Before Beginning
You'll laugh, but I tried Windows. For the first time in nearly 10 years, I tried to use the Windows as it came straight out of the box, I set up the login and tried to play an AVI file off the dvd. It tanked, it crashed. That was the end of my Windows refresher.
Many friends and colleagues jumped up and down insisting I should install Ubuntu; 6.06 LTS couldn't get through the install process (although it did boot from CD) and the new 7.01 aborts unable to draw a fb screen. That was the end of my Ubuntu adventure
I inserted 2007.1, answered the initial questions, and only a few moments later the machine declared itself done and installed. I removed the CD, clicked for the reboot.
Troubles Begin
On booting, X.org fails saying there is no fb device; the error cycles through showing the log reports and then ends at the X configuration where the default is set to ATI Radeon Xpress (x1270), but none of the offered settings would work; the hardware specs in the manual give the max resolution as 1660x1050, which is not offered in the ATI option, so I took a gamble and set the video card to the Inspiron 1520's value of NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M and the X.org test worked, even in the highest resolution mode.
Could Dell have shipped me a different card than the usual? I did ask for a medium option in the video choices, so maybe that is what makes the difference; bottom line, even if your install says you have the ATI, try the NVIDIA, and maybe vice versa too.
Presto! Mandriva!
Reboot, X.org comes up, the login screen comes up, so far so good. I have ethernet automagically coming up, an inserted CD or DVD shows up immediately.
Outstanding problems
- I click on a video AVI file, and I get the film, but I get no sound. The player behaves as if there is sound, the Volume control Ctrl-O (I use Gnome) shows we have an audio device on ALSA and on OSS, but there is no sound at all out the speakers. I went through the configuration wizards in the Computer Config app, and it all goes well, but still no sound. -- UPDATE: I do have sound, but only in the headphones! Same problem is reported on the Ubuntu forums.
- The Wifi configuration only offers using the ndiswrapper, and then asks for the original drivers. Oops -- perhaps I shouldn't have been so quick to unload windows; I'm currently reinstalling so I can snarf the needed bcmwl5.inf and bcmwl5.sys windows drivers, although there are rumours I could perhaps use the bcm43xx-fwcutter-006-1mdv2007.1.i586 -- UPDATE: I re-installed Windows Vista into a minimal partition (11G!) and cannot find any bcm* drivers at all!! The wireless is listed in the config pages, but it also doesn't work in the Windows side; the Windows reinstall also failed to detect the Synaptics pad. If I can get it going with the fwcutter files, maybe I won't need to lose that 11G of deadweight on my drive.
- Perhaps the biggest show-stopper, and hopefully someone has a quick fix, if I close the lid, nothing suspends, but when I reopen the lid, the keyboard is completely dead. Something appears to be amiss with the ACPI configuration or a misconfiguring of the laptop-mode settings?
