Dell laptop - Precision M4400 - Overview

[last updated: 2025-10-01]
Operation notes - Linux on Dell (including info for dual monitor output)

-----

• Dell Precision M4400 laptop:
  • Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme Edition
    L2 cache: 12 MB
    bus freq: 1.067 gHz
    HD free space: 246 GB
  • Purchased from Free Geek in Portland, OR. They set it up, as they do all their machines, with Linux.
• July 2020 I upgraded from previously installed 18.3 to Linux 20.
  • The first step of the process, upgrade to Linux Mint 19 failed, best guess because of a faulty download and my impatience.
  • So then I did a Fresh Install of Linux Mint 20
    This was successful, however I could not initially get the wireless/wifi to work.
  • Clicking the warning icon in bottom right menu bar said "hardware drivers are available..." for NVIDIA and wireless card.
  • Connected Ethernet to router and clicked "Launch the Driver Manager"
    selected recommended nvidia-340
    and bcmwl-kernel-source for wireless
    Clicked Apply Changes
    yay! it worked
  • updated all packages from update manager in bottom task bar
  • Installed Arduino 1.8.13 and Zoom client
  • Downside:
    When I prepared to do the upgrade, I backed up all my files (mstrWorkingFiles folder)
    However I forgot that my Arduino Sketchbook was not in that folder, but instead was under /home/jay/Arduino, so it was lost in the fresh install process.
    Note to self: Put Arduino sketchbook folder under mstrWorkingFiles

.

.

.

eof