2011-06-20

2011 June 20: Linux and My Computers' Hardware

A couple things (which will be mentioned later in this post) prompted me to write this, so here it is. This is an overview of the two computers on which I have installed and used Linux regularly and things related to regular Linux usage on those computers.

First Computer (Past)

Sony VAIO desktop with Intel Pentium 4/HT processor at 2.8 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB hard drive, integrated ATI Radeon 9200 graphics card with available 1920 by 1200 resolution (used 1280 by 1024), integrated sound card, used in conjunction with a 21 inch Nokia CRT 4:3 monitor, Sony speakers, keyboard, and mouse, and Logitech QuickCam Communicate STX webcam

Second Computer (Current)

ASUS U30Jc laptop with Intel Core i3-370M processor at 2.4 GHz, 4 GB RAM, 320 GB hard drive, integrated Intel GMA 4500HD graphics card with available discrete NVidia GeFore 310M (512 MB graphics memory) graphics card with 1366 by 768 resolution, integrated sound card and speakers, integrated keyboard, integrated webcam and mic, used in conjunction with Microsoft USB mouse

Follow the jump to see the rest.

Installed Distributions

  • Linux Mint 6 "Felicia" GNOME on first computer: no problems to report, but that's because I didn't use it for too long before upgrading to Linux Mint 7 "Gloria" GNOME
  • Linux Mint 7 "Gloria" GNOME on first computer: no major problems to report, had some trouble getting Compiz to cooperate but it eventually worked out, and suspend/hibernate functions worked flawlessly
  • Fedora 11 "Leonidas" GNOME on first computer: could not install, needed to reinstall Linux Mint 7 "Gloria" on same computer
  • Sabayon 5.2 KDE on first computer: installed, but could not start X/11 at all, had to remove and make more room in partition of Linux Mint 7 "Gloria"
  • Linux Mint 9 "Isadora" GNOME on first computer (replaced Linux Mint 7 "Gloria" GNOME on same computer): few issues with Skype recognizing webcam and with Compiz, latter of which could not be resolved at all, but otherwise no issues, and suspend/hibernate functions worked flawlessly
  • Linux Mint 9 "Isadora" GNOME on second computer: no major problems to report except for nonworking suspend/hibernate functions, could also recognize new Flip Video UltraHD 3rd Generation camcorder as removable device (first reason why I chose to write this article)

Live USBs (UnetBootin)

This is the second reason why I wanted to write this: for some reason, I can't edit the public pages of the UnetBootin wiki at all. Furthermore, MultiSystem, the other live USB creation tool I use, documents very well exactly which versions of which distributions are supported, so there's no need for me to enumerate that here. Finally, do note that some of the distributions here listed as working with UnetBootin (disk image option only) may not have been tested as such when reviewed on this blog.
  • Fedora 11 "Leonidas": worked on first computer
  • Sabayon 5.2-5.3 KDE: worked on first computer, though slightly slow
  • #! 9.04.01: worked on first computer
  • PCLinuxOS 2009.2 KDE (never reviewed here): worked on first computer
  • SimplyMEPIS 8.5: worked on first computer
  • Linux Mint 7 "Gloria": worked on first computer
  • Linux Mint 9 "Isadora": worked on first and second computers
  • PCLinuxOS 2010.07 KDE: worked on first computer
  • openSUSE 11.3 KDE: worked on first computer
  • Kubuntu 10.04 Trinity "Lucid Lynx": worked on second computer
  • wattOS R2: worked on second computer
  • Debian 6 "Squeeze": worked on second computer
  • Peppermint OS One/Ice: worked on second computer
  • Linux Mint 10 "Julia": worked on second computer
  • Pinguy OS 10.10: worked on second computer
  • Trisquel 4.0.1 LTS "Taranis": worked on second computer
  • Bodhi Linux 1.0: worked on second computer
  • Sabayon 5.4-5.5 KDE: worked on second computer
  • Madbox 10.10: worked on second computer
  • Linux Mint (Debian-based) GNOME & Xfce: worked on second computer
  • Fuduntu 14.9: worked on second computer
  • Fusion 14 "Thorium: worked on second computer
  • SimplyMEPIS 11.0: worked on second computer (aside from X/11 issues, which were unrelated to UnetBootin)
  • Linux Mint 11 "Katya": worked on second computer
  • Kororaa 14 "Nemo": worked on second computer
  • Pinguy OS 11.04: worked on second computer
  • Fedora 15 "Lovelock" (in guise of GNOME 3 live medium): worked on second computer
  • Arch, Chakra, and derivatives: don't work
  • Slackware & derivatives: don't work
  • sidux/aptosid: doesn't work
  • Pardus: doesn't work
  • openSUSE: doesn't work
  • FreeBSD 8 derivatives (PC-BSD, GhostBSD): don't work
  • Mandriva: doesn't work

Well, that's all I have for now. If someone could point out to my thick skull how I'm supposed to edit the UnetBootin public wiki page, I would greatly appreciate that. And please feel free to leave your own roundups of hardware & Linux in the comments!