View Full Version : Dell selling Linux Systems now
check it out, I just configured their lowend system. I could've kept the price at around 600 USD but i did some customizing, here's what's possible:
My Components
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E4300 (1.8GHz, 800 FSB)
Ubuntu Desktop Edition version 7.04
19 inch Samsung 920NW Widescreen LCD Monitor
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
16x DVD+/-RW Drive
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
My Accessories
Dell A225 Speakers
Dell USB Enhanced Multimedia Keyboard
No Floppy Drive Included
My Service
1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor - Next Business Day
Also Includes
Dell® 2-button USB mouse
Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet
Award Winning Service and Support
No Modem
----------
comparing this to other linux computer sellers, this is a off the hook set up =]
This is big news for opensource.
This is big news for opensource.
yup, very big deal. i just hope alot of people buy the system. i wish I had a few bucks to spend, i'd buy that setup i just made on their site. for 714USD, that's a awesome price :(
That is definitely good system. I won't be getting it, my system is fairly good "for now" with feisty fawn.
.: Rashid :.
25-05-07, 04:53 PM
lool belal you're like me...thats the first thing I did when I first heard the news a few months ago :p :o
*geek hi five*
I can't buy a new computer but would if I could...insha'Allah in a few years though will need a laptop for uni so may do then, although that may be too late.
This is big news, but if it doesn't work out for dell (very possible/likely) then it'll work out even worse for linux/opensource.
I personally just don't think there's enough people who will actually buy these things from Dell...
Plus a lot of people I feel are hyping this up way too much, like KDE4. Yes, this is big news and good news, but this doesn't mean that somehow magically all computer users are gonna be liberated from the evil that is Microsoft overnight, or indeed in a year or 5 years.
This is a small step. But a significant one.
-Rashid
lool belal you're like me...thats the first thing I did when I first heard the news a few months ago :p :o
*geek hi five*
I can't buy a new computer but would if I could...insha'Allah in a few years though will need a laptop for uni so may do then, although that may be too late.
This is big news, but if it doesn't work out for dell (very possible/likely) then it'll work out even worse for linux/opensource.
I personally just don't think there's enough people who will actually buy these things from Dell...
Plus a lot of people I feel are hyping this up way too much, like KDE4. Yes, this is big news and good news, but this doesn't mean that somehow magically all computer users are gonna be liberated from the evil that is Microsoft overnight, or indeed in a year or 5 years.
This is a small step. But a significant one.
-Rashid
dell is very smart too, they kinda figured that, so from the very beginning, they announced they expect this to sell about ~20,000 annually. I'm sure they'll reach that limit as a guarantee. Mostly because even though individual's won't buy it in the masses (as desktoplinux.com so well put out), i think the enterprise may be a different story. remember, organizations don't buy one or two desktops, but in hundreds if not thousands. i HOPE, they sell out very quickly and people are actually buying continously. it would accelerate driver support and application on linux so much.
.: Rashid :.
25-05-07, 10:12 PM
dell is very smart too, they kinda figured that, so from the very beginning, they announced they expect this to sell about ~20,000 annually. I'm sure they'll reach that limit as a guarantee. Mostly because even though individual's won't buy it in the masses (as desktoplinux.com so well put out), i think the enterprise may be a different story. remember, organizations don't buy one or two desktops, but in hundreds if not thousands. i HOPE, they sell out very quickly and people are actually buying continously. it would accelerate driver support and application on linux so much.
Yeah, very true. You notice how their very good support for server hardware on linux, because there's such a demand for it.
We can just make dua :D (and buy a unit or two if poss. ;)
Its cool when you hear of people persuading their work/school to switch to Linux...I wouldn't even think of that lol. The IT dept. at our school hate me...I'm pretty notorious :p
-Rashid
Abu Nuh AMW
25-05-07, 11:35 PM
I recently switched to ubuntu, can say its pretty dam top compared to windows, the lightness and that desktop cube thing iss sshhiiiiikkkkkk!! still running windows on another laptop while i managed to replace all the windows software I need onto the linux machine, like sound editting software?? and VLC media player is bugging up a bit sumtimes i play stuff and the first few seconds i see then blank screen??anyone?? also it doesn't connect to some wireless networks wats going onn :S
.: Rashid :.
