Help with computer.

Freerepublic ^ | 6/27/2008 | raybbr

[raybbr]

I have an older computer that I have cleaned out of W2000 Pro. I tried loading a version of XP Pro that I have on this machine. MS wants $269 for an additional key. I am not willing to pay that.

I am currently downloading Ubuntu and would like to put Linux on this box. It has an Athlon XP with a gig of memory and no video card.

I don't plan on any gaming or high end computing. Just photo editing, video editing and web surfing.

Do I need Ubuntu or is there something else smaller and simpler I can use?

Also, what can I use to wipe XP off and start over? Will the installation disk of Ubuntu do that?

Thanks in advance, Ray.

[raybbr]

Ping for help. Thanks.

[big'ol_freeper]

Does it have an on button?

Ok, I couldn’t resist.

[ShadowAce]

[eperitus]

Might try the Ubuntu LiveCD first to get used to it, see if it works with your hardware, etc.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCD

As for your second question, any Linux installer will generally offer to remove the old partition(s).

[papasmurf]

Ubuntu's installer will reformat and partition your disk. I run several Ubuntu, or variant, machines. Next to XP they are svelte. They are also easily customizable, easy to install and uninstall, all of the thousands of free applications, as well.

In fact, Ubuntu has a special distribution that you may, particularly, enjoy. It's called Ubuntu Studio.

[papasmurf]

No video card? I thought you wanted to do photo and video editing? Does it have a good on board one?

[dbwz]

Also, what can I use to wipe XP off and start over?

A magnet.

[aft_lizard]

Yikes! Well go with a linux distro like Ubuntu and some free editing software, but if its as old as I am thinking in my head you are still going to be pulling hair out at how slow it renders images and video.

[Alia]

Marking the Ubuntu LiveCD url in your post: Thank you.

[martin_fierro]

As long as you're noodling around with Linux distros on live CDs, give Knoppix a shot as well.

[Calvinist_Dark_Lord]

As long as you're noodling around with Linux distros on live CDs, give Knoppix a shot as well.

Marty, this guy (sorry if i got the gender incorrect) is a Linux Newbie. Knoppix is a fine distro, and i use their live DVD, but it can be a bit difficult to install for a newbie. Sure you want to steer him or her in this direction?

AFAIK, Ubuntu/KUbuntu/XUbuntu (they're all the same distro, they just use different windowing environments) are much simpler to install.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

It has an Athlon XP with a gig of memory and no video card.

So what is the motherboard?

You must have an onboard video...is it Nvidia or ATI? Most Nvidia based boards seem ok,...ATI based ,...prior to the latest can be a problem.... XORG will be a likely problem area ...newer versions of various Distros have upgraded in a newer Xorg which I am having trouble with ...

[JRios1968]

Also, what can I use to wipe XP off and start over?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

An easy download is Puppy,...under 100 meg...and it gives you an interactive way to get you a system up and running...not sure what packages you need ...

*******************************

Back to usual problem area....

***********************************

Puppy has two X servers, the powerful Xorg and the simple and very small Xvesa Kdrive X server. The latter has many limitations, one of which is it cannot adjust the screen refresh frequency. When you run "Start -> Setup -> Xvesa Video Wizard" (which is what ran the very first time you booted Puppy), you are offered a selection of video resolutions, and there is a "MORE" button with further choices. The Xvesa server obtains these resolutions from the video card and is able to tell the video card/chip to change to the chosen resolution, however Xvesa is not able to tell the video card what refresh rate to use. Thus, the refresh rate is whatever the video card/chip decides to use.

[Big Giant Head]

AFAIK, Ubuntu/KUbuntu/XUbuntu (they're all the same distro, they just use different windowing environments) are much simpler to install.

PCLinuxOS is easy. In my opinion, even easier than any Ubuntu I've tried, although I haven't tried the new verions of Ubuntu Mint. I would go for PCLinuxOS 2007 as that distro sets up everything. It's the ONE linux that got me away from Windows. There is also PCLInuxOS MiniMe that is a minimal install where you select what additional programs to add from Synaptic.

