Perhaps you can add attractive graphics in order to make your guide thread look more interesting. (Just my suggestion)

[Jet Cash]

Well I guess it is a story. If I get the chance, I'll try to make a Youtube video. I think I need to sharpen up my Linux first. I used Snap for installations before, but I understand there is a system overhead to using that.  I decided to stay with the minimum installation concept, so I've had to master the installation of Blueman for example. I've got that working nicely, but I'm stuck on the extraction of Bitcoin. The automatic installation seems  to be blocked by the UK government, so I've just started looking for a work around.

[seoincorporation]

You need to enable USB booting from the stick with your Linux ISO image burnt on it. There are loads of sites in Google explaining how to create this stick.  Now comes the part that held me up for a few hours. Microsoft doesn't want you to install anything via a system other than Windows, and, of course, you want to get rid of all the Microsoft stuff that you can. You have to make a number of changes in the BIOS to effect this. First you have to promote the USB port to the top of the boot options. Then you have to disable the hard drive in both the boot list and its BIOS entry. Then you need to remove or disable the Microsoft OS blocking routine. I forget what this is called, but I can post it later if anyone is unsure. Hit F10 to exit and save changes. Then power down and restart the computer. I prefer this slightly longer process to the simple run on from the exit. It seems to allow the PC to register all the changes, and sometimes these can be missed with a runon. If all is OK, then your machine should boot from the stick and give you 4 or 5 options. The first is to run Bodhi from the stick, and you might like to try this first to see if you like it.Once things seem to be OK, then power off the computer and restart it. Now take the second option, which is to install Bodhi on the SSD. Let this run, and choose your options from the installation menus. If all looks good, then power off, and remove the USB stick. Restart by entering the BIOS, and reset it to factory setting. Now make any changes you want to, such as disabling fingerprinting.. Restart the computer, and you should be in the exciting world of Bodhi.

I love your story, and feel really identify with it. Formatting a PC from Windows to linux is a priceless experience, feels awesome how fast computers are with linux, and i love the fact that they don't become slower in the long run, in other words, there is no defrag needed for the disk if you run Linux.

Personally, i got 2 months ago an old Dell M6600, but with a powerful i7 8 cores, and i realized it has 4 slots of RAM, so decided to install 32GB of RAM on it and use it as a server for Virtual machines for my Casinos Project. I navigated to Amazon an found 2x8GB for $22, it was DDR3 so i was happy with the price, but when i got the 4 RAMs and installed them on the Laptop, to my surprise it didn't power on. And it was frustrating, i didn't understand why, and after watching some videos i understand the problem. The rams i bought was DDRL, which means it runs on 1.35V, and the Laptop needs RAMs that run on 1.5V. So, i sent the RAMs back, and bought the right ones (Ddr3 8gb 1600mhz 1.5v). When i installed them the laptop powered on without problems and i was ready to start installing the virtual machines.

By the way, the version of Ubuntu that i like to work with is Mate, that was the user interface that Linux used to have when i tried it for the first time 20 years ago, and i am still in love with it.

https://ubuntu-mate.org/

[Jet Cash]

After a bit of a struggle, and some help from Loyce in another thread, I've managed to get Bitcoin Core running. It seems to be pretty fast, and it looks as if it will take less than a day in elapsed time to synchronise the entire blockchain. This is using public WiFi in supermarket cafes. I'm using the cafes in Sainsbury's and Asda for now. Asda doesn't provide power, so battery life is a consideration, and it looks as if I will only get about a third of the life that I was getting under Windows.  I need to explore the options I have to extend this, as, obviously Bitcoin is making some demands. The Hynix SSD is performing really well, and I'm very pleased with that. I have Bitcoin running from a sub-directory in the Downloads directory, and that offends my aesthetics. I really should have planned my file structure before I started to install programs. I'm of a mind to leave it alone and live with its current home.

I'll run a sudo update shortly to tidy up the packages, although I suspect they are already up to date. Once the blockchain has synchronised, I'll try some other experiments. For example, it might be worth setting up a watching node to receive payments. I'll keep my main Bitcoin wallets in cold storage. Crypto seems to be becoming established, so I may look at some other coins. I may even try some mining on a Raspberry Pi or similar.

[LoyceV]

battery life is a consideration, and it looks as if I will only get about a third of the life that I was getting under Windows.