25-05-07, 11:40 PM
I recently switched to ubuntu, can say its pretty dam top compared to windows, the lightness and that desktop cube thing iss sshhiiiiikkkkkk!! still running windows on another laptop while i managed to replace all the windows software I need onto the linux machine, like sound editting software?? and VLC media player is bugging up a bit sumtimes i play stuff and the first few seconds i see then blank screen??anyone?? also it doesn't connect to some wireless networks wats going onn :S
Have you tried audacity? sudo aptitude install audacity
Why do you use VLC? I don't get it...why do so many people insist on VLC? :confused: In Ubuntu totem is a perfectly good player, once you install the codecs, and in Kubuntu kaffeine is perfect.
Do an aptitude search restricted gstreamer and install everything that comes up and you're set. Use Synaptic or Add/Remove if you want to do it graphically...
As for wireless networks...thats a real weakness. Although to be completely fair to Ubuntu/Linux, its a weakness with all OSs and computers in general from what I've heard...
-Rashid
Why do you use VLC? I don't get it...why do so many people insist on VLC? :confused: In Ubuntu totem is a perfectly good player, once you install the codecs, and in Kubuntu kaffeine is perfect.
VLC is a pretty popular player =] It's the second application I always install on every windows re-install, after Firefox (7.zip is third just for the record :coolbro: ). On windows, it's a heck of a stable player, and it's really amazing when you want to convert one format to another. I don't know if you ever converted files the usual way but it takes hours transcoding a normal file, yet on VLC you can play the file and have it transcode on the fly, second by second. On top of that, you could use VLC as a on-demand service. You can run one instance of VLC on a server/host pc with all the files, and then on the other pcs in your network, you could stream the movies/shows with VLC. I saw this guy who had this whole house wired up with on demand service through vlc. every room in his house had a recycled pentium 2/3 computer (bought from ebay for dirt cheap) connected to t.vs, and streamed movies to them. amazing stuff....
on linux however....vlc sucks. try playing a file and it won't work as good. but I think that has more to do with the internals of linux than vlc. v4l isn't really that good youknow... it's not as mature as the mac or windows counterparts...
abu nuh, you should try the software rashid mentioned, or you could even try mplayer too. gstreamer is the way to go though...fluendo is really kickin into gear these days :) and besides...we got a haji there (zaheer meralis i believe). but the problem could also be from the fact that you don't have the proper graphics drivers. i'm assuming your using the default set up which uses open source drivers (which aren't good for video playback).
as for networking, i had the same exact problem with my wifi. that's why I am not using fiesty right now. edgy was a little bad too... only dapper worked like a charm. I'm gonna try SuSE and then Fedora insha'allah, and may see something good. if not, i'll just stick with windows till I buy my Dell PC (insha'allah soon).
.: Rashid :.
26-05-07, 02:37 AM
VLC is a pretty popular player =] It's the second application I always install on every windows re-install, after Firefox (7.zip is third just for the record :coolbro: ). On windows, it's a heck of a stable player, and it's really amazing when you want to convert one format to another. I don't know if you ever converted files the usual way but it takes hours transcoding a normal file, yet on VLC you can play the file and have it transcode on the fly, second by second. On top of that, you could use VLC as a on-demand service. You can run one instance of VLC on a server/host pc with all the files, and then on the other pcs in your network, you could stream the movies/shows with VLC. I saw this guy who had this whole house wired up with on demand service through vlc. every room in his house had a recycled pentium 2/3 computer (bought from ebay for dirt cheap) connected to t.vs, and streamed movies to them. amazing stuff....
on linux however....vlc sucks. try playing a file and it won't work as good. but I think that has more to do with the internals of linux than vlc. v4l isn't really that good youknow... it's not as mature as the mac or windows counterparts...
abu nuh, you should try the software rashid mentioned, or you could even try mplayer too. gstreamer is the way to go though...fluendo is really kickin into gear these days :) and besides...we got a haji there (zaheer meralis i believe). but the problem could also be from the fact that you don't have the proper graphics drivers. i'm assuming your using the default set up which uses open source drivers (which aren't good for video playback).
as for networking, i had the same exact problem with my wifi. that's why I am not using fiesty right now. edgy was a little bad too... only dapper worked like a charm. I'm gonna try SuSE and then Fedora insha'allah, and may see something good. if not, i'll just stick with windows till I buy my Dell PC (insha'allah soon).
