We first got Puppy Linux to work off the cd . But he wants to run Ubuntu 8.10 However when we go to load it it defaults to the command line and we don't know what we are doing. What information do you need to help us and what commands should we try ? -- Ron Dean 2 Shannon Place Nawton Hamilton Ph 8493904
startx will start the GUI. However if it is defaulting to the command line, it is likely to be an issue with the video card driver. The /var/log/Xorg.0.log file will show any errors that you have (search for 'EE' in the file). Certain ATI cards require the xorg-driver-fglrx package to be installed to work. Likewise some NVidia cards will require the propriety NVidia driver to be installed. -- simon 2008/11/28 Ron Dean <rvdean(a)ihug.co.nz>:
We first got Puppy Linux to work off the cd . But he wants to run Ubuntu 8.10 However when we go to load it it defaults to the command line and we don't know what we are doing. What information do you need to help us and what commands should we try ?
-- Ron Dean 2 Shannon Place Nawton Hamilton Ph 8493904
_______________________________________________ wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug
How do we find out what graphics card he has got we think it is nvidia but are unsure which one
startx will start the GUI.
However if it is defaulting to the command line, it is likely to be an issue with the video card driver. The /var/log/Xorg.0.log file will show any errors that you have (search for 'EE' in the file). Certain ATI cards require the xorg-driver-fglrx package to be installed to work. Likewise some NVidia cards will require the propriety NVidia driver to be installed.
-- simon
2008/11/28 Ron Dean <rvdean(a)ihug.co.nz>:
We first got Puppy Linux to work off the cd . But he wants to run Ubuntu 8.10 However when we go to load it it defaults to the command line and we don't know what we are doing. What information do you need to help us and what commands should we try ?
-- Ron Dean 2 Shannon Place Nawton Hamilton Ph 8493904
_______________________________________________ wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug
_______________________________________________ wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug
-- Ron Dean 2 Shannon Place Nawton Hamilton Ph 8493904
How old is the computer? If it is an old one, I wouldn't bother with a modern distribution as will often cause more problems and be slow... On Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 12:30 PM, Ron Dean <rvdean(a)ihug.co.nz> wrote:
How do we find out what graphics card he has got we think it is nvidia but are unsure which one
startx will start the GUI.
However if it is defaulting to the command line, it is likely to be an issue with the video card driver. The /var/log/Xorg.0.log file will show any errors that you have (search for 'EE' in the file). Certain ATI cards require the xorg-driver-fglrx package to be installed to work. Likewise some NVidia cards will require the propriety NVidia driver to be installed.
-- simon
2008/11/28 Ron Dean <rvdean(a)ihug.co.nz>:
We first got Puppy Linux to work off the cd . But he wants to run Ubuntu 8.10 However when we go to load it it defaults to the command line and we don't know what we are doing. What information do you need to help us and what commands should we try ?
-- Ron Dean 2 Shannon Place Nawton Hamilton Ph 8493904
_______________________________________________ wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug
_______________________________________________ wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug
-- Ron Dean 2 Shannon Place Nawton Hamilton Ph 8493904
_______________________________________________ wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug
-- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/, http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz
Typing lspci in the command line will live you a list of your PCI devices, including video card (which is usually towards the bottom of the list). WLUG is having it's monthly workshop next weekend (Decmeber 6th). You can always take your machine there if required. http://wlug.org.nz/SaturdayWorkshop.2008-12-06 -- simon 2008/11/28 Ron Dean <rvdean(a)ihug.co.nz>:
How do we find out what graphics card he has got we think it is nvidia but are unsure which one
It comes up with a prompt (initramfs) and doesn't accept lspci it says in the help that the shell is ash He is unable to go to the Saturday workshop. Looking under windows his graphics card is S3 Virge Prosavage Simon Green wrote:
Typing lspci in the command line will live you a list of your PCI devices, including video card (which is usually towards the bottom of the list). WLUG is having it's monthly workshop next weekend (Decmeber 6th). You can always take your machine there if required.
http://wlug.org.nz/SaturdayWorkshop.2008-12-06
-- simon
2008/11/28 Ron Dean <rvdean(a)ihug.co.nz>:
How do we find out what graphics card he has got we think it is nvidia but are unsure which one
_______________________________________________ wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug
-- Ron Dean 2 Shannon Place Nawton Hamilton Ph 8493904
On Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 2:03 PM, Ron Dean <rvdean(a)ihug.co.nz> wrote:
It comes up with a prompt (initramfs) and doesn't accept lspci it says in the help that the shell is ash He is unable to go to the Saturday workshop. Looking under windows his graphics card is S3 Virge Prosavage
That answers my question about age of PC. S3 Virge is ancient. You're not going to get a recent version of Ubuntu running well on that - Ubuntu requires more memory and CPU under each release just like other OSes. If not convinced go have a look at http://phoronix.com and look at some of their benchmarking.... -- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/, http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz
Would xubuntu be an option? http://www.xubuntu.org/ Or use a distro using a 2.2 or 2.4 kernel? Damn Small Linux etc. 2008/11/28 Ian McDonald <ian.mcdonald(a)jandi.co.nz>:
On Fri, Nov 28, 2008 at 2:03 PM, Ron Dean <rvdean(a)ihug.co.nz> wrote:
It comes up with a prompt (initramfs) and doesn't accept lspci it says in the help that the shell is ash He is unable to go to the Saturday workshop. Looking under windows his graphics card is S3 Virge Prosavage
That answers my question about age of PC. S3 Virge is ancient. You're not going to get a recent version of Ubuntu running well on that - Ubuntu requires more memory and CPU under each release just like other OSes.
If not convinced go have a look at http://phoronix.com and look at some of their benchmarking....
-- Web: http://wand.net.nz/~iam4/, http://www.jandi.co.nz Blog: http://iansblog.jandi.co.nz _______________________________________________ wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug
2008/11/28 Chris O'Halloran <cmoman(a)gmail.com>:
Would xubuntu be an option?
Or use a distro using a 2.2 or 2.4 kernel? Damn Small Linux etc.
xubuntu is not a lot smaller than ubuntu. I'd say you were on the right track with puppy linux. It's very capable on older, low spec machines. If he wants a more demanding distro he's going to need to find a more powerful machine to run it.
Vectorlinux is another good lightweight distro: http://vectorlinux.com/ Bruce Kingsbury wrote:
2008/11/28 Chris O'Halloran <cmoman(a)gmail.com>:
Would xubuntu be an option?
Or use a distro using a 2.2 or 2.4 kernel? Damn Small Linux etc.
xubuntu is not a lot smaller than ubuntu.
I'd say you were on the right track with puppy linux. It's very capable on older, low spec machines. If he wants a more demanding distro he's going to need to find a more powerful machine to run it. _______________________________________________ wlug mailing list | wlug(a)list.waikato.ac.nz Unsubscribe: http://list.waikato.ac.nz/mailman/listinfo/wlug
2008/11/28 Ron Dean <rvdean(a)ihug.co.nz>:
We first got Puppy Linux to work off the cd . But he wants to run Ubuntu 8.10 However when we go to load it it defaults to the command line and we don't know what we are doing. What information do you need to help us and what commands should we try ?
I have heaps of distributions, old and new, that could be worth trying. How much RAM does the computer have? Ubuntu likes heaps! Michael
participants (7)
-
Bruce Kingsbury -
Chris O'Halloran -
Ian McDonald -
John Billings -
Michael McDonald -
Ron Dean -
Simon Green