I am trying to install linux (I'm not picky about which distro) on my new Dell Inspiron 1200. I've tried Mepis (live cd) and it doesn't support the internal network card or modem. I've also tried Linspire Live (5.0) it doesn't support the internal modem but will support a pcmia card modem. The live version of Ubunto didn't get the display working at all.

The problem I've had with both distro's is that the laptop goes to standby and will not resume once the LCD screen is closed. I've looked in the bios and they don't have a setting that covers it.

One thought I've had is that a installed operating system may be able to control the standby where the live cd's cannot.

I've tried Dell's support and been told they don't support linux, even though I'd say this is a hardware issue.

Any help or ideas...???

I'm trying to install RedHat on an Inspiron 1200 with the same findings. I wouldn't expect the modem to work out of the box because usually these things are WinModems and require a third party driver to operate, but I would at least have thought that RedHat would recognise the network card.

Not so. Will try hunting around a bit more and then plug in a PCMCIA adapter. If you're looking for modem drivers I'd take a peed at linuxant.com.

Hope it helps,
Muppet.

Thanks for responding. I've heard on a Fedora Forum that Fedora 3 works right out of the box for everything except the modem- which like you said isn't a shock. I haven't had time to try it out. I'm also surprised Red Hat didn't pick up the network card.

Aha, so Fedora it is. I need to get some form of Linux on the Inspiron 1200 and am currently downloading Mandrake, (mainly cos it's reputed to be good at picking up hardware) so if that doesn't work I'll give Fedora a try.

If you get it working in the meantime would you please drop me a line? Would really appreciate it ...

Thanks,
Mup.

Regarding the laptop lid, I have found that

• the laptop does wake up (or it seems to) but the screen does not reactivate
• this happens at a level lower than I have been able to adjust with ACPI or other tools

However, I was able to install Software Suspend, and I was able to get acpid to automatically hibernate when the screen closes. This didn't solve my problem, but it did make it a little more managable, in that the system did a graceful shutdown.

--hymie!

ok guys i also have an Inspiron 1200 (few weeks old) anyway XP crashed on it and now XP wont install so i started messing around with linux....the distro that i have managed to get working on it is Suse 9.3 Professional.....the main issue is with the display....i just selected VESA BIOS-Graphics driver and 1024x768 60Hz screen and its perfect....no 3D mind meh well the only thing that i have wrong with it is when u close the screen and open it the unit is still running but the screen stays black.....appart from that its perfect

Try SUSE 10.0. I have a 1 month old Inspiron 6000 and it supports every piece of integrated hardware right out of the box

can i just upgrade my Suse 9.3 to 10.0 without losing all my stuff then?

oh one other think suse 9.3 supports all the hardware its just if u let it select the default driver for the display (Intel 915GM) then the display just goes black and X cannot start....Mandriva 2005 did the same....it detected the Intel 915GM but them X wouldnt start and reported no screen....i dunno wot Dell have done to this unit but it only works with a VESA driver.

I installed Suse 10.0 on my Dell and it worked right out of the box. It even detected the correct graphics card for my machine (Intel 910 GMA). What I been having problems with is the 3D acceleration for this card. I don't know about the issue with closing the lid on my laptop. I closed my lid as a test for about 30 seconds, opened it, and the screen came back just fine.