Yeah I know akhi, I recommend VLC to people with Windows, but for Linux, there are better players :)
That setup sounds pretty cool...although I personally would have no use for it...don't really get why other people do, but eitherway, sounds cool :D
Dapper drake was miles more stable than edgy and feisty...whats interesting is that a large majority of Ubuntu users do in fact still user dapper, not edgy nor feisty nor gutsy. But a lot of people think that being older its ancient or something...
For me, I like living on the bleeding edge. I'm in sidux right now :D
-Rashid
Abu Nuh AMW
27-05-07, 01:20 PM
i duno I guess i just use vlc cos i used to use it in windows and it used to be top, whenever i try playing video files on ubuntu the player that comes up has a higher white contrast and just looks odd but with vlc it plays normal??
anyway even bigger problem is there any software to extract .rar files?? had a look on the ubuntu forums cant realli find much.
.: Rashid :.
27-05-07, 01:30 PM
i duno I guess i just use vlc cos i used to use it in windows and it used to be top, whenever i try playing video files on ubuntu the player that comes up has a higher white contrast and just looks odd but with vlc it plays normal??
anyway even bigger problem is there any software to extract .rar files?? had a look on the ubuntu forums cant realli find much.
Hmm thats strange...I don't use totem don't like it much, kaffeine is much better. Although I'm guessing its to do with the xine backend so wouldn't make a difference :S Just change the settings slightly and it should be fine (one problem, totem doesn't believe in settings :rolleyes: )
For rar files, type :
sudo aptitude install unrar
Insha'Allah that should work. Then you can just use unrar from the command line, and it might install a nautlus script or something...
-Rashid
i duno I guess i just use vlc cos i used to use it in windows and it used to be top, whenever i try playing video files on ubuntu the player that comes up has a higher white contrast and just looks odd but with vlc it plays normal??
that sounds odd, very odd. maybe it's because you don't have the proper video drivers? like i said earlier, u probably have open source drivers installed, so installing proprietary drivers should solve the issue. but before that, try turning off 3d desktop effects and see if things play better. maybe XGL/AiGLX is the root of all evils...
anyway even bigger problem is there any software to extract .rar files?? had a look on the ubuntu forums cant realli find much.
use 7zip and you'll NEVER need another unzipping utility again! it should be under Add/Remove from the Ubuntu Menu... it comes with a GUI just like the windows version.
or use unrar like rashid said if u like the cmd line.
Abu Nuh AMW
07-06-07, 10:32 AM
jazakalahu khair for all the help guys! its mostly all working now, except i deleted vlc and now when i try to play things in totem it does the same, plays videos for like a second then black screen,
but now i just use kaffeine player instead works alhamdulilah
OK I have to ask...how hard is it to learn to use Linux if you have been used to a windows system and is there software to adapt your windows software to run on linux?
OK I have to ask...how hard is it to learn to use Linux if you have been used to a windows system and is there software to adapt your windows software to run on linux?
what kind of software do you want to use? as linux normally has alternatives to windows software. and learning linux is not difficult, todays linux is point and click just like windows, you just need to get used to where everything is.
Abu Nuh AMW
07-06-07, 12:05 PM
OK I have to ask...how hard is it to learn to use Linux if you have been used to a windows system and is there software to adapt your windows software to run on linux?
i found it much better! its much lighter to use, your hard drive and ram isnt always going into overdrive just to open an application!
its fun to use, but if things do go wrong you have to be a little technical but theres loadsa help on the forums if anything does go wrong
.: Rashid :.
07-06-07, 01:15 PM
OK I have to ask...how hard is it to learn to use Linux if you have been used to a windows system and is there software to adapt your windows software to run on linux?
Depends how old you are rambo :p
Linux isn't hard at all to learn...I'd say many tasks are MUCH easier in Linux than in windows (some vica versa) however, people who are used to windows often try to do things the hard/long (windows) way and get frustrated when it doesn't work...
