Just installed Ubuntu 11.04

[Cobster]

...on my old laptop of 4 years and I have to say, I don't understand why it got a bad rap - maybe there are Linuxheads that are INCREDIBLY picky and like things a certain way, like MacHeads.
I had an issue with the wireless driver, but there was a fix and its been solved.

As for Ubuntu 11.04, it's INCREDIBLY fast, better than ANY OS I have ever dealt with before (and I deal with a lot everyday).
Although, Win7-64bit with on a dual core with 8G of RAM is pretty damn fast still. Asked my cousin to borrow his MacPro later today to compare it as well.

Now it's only a matter of getting more familiar with Linux commands and what not, but so far so good. They'll be getting my donation very soon for this, as this will be a keeper on my lappie, goodbye XP.

 

[Tangwhich]

I have an old IBM laptop that I've tried installing previous versions of Ubuntu on a year or so ago and it failed everytime. Do you think there's any chance a newer version might work or do they just focus on newer hardware?

 

[Cassini]

I have an old IBM laptop that I've tried installing previous versions of Ubuntu on a year or so ago and it failed everytime. Do you think there's any chance a newer version might work or do they just focus on newer hardware?

IBM stopped selling laptops years ago. If you have a really old IBM laptop and it doesn't support Linux, it never will.

Chances are that the laptop contains a chip that is highly unusual, or deliberately undocumented by the manufacturer. Once you have such a chip, Linux can't support it. I've tried. It is impossible to get the documentation from the manufacturer to start writing the driver. Some manufacturers will even threaten lawsuits for touching "their designs / equipment". Example: Sony.

Most of the older IBM and business class HP laptops support Linux really well. My guess is that you have someting unusual.

Hint: A certain generation of laptops did not support VESA video modes correctly. In that case, the solution was a special command line entry in the setup installer. If the laptop will not run the Graphical Live CD, that is your problem. Older versions of Ubuntu have an alternate CD. It is also possible to install the server version of Ubuntu without the graphics, and then activate the graphics later. Personally, any hardware described in this post is sufficiently old, that it is probably easier to replace it than deal with these problems.

 

[Tangwhich]

IBM stopped selling laptops years ago. If you have a really old IBM laptop and it doesn't support Linux, it never will.

Chances are that the laptop contains a chip that is highly unusual, or deliberately undocumented by the manufacturer. Once you have such a chip, Linux can't support it. I've tried. It is impossible to get the documentation from the manufacturer to start writing the driver. Some manufacturers will even threaten lawsuits for touching "their designs / equipment". Example: Sony.

Most of the older IBM and business class HP laptops support Linux really well. My guess is that you have someting unusual.

Hint: A certain generation of laptops did not support VESA video modes correctly. In that case, the solution was a special command line entry in the setup installer. If the laptop will not run the Graphical Live CD, that is your problem. Older versions of Ubuntu have an alternate CD. It is also possible to install the server version of Ubuntu without the graphics, and then activate the graphics later. Personally, any hardware described in this post is sufficiently old, that it is probably easier to replace it than deal with these problems.

Thanks Cassini,

I can't remember exactly what happened, I think it just stopped on a blank screen during installation.
I have this laptop that I don't use, I just thought I'd install linux.. see if I like it then maybe put it on my regular system. I don't want to jump into it without some familiarity. So I'm not going to buy any new equipment for it.

Thanks again..

 

[Cobster]

Thanks Cassini,

I can't remember exactly what happened, I think it just stopped on a blank screen during installation.
I have this laptop that I don't use, I just thought I'd install linux.. see if I like it then maybe put it on my regular system. I don't want to jump into it without some familiarity. So I'm not going to buy any new equipment for it.

Thanks again..

Try Linux Mint, that's also a very nice distro of Linux.
Give the new Ubuntu a shot, you have nothing to lose really - other than a blank DVD. lol

MacPuppy is another version I came across that's incredibly light for very old systems.

 

[AnimalMagnetism]

Thanks Cassini,

I can't remember exactly what happened, I think it just stopped on a blank screen during installation.
I have this laptop that I don't use, I just thought I'd install linux.. see if I like it then maybe put it on my regular system. I don't want to jump into it without some familiarity. So I'm not going to buy any new equipment for it.

Thanks again..

Usually you can try Linux without installing it first. download Ubuntu or Mint(my preference) burn to CD, then set your boot sequence to boot from CD first, you should then have the option to try the live CD or install. after trying it and everything is working then you can proceed with installation.

 

[WoodPeckr]

...on my old laptop of 4 years and I have to say, I don't understand why it got a bad rap - maybe there are Linuxheads that are INCREDIBLY picky and like things a certain way...

I noticed that to on the Ubuntu Forums. Some are Gnome guys who are so used to Gnome they don't like the big change to Unity. This happens whenever there is a big change from the past. So far I am adjusting to Unity. One thing I really like about 11.04 is that Opera browser is fast again on Natty. Opera has been getting buggy and was very slow with Maverick, something Opera never corrected. At last with Natty, Opera is fast again.

 

[Cobster]

I noticed that to on the Ubuntu Forums. Some are Gnome guys who are so used to Gnome they don't like the big change to Unity. This happens whenever there is a big change from the past. So far I am adjusting to Unity. One thing I really like about 11.04 is that Opera browser is fast again on Natty. Opera has been getting buggy and was very slow with Maverick, something Opera never corrected. At last with Natty, Opera is fast again.

Still learning this Gnome/Unity crap, will look it up tomorrow, but FireFox on Ubuntu is INSANELY fast.
It's almost as though the browser is predicting what site you're going to click to and WHAM, it's there, really like it.
It's a shame my laptop's hinges for the monitor are a bit wonky - almost 5 years old now. Hopefully it holds up a couple more years, lovin' this version of Ubuntu.

 

[WoodPeckr]

FireFox on Ubuntu is INSANELY fast.

Noticed that to.
That's because newly released FireFox 4.0.1 is now the default browser on Natty. FF got tired of taking flack for being slow and sped FF up. Now FF is about as fast as Chrome and Opera.