evo n1020v

[Cristiano De Michele]

Hi all,
I'd like to buy a Compaq Evo n1020v
with Mobile Penium 4 1.8Ghz but
I have no idea if Linux can be installed on it and I absolutely need Linux for my work.
Does anyone have succesfully installed Linux on such a laptop?
A seller I know told me that he got
problems trying to do that...

thanks
Cristiano

[Bruce Copeland]

There are some minor issues with the video system, but it HAS been done! Take a look at:

http://www.bandaancha.st/documentos.php?docid=58

Good luck.

Bruce

[Scott Michaels]

This is for Bruce, is it an obvious option in red hat to specify vesa as the default video driver? it probes as a radeon mobility 7500 and uses the driver "radeon" however as you know it's not usable in "X". Just curious as I would like to reload red hat on this laptop but I definitely need Visible access to X and being a professional in the windows world, I feel like I'm back in school with some of this Linux stuff since I have limited knowledge. Thanks for your time.

Scott

[Bruce Copeland]

Scott:

The VESA driver is in the display configuration program's video card/driver list under VESA driver (generic). But I think you raise a really good point. When you're starting out, nothing is very obvious.

I've always ended up doing most of my XFree86 configuration manually. Sometimes (unfortunately) in console mode using the command line editor pico. But you sort of have to already know how to do that.

It's often said that the command line capabilities of Linux are what differentiates it from other desktop operating systems. But most of us DO rely on GUIs for productivity. And there's a lot of stuff that's critical for new users (especially new users fighting hardware problems) that is just plain poorly documented. For example:

1) How to boot into Linux without starting X (the only way to fix a broken X configuration that hangs). [Type linux 3 from the boot: prompt when booting with lilo, or edit a grub boot line to add space 3.]

2) How to switch to a console login from X (or a misbehaving X). [ then to get back]

3) How to rescue a linux installation. [Log onto the internet from a Windows box , then search for linux rescue, and take the appropriate actions]

I could go on and on, but bottom line: This stuff needs to be much more visible in ALL linux distributions and Linux documentation sites.

Bruce

[Cristiano De Michele]

many thanks guys for your help!