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nal13
March 2nd, 2010, 03:18 AM
I have an Inspiron 5160 laying around. Well I installed XP on it but wanted to install ubuntu as well, XP works fine. It will start to install, but it gets to a point where it hangs up and the screen starts turning whitish. I tried Ubuntu 9.10/6.10 fedora 12 and linux mint. Is this maybe a graphic card problem?


Edited it to make it more clear.

zeroseven0183
March 2nd, 2010, 03:29 AM
Please clarify because you now have two laptops, the old and the new one bought. So which of these two are you trying to install Ubuntu-- the one laying around that is old, or the new one?

nal13
March 2nd, 2010, 04:27 AM
The Dell Inspiron 5160

I also know, at least, the 9.10 install cd works, since I have used it on other computers.

jflaker
March 2nd, 2010, 04:42 AM
Try the alternative installer...text based instead.
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/downloadmirrors#mirrors

nal13
March 2nd, 2010, 05:05 AM
Try the alternative installer...text based instead.
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/downloadmirrors#mirrors

Thanks, I will try it.

nal13
March 2nd, 2010, 06:54 AM
Ok, did it and it installed, but now when I boot into ubuntu, the screen flashes from white to red to green to blue to white to gray to white then to black, then starts over.

elite0083
March 2nd, 2010, 08:40 AM
have you tried just running it without installing it? if there is an error a lot of the time it will say when your just trying to run it, if just running it doesn't work and you have checked the disk to make sure it's working properly you might have a bad video card.

nal13
March 2nd, 2010, 08:58 AM
have you tried just running it without installing it? if there is an error a lot of the time it will say when your just trying to run it, if just running it doesn't work and you have checked the disk to make sure it's working properly you might have a bad video card.

I have tried running it without installing and it hangs up. It runs windows XP fine, so I think the video card is fine.

zeroseven0183
March 2nd, 2010, 04:14 PM
I have tried running it without installing and it hangs up. It runs windows XP fine, so I think the video card is fine.

I thought Windows XP keeps giving you BSOD errors?

Anyway, how long did you try running the LiveCD?
I'm thinking it could be a display problem, a loose cable inside perhaps?

nal13
March 2nd, 2010, 05:35 PM
I thought Windows XP keeps giving you BSOD errors?

Anyway, how long did you try running the LiveCD?
I'm thinking it could be a display problem, a loose cable inside perhaps?

It did BSOD, but I reformatted and it doesn't anymore.

If I try to run the LiveCD, it gets to the part where it asks you the language. After that, I click "Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer." Then the white with black screen ubuntu logo shows up for about 4 mins. It then flashes some text really quickly. Then after a min, the screen starts flashing different colors.

Sef
March 2nd, 2010, 06:30 PM
What video card do you have on the 5160?

nal13
March 2nd, 2010, 07:59 PM
What video card do you have on the 5160?

AGP 4x - NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 64.0 MB DDR SDRAM

nal13
March 2nd, 2010, 11:23 PM
Is there a list of incompatible video cards for ubuntu?

nal13
March 3rd, 2010, 05:44 PM
bump

nal13
March 4th, 2010, 03:48 AM
:confused:

elite0083
March 6th, 2010, 10:43 PM
sorry i took so long here is a list of video cards that work with it and it also says how well they work https://wiki.ubuntu.com/HardwareSupportComponentsVideoCards i hope that helps

nal13
March 13th, 2010, 08:25 PM
I know this is kind of late, but thank you. :D

nal13
March 13th, 2010, 08:31 PM
Ok, I looked at the list and it says I have to install a driver. The problem is I can't get to the point to install a driver. Is this think just not capable of running Ubuntu? Here is a good link for the specs. (http://computershopper.com.com/laptops/dell-inspiron-5160/4507-3121_7-31213296.html)

nal13
March 14th, 2010, 04:59 AM
bump

I don't want to give up on this.