PCLINUXOS 2011

They finally released the new version of PCLinuxOS.  I downloaded the latest version and put in on the memory stick as a live USB.  When it launched it didn't like my video card, but, I was able to get it to run using VESA.  This isn't a surprise as a number of distros for some reason won't boot with the card in my HP laptop (Pavilion dv6).  It launched cleanly and the desktop itself is nice and for me well organized.  The only program I had a problem was the software update.  It seems to have crashed to the launch in and then looped showing a message so fast I couldn't read it and the logon prompt.  I may try it on other machines to see if this is a problem with the distro or my laptop.

On another note my daughter created a profile picture for me so I now have that for my overall picture rather than the old shot of me having a beer in the pool a few years ago.

Update:

I tried it on my Acer Netbook and everything I tried worked.  Firefox, not a problem.  Software updates worked without a hiccup.  The only thing is that it is a netbook so it was running a bit slow.  At least I now know that it is the HP laptop that had a problem and not the distro itself.  It would appear that I may have to try again and then see what causes the problems and if there are workarounds.  I would like to make every machine in our house use one distro.

New HP laptop - Not very happy with the machine.

I finally saved up enough money last month to buy a new machine.  I wanted a laptop that was fairly powerful, inexpensive and could run Linux.  I finally dedided on the HP Pavilion DV6 as it fit everything I wanted and I couldn't see any problems when I did online searches.

For the first month it was fine.  I had Linux (PCLinuxOS) running on it without a problem.  I then had a problem with the network connection.  I tried 3 different cables at home in different plugs in the router, but, the machine couldn't make a connection.  I brought it in to work and tried there without success.  Knowing that it was not the network itself, but, a hardware problem I took it back to Staples for them to send it to HP for servicing.  It came back a week later with HP saying that they could make a connection and there were no hardware problems with the laptop.  Trying it at Staples we could make a connection and it worked for a few hours at work. The screen then went black and I could not make it work at all.  I tried several different Linux Distros and not one would work.

I took it back to Staples and they confirmed that it wasn't working and it was probably a motherboard issue.  The laptop was sent back to HP for more servicing and after a week it came back.  They had to wipe the hard drive, but, that is not a problem as I had a full backup.  It was running Windows 7 and appears to work without a problem.  I left the machine alone without trying to install Linux for a week to ensure that the machine is working without a problem.

On the weekend I tried to boot the machine to Linux and I got a black screen again.  I booted to Ubuntu, PCLinuxOS, DSL, Sabayon and they all won't display the screen.  Right now I am very unhappy as I wanted this machine to work with Linux and dual boot to Windows for some programs that are windows only and don't have a Linux equivalent.  I suspect the HP service team did a quick-and-dirty fix that was enough to get Windows to boot and not a proper repair.  I have spent almost 1,000 dollars on a  machine that will not work the way it was before I had the hardware problems, but, I suspect HP won't do anything as Windows boots up and they will say it is an O/S problem and not a hardware problem.  If you are thinking of buying a HP laptop for Linux I would recommend you look somewhere else and save your money.

For me to use Linux I have to borrow Jane's machine as it still has my old profile and restore all of the files to that machine.  That is a royal pain as I bought this laptop to be my main work machine and it is now just an over-priced Windows gaming machine and not a work machine.  Why?

1. The current EPSON scanner that I have is not supported by Windows 7.  It is only 2 years old and they don't have any drivers.  This is fully supported in Linux.
2. Security in Windows is a joke.  Every week I see so many security notices that it is not funny.  Linux may not be 100% secure, but, it is a lot more secure right away.
3. I like GIMP in Linux for my photo editing.  
4. Linux makes better use of system resources than Windows.  I was getting Linux up and running in about 120 megs of memory used vs Windows taking over 1 gig and Linux boots faster than Windows.
5. Digikam is a wonderful application and I have thousands of photos, family documents and other files stored here.  It would be a major effort to find the Windows equivalent and move all of the over there.
6. All the other machines at home are Linux and I like to have one O/S to support rather than two.

Update 2010/09/14:

I was reading the Knoppix knowledge base and found that there was an option XMODULE=VESA that could be used if you had problems booting.  I tried the option in Knoppix and the laptop booted to a working KDE4 desktop and I could work in Linux.  I checked my PCLINUXOS CD and it also had that option.  Using that option I could boot up and get to the PCLINUXOS desktop.  I went to the hardware and checked the video option so that the system properly detected my video card.  When I applied the settings the machine did crash and I had to power down and start again.  This time I picked the normal boot (not VESA) and the machine booted up without a problem.  I will try again later with PCLINUXOS and a few other live distros, but, having PCLINUXOS detect the video card for some reason allowed me to boot again in Linux.

I am still not 100% happy, but, at least I think I can get Linux installed and go dual-boot.