old Notebook, can Ubuntu or similar work on it/is there drivers. etc.

well the title says it all.

Acer Aspire 3503WLCi
1.5Ghz Celeron 370
512mb of DDR memory
SiS® M661MX chipset (SiS graphics card as well)
120gb 5400rpm hard disk, XP installed on only partition.

will it work? should I even bother? I want to try out Linux, just for the heck of it... well I did try it, in a Virtual machine but, I could not get the screen magnifier to work, likely do to the virtual machine. so it was a very straining experience...

any advice or tips?

thanks A lot! +rep,

 

I would suggest trying out the Ubuntu live CD if you want to give it a test run. Even on my old Thinkpad it got the ATI and Wireless drivers running right out of the box. I had to tweak it a bit for compiz to work though. There are a lot of distros that have live CDs you can check out linux without commitment, Ubuntu seems to have the most diverse driver support.

 

I would second the LiveCD notion. I think Ubuntu should work -- albeit not in its entire glory, but if you're running a little slow, why not try a slimmer distro?

 

ok, I did that, but how do I know everything is recongized? or available, the internet does not work... how would I get a driver for that?

 

the main reason, I went with Ubuntu is that I heard it was the easiest one to learn on, I have been using Windows for the better part of my life so... It can't be way way way out there at first.

used a mac about 10years ago, for a year, then never went back... so I just wnat to try something else. PS, I have Ubuntu 7.10.

 

There are tons of linux distro's out there, it's great that you're wetting your feet with Ubuntu. A couple of questions, why do you want to use linux? Why are you using Ubuntu 7.10 instead of 8.04?

 

Try it out. Being old in itslef is not s problem. The laptop is plenty fast. Linux does not require much resources,

 

Depending on how old the laptop is (sorry, I didn't go and check the age myself - I'm lazy that way ), the most likely problems you'll face will be problems with APM/ACPI - mainly due to the fact that the "geniuses" at many of the OEMs couldn't be bothered to write non-buggy implementations, including mirabile dictu Compaq - one of the "inventors" of the standard. Apparently, the main reason Windows doesn't barf on these implementations is that MS - being equally forgiving of poorly written code - put workarounds in. The linux kernel, being relatively cleaner code, doesn't slum that way, so if you get APM/ACPI problems, you may have to google around to see if you can find a work-around that works for you.

That, of course, is one of the joys/challenges of working with linux - you have to work to get it to function properly sometimes, but at least the OS treats you like an adult and lets you make the changes (unlike some other OSes which will go unnamed). Keep in mind, however, that it may take some time, particularly if this is your first foray into linux-land - if you try to rush it like I did the first time I dipped a toe in, you'll just get needlessly frustrated and (maybe) post things you'll regret later.

If you didn't get a wireless driver to install off the Ubuntu CD, try checking with the updater to see if it can find one for the card you're using or, again, check with google and/or the Ubuntu fora - it's almost a virtual certainty that someone's got a driver you can use (unless the card is one you invented yourself ).

 

It should work fine. If you're missing any driver, google for it, or, as suggested earlier, try using the latest Ubuntu first.

 

why I want to use linux, well because I need a little change form windows, and I like the command line implementation of an OS.

I used 7.10 because that i the live CD that is the live CD that I have.. I will download 8.04 latter today and give it a try.

 

You need to put Linux on that Ferrari...(I own a Ferrari 4005, daughter has it dual booted with Sabayon lol)

 

How old is your daughter lol?
Ubuntu should run fine on thta, if it does run a little slow, you can try Zubuntu, hell, even Slackware might be good if you want something a little more hardcore.

 

Daughter is 11....lol. I was only implying that linux deserves some nice hardware, doesn't require it, just deserves it

 

LOL, your daughter dual booted with Sabayon?

 

I dual booted it before I gave it to her....she just arrows down to XP in GRUB.....LOL

 

LOL, I thought I lost my title as youngest dual booter

 

You're still wet behind the ears, Thomas? I've got 4 laptops in the house and one desktop that hmmms in a dark corner with an EXT HD attached to it via usb. All windows except me. That's why I complain about Fedora re cross platform networking. My 14 year old son may dual boot his Asus A8js, and I'll let him have a go at it himself if I can get him out of Half Life to take the time....maybe you'll lose your title...

 

Well, hes still older then me lol.

 

Man, if that's true....my hat is off to ya !!

 

Yup, I'm way younger then him
Not too young though

 

Well then young man, I'm getting ready to run an OpenSolaris 2008.5 LiveCD....should be interesting.....

 

Damn, Thomas, some of my skivvies and socks are older than you! LOL

You've got a lot of excellent posts; I'm really impressed now, knowing you're such a young guy.

 

It's a lot different then linux, but have fun

LOL, thanks a lot bmwrob.

 

OMG, you're practically an infant !!!

I feel so old now...

Keep it up kid, you tadpoles are our future

 

LOL, nice smileys!
Thanks, don't feel to old though