Review of Dell E520n w/ Ubunutu preinstalled

[mrowen]

First, see the 410 review as the startup and disk lay out are similar. I just received my Dell E520n with Ubuntu today. I'm typing this message on it now. I was delighted to find stock Ubuntu installed without any sort of Dell-ization of the OS. An Ubuntu CD was included with my system. I opted for the Nvidia 7300 card with mine and a 1680X1050 wide screen panel display. It booted up in 1024x768 mode. I used Automatix to grab the correct Nvidia drivers and soon had full resolution support. So far I am very pleased with the machine and the display. Here are the partitions as configured by Dell. See the Dell 410 review for details.

Disk /dev/sda: 250.0 GB, 250000000000 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30394 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 6 48163+ de Dell Utility
/dev/sda2 7 268 2104515 b W95 FAT32
/dev/sda3 * 269 293 200812+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda4 294 30394 241786282+ f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
/dev/sda5 294 774 3863601 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 775 30394 237922618+ 83 Linux

The only Issue that I am having right now is getting the screen resolution to be set properly at startup time. This is probably an xorg.conf issue. I am about to investigate a reboot issue. When doing a restart of the system, it seems to hang at the splash screen on its way back up. The splash screen appears, but the progress bar never even begins to turn orange. I came across a post referencing the Nvidia splash screen causing issues with this. Again, I have to look into it further.

Specs:

Dimension E520n Intel® Core™ 2 E6420 Duo Processor(4MB L2 cache,2.13GHZ,1066FSB)
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 4DIMMs
Monitor 20 inch E207WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
Video Cards 256MB nVidia Geforce 7300LE TurboCache
Hard Drives 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Operating System Ubuntu Desktop Edition version 7.04
Network Interface Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet
CD or DVD Drive 48X CD-RW/ DVD Combo Drive
Sound Cards Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

[magicfab]

Just a friendly reminder, as soon as you start using tools like Automatix, we can't offer much support based on all the changes done to the standard install.

Cheers,

[mrowen]

Just a quick update regarding my resolution problem on the E520n. All I had to do was edit the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file to specify the 1680x1050 resolution. As I stated earlier, I installed the Nvidia drivers via Automatix. I am using the nvidia and not the nv device. The Nvidia utility lets me set the resolution and has a button to save settings to xorg.conf. However, this seems to write only 1024 to the file. Here is the relevant section of the xorg.conf file in case anyone needs it. I only changed the "Modes" lines.

Section "Device"
Identifier "nVidia Corporation GeForce 7300 LE"
Driver "nvidia"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Device "nVidia Corporation GeForce 7300 LE"
Monitor "Generic Monitor"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Depth 1
Modes "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 4
Modes "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 8
Modes "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 15
Modes "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 16
Modes "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1680x1050"
EndSubSection
EndSection

[MepisReign]

Hi:

Open a terminal and type

sudo nvidia-settings

Make the changes, save it pressing Save to xorg.conf

That way the changes should remain after the system gets reboot

Regards

MepisReign

[mailbinoy]

running nvidia-settings with root privileges should do the trick

sudo nvidia-settings

[mrowen]

Yes, that is what I was doing and clicking on the button to save the settings, but they were not written to the xorg.conf file. It still had 1024x780 in the file. So I just edited it manually. Perhaps the nvidia-settings utility is writing them somewhere else? I don't know.

[mrowen]

I mentioned that I am having an issue with restart. I tested a bit more. Shutdown works properly. It is only restart that seems to get stuck. I can't really tell if its stalling when its stopping or restarting. Whenever I choose restart, I have to manuallypower the system off. A glanced at the syslog, but nothing is jumping out at me. Its late, so I'll pick it up in the morning. I'm open to suggestions. This is a new system, so I'm willing to even reinstall if that is a recommendation.

[MepisReign]

It is most probably related to the driver from automatix
In my case I'm running Kubuntu 7.04 on a Dell XPS 400 and I just installed nvidia-glx-new with synaptic, then checked on xorg for the word "nvidia" under Device, reboot and boom! perfect resolution on the screen :p

In any case I'm glad that you solved that little glitch...

MepisReign

[tgalati4]

Make sure your vertical and horizontal refresh rates are correct in xorg.conf. Try using a large range of values for both to allow better resolution detection.

[octathlon]

I opted for the Nvidia 7300 card with mine and a 1680X1050 wide screen panel display. It booted up in 1024x768 mode.

So the monitor and video card were standard options that you bought from Dell, and they weren't configured to work out of the box? That's not a good sign. And are you saying that the nvidia driver wasn't even pre-installed? :(

[robgig1088]

So the monitor and video card were standard options that you bought from Dell, and they weren't configured to work out of the box? That's not a good sign. And are you saying that the nvidia driver wasn't even pre-installed? :(

I thought that was strange as well. I understand that the closed-source driver wasn't installed, but the incorrect resolution...?

[gwbennett]

What's Ubunutu?

[robgig1088]

What's Ubunutu?
From the Ubuntu web site...

Ubuntu is a community developed, linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need - a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more.


Basically, its another operating system (similar to Windows or OS X). Look at www.ubuntu.com for more information

[wormser]

What's Ubunutu?