...as long as you approach it with an open mind, and accept that Linux does things differently you'll be fine insha'Allah
Example is, apt and repositories. In Ubuntu/Linux, you open Add//Remove, find the application you want and tick a box to install. In windows, you open a browser, find an application you want, download the .exe file then run through the setup. Windows is more steps, and the Linux way is more intuitive, imho. But if in Linux you try to download a .deb file and install it manually, you'll probably run into a whole host of problems with dependencies and whatever, get really frustrated and walk away thinking Linux sucks...
-Rashid
jazakalahu khair for all the help guys! its mostly all working now, except i deleted vlc and now when i try to play things in totem it does the same, plays videos for like a second then black screen,
but now i just use kaffeine player instead works alhamdulilah
wa iyyaka...
if kaffeine works, and kaffeine uses the xine backend.. i'm assuming the problem lied in gstreamer and vlc itself. totem uses gstreamer, while vlc used its own. both has problems with your hardware. I guess if your happy with kaffeine, then that's fine and I would leave it at that.
but if you want to experiment, you could also try mplayer for the hell of it.
But if in Linux you try to download a .deb file and install it manually, you'll probably run into a whole host of problems with dependencies and whatever, get really frustrated and walk away thinking Linux sucks...
-Rashid
it got easier with the newer versions of ubuntu. if you download a .deb and try installing it by doubling clicking on it (like with exe's on windows), then gdebi pops up and it will tell you if you have dependency issues. if you do, it'll use apt-get and try to resolve the issues when installing it. if there's no issues, it'll say there's no problem with dependency. I installed a lot of deb's that way (like xmame, gxmame, etc).
it got easier with the newer versions of ubuntu. if you download a .deb and try installing it by doubling clicking on it (like with exe's on windows), then gdebi pops up and it will tell you if you have dependency issues. if you do, it'll use apt-get and try to resolve the issues when installing it. if there's no issues, it'll say there's no problem with dependency. I installed a lot of deb's that way (like xmame, gxmame, etc).
i can confirm that. does everything for you. :)
maybe what I should do is resurect an old P2 system and see how that runs on Linux
maybe what I should do is resurect an old P2 system and see how that runs on Linux
hell yeah you should do that. you can test things out, see if the apps work for you and what not. but be warned, with that old p2 you may not like the appearance all that much since the more eye candy you want, the more powerful your system needs to be. if your system has 128 MB ram atleast then try Xubuntu, it's pretty good. if the p2 system has less than that, try grafpup. though you may not like the look of grafpup, atleast it'll make the p2 usable and stable.
here's the links:
www.xubuntu.org
www.grafpup.com
and here's where you can see screenshots (from boot, to menu, to applications, to shut down) for almost every distro out there:
http://shots.osdir.com
I say check out how they look and then decide if it's good or not.
if your p2 has more than 128 (256 is great), I say try out PCLinuxOS, Ubuntu, or even MEPIS.
.: Rashid :.
08-06-07, 06:55 AM
it got easier with the newer versions of ubuntu. if you download a .deb and try installing it by doubling clicking on it (like with exe's on windows), then gdebi pops up and it will tell you if you have dependency issues. if you do, it'll use apt-get and try to resolve the issues when installing it. if there's no issues, it'll say there's no problem with dependency. I installed a lot of deb's that way (like xmame, gxmame, etc).
Yeah I know...it was an example that existed before so I used it :p
Actually, what made me think of it was when PCG tried out linux...and was downloading various scripts and whatever from Adobe website, Sun website etc etc for flash, java etc, when in Ubuntu, its just a simple aptitude install ubuntu-restricted-extra (or in Add/Remove)
-Rashid
hell yeah you should do that. you can test things out, see if the apps work for you and what not. but be warned, with that old p2 you may not like the appearance all that much since the more eye candy you want, the more powerful your system needs to be. if your system has 128 MB ram atleast then try Xubuntu, it's pretty good. if the p2 system has less than that, try grafpup. though you may not like the look of grafpup, atleast it'll make the p2 usable and stable.
here's the links:
www.xubuntu.org (http://www.xubuntu.org)
www.grafpup.com (http://www.grafpup.com)
and here's where you can see screenshots (from boot, to menu, to applications, to shut down) for almost every distro out there:
http://shots.osdir.com
I say check out how they look and then decide if it's good or not.
if your p2 has more than 128 (256 is great), I say try out PCLinuxOS, Ubuntu, or even MEPIS.