Of course, I bought a new computer with Vista two weeks ago, and I'm still playing around with it, haven't dual booted yet.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Here is a link to the Distrowatch entry for puppy:

Puppy Linux

Perhaps you know about Distrowatch?...

[shorty_harris]

Never did like any of the **buntu’s. I’d recommend PCLinuxOS, or Mepis.

[raybbr]

It's an MSI K9vgm-V

It's been a pretty good board and I had very little trouble editing photos with PSP on W2000.

[TigersEye]

btrl

[shorty_harris]

Another thought...why not reinstall Windows 2000? If you don’t have the install disk, you can get Win2K Pro OEM pretty cheap on ebay...

[LuxMaker]

I would use BootitNG to remove windows xp and get the partition on your hard drive ready for linux. It can be found here: http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/index.htm
I would recommend backing up your windows xp with it just in case you feel like going back at a later time. Just put the backup file on another partition. Anyway this is what I would do. I have been using bootitng for years and it makes system restores take about 15 minutes.

[raybbr]

After I burn the .ISO file to a cd do I need to run anything to get it to load? Or, will the cd boot sequence run the file automatically?

[raybbr]

The XP has never been activated. I can’t do anything through windows. It won’t let me log on or access explorer.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Buy a brand new version of XP (Professional, not the Home Edition) and do a clean install.

Make sure your computer meets Windows XP memory and hard drive requirements.

[raybbr]

Buy a brand new version of XP (Professional, not the Home Edition) and do a clean install.

I don't want to pay the bill. I have XP Pro on this machine. I like it. But I don't really need XP on the other machine. I have been toying with building a linux machine for some time.

[raybbr]

Never mind. I looked at the cd that Nero burned and it has all the files. Thanks.

[raybbr]

Another thought...why not reinstall Windows 2000? If you don’t have the install disk, you can get Win2K Pro OEM pretty cheap on ebay...

A lot of the programs I have been upgrading to require XP. Shoot. Just thought of that. Wonder if Paint Shop Pro will run on Linux.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Integrated VIA Chrome9 Graphic

I know nothing about that one.....googling...turns up this:

linuxmint

********************EXCERPT***************

PC: MSI K9VGM-V (integrated VIA Chrome9 K8M890 graphics); AMD AM2 Sempron64 3000+ CPU; 2 GB of Kingston KVR667D2N5 RAM; 80 GB Seagate SATA HDD.
OS: Linux Mint 5 "Elyssa" GNOME.

So this guy ....rivenought

is running Mint...which is sort of based on UBUNTU but they do some special stuff...I don't know if he had to do any editing of the XORG config files.....

I don't think that is easy for a Newbie...

[fr_freak]

I don't want to pay the bill. I have XP Pro on this machine. I like it. But I don't really need XP on the other machine.

If you have the installation disk, I would say stick with the Windows 2000 pro. There are very few things that run on XP that will not run on Windows 2000. If you are really interested in trying Linux, as well, you could set your machine up to dual-boot 2000 and Linux. Then you'd have 2000 for routine stuff and Linux for play.

[raybbr]

Not sure what XORG is. I might try it just to see if it works. If not I might take “fr_freak’s” suggestion and reload W2K Pro (It’s supposed to be an upgrade disk) and dual boot. This is not my primary machine but an older one. I wanted to get it running just as an extra.

[sionnsar]

I am running an older 1 GHz, 512Meg RAM box with Kubuntu (I am told more Windows-like than Ubuntu, which is more Mac-like -- I am told).

It's not snappy but it's quick enough -- with a video card the only concession to speed.

[sionnsar]

Wonder if Paint Shop Pro will run on Linux.

Cannot say about PSPro, but I run several Windows apps in Wine just fine.

[shorty_harris]

A lot of the programs I have been upgrading to require XP. Shoot. Just thought of that. Wonder if Paint Shop Pro will run on Linux.

