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General discussion

Does this OS need drivers?

by Dango517 Jun 18, 2008 4:55PM PDT

On Cnet for the first time with Linux. Having a minor problem with an Nvidia driver but it's working. Ever thing seems to be working OK. Mostly just wondering. Biggest problem so far is the resolution will not drop down low enough to see everything on the screen. Had a time with Evolution mail till I figured out you could just press enter to move it along. Also what can I do to speed it up? Using Hardy heron,that's what they sent me on a pentium III era PC. Can I over write the newer version, fawn(?) over it rather then go with this older version. Isn't Hardy 5 or more years old. Seems Ubuntu can't get the later versions to fit on a CD/DVD either Grin

Discussion is locked

6 Posts
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Hardy
by arochester Jun 18, 2008 8:38PM PDT

Hardy Heron is the latest release. Are you not thinking of the issue called Hoary Hedgehog?

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(NT) ty
by Dango517 Jun 19, 2008 6:26AM PDT
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Drivers
by 3rdalbum Jun 19, 2008 9:35PM PDT

Every operating system needs drivers to recognise hardware, but most of the time the drivers are included in your Linux distribution anyway. I believe you want the resolution *higher*, not lower. Installing the proprietary Nvidia driver should fix the problem - see the Hardware Drivers program.

Hardy is the latest. To avoid confusion, I generally prefer to call it by its official name: Ubuntu 8.04. Not only does it tell the version number, but also the date of release. (04th month of the 8th year). It should fit on a CD, as long as you're using 700 megabyte CDs.

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The resolution problem might be our monitor
by Dango517 Jun 19, 2008 9:55PM PDT

it's a very small one, maybe 14 inch, an old one. The resolution is as high as it goes. Still doesn't fit. We're having troubled getting to the buttons to move the programs along or at times to even start them. A monitor driver might help. Mischief

I did check the drivers section and attempted to add the second download they offered but it doesn't appear after it's installed. So, at this point I'm still stuck wondering about drivers.

You understood when I said "Hardy", that's good enough.

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Suggest you install Ubuntu 8.04 "from scratch"
by tigerson1 Jun 22, 2008 8:24PM PDT

Hi dango517,
Yes, proprietary drivers (NVIDIA or ATI) do make life (and resolution changes easier). Ubuntu 8.04 finds them easily for you. You can upgrade to 8.04 (figures translate to release date of April 200Cool from previous versions, but it is wiser to do a fresh install.
You will find that the installable live CD version is around 700MB, i.e. it would fit on a CD/DVD. You can then add further applications, notably codecs from the Ubuntu repositories.
Cheers

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This is a clean install
by Dango517 Jun 23, 2008 4:50AM PDT

from a brand new (ordered not down loaded from the net,) Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.4 LTS received just several weeks ago. This is it's first use.

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