well the best that I have is an old Asus P5ab mb and an AMD k62-450 chip...have to dig around and see if I can find some ram for it. I'm just wondering if my old games like civ3 will run on it :D
well the best that I have is an old Asus P5ab mb and an AMD k62-450 chip...have to dig around and see if I can find some ram for it. I'm just wondering if my old games like civ3 will run on it :D
i have an old computer:
cpu: intel celeron 566mhz
ram: 768mb
hdd: 120gb
gc : some nasty builtin card
and ubuntu runs really really slow on it compared to windows 2000 pro. i can go as far as saying, windows 2000 pro flys on this old computer. i did not have eye candy enabled like compiz or beryl i.e. i had no desktop effects enabled.
i thought that might be helpful as a comparison.
well the best that I have is an old Asus P5ab mb and an AMD k62-450 chip...have to dig around and see if I can find some ram for it. I'm just wondering if my old games like civ3 will run on it :D
k62 processor... we can take that as something less than pentium 2, but more than pentium mmx. but that's a awesome chip IMHO and I remember how good it was. I don't know if civ3 would work, i read some forum posts from LONG ago (~2004) where people were running it under cedega/wineX, but haven't heard any new news since then. Cedega is a pay-for subscription, so I wonder if it would work on wine which is the free version of cedega. (for those that don't know, wine is a layer used on linux to emulate parts of windows, so you'd be able to run ms office, windows games, and other programs on linux).
games on linux is really a let down. only games that are made to work on linux are the newer games like doom 3, unreal tournament 2004, and other high demand games. civ3 is built on directX so it's only natural it wouldn't be able to be ported to linux. the other games like doom3, ut 2k4, etc are all made to run under openGL which is cross platform.
if u like, u can try freeCiv and see if u lik eit. it's supposedly a free version of civilization....
i have an old computer:
cpu: intel celeron 566mhz
ram: 768mb
hdd: 120gb
gc : some nasty builtin card
and ubuntu runs really really slow on it compared to windows 2000 pro. i can go as far as saying, windows 2000 pro flys on this old computer. i did not have eye candy enabled like compiz or beryl i.e. i had no desktop effects enabled.
i thought that might be helpful as a comparison.
taht's the old celeron, that's why it's so damn slow bro. these old cellies was TERRIBLE.... I would say try using a less demanding OS like VectorOS, Xubuntu, or even Fluxbuntu (this would probably be best), or Grafpup. I"m sure tehse would work better, specially fluxbuntu or grafpup since they use window managers MUCH MUCH less demanding than gnome (which is what ubuntu uses and is too advanced for celeron processors).
u know... u got a great system other than that chip... if u spend a few bucks, like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/Intel-Pentium-3-1-13GHz-CPU-Processor-Socket-370-SL5GQ_W0QQitemZ160124069947QQihZ006QQcategoryZ1429 2QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem is about 30 GBP at your end? You'd have a great system capable of running ubuntu well, specially since then the problem wouldn't be the processor but the ram, and 786MB is a very good number :D
k62 processor... we can take that as something less than pentium 2, but more than pentium mmx. but that's a awesome chip IMHO and I remember how good it was. I don't know if civ3 would work, i read some forum posts from LONG ago (~2004) where people were running it under cedega/wineX, but haven't heard any new news since then. Cedega is a pay-for subscription, so I wonder if it would work on wine which is the free version of cedega. (for those that don't know, wine is a layer used on linux to emulate parts of windows, so you'd be able to run ms office, windows games, and other programs on linux).
games on linux is really a let down. only games that are made to work on linux are the newer games like doom 3, unreal tournament 2004, and other high demand games. civ3 is built on directX so it's only natural it wouldn't be able to be ported to linux. the other games like doom3, ut 2k4, etc are all made to run under openGL which is cross platform.
if u like, u can try freeCiv and see if u lik eit. it's supposedly a free version of civilization....
taht's the old celeron, that's why it's so damn slow bro. these old cellies was TERRIBLE.... I would say try using a less demanding OS like VectorOS, Xubuntu, or even Fluxbuntu (this would probably be best), or Grafpup. I"m sure tehse would work better, specially fluxbuntu or grafpup since they use window managers MUCH MUCH less demanding than gnome (which is what ubuntu uses and is too advanced for celeron processors).
