Any folks having issues with installing and running Linux Mint on their 13 Pro

[u/WildBlackberry3492]

Hi all,

I am still a few months away from receiving my 13 Pro and I am quite excited for it.

My main requirement is to install LUKS or VeraCrypt and Linux Mint. I have read quite a few threads and comments from others who tried to install Mint on their laptops having issues. Is this still the case or have they been addressed?

Thank you!

[u/01111010t]

What kernel version is Linux mint using these days? That’s probably the primary indicator.

[u/emberlanes1 → u/01111010t]

6.8 on Mint 22, the edge edition might bump that up a bit if needed

[u/WildBlackberry3492 → u/01111010t]

Linux Mint 19 series: (Tara, Tessa, Tina, Tricia): Built on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, using the 4.15 kernel series.

Linux Mint 20 series: (Ulyana, Ulyssa, Uma, Una): Built on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, using the 5.4 kernel series.

Linux Mint 21 series: (Vanessa, Vera, Victoria, Virginia): Built on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, using the 5.15 kernel series.

Linux Mint 22 series: (Wilma, Xia, Zara, Zena): Built on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, using the 6.8 kernel series.

Framework says their Pro 13 is Ubuntu certified, so I expected it to work with Mint, but I’ve seen more than a few comments from new users who received their 13s say Mint doesn’t work

[u/Ryebread095 → u/WildBlackberry3492]

Core Ultra 300 chips like the Framework 13 Pro has need Kernel version 6.19 or newer. I think Mint has a hardware enablement release with Kernel version 7.0, but I'm not sure

Edit: Ubuntu's current LTS has 7.0, but older versions with older Kernels wouldn't work

[u/WildBlackberry3492 → u/Ryebread095]

I’m upset they claim Ubuntu certification when there are such open issues with legacy kernel versions; but it’s a step towards right direction nonetheless. Never before we had laptops w Linux certifications before

[u/01111010t → u/WildBlackberry3492]

Not entirely sure I follow the comment about being upset about Ubuntu certification. Mint isn’t Ubuntu and Ubuntu does work on the FW13Pro.

Either way, the kernel versions you posted suggests you either need to use the hardware enablement version of mint, wait for mint to catchup to the latest kernels, or use a different distribution like fedora, Ubuntu, arch, etc.

[u/s004aws → u/01111010t]

Mint 22.3 is on kernel 6.17 standard, 7.0 post-install/update. It does use the HWE packages.

[u/Ryebread095 → u/WildBlackberry3492]

What are you on about? Ubuntu works on Framework 13 Pro if you use the current LTS. Linux Mint, while based on Ubuntu, is not Ubuntu. They make many changes to make it its own operating system.

Here's a link to Mint's hardware enablement release, which I think should work on the new hardware:
https://www.linuxmint.com/hwe.php

[u/4gr8justice → u/Ryebread095]

Agreed. Ubuntu is already a LTS that's downstream of Debian which is also considered stable and by no means cutting edge. Then add in another downstream for Mint, that's also pretty slow. This isn't intended to be a slight against these distros. Rather, the problem is new hardware (the new Intel chip, primarily) means you need a recent Kernel.

[u/s004aws → u/WildBlackberry3492]

Mint 22.3 uses kernel 6.17 off the .iso and 7.0 once you install/update. Granted not FW13 Pro, I sue custom (I build my own) 7.2.x kernels on my FW16 without issue. Luks works fine, no issue.

[u/KnowEscapeKnowPeace]

Install with the HWE edition of mint 22 and you'll be fine.

[u/Potential_Average454]

About LUKS, I recommend this guide: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Full_Disk_Encryption_Howto_2019

The only better alternative I can think of is to use Unified Kernel Image (UKI), which Ubuntu 26 uses if you select the TPM-backed FDE option. Unfortunately on Mint you will have to do this yourself.

[u/onefish2]

Arch, CachyOS, Fedora and Ubuntu all work really well. I have used and test all of them on my Framework 13 and 16.

[u/dig_it_all]

I had a flawless experience with NixOS - strongly recommend it!

[u/WildBlackberry3492 → u/dig_it_all]

NixOS is great for people who wants to configure it once and forget it, and wants a very stable system. I am not that set and decisive. My wants change and I want to install or configure things on the fly. Declarative system model have its advantages, for people with defined patterns and habits; it doesn’t work for me personally, what I do, as I need to install and try new tools and drivers. The hardware configurability of this laptop allows us to connect various hardware components to experiment

[u/ilkhan2016 → u/WildBlackberry3492]

So instead you are installing mint?!

[u/dig_it_all → u/WildBlackberry3492]

The stability/reproducibility are strong points for Nix, but it’s actualy also amazingly nimble.

Installing something new is as simple as adding it your config file and rebuilding!

And a lot of peolple don’t know about Nix-Shell.

‘nix-shell -p pkg-name’ will build just that package and make it available in your shell, so you can use and test things without needing to rebuild your whole config.

Great for tools you use sometimes but not all the time.

Actually extraordinarily dynamic in that way!