difficulty installing Lubuntu

[jmbarsk]

I just tried to install Lubuntu onto my old laptop but I am having some difficulties. I have searched online for help and believe that my problem is that I need to install video drivers but I have been unable to find a step by step for somebody like me - first time user.

When I startup ubuntu normally, the screen will go black, If I go into advanced options and type "nomodeset" into the GRUB, then my computer starts up without a graphical interface and brings me to
Jacob@lubuntu:~$


From that point I am unsure of what to do. I do not have any experience using commands in Lunix. I assume that I arrived at what is called the terminal? Is that correct?


How do I fix things so that I can access the graphical interface? Do I need to install video drivers? How do I do that – step by step.

My video card is
NVIDIA CORPORATION, model NV11 (GeFroce2 Go) (rev b2)
My computer is Dell Inspiron 8100


Please help me get this installation working.



Sincerely,
Jacob

[TheFu]

http://forum.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=63805 seems to say that this laptop probably has limited RAM. Do you have 512MB or less?
At that link, the person waited 30 minutes to see the Mint desktop.
On a RAM limited machine, I'd recommend installing Ubuntu Server, then install a minimal LXDE desktop.

You will be at the shell, which is what happened above. Some might call it a terminal or CLI, but a terminal is usually a program, not just the interface.

On an extremely limited PC with less than 512MB of RAM, Ubuntu (any type) is probably not the best desktop version. I'd recommend that you check out TinyCore. I used to recommend Puppy Linux, but running as root all the time just seems "wrong" and lazy. Linux developers should know better.

I believe the default F/LOSS video drivers should work fine on your hardware. No need to install proprietary nvidia drivers.

Sorry I'm not any real help with a point-n-click answer.

[2F4U]

Do you have 512MB or less?
At that link, the person waited 30 minutes to see the Mint desktop.
On a RAM limited machine, I'd recommend installing Ubuntu Server, then install a minimal LXDE desktop.

As far as I understand the poster, he attempts to install Lubuntu, which is LXDE. So, even if the machine has only 512 MB of RAM, it would be sufficient to run Lubuntu.

Here is a extensive post about dealing with black/blank screens and desktop environments that won't start:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1743535

This is a multi-step analysis process and you might have to apply different workarounds.

[vasa1]

...
Here is a extensive post about dealing with black/blank screens and desktop environments that won't start:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1743535
...

Very nice! Worth reading in any case.

[snowpine]

On a RAM limited machine, I'd recommend installing Ubuntu Server, then install a minimal LXDE desktop.

Desktop/laptop users should not install Ubuntu Sever. Ubuntu Server is for, well... servers.

[jmbarsk]

Thank you for the replies

TheFu: Thanks, I looked at your link. In that thread the OP seems to have somehow got Mint working. I am not familiar with the term LXDE but I installed Lubuntu. My understanding is that Lubuntu is a minimal version of ubuntu that I thought would work well on my older computer. Correct me if I am mistaken.

2F4U: Thank you for the link. I will read through it and try a few things.

If anyone else has any ideas, the following is a more detailed list of my system

Dell Inspiron 8100 1133VT Setup
Mobile Pentium III-1.13 GHz/733 MHz
CPU Speed 1.13 GHz
Memory: 512 MB
Video Controller: NVIDEA GeForce2GO
Video Memory: 32MB
Audio Controller: ESS Maestro 3
Hard Drive: 20005 MB
Other details: my keyboard is broken so I use a USB keyboard for this machine. I believe everything else is working except I am unsure about the CD drive. I had trouble with when I first tried using a CD to install the OS.

[vasa1]

I think it would help if you mention
what this computer was running before you tried to install Lubuntu
how exactly you prepared the computer before you installed Lubuntu
what options you saw and chose during installation
the size of your hard disk
the free space available
anything else you can think of

[johnycsf]

when you get to Jacob@lubuntu:~$
Try typing:
#startx

[jmbarsk]

Thank you vasa1

Before installing Lubuntu - I was running Windows XP, however it ran extremely slowly and was not satisfying to use. Originally this computer ran Windows Millennium.


How I prepared the computer – well I was unable to use a CD or bootable USB drive to install the software so I copied and pasted the Lubuntu ISO onto my computer and used Unetbooting to install. During the install I believe I wiped the previous OS.



Options during installation – unfortunately I do not remember what options I choose. I was following a guide but now, after the fact, I do not recall which guide I used.


My hard drive is 20gb


Free space – well I used the whole drive for the Lubuntu. Its all free except for the space taken up by the Lubuntu installation.

[jmbarsk]

johnycsf - what is this supposed to do? I typed it and it did not do anything