TheyCallMeTJ
Distinguished Member
So I had my mother using Dell D400 laptop which is about eight years old now running Windows XP. Now that Windows XP is no longer supported with security updates, I thought I buy her a new Windows 7 laptop but she never wants me spend more money than needed. She only uses the laptop for internet, writing Word documents, emailing, creating pdfs, transferring photos from camera, watch BBC Iplayer and accessing files from my NAS server.
So I decided to install a Linux based operating system which I have never ever dabbled in before being very much content with my Windows 7. On research, Mint and Ubuntu were the prime candidates. I chose Ubuntu because of its larger base of support and forums.
I had to install Ubuntu 11.10 first because 12.04 was giving a
"This kernel requires the following features not present on the CPU: PAE Unable to boot - please use a kernel appropriate for your CPU."
Apparently 12.04 onwards will not install on old chipsets without PAE. So the trick was to install a previous version that does then upgrade to 12.04. I discovered alternatively, I could have installed Lubuntu instead then add Ubuntu package. Lubuntu appears to be a more ideal desktop for my mum's laptop due to its lighter weight and speedier performance.
OK Ubuntu now freshly installed. Its excruciatingly slow. SLower than the Windows XP that was on it before.
1. How can I troubleshoot this? How do I determine if all my hardware drivers are running properly (eg like device manager on Windows). I'm wondering if the driver for the graphics card is correct and hence this slowdown.
2. Shall I install Lubuntu? Will I get a faster performance or should I deal with the Ubuntu system first.
3. Anything else I should be aware of or installing, being a Linux newbie?
That's about it for now. I'll document my experience with this transition (with my mum's input) as much as possible. Thanks guys.
So I decided to install a Linux based operating system which I have never ever dabbled in before being very much content with my Windows 7. On research, Mint and Ubuntu were the prime candidates. I chose Ubuntu because of its larger base of support and forums.
I had to install Ubuntu 11.10 first because 12.04 was giving a
"This kernel requires the following features not present on the CPU: PAE Unable to boot - please use a kernel appropriate for your CPU."
Apparently 12.04 onwards will not install on old chipsets without PAE. So the trick was to install a previous version that does then upgrade to 12.04. I discovered alternatively, I could have installed Lubuntu instead then add Ubuntu package. Lubuntu appears to be a more ideal desktop for my mum's laptop due to its lighter weight and speedier performance.
OK Ubuntu now freshly installed. Its excruciatingly slow. SLower than the Windows XP that was on it before.
1. How can I troubleshoot this? How do I determine if all my hardware drivers are running properly (eg like device manager on Windows). I'm wondering if the driver for the graphics card is correct and hence this slowdown.
2. Shall I install Lubuntu? Will I get a faster performance or should I deal with the Ubuntu system first.
3. Anything else I should be aware of or installing, being a Linux newbie?
That's about it for now. I'll document my experience with this transition (with my mum's input) as much as possible. Thanks guys.