UNSOLVED
J
JoeThielen
3 Posts
0
10460
May 25th, 2007 16:00
D630/Mandriva 2007.1/WinXP
Hello all. Firstly let me express my appreciation to Dell for now offering, and supporting, Linux! And also thank you for still offering Windows XP.
I've bought many desktop Dells in the past for my company and have loaded them with Linux. They work quite well. Now my laptop is giving out and it's time to buy a new one. I'm looking at the D630, T7300 (2.00Ghz), 14.1 WXGA, 1.0GB DDR2, 120GB SATA, 8xDVD +/- RW.
I do not use Ubuntu, I have been a Mandrake/Mandriva user for years. In addition, I am going to want to dual-boot between WinXP and Linux. So I am assuming I need to purchase the machine with WinXP, then add Mandriva myself. I am planning on loading Mandriva 2007.1.
My questions are related to hardware. I've always had a very bad time getting some of the major components to work, as I'm sure any other Linux laptop user has experienced, and I want to see how well this particular unit stacks up...
My primary concerns are:
#1: Wireless. I'm going for the Intel 3945 802.11a/g Dual-Boot mini card. According to the links (intellinuxwireless.org) this appears to be a well-supported card. But on my current laptop with a Linux/WinXP, the Intel card I have also works fine... in Linux. But in Windows, after I loaded the Linux driver, it seems like the wireless card likes to flunk out on me. I don't know if the firmware updates or whatever did something strange, or I am just misunderstanding something. I would very much like to avoid this issue this time around. Anyone had any experience here? Specifically with the Intel 3945 dual-booting between Linux and WinXP?
#2: Video. I see from the Wiki (http://linux.dell.com/wiki/index.php/Tech/Video/Intel#Intel_Mobile_945GM.2FGMS.2F940GML_Express_Integrated_Graphics_Controller) that the 945GM appears to be supported via the i810 driver. This is good news. But I want to make sure the wide-screen resolution is supported. If I go for the "+" LCD model, will that resolution be supported by this driver in Linux? I've seen Linux on some widescreen laptops where the video chip isn't fully supported and it's trying to run regular screen resolution on a widescreen chipset and it looks really screwey. It'd really love to avoid that issue altogether!!!
#3: SATA HD & IDE DVD Burner. I've noticed recently (especially with the 965 desktop chipsets) that after installation of Linux on a SATA HD with an IDE CD/DVD, that Linux no longer can find the CD/DVD drive. Is the CD/DVD drive on the D630 SATA or IDE? Does anyone know if Mandriva Linux 2007.1 (kernel 2.6.17-13mdv) will work here with BOTH the HD and CD/DVD after loading???
I think that will cover the majority of my issues. I usually don't have a problem with audio or anything else. I'm not very concerned with power management and whatnot.
Any help would be greatly appreciated (and result in a SALE here :) ).
Message Edited by JoeThielen on 05-25-2007 12:12 PM
I've bought many desktop Dells in the past for my company and have loaded them with Linux. They work quite well. Now my laptop is giving out and it's time to buy a new one. I'm looking at the D630, T7300 (2.00Ghz), 14.1 WXGA, 1.0GB DDR2, 120GB SATA, 8xDVD +/- RW.
I do not use Ubuntu, I have been a Mandrake/Mandriva user for years. In addition, I am going to want to dual-boot between WinXP and Linux. So I am assuming I need to purchase the machine with WinXP, then add Mandriva myself. I am planning on loading Mandriva 2007.1.
My questions are related to hardware. I've always had a very bad time getting some of the major components to work, as I'm sure any other Linux laptop user has experienced, and I want to see how well this particular unit stacks up...
My primary concerns are:
#1: Wireless. I'm going for the Intel 3945 802.11a/g Dual-Boot mini card. According to the links (intellinuxwireless.org) this appears to be a well-supported card. But on my current laptop with a Linux/WinXP, the Intel card I have also works fine... in Linux. But in Windows, after I loaded the Linux driver, it seems like the wireless card likes to flunk out on me. I don't know if the firmware updates or whatever did something strange, or I am just misunderstanding something. I would very much like to avoid this issue this time around. Anyone had any experience here? Specifically with the Intel 3945 dual-booting between Linux and WinXP?
#2: Video. I see from the Wiki (http://linux.dell.com/wiki/index.php/Tech/Video/Intel#Intel_Mobile_945GM.2FGMS.2F940GML_Express_Integrated_Graphics_Controller) that the 945GM appears to be supported via the i810 driver. This is good news. But I want to make sure the wide-screen resolution is supported. If I go for the "+" LCD model, will that resolution be supported by this driver in Linux? I've seen Linux on some widescreen laptops where the video chip isn't fully supported and it's trying to run regular screen resolution on a widescreen chipset and it looks really screwey. It'd really love to avoid that issue altogether!!!
#3: SATA HD & IDE DVD Burner. I've noticed recently (especially with the 965 desktop chipsets) that after installation of Linux on a SATA HD with an IDE CD/DVD, that Linux no longer can find the CD/DVD drive. Is the CD/DVD drive on the D630 SATA or IDE? Does anyone know if Mandriva Linux 2007.1 (kernel 2.6.17-13mdv) will work here with BOTH the HD and CD/DVD after loading???
I think that will cover the majority of my issues. I usually don't have a problem with audio or anything else. I'm not very concerned with power management and whatnot.
Any help would be greatly appreciated (and result in a SALE here :) ).
Message Edited by JoeThielen on 05-25-2007 12:12 PM
