New distro-doesn't detect anything

[wyliecoyoteuk]

Hi, I decided to install a new distro today( a reinstall on a new HDD actually, but I decided to start from scratch)

Booted from the CD, partitioned the first 30Gb, ran through the install, and it booted into the window manager, wouldn't join a domain,
Failed to detect my hardware. as follows:
Network card, standard Intel 100mbit
video card, ATI rage
Sound card- ac97
wifi card-cisco
USB hub
Unknown device (think that is the Mobo IDE chipset)
Trackpoint device
and it installed no applications at all!
(What was this distro?- Windows XP professional - no network card meant no downloads, no drivers, no activation.etc.

This is on an IBM R40 laptop with "Windows XP recommended" sticker on it.

So- why are all these people complaining when Linux doesn't detect their hardware? This is a 2 year old windows recommended Laptop.
(For your information, SuSe 10.2 detects and installs ALL of these pieces of hardware perfectly).
I had to download the NIC driver on another PC and copy it across just to activate it!

[risc_user]

I tried an old Windows distro a few weeks ago because a friend uses it and said it was really great and everything. So I downloaded a copy of "Windows 98" to see what the fuss was about.
Stuck it on a spare computer, it had to reboot loads of times for unknown reasons (it was in spanish because the ISO image was smaller for some reason) and it wouldn't use a resolution higher than 640x480 with the same monitor that Ubuntu can get 1280x1024 out of.
The network card was recognised on mine, well, it said it found a network card. It didn't have a driver for it though.
USB didn't work. So I went to the Dell website (it being a Dell an' all) and downloaded all the drivers for the USB and also the screen and network card. The drivers came in the form of scripts that run regardless of your permissions and they didn't work anyway. Windows 98 just keeled over and died.
So I wiped the hard drive and put Ubuntu back on it.

I can't see this "Windows" thing catching on you know. Just not ready for the desktop.

[godofthedevil]

windoze does distros?!

well i guess you have the 9x distro and the NT Distro..
i thought linux was the one who did "distros"

[wyliecoyoteuk]

windoze does distros?!

well i guess you have the 9x distro and the NT Distro..
i thought linux was the one who did "distros"

It was meant to be sarcastic, I just get sick of all the idiots (and there do seem to be a lot of them) who say :
"I can reinstall windows in the time it takes me to make a cup of coffee" (that is actually a quote!) "and it does everything I want with no problems"

In other words, liars.

[Rhakios]

Perhaps they have to grow the beans, then harvest the beans, then roast the beans...

It might well do everything they want with no problems if they are quite undemanding.

[godofthedevil]

well according to my mcdst course you can install serval xp machines while making the coffee and it pretty much sorts its self out..

mandriva IMHO is the quickist installing

it takes me a weekend to set up an xp machine up to a state that is workable that is all the 3rd party drivers n software.. most of that is the waiting game

[wyliecoyoteuk]

The thing is that most Linux newbies complain when a particular distro doesn't install and configure all of their hardware.
In fact Windows doesn't do this, if you compare a Windows install and a Linux install on the same hardware, chances are that the Linux install will work with most stuff "out of the box", whereas a Windows install will need lots of configuration, driver installs, reboots, etc.
Windows doesn't do MP3 or Encrypted DVDs out of the box either.

In comparison mode. a recent install of 2 OSes on the same box took 14 reboots, 40 minutes configuration, and 12 CDs (including the XP one), and several downloads for Windows (not to mention several long hexadecimal codes), as opposed to 1 DVD, 15 minutes configuration, a couple of downloads, and 1 reboot for SuSe Linux, for a comparable installation.

The total install time for Windows was about 5 hours, compared to less than 3 for linux.

I just want people to compare like for like.
It is difficult, but I have excluded update times for the above, because they are so variable, but I find that Suse Linux updates again win, with less interaction, more explanation if you want it, and faster application, not to mention no reboots, and hence no down time!


P.s. My work WindowsSBS2003 server asks to reboot every time I run Updates, (and pesters me if I refuse) THIS IS A SERVER!I CAN'T JUST REBOOT ON A WHIM! GET REAL!

[godofthedevil]

oh i agree about (most) distros working more then windoze..

like divx movies you dont have to (normally) install a codec for it

but the fun of linux is to tweak and to get to know your computer.. i use gentoo and i admit its a bitch to install and get working but when you do, you can sit back and admire your handywork

[nelz]

How quickly you forget just how bad Win98 was. I changed the gateway address on a Win98 box this week and it had to reboot to update the routing!

[wyliecoyoteuk]

How quickly you forget just how bad Win98 was. I changed the gateway address on a Win98 box this week and it had to reboot to update the routing!

routing in W98, that's just masochism

[towy71]

I had to try and fix somebody's [shudder]WinME[/shudder] box last week, I had to go and lie down in a darkened room to recover

[godofthedevil]

i have just changed the deck on solitaire. damn now i have to restart my computer

[nelz]

Now you're being silly. Microsoft would never cripple such important productivity software...

[godofthedevil]

i wouldnt put it past them..

no doubt you cant use it with out the WGA telling you no!

[pootman]

"I can reinstall windows in the time it takes me to make a cup of coffee" (that is actually a quote!) "and it does everything I want with no problems"

A mis-quote i think, that should read:

"I have to reboot windows every time I make a cup of coffee and then it does everything I want with no problems"

Inspired by this thread I tried to install Win98 on spare-parts (nForce2/AthlonXP2500/1GB333DDR) last night. I lost count of the number of reboots, but after installing five or six sets of drivers it was, like the (occasionally spontaneous) reboots, fast.

I've cleansed the hd with 'mkreiserfs', but *I* still feel dirty.