Hi there,
From: "Laura J. Portscheller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <debian-user@lists.debian.org>
Subject: New User Information Request
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 15:30:51 -0700
I am very new to linux.
I was once too.... I had used Unix machines before however.
I have used it to a minimal extent and like it, but have no experience in
system administration and all the many technical matters involved with it.
I want to install linux on my laptop and want to make sure that there are no
compatibility problems with your product. I first tried to install fedora
core 6 and it would not operate properly, even with the attempts to resolve
the matter by very experienced users. I wanted to make sure that your
product will be completely compatible with my computer. I have a new HP
dv9000 17 inch widescreen laptop with 2 100GB hard drives, and nvidia gforce
praphics card, bluetooth, and an AMD processor.
I wish I had such a nice computer. Mine also has an AMD chip in it but it
is older than yours I suspect. Mine is a 1200 MHz Duron chip.
As well as running Debian Sarge 3.1 on an ancient machine at work I also run
Debian Etch on my machine here at home. I also run Fedora Core 6 on the
machine at home. I can switch between Debian and Fedora when I boot up the
PC.
Because I use such old machines I don't know that much about the spanking
new architecture you have.....
But I have taken some interest in newer AMD chips and boxes recently. If
your AMD chip is an AMD Sempron 2800 or 3000 or even an Athlon AMD 64 (I
think that's what it's called, then you need a version of Linux that runs on
a 64 bit chip.
The AMD Duron chip I have is a 32 bit type and I use the i386 versions of
Debian and Fedora....
I guess (and other people on the list here will correct me if I am wrong)
that you are going to need the AMD64 version of Debian.
Sometimes Linux can be a bit harder to install on laptops I have heard. One
day I will have enough cash to buy one and find out for myself.
I would say it's also worth finding out a little bit more about the 100GB
hard drives you have. Are they ATA/IDE drives or SATA ones?
SATA ones are better I think most people agree but some operating systems
are still getting drivers written for them that can deal with every SATA
drive on the market. I have heard that even Windows Vista has problems with
some SATA hard drives.
Rumour has it that Debian Etch is rather good at recognising SATA drives. I
suspect the OS will recognise your graphics card and the display without too
much difficulty.
If you have a reasonable internet connection you could download and burn
yourself a netinstall CD for the version of Debian you choose and then boot
up and then do an internet based installation of the operating system.
I would say that you should read some of the documentation associated with
the version of the OS you want to install that is found on the
www.debian.org site. In my experience this provides some help in guiding
you through the installation process but you ought to ask some questions on
the site here as well from time to time to complement this activity.
This is a balanced approach in my opinion.
It does take a bit of effort to learn to install and use linux. But you
will gain a greater since of personal ownership and participation in the
business of customising it your individual requirements.
After a while you will begin to see proprietary operating systems as a bit
like the old Model T Ford cars - you can have any colour you like as long
its black, etc.....
Hope this helps a bit.
Regards
Michael Fothergill
Thanks
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