It is a linux operating system. Take a look at the Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com/) site.

[orrorin]

Specs:

Dimension E520n Intel® Core™ 2 E6420 Duo Processor(4MB L2 cache,2.13GHZ,1066FSB)
Memory 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 4DIMMs
Monitor 20 inch E207WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
Video Cards 256MB nVidia Geforce 7300LE TurboCache
Hard Drives 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Operating System Ubuntu Desktop Edition version 7.04
Network Interface Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet
CD or DVD Drive 48X CD-RW/ DVD Combo Drive
Sound Cards Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

So how much of the 4GB RAM does your system actually recognize/use?

[MepisReign]

I thought that was strange as well. I understand that the closed-source driver wasn't installed, but the incorrect resolution...?

Remember that you installed the Nvidia driver from Automatix, the case would be different if you choose the official driver from the repos. As I stated on a previous post what I would recommend is to install it by typing:
sudo apt-get install nvidia-glx-new

But you need to uninstall the automatix driver first of course...

I'm not too familiar with Gnome but that worked for me perfectly on Kubuntu and I had the same video card ( I replaced it with the 7900 GS since I'm a gamer :p )

Best Wishes

MepisReign

[psyopper]

One would think, considering it's in the official repositories, that Dell would pre-install nvidia-glx-new for their boxes shipping with nVidia cards...

[MepisReign]

One would think, considering it's in the official repositories, that Dell would pre-install nvidia-glx-new for their boxes shipping with nVidia cards...

That's exactly my concern. I just mailed Dell regarding this issue

MepisReign

[ageilers]

With the Nvidia drivers being proprietary drivers not officially supported by Ubuntu, I doubt Dell would install them. Otherwise, they would already be on the Ubuntu Live CD.

[madman91]

running nvidia-settings with root privileges should do the trick

sudo nvidia-settings

This might not save properly. Try gksudo nvidia-settings

When I ran it with sudo, it never saved properly.

[doublecheese]

Hi. First post here as I just got my Dell E520n w/Ubuntu today. Upon booting the machine for the first time I could not get any resolution higher than 1024x768. Thus, the machine did not work as advertised out of the box. BUT if you use the ubuntu restore image it works just fine with no configuration needed. Weird.

Don't ask how I know about restoring already.... :p

[arnieboy]

Remember that you installed the Nvidia driver from Automatix, the case would be different if you choose the official driver from the repos. As I stated on a previous post what I would recommend is to install it by typing:

You are wrong.. and the bigger problem is you are confidently giving wrong advice..

Automatix detects the make and model of your card and installs the relevant version of the nvidia driver from the official ubuntu repositories. Remember: nvidia-glx-new will not work for all nvidia cards... do some research or ask on the automatix forums and we will explain why.

as for ubuntu's inbuilt restricted-drivers-manager it fails more often than it works.

[nutz]

Yes, that is what I was doing and clicking on the button to save the settings, but they were not written to the xorg.conf file. It still had 1024x780 in the file. So I just edited it manually. Perhaps the nvidia-settings utility is writing them somewhere else? I don't know.


I have noticed this too. Who knows where it is writing it to but it isn't the xorg.conf.

[mifi]

I mentioned that I am having an issue with restart. I tested a bit more. Shutdown works properly. It is only restart that seems to get stuck. I can't really tell if its stalling when its stopping or restarting. Whenever I choose restart, I have to manuallypower the system off. A glanced at the syslog, but nothing is jumping out at me. Its late, so I'll pick it up in the morning. I'm open to suggestions. This is a new system, so I'm willing to even reinstall if that is a recommendation.
Have a look at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=461028.

It was suggested to add "reboot=b" to the end of the kernel line in /boot/grub/menu.lst.

I can confirm this workaround is working for me.

mifi

[mdz]

First, see the 410 review as the startup and disk lay out are similar. I just received my Dell E520n with Ubuntu today. I'm typing this message on it now. I was delighted to find stock Ubuntu installed without any sort of Dell-ization of the OS. An Ubuntu CD was included with my system. I opted for the Nvidia 7300 card with mine and a 1680X1050 wide screen panel display. It booted up in 1024x768 mode. I used Automatix to grab the correct Nvidia drivers and soon had full resolution support.

Could someone confirm that System->Administration->Restricted Drivers Manager works fine in this configuration? This is the officially supported method of installing the nvidia drivers, and is even simpler to access than third-party tools like Automatix.

[mifi]

Could someone confirm that System->Administration->Restricted Drivers Manager works fine in this configuration? This is the officially supported method of installing the nvidia drivers, and is even simpler to access than third-party tools like Automatix.
I can. It does.
mifi

[mrowen]

Thanks mifi! Adding the reboot=b to the grub menu.lst file did indeed fix the issue with the E520n reboot hanging. Thanks for the tip!

[matthew]

as for ubuntu's inbuilt restricted-drivers-manager it fails more often than it works.I'm curious...do you have evidence to substantiate that statement, or is that just your opinion? I have heard very few complaints about the restricted-drivers-manager.