It might, using Wine. But it may take some tweaking, and you might not be happy with it anyway. That's been my experience, anyway. The only thing close to PSP on linux is Gimp, and it'll take a while to get used to, although you can coax it into doing most of what PSP does.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

XORG is a component in most of the Linux Xwindows...graphic drivers....

Might put this link in your memory file:

EVGA 256-P2-N445-LX GeForce 7300GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

I have a 7300 Gigabyte card and have no problems....with Linux Mint. or Ubuntu...

And Mint has the Compiz rotating Cube already set up,...Ubuntu requires you to do some work....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

What about blender...?

[roamer_1]

Wonder if Paint Shop Pro will run on Linux.

Not to my knowledge, but the GIMP sure will...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Linux MINT is jazzy...see this Youtube Demo:

Linux Mint 4.0 compiz fusion

[raybbr]

Thanks again. BTW, I have 2gig of memory. It’s been so long since I opened this box I forgot what I had.

[raygun]

You said MS wants some bucks for an additional key.

Are you installing WinXP from a CD using a key already utilized in an activation?

Unix is great if your a geek that needs geeky programs written by geeks for geeeks to do geeky things. Are you a geek? Have you ever flashed your mobo BIOS? Have you ever flashed your video card BIOS? HAve you ever tweaked the mobo register settings?

Have you ever editted Windows OS registry beehive manually? Are you familiar with, or have ever used Wine? Have you ever gotten into the guts of an applications configuration files and tweaked them manually?

Does the issue of manual installation of device drivers scare you? Have you ever installed a device driver manually? Are you comfortable working at the command prompt level (basic DOS style text based interface using commands, parameters and flags).

How well versed are you respect to antivirus and firewall configuration?

If the answer to the foregoing is predominantly NO, then I’d recommend against Unix flavored OS in general.

Yes, Ubantu has a great leap in the Unix platform with regards to GUI. And for those who are willing to expend the heartbeats to learn, and hang out on the various tech forums dedicated to Unix-like OS’s gathering knowlege through osmosis, that may be the way to go. However, for somebody’s accumen with respect to IT in general and hardware in particular is minimal, I’d frown upon the idea.

Google WinXP Pro SP2 Student Edition on the internet. You should be able to get it for about $100. If you know a student, they can get it for free from MS Dream-bla-bla-bla (something or another) program. That would allow them to download an IDO image which needs to be burned to a CD. That disk effectively becomes a legit bonafide installation CD.

Before installing WinXP Pro SP2, make sure that you download the SP3 (complete) patch. Doing so will save you tons of time downloading the 100+ service patch/updates to WinXP Pro SP2.

Now I’m certain that I’m going to catch a whole lot of flak from my geek bretheren, but if you question them to the particulars, they’ll tell you that none of it scares them, they’ve had their box apart several times, and all the foregoing issues are moot points to them. This is because they have experience, apptitude, adaptability necessary to surmount the hurdles and unforseen gotchyas.

I previously mentioned Wine. Wine is an emulator that allows Windows applications to be “emulated”, i.e., run natively in Unix-like OS even so they’re MS Windows executables. WIll it work? Yes. Is it optimal? NO. Does inefficiency bother you? If it does, than can you handle the lack of functionality and/or feature set of native Unix-like platformed applications?

Dude, why don’t you just scrap everything, through the crap out the 35th story window, run over it all with a bus snd buy a Mac?

Macs are great I heard.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Here is the Blender Home page:

Blender

Blender is the free open source 3D content creation suite, available for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

2 Gig of memory is excellent....

[Knitebane]

Ubuntu rocks.

Ubuntu comes in multiple flavors. The standard Ubuntu uses the Gnome desktop. Kubuntu uses KDE as it's desktop. Xubuntu uses XFCE as it's desktop.

Then there's Edubuntu. It comes with lots of educational software for children. Gobuntu is a flavor of Ubuntu that comes with only free software, no proprietary drivers like nVidia or proprietary programs like Flash.