u know... u got a great system other than that chip... if u spend a few bucks, like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/Intel-Pentium-3-1-13GHz-CPU-Processor-Socket-370-SL5GQ_W0QQitemZ160124069947QQihZ006QQcategoryZ1429 2QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem is about 30 GBP at your end? You'd have a great system capable of running ubuntu well, specially since then the problem wouldn't be the processor but the ram, and 786MB is a very good number :D
downloading fluxbuntu as i type :nerdbro:
downloading fluxbuntu as i type :nerdbro:
let me know how it works... i never tried it but I might if it works well (stable).
i just seen grafpup 2.0, it looks pretty nice
let me know how it works... i never tried it but I might if it works well (stable).
i just seen grafpup 2.0, it looks pretty nice
downloaded it, installed it, didn't like it, deleted it, downloading xubuntu. lol
i'm trying them on vmware server right now. that's my os testing environment :)
downloaded it, installed it, didn't like it, deleted it, downloading xubuntu. lol
i'm trying them on vmware server right now. that's my os testing environment :)
yeah i figured u wouldnt like it. i hate fluxbox. it's pretty ugly...and well..if something is UGLY to MY TASTE, then it just has to be ugly (right rashid? :coolbro: )
i somehow survived on puppylinux after some tweaking of the UI. Xubuntu was cool, but since Xubuntu and Gnome run about the same on my system, I installed Ubuntu over Xubuntu.
there's gotta be better distros aimed at low end hardware... I wonder if there's a distro that makes full use of rox-desktop... that desktop is pretty useable and looks a lot like windows2kpro...
yeah i figured u wouldnt like it. i hate fluxbox. it's pretty ugly...and well..if something is UGLY to MY TASTE, then it just has to be ugly (right rashid? :coolbro: )
i somehow survived on puppylinux after some tweaking of the UI. Xubuntu was cool, but since Xubuntu and Gnome run about the same on my system, I installed Ubuntu over Xubuntu.
there's gotta be better distros aimed at low end hardware... I wonder if there's a distro that makes full use of rox-desktop... that desktop is pretty useable and looks a lot like windows2kpro...
how about vector linux?
any linux with icevm installed by default, icevm is suppsed to be fast isnt it?
how about vector linux?
any linux with icevm installed by default, icevm is suppsed to be fast isnt it?
vector uses XFCE and KDE depending on which version you get (i think SOHO version uses KDE).
iceWM is "fast" but it's still pretty ugly. PuppyLinux uses IceWM and that's what I had to tweak to make it look better.
vector uses XFCE and KDE depending on which version you get (i think SOHO version uses KDE).
iceWM is "fast" but it's still pretty ugly. PuppyLinux uses IceWM and that's what I had to tweak to make it look better.
i've tried xubuntu and it is a sweet distro! so from your experience xubuntu is just a slow as ubuntu?
i've tried xubuntu and it is a sweet distro! so from your experience xubuntu is just a slow as ubuntu?
not really slow.. it was just the same as gnome. see bro, my definition of "fast" is when i'm using something like puppylinux (even though it's ugly). when you click something, it FEELS like you got some behemoth system... with xubuntu, thigns felt exactly like gnome. and gnome isn't really slow..it's just "normal". so i didn't bother with xubuntu....(and I donno but maybe subconsciously I started liking that ugly brown theme)
not really slow.. it was just the same as gnome. see bro, my definition of "fast" is when i'm using something like puppylinux (even though it's ugly). when you click something, it FEELS like you got some behemoth system... with xubuntu, thigns felt exactly like gnome. and gnome isn't really slow..it's just "normal". so i didn't bother with xubuntu....(and I donno but maybe subconsciously I started liking that ugly brown theme)
ic
ok i'll try out puppylinux next.
i got a question though. when i tried using partimage, it said that my filesystem or harddrive has errors on it. how do i fix those errors?
ic
ok i'll try out puppylinux next.
i got a question though. when i tried using partimage, it said that my filesystem or harddrive has errors on it. how do i fix those errors?
partimage? you mean Gparted or qtparted? I don't really know I didn't encounter any errors with those tools. But I used Partition Magic 8 once, and after partitioning 4 or 5 times in a month, my laptop's hard drive started having problems. Teh problems were that I couldn't partition it anymore because my MBR (master boot record) was messed up thanks to parition magic. i don't know if that's the same case for you but it's possible.
