Linux on Inspiron 5100

[mknabster]

I would like to try Linux/Ubuntu on my old Dell Inspiron 5100. The one thing i'm worrying about is driver support for my hardware. Here's a listing of what i have installed:

CPU Type: Intel Pentium 4, 2400 MHz (18 x 133)
Motherboard Chipset: Intel Brookdale i845PE
System Memory: 1024 MB (PC2700 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS type: Phoenix (10/18/04)
Video adapter: ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 (M7)
Audio adapter: SigmaTel STAC9750/51 @ Intel 82801DB ICH4 - AC'97 Audio Controller [B-0]
IDE Controller: Intel® 82801DB Ultra ATA Storage Controller - 24CB
Optical drive: MATSHITA CDRW/DVD UJDA740 (DVD:8x, CD:24x/10x/24x DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Keyboard: Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse: Synaptics PS/2 Port Pointing Device
Network adapters: Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller
Cisco Systems 350 Series Wireless LAN Adapter
Conexant D480 MDC V.92 Modem
Firewire Controller: Texas Instruments IEEE1394 FireWire Adapter (PHY: TI TSB41AB1/2)
USB controller: Intel 82801DB ICH4 - USB Controller [B-0]
Battery: Microsoft AC Adapter
Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery

[Panama Red]

I suspect Ubuntu has all the drivers for your hardware without any issues. On a side note, your sig shows that 5100 with DDR2 ram............don't think so.

[mknabster]

Originally Posted by Panama Red I suspect Ubuntu has all the drivers for your hardware without any issues. On a side note, your sig shows that 5100 with DDR2 ram............don't think so.

Alright great, i'll try Ubuntu then. So i just install the OS, do i have to find the drivers, or are the built-in? Yea i made the sig awhile ago, just got those specs straight off of Everest, so i'll fix it Do you know if i can run iTunes on Ubuntu?

[shadowpr]

I don't believe itunes makes a linux version.

You maybe able to run it in wine. I would personally just use a different program.

[Panama Red]

You may want to run Ubuntu as a Live CD first rather than load it to your hard drive. The Live CD option will run off the cd and confirm that your hardware is all compatible.

[mknabster]

Yea i need iTunes for my family's ipod since they use that computer for it. Now how do i go about doing the Live CD thing?

[shadowpr]

I thought you could drag and drop with an ipod?

To use the live cd, you will burn the cd and boot from it. There will be a menu that will allow you to either start, or install. Choose star, and you can play with it. It will be slower than an install, but should give you an idea of what works and what doesn't.

One thing, some times there will be drivers available to be installed, and I found that with a live cd it's hard to get that to see if it will work right. I usually install and then get the drivers and it works.

[mknabster]

Originally Posted by shadowpr I thought you could drag and drop with an ipod? To use the live cd, you will burn the cd and boot from it. There will be a menu that will allow you to either start, or install. Choose star, and you can play with it. It will be slower than an install, but should give you an idea of what works and what doesn't. One thing, some times there will be drivers available to be installed, and I found that with a live cd it's hard to get that to see if it will work right. I usually install and then get the drivers and it works.

Now i downloaded Ubuntu from their site, is the Live built ito the ISO, or do i have to download a different version? I have found that some ipods don't work right if you drag and drop the files, but you still need itunes to set the ipod up for that function. Also, what does wine do?

[shadowpr]

The live cd is the same as the iso you downloaded.

Wine is a program that lets you run windows programs on linux. It's not perfect, but does support many different programs. http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManage...ation&iId=1347

[mknabster]

Ok, i'll give the Live a shot, maybe install that itunes Wine while i'm using it as well.

[mknabster]

It's a pretty nice interface compared to Windows. iTunes didn't work for me bcause Quicktime wouldn't install. I'm wondering though, could i install XP in a virtual machine and use it though that?

[shadowpr]

You could.

Did you try to install quicktime in wine?

[mknabster]

No i used the quicktime and itunes combo installer, i didn't think of using the individual installers, i'll try that next. I downloaded a trial of VMware for Linux, and it came in a .bundle. For some reason, i tried running it, and nothing happened. Same with the run in terminal option, it didn't launch.

[kilgoretrout]

Ubuntu and most other major linux distros have a very good VM called VirtualBox that you can install from the repos. It runs Winxp especially well. You're a little light on ram for running a vm, however. I have an old Dell Inspiron 5160 with 1024 MB of ram. Virtualbox runs winxp well on this setup with 512MB of ram set aside for the vm but the linux side slows up noticeably when running winxp in virtualbox. It's still usable, just slower. I would recommend virtualbox over vmware for most situations as the setup is much easier and winxp runs better in virtualbox than vmware in my experience.