I'm experimenting with fresh Linux setups and currently have CachyOS installed on the SSD in my Lenovo ThinkPad T480S. The laptop has an Intel i5-8250U, 8 GB of RAM, and integrated Intel graphics. My desktop has an Intel i7-10700K, 32 GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA RTX 3060.
Could I remove the SSD from the laptop and install it directly in my desktop, or would it be better to install the operating system while the SSD is already in the desktop? I'm especially wondering about hardware-specific drivers, NVIDIA graphics support, boot issues, and whether I might need to use integrated graphics while installing the correct drivers.
3 Answers
It can work, but the cleaner and less troublesome approach is to put the SSD in the desktop first and install CachyOS there. Installing on the target hardware ensures the bootloader, initramfs, graphics packages, and hardware configuration are all set up for that machine. If you do transplant it, check that the firmware is using the same UEFI/Legacy boot mode and that your fstab entries use UUIDs rather than fixed device names.
A direct swap is worth trying if you want to preserve the current setup. Remove or disable any laptop-specific graphics configuration, boot with a fallback option if necessary, then install the NVIDIA driver once the desktop starts. Keep a live USB available in case the system needs bootloader or initramfs repairs. Your documents and applications should generally remain intact, but make a backup before moving the drive.
Linux is generally much more tolerant of hardware changes than Windows. The installation will probably boot because most basic drivers are included in the kernel, but the laptop’s Intel graphics setup won’t provide the NVIDIA driver needed by the desktop. After booting, install the appropriate RTX 3060 driver and rebuild the initramfs if your distribution requires it. You may temporarily use the motherboard’s integrated graphics, a basic display driver, or even a text console if the graphical session has trouble starting.
So the main concern is the graphics stack rather than the CPU or chipset? I can install the NVIDIA packages after the drive is moved if needed.