Dell XPS 15 7590 Ubuntu

Tutorial for installing ubuntu with my personal settings

Step 0 - Configuring the UEFI (Specific to this model)

• Under 'System Configuration', change the SATA Mode from the default "RAID" to "AHCI". This will allow Linux to detect the NVMe SSD.
• Under 'POST Behaviour', change "Fastboot" to "Thorough". This prevents intermittent boot failures.

Step 1 - Download and install Ubuntu

Following the official Ubuntu documentation: https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/install-ubuntu-desktop

Step 2 - Configuring keyboard shortcuts

• Set Super+Tab = open terminal
• Set Super+½ to open run menu
• Set Super+shift+s to be screenshot
• Set Super+d to hide all windows
• Set Super+shift+r for screen record

Step 3 - Installing essential packages and adding Gnome-Tweaks

execute the installEssentialPackages.sh script to get the most basic packages, such as nmap, tshark, gnome-tweaks and so on

Step 4 - Configuring gestures

Following the guide from https://kaigo.medium.com/mac-like-gestures-on-ubuntu-20-04-dell-xps-15-7ea6e3be7f76

I created a script to easiliy install the gesture packages via the installMacLikeGesturePackages.sh

When opening the Gesture UI, these are my settings

• xdotool Super+ctrl+Left -- Swipe right, 3 fingers -- navigate to the left workspace
• xdotool Super+ctrl+Right -- Swipe left, 3 fingers -- navigate to the right workspace
• xdotool Super+Up -- Swipe up, 4 fingers -- maximize window
• xdotool Super+Down -- Swipe down, 4 fingers -- normalize window
• xdotool Super+Left -- Swipe left, 4 fingers -- snap window to the left side of the screen
• xdotool Super+Right -- Swipe right, 4 fingers -- snap window to the right side of the screen

Super+ctrl+Left & Super+ctrl+Right need to be changed in the keyboard shortcuts, otherwise it will be the default

Step 5 - Extensions

• Dash to Panel (Combine task bar with top panel)
• ArcMenu (Windows like menu)
• system-monitor-next (for some fancy graphs of system resources used)
  • if when installing you get a "meta null" error, try installing these dependencies sudo apt install gir1.2-gtop-2.0 gir1.2-nm-1.0 gnome-system-monitor
• Vitals (for looking at resources as well, a bit more indepth)
• WinTile (optional, for snapping windows to corners like windows)
• Clipboard Indicator (save clipboard for awhile or ease of access)
• Burn my windows (some good fun! :P)

References

• Ubuntu installation/documentation: https://ubuntu.com/
• Ubuntu configuration for Dell XPS 15 7590 model: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dell_XPS_15_(7590)
• Goodix fingerprint reader:
  • https://askubuntu.com/questions/1362986/how-do-i-get-the-fingerprint-reader-to-work-in-ubuntu-21-04-xps-15
  • https://www.dell.com/community/XPS/XPS-13-9300-Does-fingerprint-reader-work-on-linux/td-p/7514958/page/3
• Gestures: https://kaigo.medium.com/mac-like-gestures-on-ubuntu-20-04-dell-xps-15-7ea6e3be7f76
• Setup: https://medium.com/@asad.manji/my-journey-installing-ubuntu-20-04-on-the-dell-xps-15-9500-2020-8ac8560373d1
• system-monitor-next meta null error: mgalgs/gnome-shell-system-monitor-next-applet#36