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From: zynteq7 on 16 Apr 2008 21:25
I have a Dell 8200 and using XP and considering going to Linnux. Will
there be problems re: drivers if I switched? And if it's ok to do so,
what should I use? Ubuntu? Red Hat? etc...
From: Journey on 16 Apr 2008 22:27
On Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:25:49 -0400, zynteq7 <zynteq7(a)NOSPAMnyc.rr.com>
wrote:

>I have a Dell 8200 and using XP and considering going to Linnux. Will
>there be problems re: drivers if I switched? And if it's ok to do so,
>what should I use? Ubuntu? Red Hat? etc...

OK, first -- why are you considering going to Linux? Just curious,
and may be relevant to whether it's a good idea because people could
comment on your reasoning to help you decide.

As far as drivers are concerned, it depends on your hardware. For
example, some networking hardware based on Broadcom (sp) might not
have drivers as readily available as Intel-based networking (e.g. for
their wirless cards). I found that out the hard way.

I installed Ubuntu on one of my laptops and there was a video driver
issue at the time that made it a show-stopper. Once that was resolved
it was fairly easy to install with a lot of optional software included
on the install "image".

The Linux community is very good about documenting whether various
hardware has available drivers. Google is your friend when it comes
to that.

Installing on a separate hard drive first might be a good way to go.
The last time I went into Ubuntu-land I installed it on one of my XPS
410 hard drives and then disabled all of the other hard drives in the
bios to see if I liked Linux before going to a dual boot or different
way of doing that. I ditched Linux though; I didn't find a good
reason to stay with it at the time.
From: Christopher Muto on 16 Apr 2008 22:34
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5Tj6WBb-8
i would suggest that you flash the bios to the latest available before you
install and that you enter the bios and change the boot order to ensure that
you boot from the cd first to avoid any confusion. given how log it takes
to load windows, i would also suggest that you remove the current drive with
the windows build on it and get a cheap drive to practice the linux install
on... it would be a shame if you didn't like it and then had to entirely
reload windows again...

"zynteq7" <zynteq7(a)NOSPAMnyc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:4806a70a$0$7707$4c368faf(a)roadrunner.com...
>I have a Dell 8200 and using XP and considering going to Linnux. Will there
>be problems re: drivers if I switched? And if it's ok to do so, what should
>I use? Ubuntu? Red Hat? etc...


From: Ben Myers on 17 Apr 2008 00:20
Well, the easiest way to find out is to use one of the Live CDs. Ubuntu is a
good one. FeatherLinux is another simpler one. A live CD boots the OS all at
once from the CD-ROM drive and never touches the hard drive.

Other free Linux distros worth considering are OpenSuse, Mandriva, and Fedora.
All have Live CD options.

My wild-assed guess is that you will have no trouble with Linux drivers for a
system over 5 years old... Ben Myers

On Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:25:49 -0400, zynteq7 <zynteq7(a)NOSPAMnyc.rr.com> wrote:

>I have a Dell 8200 and using XP and considering going to Linnux. Will
>there be problems re: drivers if I switched? And if it's ok to do so,
>what should I use? Ubuntu? Red Hat? etc...
From: Journey on 17 Apr 2008 01:04
On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:20:41 -0400, Ben Myers
<ben_myers_spam_me_not(a)charter.net> wrote:

>Well, the easiest way to find out is to use one of the Live CDs. Ubuntu is a
>good one. FeatherLinux is another simpler one. A live CD boots the OS all at
>once from the CD-ROM drive and never touches the hard drive.
>
>Other free Linux distros worth considering are OpenSuse, Mandriva, and Fedora.
>All have Live CD options.
>
>My wild-assed guess is that you will have no trouble with Linux drivers for a
>system over 5 years old... Ben Myers

Hi Ben, can programs be installed for a system booted using a Live CD?
If so, are they stored on the hard disk? I will probably look into
this anyway because I am exploring Ubuntu as noted in prior threads so
if you don't know, no need to respond.
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