[FredSambo]

I'm curious...do you have evidence to substantiate that statement, or is that just your opinion? I have heard very few complaints about the restricted-drivers-manager.

It fails for me. I have an old ATI Radeon 9200 and the Restricted Drivers Manager doesn't detect it. I had to manually install the fglrx driver using the Edgy instructions located here (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/ATI).

Of course I should be ashamed of myself for using such an old and crappy video card. :p

[matthew]

It fails for me. I have an old ATI Radeon 9200 and the Restricted Drivers Manager doesn't detect it. I had to manually install the fglrx driver using the Edgy instructions located here (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/ATI).

Of course I should be ashamed of myself for using such an old and crappy video card. :pThat's good to know, thank you.

[jarocooke]

Could someone confirm that System->Administration->Restricted Drivers Manager works fine in this configuration? This is the officially supported method of installing the nvidia drivers, and is even simpler to access than third-party tools like Automatix.

I was just going to point out that the easiest way to install Nvidia drivers is to go the restricted drivers manager and just click the check box next to Nvidia Accelerated Graphics driver. If I remember correctly from there on in everything is done for you (including updating xorg.conf), it even prompts you to restart the computer I think.

[MetalMusicAddict]

Nice Review.

Wow. Matt posted. :)

[aysiu]

I was just going to point out that the easiest way to install Nvidia drivers is to go the restricted drivers manager and just click the check box next to Nvidia Accelerated Graphics driver. If I remember correctly from there on in everything is done for you (including updating xorg.conf), it even prompts you to restart the computer I think.
Yes. I have a step-by-step tutorial with screenshots:
http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/nvidia

[esavato]

I unfortunetley purchased a Dell E520 about two weeks before the announcement that Dell was going to support linux. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily I was able to get my Nvidia 7300 LE up and running and getting my 20" monitor to display the 1680x1050 resolution. I found that after I turned on the restricted drivers, I was able to use the Nvidia control panel and it found my monitor and it runs great. Beryl also installed without any problems.

[compiledkernel]

For possible reasons why the Restricted Driver Application may fail, refer here and here. The troubleshooting guides are fairly concise.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/Nvidia
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/ATI

Most issues related to the use of the Restricted Drivers manager comes from what appears to be prior upgraded installs that used third party helper scripts to install their drivers.


(note: Restricted Devices Manager may not work properly on machines that have previously used 3rd party tools like envy to install previous drivers).

[FredSambo]

Most issues related to the use of the Restricted Drivers manager comes from what appears to be prior upgraded installs that used third party helper scripts to install their drivers.

For the record, I upgraded from Edgy, which was all set up with the fglrx Driver, I installed it using that exact HowTo in fact. When I upgraded I just had to set it up again the way I did in Edgy. I didn't use any 3rd party scripts for the Video Drivers, although I did use Automatix2 for other things, like Wine.

It was most likely something I did. :p

[timzak]

Have a look at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=461028.

It was suggested to add "reboot=b" to the end of the kernel line in /boot/grub/menu.lst.

I can confirm this workaround is working for me.

mifi

What exactly do you mean by "the end of the kernel line"...Can you copy that section of your menu.lst here so I make sure and put it in the right place?

Thanks.

[mifi]

It fails for me. I have an old ATI Radeon 9200 and the Restricted Drivers Manager doesn't detect it. I had to manually install the fglrx driver using the Edgy instructions located here (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/ATI).
That is true. I have noticed that too for an ATI Radeon X1300 (not so old), but your earlier statement that "it fails more often than..." is perhaps a bit too bold.

By the way: I dropped my ATI and bought an nVidia GeForce 7300 for far less than $100. Both Ubuntu and I are happy now :D

m

[nutz]

Could someone confirm that System->Administration->Restricted Drivers Manager works fine in this configuration? This is the officially supported method of installing the nvidia drivers, and is even simpler to access than third-party tools like Automatix.


I had no issues with the install or it running afterwards. This was on two separate systems but both with Nvidia GPU's...

One was a Quadro NVS 110M and the other is a desktop with a FX5200 256MB AGP. Both worked flawless right after the initial reboot...

The Quadro NVS 110M was from a Dell Latitude D620.

[tseliot]

It fails for me. I have an old ATI Radeon 9200 and the Restricted Drivers Manager doesn't detect it. I had to manually install the fglrx driver using the Edgy instructions located here (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BinaryDriverHowto/ATI).
Restricted Drivers Manager doesn't install the driver for your card because the fglrx driver which supports your card (8.28.8) doesn't work on Feisty (which uses Xorg 7.2).

In this case it's not Restricted Drivers Manager's fault. You should use the open source driver.

[jerhurwitz]

I have a dell 2005fpw and a bfg geforce 7800gtoc video card. I used the restricted drivers manager to use the nvidia driver and then used "sudo nvidia-settings" to set my resolution too 1680X1040. This works fine and saves except for the fact that the restart button on the top toolbar along with the time and date stamp and the recycle bin on the bottom toolbar are not all the way over to the right hand side. Then instead are at a position they might be at if the right side of my monitor were to be chopped off so it wasn't widescreen. Anyone know how to fix this?


Oh yea, i'm fairly new to ubuntu.