There's Mythbuntu that turns your PC into a media center, Ubuntu Mobile is designed for touch screen PCS. And the newest is Ubuntu Netbook, designed for sub-notebooks like the EeePC.

If you're going to be doing a lot of video and audio work I recommend the Ubuntu flavor designed for that.

Ubuntu Studio

All software packaged for Ubuntu (the filename will end in .deb) will run on most any flavor of Ubuntu. Just use Synaptic (Gnome) or Adept (KDE) to choose the software you want and it will download and install it.

The different flavors are therefore not that different. They will all run the same software. The primary difference is in how they are initially set up.

With tens of thousands of different software packages available, each Ubuntu flavor has to choose which ones to install during your initial setup. For instance, the standard Ubuntu might have OpenOffice installed and few games, while Edubuntu will have lots of educational packages and some games and little productivity software.

But since you are free to crank up the package manager and install anything you want they really aren't that different.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Might look thru the user reviews at Newegg and see if some one mentions a Linux distro that is working with the Integrated Graphic:

MSI K9VGM-V AM2 VIA K8M890 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

[shorty_harris]

Haven’t used Blender, and I don’t know much about it, but I think Gimp more the equivalent to PSP.

[raybbr]

Gaaaack! 1.1 gig for studio.. Sheesh.

[shorty_harris]

Now I’m certain that I’m going to catch a whole lot of flak from my geek bretheren, but if you question them to the particulars, they’ll tell you that none of it scares them, they’ve had their box apart several times, and all the foregoing issues are moot points to them. This is because they have experience, apptitude, adaptability necessary to surmount the hurdles and unforseen gotchyas.

Heh...we all had to start somewhere! When I first tried linux, I didn't know anything about it (Mandrake 7.2).

[raybbr]

You think you're tough, huh?

:)

Like I said, I'll load Ubuntu and play around with it. It's not my primary machine.

[Knitebane]

Gaaaack! 1.1 gig for studio.. Sheesh.

Yeah, it's kinda big. But it comes with a bunch of stuff.

Consider that Vista uses up about the same amount of space.

But Vista comes with Vista.

Ubuntu Studio comes with about 300 software packages installed.

If you installed XP and Photoshop and Nero and Office and a decent browser and email client and an HTML editor and a movie editor and a DVD player and all the utilities required to actually make XP usable and stable like anti-virus, firewall, registry fixer, etc. you'd probably go more than a gig anyway.

Ubuntu comes with all of that installed.

[papasmurf]

Ernest is correct, Mint is nice, in fact, it's a beautiful, smooth and, polished distribution. That's what I've been using as my main Linux box for the last 6 or 8 months.

OTOH, Studio is designed for Graphics, Video, Audio design, mixing, and general farting around. You can add all of that to any .nix distribution for free.

If it's small you really want, Damn Small Linux will run off of a usb or "thumb" drive, as it's only 50MB installed.

Let me tell you, I've seen some posts that don't accurately depict the modern Linux experience. Drivers, for the most part, and especially so with version 8.04, will be installed by the OS as it installs. You also have the choice to use proprietary drivers or open source drivers, and yes, they are automatically installed if you choose.

You only have to be as "geeky" as you want to be, it's a very usable Operating System either way.

As far as using your Windows apps, many do run in Wine, but I like using a free "Virtual Machine" instead. All Linux distributions are able to use VirtualBox and VM free Virtual machines. (I prefer VirtualBox) With a Virtual machine, you will install a wndows OS right inside of your Linux machine, just like it's an application ('cause it is), and then you can install all of your Windows apps and use them as you would normally.

While I am on the subject of installing things, you are not limited to using only Debian applications or "packages". Debian app's/packages are denoted by the file extension of .deb. You can use a program called Alien to install other packages, like .rpm's, intended for Red Hat distributions, as easy as clicking on the file, and others, just like in Windows. Your application universe just got bigger! And all free, too. :O)