If you have power monitoring installed, you can see the total power consumption (almost) real time.
During block download, your CPU and SSD are actively used. Google the CPU type with "tdp", and you'll see it's maximum power consumption. It's probably 15W. The Hynix adds (up to) 7W. Chances are your laptop consumes only a few watts when idle, and stressing it adds the above 22W. IBD on battery is a challenge.
But since it uses USB charging: have you tried charging from a battery pack? I've never tried this with a laptop, so I can't tell if the power output is too little.

obviously Bitcoin is making some demands.

That's an understatement

I have Bitcoin running from a sub-directory in the Downloads directory, and that offends my aesthetics. I really should have planned my file structure before I started to install programs. I'm of a mind to leave it alone and live with its current home.

The data is stored in ~/.bitcoin by default, right? That means all you need to do is move Bitcoin Core to wherever you want it to be.

[Jet Cash]

Well life as a digital nomad certainly seems to present some additional challenges. I think the benefits far outweigh those though.
I've got a variety of battery backup resources. These include a petrol generator, an inverter for the car, a heavy duty jump start pack with USB output, and a couple of solar powered backup packs. I haven't yet been able to get the solar charging to work, but I keep them topped up in the cafes and other mains providers. They will recharge the notebook if it is turned off, and they provide a bit of power when it is running. It is only about half the power requirement, but of course that extends battery life if I use it. The mains power adaptor for the notebook kicks out 65 watts, and this is enough to allow me to run core, youtube and post on Bitcoin talk, and at the same time it recharges the battery. It looks as if YouTube uses more power than Bitcoin. So I used the Netbook to watch YouTube and post, and I let the notebook carry on sync'ing with the screen off. This upped the projected battery life from 40 minutes to 1 hour 50.

I think I'll leave qt in the Downloads directory, but I will check to see where it stores the blockchain. I've been reading a bit about Lightning, and it looks as if I may be able to earn a few sats by running a Lightning node. That has its appeal, but I'll need to see if it will work if I am only online for part of the day. I've got an unlimited data plan on my mobile, but I don't believe that anything in this life is unlimited, not even the deep state scams and control. So I'm reluctant to tether to my phone to maintain the blockchain. I suspect that it could lead to my activity being throttled.

Core activity seems to have settled at 2-5000 Kb/s at both locations, and it tells me that I have 348,000 blocks to download over a 24 hour period. I can live with that. I'm not going to try any optimisation until I have downloaded the entire blockchain and backed it up.

[LoyceV]

I let the notebook carry on sync'ing with the screen off. This upped the projected battery life from 40 minutes to 1 hour 50.

Can you share the exact laptop type/specs? I'm surprised, I have an old Celeron laptop that measured under 4W with the screen on (on a low setting) while idling. My own old laptop consumes about 20W while idle (with 2 disks), but I'd expect better from most newer laptops. I also have an i5 that, depending on system load, has an estimated battery life ranging from 2 to 8 hours.

I will check to see where it stores the blockchain.

Probably in ~/.bitcoin/blocks.

it looks as if I may be able to earn a few sats by running a Lightning node. That has its appeal, but I'll need to see if it will work if I am only online for part of the day.

From what I've read about it, "a few sats" will literally be only a few. I wouldn't run a node if it's not online most of the time, that's just annoying for anyone who shares an open channel with you.

I've got an unlimited data plan on my mobile, but I don't believe that anything in this life is unlimited, not even the deep state scams and control. So I'm reluctant to tether to my phone to maintain the blockchain. I suspect that it could lead to my activity being throttled.

Here, most "unlimited" plans have a FUP of 10-20 GB per day. After the initial sync, my Bitcoin Core consumes 11 GB bandwidth per month.
Note that tethering also eats phone battery power.

[Jet Cash]

Here is a review of the D16 - https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/huawei-matebook-d-16-2022
I've got the i5 version with 8Gb. I just missed getting a 16Gb Ryzon version for £40 more. I paid a lot less for a new computer than the price quoted. I found battery life was better than they stated as mine came with Windows 10. Things went bad when Microsoft installed Windows 11. Hence my move to Bodhi.

I've just ordered a case for the old drive, and I didn't realise I can use that to connect the drive to my mobile. Actually I ordered two cases, and I'll look around for another drive for the second case. I could try that on the HP netbook ( that's the one with the Celeron processor).

I take your point about the Lightning node, and it confirms what I suspected.

[DaveF]

With a LN node you

1) Should be online 99.999% of the time (5 nines as it's called)

2) Are locking up funds to keep your channel open

3) Either need to run it on TOR -OR- have a static IP so other LN nodes can find you

4) At best are going to make a few sats here and there. Remember for the most part LN nodes do LCR so if you charge too much people will bypass you.

