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General discussion

New To Linux...A few questions

by Bootnrally Sep 8, 2008 11:29AM PDT

I recently inherited a Dell Dimension 4600 with a dead Hard Drive. I have been toying with the idea of experimenting with Linux, and have even acquired a couple of Ubuntu Distributions (7.0 and 8.0? I think).

The Dell has a P4 processor, with 1 gig of ram and a 40Gig HD. The Dell also has a CD Rom Burner, and DVD reader. I want to use this at home for web surfing via Roadrunner (cat 5 hard cable, not wireless), burning discs and such. Anybody have experience with drivers and getting everything up and running. It is new to me, so I am not well versed in any sort of compatibility issues.

Are there other distributions that work well such as Freespire?

I already use Firefox and Open Office, but are there other user friendly applications that are readily available?

Thanks up front

Discussion is locked

3 Posts
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Drivers....
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Sep 8, 2008 11:31AM PDT

Just boot and install the Ubuntu (latest you have) and enjoy. For most hardware it will just work. You must be thinking of Windows and driver heck.
Bob

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Perfect candidate
by 3rdalbum Sep 10, 2008 11:31PM PDT

Go for it, Linux will be perfect for you, and it should work well on your hardware. There are heaps of good programs for Linux, all you'll need to do is open the package manager and have a look!

If you don't fancy installing codecs, Flash and DVD playback (I promise, it's not hard), then you should try Linux Mint.

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took the dive...
by Bootnrally Sep 11, 2008 9:29PM PDT

So here was my dilemma (documented on te newbies forum): Had the machine set and ready to go. I was sitting here looking at two jewel cases-one with Windows 2000 pro, one with Ubuntu 8.04. With Windows, I had to have the appropriate drivers, which Dell issued for XP Pro only. Decided to try the mismatched Windows combo, and it was a major crash and burn. None of the drivers wanted to install, so I had no audio, and a video display with a max of 16 colors.

Decided to try the other option, so I wiped the HD, and started the Ubuntu install. Kind of driving blind, but sometimes you just gotta jump. The words from y'all made it seem pretty doable. I had the option of the Live Boot (without install), but since it was late, I decided to do the install.

Took about half the time as a windows install, and seems to be running fine. I sat up till about 12:30 playing around with things. At present, this is not connected to a network, so I don't know yet, if Ubuntu has drivers for the ethernet hardware or the modem, but the display is much nicer. I haven't checked yet but the resolution and colors look like at least a 16 bit, and perhaps even 32 bit color.

The Chess game is horrible-it beat me in two straight games! (Okay, maybe it is me that is the horrible one).

So far the initial experience has been good enough for me to keep experimenting!

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