lah-ca
November 30th, 2018, 07:48 PM
Hi,
I am working on a lovely Windows-Vista-Era Asus Intel Core2-Duo notebook, preparing it for charity donation. It is in near-perfect condition, except for a weak battery.
I works well with pretty much any Ubuntu or Unbuntu-based distro up to 16.04, up to but not including 16.04 with recent updates. The problem is definitely the Ati Mobility Radeon HD 3470 video chipset.
A fresh installation of any 16.04-based distro will work fine, up until all the updates are done. After the updates, the boot process goes OK, everything normal until after logging in, whereupon there is only a functioning mouse cursor and a black screen. The best option for a 16.04-based distro seems to be Linux Mint 18.03, Sylvia, simply because its logon screen offers a convenient toggle button between "default" and "software renderingi." Everything works well enough with the software rendering option.
Most 18.04-based distros won't even install. Some 18.04 distros won't even boot to live media. The best luck I have had so far is with Xfce distros. I can get them to install and boot to a log-in screen, but then I am faced with massive video corruption.
I know that the issues here can be resolved to a degree at the XServer level by editing config files - there is an overabundance of documentation to this effect. But this notebook is not for me, nor is it likely for anyone of any technical inclination. I am looking for a simple, trouble-free solution, one likely to survive future updates, something that will last for a couple of years or more.
The paths of least resistance at this point seem to be Mint 18.03 or Windows 7. Windows 7 will work just fine (and legally btw), although it does require the use of some Vista drivers to get all the hardware working. I am reluctant to go down the Windows 7 path, though, because of the monetary costs of owning, maintaining, and protecting a non-FOSS loaded device. Whoever gets this notebook is not likely to be wealthy at this point in their life.
Any comments or suggestions?
Thx.
I am working on a lovely Windows-Vista-Era Asus Intel Core2-Duo notebook, preparing it for charity donation. It is in near-perfect condition, except for a weak battery.
I works well with pretty much any Ubuntu or Unbuntu-based distro up to 16.04, up to but not including 16.04 with recent updates. The problem is definitely the Ati Mobility Radeon HD 3470 video chipset.
A fresh installation of any 16.04-based distro will work fine, up until all the updates are done. After the updates, the boot process goes OK, everything normal until after logging in, whereupon there is only a functioning mouse cursor and a black screen. The best option for a 16.04-based distro seems to be Linux Mint 18.03, Sylvia, simply because its logon screen offers a convenient toggle button between "default" and "software renderingi." Everything works well enough with the software rendering option.
Most 18.04-based distros won't even install. Some 18.04 distros won't even boot to live media. The best luck I have had so far is with Xfce distros. I can get them to install and boot to a log-in screen, but then I am faced with massive video corruption.
I know that the issues here can be resolved to a degree at the XServer level by editing config files - there is an overabundance of documentation to this effect. But this notebook is not for me, nor is it likely for anyone of any technical inclination. I am looking for a simple, trouble-free solution, one likely to survive future updates, something that will last for a couple of years or more.
The paths of least resistance at this point seem to be Mint 18.03 or Windows 7. Windows 7 will work just fine (and legally btw), although it does require the use of some Vista drivers to get all the hardware working. I am reluctant to go down the Windows 7 path, though, because of the monetary costs of owning, maintaining, and protecting a non-FOSS loaded device. Whoever gets this notebook is not likely to be wealthy at this point in their life.
Any comments or suggestions?
Thx.