Ubuntu on acer laptop

[nico88]

Hi everyone.

I'm new to this forum and also new to linux.

I want to install ubuntu on a acer laptop that i'm not using just to try it out.

My question is: Can Ubuntu been Installed on an Acer travelMate 4672WLMI
Intel core duo processor T2300
120 Gb Sata Hdd
1GB DDR2

Does it support it?

If yes, Which version should I use?

And how can i turn back to windows? ( just in case :P)

I hope i have been clear enough.

Thank You.

[Kloschüssel]

hello there

linux / unix comes shipped in different distributions that commonly focus on certain targets. depending on what you want to do, you will have to pick one suitable for you.

each distribution has its set of packages (software) that can be installed. these software are stored to repositories on the internet and the content of these are managed by package maintainers. fortunatly the maintainers of these repositories do a great job and most recent software is included fast and can be installed almost automatically with a package manager of your choice (apt-get in the debian and ubuntu world, yum for suse, ..). of course there may be a small delay between the release of a software with a specific version on one or the other distribution.

the most common distributions can be looked up in wikipedia. just try them out and pick the one you like most. in the end each comes with its own flavor and philosophy.

and this is what you will have to do:

* you may or may not try first a live unix like knoppix, troppix, .. search one up in google
* if you like it, free some disk space using a partition manager on windows
* get a distribution you like and set up a bootable media (either cd, network boot, usb stick, ..); you may also want to check out the UNetBootin project to do this
* install unix to the previously freed space
* usually the installation process will detect the windows operating system and set up dual boot
* if you don't like it, remove the unix partition with the partition manager in windows, restore the partition size and the MBR of your hard disc and you're settled back

[hatebreed]

check out paragon partition manager for windows. get it here Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com. just type in the search partition maanger and there is a free version and a pay version, the free version works great and fully functional. I would make a free partition of at least 20 gigs and another 1 gig for swap. when you go to install I would install grub to the new partition and not the main partition where you have windows because this will overwrite the windows boot manager and this could cause issues from my experience. I would choose ubuntu 9.10, 10.04 has a few issues that need to be worked out yet. I prefer the debian systems for the apt-get and synaptic package managers, they work the best in my opinion. you can try the live cd as previously mentioned, just remember that it will run a little slower because it runs off the cd and not the hard drive. when you install, after you select all the settings you want in your install it will come up with an installation summery at the end then you can change where you want to put grub by clicking on it. then change the drive to the new drive where linux is going to be installed, by default it will install to the windows drive. this is just my opinion and i'm sure alot of people will disagree with me. If you have any questions be sure to ask.

[nico88]

thnx for the replies,


well in fact..I want to do it the easy way, no partion and stuff. I want to format the hdd and install it complety.I want it to run good and fast. I dont mind losing windows. i just want to know if at any time i can format again and install windows without any problem all over again.

I want to install ubuntu 10.04 , shall it work well on this acer..will all the fuctions of the acer works? wifi, bluetooth, internal mic, sd reader , video card ect ect?

Is it really necessary to use the notebook version or can I install the Desktop version?
and what is apt-get and synaptic package managers?

Thnx for the help

[devils casper]

You can remove Linux and install Windows OS any time but I won't suggest you remove Windows OS right now. Install Ubuntu along with Windows OS and use it for a few days, months and get thoroughly familiar with it.

I want to install ubuntu 10.04 , shall it work well on this acer..will all the fuctions of the acer works? wifi, bluetooth, internal mic, sd reader , video card ect ect?

You can check all these yourself without installing Ubuntu. Boot up from Ubuntu LiveCD and check if it configures wifi, blue-tooth and all other Hardware.

Synaptic and apt-get are package managers. Details are here.

There is no need to use Windows OS based Partition Manager. Ubuntu LiveCD has Disk Utility and it is one of the best partition manager.

[hatebreed]

devils, his partition is probably ntfs. linux doesn't play that well with ntfs and could cause issues, that's why I sugguested the windows partition manager.

[devils casper]

Linux Partition Manager, parted ( backend of both, PartedMagic and GParted ) deals with NTFS Partitions really well. Its ntfs.defrag routine defrag NTFS Partitions before resize and it really works better than Windows own Defrag utility.
parted tools executes ntfs.defrag routine by default and users don't have to defrag partitions manually before resizing partitions.

[hatebreed]

devils, your making a bold statement there. saying that linux deals with ntfs better than windows? lets agree to disagree. I'll say that linux does alot of things very well but if I had to trust software to resize or edit a ntfs partition my first choice would be windows.

[devils casper]

I have never said that Linux deals NTFS better than Window OS. Linux deals with NTFS Defrag procedure in a much better way than its native OS, Windows. I have tested both in several machines in my Lab and results with Linux partitioning tools were outstanding as compared to Windows OS based tools.

[hatebreed]

we are talking about editing the partition not defraging though. that is why i sugguested to use the windows partition program. not that linux wouldn't work for this but there have been issues that i have read about that when doing so in linux it may mess the partition up, for ntfs that is. but if your going to use the whole drive I would definately use linux and make a ext4 partition and another partition for the swap. I believe you devils about the defrag by the way, I never thought windows had a very good defrag.