in any case, I found the solution to be wiping out the entire drive with linux (gparted is what I used, ubuntu 5.04 or 5.10 i believe) and rewrite the MBR. basically I installed ubuntu but i made it take over the entire hard drive and i told it to replace MBR.
alternatively, you could pop in a copy of windows set up cd (any windows set up, i prefer 98, but u can use 2k/xp too) and boot into the command prompt. from there, run the command "fdisk mbr" (or "fdisk /mbr") on the xp/2k command prompt, u have to type "fixmbr" and it'll repair the MBR. then u can reinstall grub, or reinstall the whole linux distro. personally i dont like messing with grub settings (and don't keep copy of the settings file) so I reinstall the whole OS just for "fun".
.: Rashid :.
10-06-07, 06:26 PM
yeah i figured u wouldnt like it. i hate fluxbox. it's pretty ugly...and well..if something is UGLY to MY TASTE, then it just has to be ugly (right rashid? :coolbro: )
i somehow survived on puppylinux after some tweaking of the UI. Xubuntu was cool, but since Xubuntu and Gnome run about the same on my system, I installed Ubuntu over Xubuntu.
there's gotta be better distros aimed at low end hardware... I wonder if there's a distro that makes full use of rox-desktop... that desktop is pretty useable and looks a lot like windows2kpro...
LOL :D
Actually bro...I took a better look at elive and I'm starting to like its look (haven't downloaded it yet though)
But i still think CDE is ugly :p :)
-Rashid
LOL :D
Actually bro...I took a better look at elive and I'm starting to like its look (haven't downloaded it yet though)
But i still think CDE is ugly :p :)
-Rashid
you'll like elive.
not sure sure about CDE, but i don't know, it just looks all "technical" and non-user friendly...and perhaps i get a kick out of being able to use something that others find difficult :embar:
partimage? you mean Gparted or qtparted? I don't really know I didn't encounter any errors with those tools. But I used Partition Magic 8 once, and after partitioning 4 or 5 times in a month, my laptop's hard drive started having problems. Teh problems were that I couldn't partition it anymore because my MBR (master boot record) was messed up thanks to parition magic. i don't know if that's the same case for you but it's possible.
in any case, I found the solution to be wiping out the entire drive with linux (gparted is what I used, ubuntu 5.04 or 5.10 i believe) and rewrite the MBR. basically I installed ubuntu but i made it take over the entire hard drive and i told it to replace MBR.
alternatively, you could pop in a copy of windows set up cd (any windows set up, i prefer 98, but u can use 2k/xp too) and boot into the command prompt. from there, run the command "fdisk mbr" (or "fdisk /mbr") on the xp/2k command prompt, u have to type "fixmbr" and it'll repair the MBR. then u can reinstall grub, or reinstall the whole linux distro. personally i dont like messing with grub settings (and don't keep copy of the settings file) so I reinstall the whole OS just for "fun".
not sure what i mean, i typed partimage in the terminal to get the program to start.
anyway, i managed to fix the problem and now have my system completely backed up. but i feel the need to test it just to make sure the backup actually worked. luckly i have a spare hdd (so i dont have to mess with by existing "perfect" install) and will try to partition it and restore the backup onto the new harddrive. if it works, i will be a happy man! :D
.: Rashid :.
11-06-07, 01:58 PM
you'll like elive.
not sure sure about CDE, but i don't know, it just looks all "technical" and non-user friendly...and perhaps i get a kick out of being able to use something that others find difficult :embar:
lol @ getting a kick out of it :p
-Rashid
not sure what i mean, i typed partimage in the terminal to get the program to start.
anyway, i managed to fix the problem and now have my system completely backed up. but i feel the need to test it just to make sure the backup actually worked. luckly i have a spare hdd (so i dont have to mess with by existing "perfect" install) and will try to partition it and restore the backup onto the new harddrive. if it works, i will be a happy man! :D
:smack: i should've just googled it and looked at this: http://www.partimage.org/Main_Page
I never used that tool bro, let me know how it works out though, if' it's good, definitely add it to the "damn good linux apps" list in the other thread :up:
vBulletin® v3.7.2, Copyright ©2000-2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.