Installing Ubuntu on blank Vostro

[besg]

Hi,

I live in israel, and here I can't buy Dells with Factory Installation of Ubuntu.

My question is:
Can I buy blank/empty Dell (Vostro 1400/1310/etc), and install Ubuntu (8.04) on it, without problems? (--> Where can I find drivers for this? I searched all Dell's site and the DellLinuxWiki, and I didn't find.)

Thanks

[dfrandin]

No, the Vostro line of systems are not "supported" by Dell for Linux.. I wanted to do the same thing you're doing, but all I could get with Ubuntu already installed was an Inspiron.. I prefer the business/corporate systems (better warantee, USA-ian support techs, etc), and wanted Nvidia video for some OpenGL apps that recommend Nvidia over ATI video, so I went to the Dell Outlet and found a nice Vostro 1400 laptop (C2D/1.4/2GB/120GB/nvidia/wifi/webcam) for $549. Of course the system came with Vista, so it was immediately wiped and a clean install of Ubuntu 8.04 was completed. The only things needing a tweak to get working right were the standby/hibernate functions.. Even the Broadcomm wifi worked right out of the box.. The best price I saw for an Inspiron with Ubuntu installed was a bit over $700 with all the features of my Vostro.. I don't know if the Dell Outlet is available in Israel, but if it is, thats your best bet to get a "blank" system.. find one thats equipped as you want, and comes with the cheapest version of Vista, which is home/basic, and you should get a fantastic price.. I've bought many refurbed systems (laptop and desktop) from the Dell Outlet and never had ANY problems... YMMV!!

Rereading your question, I'll mention that I got everything working on the 1400 straight from either the Ubuntu DVD or apt-get.. Didn't have to download anything from Dell to get everything working.. Also: even the webcam worked right off.. Part of the reason for this, I believe is the fact that the Vostro 1400 is the same guts as an Inspiron 1420, which is one of the Inspirons that Dell sells with Ubuntu.




Hope this helps!

Dave

[besg]

Thank you! :-)

You said "Part of the reason for this, I believe is the fact that the Vostro 1400 is the same guts as an Inspiron 1420, which is one of the Inspirons that Dell sells with Ubuntu.". What is the Inspiron equivalent of Vostro 1310? Can I be sure that Ubuntu can work with 1310?

Thanks again,
Yaakov

[dfrandin]

Thank you! :-)

You said "Part of the reason for this, I believe is the fact that the Vostro 1400 is the same guts as an Inspiron 1420, which is one of the Inspirons that Dell sells with Ubuntu.". What is the Inspiron equivalent of Vostro 1310? Can I be sure that Ubuntu can work with 1310?

Thanks again,
Yaakov

THAT I could not tell you... The 1310 is a new model Vostro, and in fact, I see where Dell has discontinued the Vostro 1400 and 1500, and replaced with the 1500 with a 1510, and skipped a 14" new model to replace the 1400, and added the little 1310.. Don't have a clue as to the h/w in it.. I *dont* think there's an Inspiron version of it, but I could be wrong... Hang around here, and I'll bet somebody will come along who knows that...

Dave

[jbloodwo]

I have a Vostro 1400 and my understanding is that the vostros are the sas as the inspirons but with much much crapware....
so using the curent number a vostro 14 and inspiron 14 should be the same system.
---EDIT 1---
Currently, I do not have Ubunto installed.
I put an academic alliance copy of Vista on and ma thinking about either making this a hackintosh or downloading one of Dell's public ubuntu linux images.

[dfrandin]

You dont need anything at all from Dell to get Ubuntu working on a 1400.. Either the 8.04 desktop dvd iso or the "alternate" disk will install perfectly on a 1400.. The only diff I've seen between the alternate and the desktop is size, the desktop is around 800mb and requires a DVD to burn to, and has a "LiveCD" version that you can run by booting to the DVD, whereas the alternate fits on a CD, and you must install to a system...

[epitaph]

About a year ago I purchased a Dell Vostro 1000 (came with Vista Home) through a special small business deal.

I'm not sure of how similar my issues will be but:

8.04 worked pretty much out of the box. You MAY have to plug it in and download the latest broadcom wifi drivers to get the wireless working. I'm not sure if this is still the case (I installed 8.04 about a week after it was released).

Otherwise:


Brightness function keys did not work
Function monitor switch key did not work
ATi card + fglrx + composited desktop yields bad results


Those are the biggest issues I can think of. Over all, I'd say there's little to worry about. Through some tweaks/scripts the function keys can be fixed.

[F.Soroush]

hi
i'm new user of ubuntu but on vostro 1500....how can i gain my drivers???
my Fn functions works properly without quickset(of dell) and also my bluetooth device but my graphic card and wireless do not defined!!!!

[jordan420]

hello. i have a vostro 1400 running hardy... most stuff works fine, right away, but i could never get the 355 bluetooth working. its in my bios and im pretty sure i have it... but it isnt detected by any programs.. which is'nt that bueno. if anybody knows anything about this lemme know. thanks