Replies

Just switch to Linux and avoid all the MS angst. Problems solved.

Not so much for the general computer user. I have been playing with the idea of switching to Linux on my home system, but so far, I am not pleased with the ease-of-use. I have been a computer support professional for 10 years, and I am currently an information security manager for a large school district. It still took me 3 days to troubleshoot why my Ubuntu 8.04 install would not recognize my monitor or my nVidia 8600GT video card. If I had that much trouble, how is a casual user going to handle it?

I am also looking at other distros, but Fedora 9 wouldn't even install due to the video driver problem, and I wasn't impressed with OpenSUSE 10.3 from my testing using the live CD. I have also discovered that none of the distros will allow me to run 4 GB of RAM if I am using an nVidia or ATI card, even though I am running the 64-bit versions.

I haven't completely given up yet, but it would be a strong overstatement to say that all problems are solved by switching to Linux...

It still took me 3 days to troubleshoot why my Ubuntu 8.04 install would not recognize my monitor or my nVidia 8600GT video card. If I had that much trouble, how is a casual user going to handle it?

The same way that Windows users do it. Buy hardware that is supported by the operating system.

The fact that most Linux distros will install and run on most hardware is a bonus. Just like with Windows, if you want to ensure compatibility, make sure that the hardware you buy is actually supported by your distro of choice.

Honestly, the "Linux solves all problems" comment was a throw-away line. There are occasionally some problems if you're using video cards for which the manufacturers refuse to provide the specs, since support for them then has to be created by reverse engineering. Having said that, NVidia provides non-free drivers for Linux that work just fine (I've installed them on my son's computers more than once). I don't know about the 4 GB RAM problem you're having, the solution is called "memory hole remapping" and can be done through the BIOS (if it's capable) or through software configuration. Using the BIOS would be best. Incidentally, this is a hardware issue and I suspect you'd have a similar situation with Windows (I don't know for sure, not having so much RAM myself).

On Ubuntu, replace the -generic kernel with the -server kernel and you should fix the problem.

Notice too that this is an OS installation problem. I suspect that if users had to install Windows from media rather than buying their computers with it pre-installed they'd have just as much if not more difficulty as you did with Linux. It's worth the effort to set up Linux, trust me! :)