BUT it's a fun (at least for me) thing to tinker with. You also have to be aware that if you DO mess up you can loose the funds you have locked up in the channels.

-Dave

[Jet Cash]

It's the 5 9s requirement that would kill me. The whole point of becoming a digital nomad is to free oneself of any temporal ties.

[LoyceV]

Here is a review of the D16 - https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/huawei-matebook-d-16-2022

It has the i5-12450H, with a TDP of 45W and a 60 Wh battery. That indeed doesn't leave much battery time when running at high CPU load.
I avoid any laptop with TDP above 15W nowadays. Especially as a digital nomad without grid power, lower power consumption is a big win.

[Jet Cash]

I can't remember what I paid for it, but I think it was well under £500 brand new. I bought it from Argos ( a catalogue retailer with a pickup point near me ). It was when the Western world was vilifying Huawei, and trying to block sales.Argos dumped some stock ( the Ryzen ) and reduced others ( the Intel ones ) the i7 was a lot more expensive. In fact I ordered mine in the morning, and picked it up in the evening. The next day they raised to price by £200. For my purposes, it seemed like a great deal, and I haven't regretted buying it. I want to build a system into the van, and I may base it on something like a Raspberry Pi. I could then power it by solar panels. That's what I'm thinking of using for mining or some other revenue earning project. I'm still discovering the things that are essentials for living the van life. I haven't installed the diesel heater that I bought yet, and I could have done with that a few weeks ago. Damp destroyed my previous notebook, and that is why I had to buy the Huawei. It's a good job that I created multiple backups of my wallets.

[LoyceV]

You mentioned mining: I'd say forget about that. Mining, in general, is only profitable if you have dirt cheap and abundant electricity.

[Jet Cash]

Well the electricity would be free, but there is a hardware cost involved in setting up a rig. It wouldn't have to be Bitcoin oif course. Anyway, that won't happen this year, as I've still got too much to sort out. I enjoy restoring old cars, and I ought to start going to vintage meets again. My social life is crap at the moment.

[LoyceV]

Well the electricity would be free, but there is a hardware cost involved in setting up a rig. It wouldn't have to be Bitcoin oif course.

The only alternatives I've seen require video cards, which are still power hungry. I'm trying to save you the hassle here

Anyway, that won't happen this year, as I've still got too much to sort out. I enjoy restoring old cars, and I ought to start going to vintage meets again. My social life is crap at the moment.

I enjoyed watching Wheeler Dealers, but don't have to space to do any restaurations on my own. I guess van life doesn't give you much options either.

[Jet Cash]

I've just performed a sudo update and upgrade. It did warn me that it couldn't check Bitcoin, but I guess that is just as well. I've restarted Bitcoin, and it seems fine - which is what I would have expected. This system seems to be really stable, and I'm very pleased with it. I'm tempted to install Bodhi on the Netbook as a backup system. There isn't much on it, as I just used it to check mail, browse and look at YouTube videos. I wonder if I could airgap it, and use it to maintain a wallet. Trouble is, I might be tempted to use it for a bit of surfing, and that would kill security.

I'm enjoying these projects, and I'm tempted to try replacing the operating system on my phone and using the usb-c port to access an ssd to create an airgapped wallet. I guess I need to do some reading.

It's nearly 1700 hours, and the cafe is closing. I guess it's time to shut down and cook an evening meal. Van life makes one a jack of all trades.

[ABCbits]

Here is a review of the D16 - https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/huawei-matebook-d-16-2022

It has the i5-12450H, with a TDP of 45W and a 60 Wh battery. That indeed doesn't leave much battery time when running at high CPU load.
I avoid any laptop with TDP above 15W nowadays. Especially as a digital nomad without grid power, lower power consumption is a big win.

You still could undervolt or limit maximum power usage though. Usually it's done on BIOS, Intel's software or (maybe) OS battery saving feature.

[Jet Cash]

I believe there is a power management app, and I'll look at that when I've backed up the entire blockchain I still haven't decided if I want to back up onto a USB stick, or use an ssd through a USB port. I'm tending towards the latter. I could then experiment with it on the Netbook. I'm also still evaluating browsers to replace the default Chromium one. I looked at Thorium, but decided it needed a bit more development. I used to use Brave, but it looks as if it has gone downhill since it was taken over. I'm posting this using Libre Wolf, and it is tempting me.
I've also bought a 65 watt cigar lighter adapter for the car, and that might help with recharging and running the notebook. I'm probably going to update the wiring and fuse to use it though, or maybe I'm just being overcautious.

Core is running at around 5k again, but it still seems to think it will take 17 hours to sync.