Zephyrus Laptop First Steps After Installing Fedora 43

I hadn’t run Fedora in almost two years because of the way Flatpak was implemented, but now that this is no longer the case, I was willing to take another look. The install went as expected, and when it was finished, I rebooted.

Step 1: Update the System

After the first reboot, update Fedora to ensure all packages are current:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh
sudo reboot

Step 2: Remove LibreOffice

Fedora ships with LibreOffice by default, but I prefer a leaner setup:

sudo dnf remove libreoffice*
sudo dnf autoremove

Step 3: Install NVIDIA Drivers

Before installing, I disabled Secure Boot to avoid driver signing issues. Then I enabled RPM Fusion repositories and installed the drivers:

sudo dnf install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm \
https://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

sudo dnf install akmod-nvidia
sudo dnf install xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-cuda
sudo reboot

After rebooting, I verified the installation:

nvidia-smi

Output confirmed CUDA Version: 13.0, showing the drivers were working perfectly.

Step 4: Install asusctl

On my Zephyrus, battery management is critical. In the past, I used the GNOME “Battery Health Charging” extension, but now asusctl is superior for ASUS laptops. It integrates directly with the firmware and allows me to set a persistent battery charge limit.

Enable the COPR repository and install:

sudo dnf copr enable lukenukem/asus-linux
sudo dnf install asusctl asusd

Start the daemon:

sudo systemctl start asusd

Then launch the GUI:

rog-control-center

From here, I set the battery charge limit to 60%, ensuring longevity without needing the GNOME extension.

Conclusion

With Fedora 43 freshly installed on my 2021 Zephyrus G15 laptop, the first steps remain clear:

• Update the system.
• Remove unnecessary packages.
• Install NVIDIA drivers (with Secure Boot disabled).
• Configure asusctl for battery management.

The result is a GPU‑ready Fedora setup with proper battery care, no GNOME extensions required. For a full review of the desktop experience and performance realities, see my follow‑up post: Fedora 43 on Zephyrus G15: Solid but Surprisingly Sluggish.