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- Installing Ubuntu
Linux on an Inspiron 9400
- Deep Burner vs. CD Burner XP
I was finally going to do it.
After years of messing around with Microsoft Windows®, I was going to
ditch it and install Ubuntu Linux. I was
caught between my everyday abysmal experiences using Microsoft Windows, and
my horrible compatibility programs installing Linux in the past. I
decided to bite the bullet and install Ubuntu
Linux. Since I still required Borland Delphi in order to compile my
office applications, I decided to run VMWare with
Windows XP. Let's start at the beginning...
I downloaded the ISO for Ubuntu Linux (approx.
700MB). I opened up my favorite CD writing software (Deep Burner), and
attempted to burn the ISO to a DVD. The DVD ejects after about 5
seconds. Knowing that it couldn't have possibly have written that
quickly, I take out the disk and look at the back. I see a tiny line on
the disk, and attempt to burn it again. I received the error
"Insert Blank Disc and Try Again". Ok. Maybe it was
just a fluke. I insert another DVD, and try again. Same problem.
After going through about three DVD-Rs, I
downloaded a different CD burner. I start up CD Burner XP and insert a
fourth DVD. "ISO file is corrupt or unreadable". As it
turns out, the download stopped at 5%. Score 1 for CD Burner XP.
I download the file again.
As I boot from the CD, I discover that "Ubuntu
cannot start X Server!" I hit enter a couple times and receive a
cryptic log file. No help there. I look online for a couple hours
trying to fix the problem. Finally, I find a link on an English forum
referencing a German forum
(translated into English, courtesy of Google), which contained the
following...
ATI Technologies Inc Radeon Mobility X1400
Code:
sudo apt-get install xorg-driver-fglrx
fglrx-control libqt3-mt
sudo aticonfig --initial
sudo aticonfig
--overlay-type=Xv
echo "fglrx"|sudo tee -a
/etc/modules"
If you're just beginning at Linux, this is incredibly confusing. I
should never have to search for hours on foreign forums to find some
cryptic console sequence that I need to enter. Anyhow, I only have a
wireless connection available, and "apt-get" is a program used to
install applications from an internet repository. Unfortunately, Ubuntu doesn't provide drivers for my wireless network
card. I power down the machine only to try again when I have internet
access from a land line. At least Ubuntu
detects my wired network card without installing any drivers (unlike
Windows).
sudo apt-get, etc, etc... After waiting
another twenty minutes for the ATI video card drivers to install (again), I
finally boot into Ubuntu using the live CD.
Once I start the OS, a popup notifies me that the ATI drivers installed
are proprietary, and consequently I cannot get support from Ubuntu. Who needs support anyway? Linux is
rock solid.
So I start the Ubuntu installer located on my
desktop. I get to the partition screen, and manually remove my Windows
partitions and replace them with Linux partitions. Unfortunately, the
installer crashes after deleting the partitions. I close the installer
using some cryptic commands in the Terminal. I run the installer again,
and add the partitions again. This time I get an error.
"...the kernel was unable to reread the partition...please
reboot..." I try again without rebooting. Same error.
I click the quit button in Ubuntu. There is
no restart or shutdown button? I see Log Off, Hibernate, Standby, but
no reboot? Fine. I'll type it into the console. I tried
typing "reboot" into the terminal. I get another error.
I type "man reboot" to get the help file. I'm using it
properly. Ok. I hold down the power button to restart, reinstall
the video drivers for the third time, add the partitions again,
and the installer works. Great. Now I reboot to my newly
installed Ubuntu installation from the hard-drive
(instead of the live CD). sudo apt-get, etc,
etc... Another twenty minutes went by, and finally I have Ubuntu installed.
Well I need my wireless internet connection. I search, and apparently I
need to download a tarball in order to use my wireless connection.
I don't know if you have installed programs in Linux recently, but it
is a nightmare unless the program is already in the repositories for your
distribution.
tar etc, etc...
cd yadda yadda...
cd yadda yadda again...
make
bla bla bla...
I get some error about their being duplicate IEEE1394 packages or something.
Type IGNORE_ANYWAY to ignore, even though it might cause
"unexpected" behavior. Fine.
make IGNORE_ANYWAY
bla bla bla...
I get another error. Something about installing some IEEE1394 package.
I go to the link provided by Intel, and download yet another package.
tar etc, etc...
cd yadda yadda...
cd yadda yadda again...
make
bla bla bla...
I get another error! Something about some error in the
install script, and some file is missing. I have no idea what it
means, as it was in PERL or something, but I know that you frequently need to
have the kernel source and a compiler installed, which is something (for some
unexplained reason) that many distributions don't do by default. I open
the package manager and download the source and the compiler, and install
them. It works. I go back to the Intel drivers to install them
again.
cd yadda yadda...
cd yadda yadda again...
make
bla bla bla...
Error. Damn. I forgot to put ignore anyway parameter.
make IGNORE_ANYWAY
bla bla bla...
Error. "Package IEEE1394 is not installed." I
looked closer. "...please note you may have to run make kernel_patch in the IEEE package, etc, etc..."
I go back to the IEEE package.
Error. It can't find the kernel source. For some
god-forsaken reason, every distribution of Linux puts the kernel source in a
slightly different location. I find the location and give it to the
installer.
make kernel_patch <insert kernel source
location here>
It works. Great.
I go back to the Intel package, run "make", same error.
I gave up and decided to try to get my Verizon Broadband Modem working with Ubuntu. Verizon doesn't provide drivers, however I
found a website about how to get the vendor ID and product ID of my modem, modprobe the USB port, create two scripts, copy some IP
address and paste it somewhere else, and get connected. I spent another
two hours trying to get the card to work, (between finding the article
online, and following the article's instructions).
This is where Linux really starts to show cracks. As it turns out,
"modprobe" doesn't work on my particular
distribution the same way that it worked on the other distribution. Every
distribution has a slightly different version of just about everything.
I threw up my hands, powered down the computer, drove home to get my Windows
disk, drove back to the college I was working at, and started to install
Windows.
I started up the installer, formatted the hard-drive again. The
installer coped files, etc, etc. Rebooted. Damn! I
grabbed the Windows 2000 CD from my old computer, not Windows
XP!
This whole process took an entire day. I had nothing to show for
it except a Windows 2000 install screen, no corresponding CD-key, and a
formatted hard-drive.
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