I installed debian etch on a Dell INspiron 1420 laptop. Previously it was working on ubuntu 7.04.

After installing etch, the OS showed many problems.

1. The laptop is widescrenn with 1280x800 resolution and 60Hz refresh rate. Etch shows only 1280x768 resolution and 0Hz (zero) refresh rate. No other options are provided on the screen resolution menu.

2. The system doesnt play sound. When I tried alsaconf, it showed some error.

3. The time showing is wrong. Once I adjust to the correct time, then logoff or restart the machine, the time is again incorrect. Also what is UTI on the preferences of time and date menu?

4. Ethernet card is not detected. Do I have to install the driver for that?

It will be very helpfull if you could help me solve these problems.

Thank you

I guess Debian just isn't up to your needs. You might have to go back to Ubuntu, although I waould suggest Mephis or Mint instead. Those distros do the tough configuration work for you so you don't have to worry about it.

If you really think you'll be able to manage Debian, then my advice would be to start over with Lenny.

If you want real help, you will need to post actual information. "some error" is offensive. See: How to ask technical questions.

Sorry for that. I will post the error once I get back to the system.

I wanted to work with Lenny. But I do not have an internet connection to download it. I only have Debian Etch with me (3 DVDs).

I cannot use most of the debian packages with ubuntu 7.04 installed. Especially octave and anjuta. And I am not able to download the ubuntu packages either. So I switched to Etch (debian is my personnel favourite).

My doubt is, can I use the drivers in ubuntu for Etch so that I can make Etch work better. OR is these the property of the ubuntu kernel?

One more thing I noted is that, the date and time in Windows Vista (dual boot system) is also advanced by 5.30 hrs (considerening local time) which is the exact advance in time and date of Etch. Is there anything I can do to correct that?

Thank you

These were the errors I saw when I tried alsaconf and alsamixer
alsamixer output

Ok, so

video - try (as root): "dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg" and/or "xrandr --auto"
sound - for some reason Etch isn't seeing the card, it looks like. Are there a hardware volume control buttons? You say it worked with Ubuntu? hm.
ethernet - you shouldn't have to install a driver for wired cards, I have never heard of that.
time - are you running NTP? are there errors about setting the hardware clock on powerup or shutdown? inspect the output of "dmesg" and the log file /var/log/syslog. What does the BIOS say when you first turn it on, and does that agree with what Etch sees?

What kernel are you running? Since it worked on Ubuntu my suggestion would be to try a later kernel - Etch was updated with 2.6.24, or Lenny with 2.6.26 (blech @ no internet)