Hi,

I'm a complete newb when it comes to linux and the countless distros out there. I just replaced the HD on my HP Pavilion ZE4610 US, and decided to go with a dual boot setup (with WinXP being the "other" OS). I happened to have the latest XUBUNTU disk (7.10 - i386/alternate), which I was able to install without incident. I now have a system that dual boots, BUT I don't think everything is working as it should on the linux part. First off the screen resolution is only 800*600, the dvd player doesn't recognize any discs and I can't get the modem to work. I've tried reading/googling but so far without any success (most reports/hits for this pc goes back to 2004/2005 - and refers to debian - is that a separate distro?). I would appreciate if anybody could guide me or direct me to a place where they can guide me through these problems. Thanks in advance for your help.

not an intro. moved to Linux - Newbie.

Need to know what kind of graphics card is on the machine. Then you can download the appropriate driver and install it and that may fix your resolution (and enable 3d acceleration as well ).

I believe the specs are:

Brand: HP Pavilion ZE4610US
Display: 15.0" XGA TFT (1024x76 display)
Processor: Mobile AMD Athlon XP-M 2500+ processor 1.87GHz
Memory: 768 MB RAM
Graphics: ATI MOBILITY RADEON 4X AGP
build in 56K modem & ethernet (but don't know any details)

I only have a dial-up connection, which I'm currently running under WinXP. However, I would prefer to work primarily on the Linux partition, if I can get the correct drivers for the graphics card/modem/dvd/usb/etc.

I'm a complete newb when it comes to linux, so I would appreciate a step-by-step instruction on how to install the drivers (assuming that they exists). Would I be better off with Ubuntu or any other distro?

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.

this may not exactly be your interest but i have been using zenwalk 4.8 live version.

its great since once apps are started it does not re access cd and runs like os in ram--really fast.

worth a try if you have not done before with this distro. i have found that some live cds are not as independent of the cd as others. or maybe its just my laptop--hp compaq nc6000.

enjoy!

As a noob to a noob, it will take quite a while to get a basic understanding of linux.

I recommend starting with tutorials.
Google linux tutorials. Also try http://www.linuxquestions.org/linux/answers/

Learn bash commands
http://www.ss64.com/bash/

Installing software:
Programs don't install the same way as in windows and all of the drivers are not included. You will need to learn to install from source. Download your file.
Open command line or knosole.
Make sure you are a root user.
su
password

To extract a tar file:
tar -zxvf yourdownload.tgz
cd yourdownload (Change Directory to your untarred or extracted file)
Read how to compile in the the extracted directory. For example
less INSTALL or less README.
Most programs compile as follows however many do not follow this process that why you read INSTALL or README:
./configure
make
makeinstall

Video driver:
Google Linux ATI MOBILITY RADEON 4X AGP
download driver. Read install instructions.

Modem:
You need to find out type of modem and if it is linux compatible or if you have a winmodem. Many modems don't work.
When you find out modem type, google linux yourmodem.

DVD:
I have slackware and I had a permission problem. I don't know if this will help you.
Open konsole.
su
password
nano /etc/group
add your username to plugdev, dvd, cdrom, usb, wheel ...

OK, I found some more info about my laptop. Using a program in windows (ListMdm) I got the following info:

=====================================================================
= SYSTEM INFORMATION =
=====================================================================
Date : 11/29/2007
ListMdm Ver : 1.6
Windows OS : Microsoft Windows XP
Build Number : 2600

=====================================================================
= RESULT OF MODEM QUERY =
=====================================================================
NUMBER OF MODEMS FOUND = 1

MODEM #1:
PCI CONFIGURATION INFORMATION READ:
VENDOR ID : 10B9
DEVICE ID : 5457
SUBVENDOR ID : 103C
SUBDEVICE ID : 0024
REVISION ID : 00

DEDUCED INFORMATION:
VENDOR NAME : ALI
DEVICE NAME : ALI (AC '97 MODEM)
SUBVENDOR NAME : HEWLETT PACKARD -- HTTP://WWW.HP.COM/
MODEM TYPE : UNKNOWN
WINXP INBUILD SUPPORT : NO


I found this program at:

http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/mode....php#listmodem

I'm not sure whether this is very helpful info or not. Furthermore I googled for linux drivers for the ALI AC '97 modem, but didn't find any direct links. I think I might be able to get a driver from Linuxant (http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hsf/index.php), but which one is the question. I don't see any numbers corresponding to the above info from ListMdm.

I also found another site that claims that even though the modem driver wasn't installed out-of-the-box, I might be abtle to get it by opening a terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install sl-modem-daemon

is this true? Is it a generic linux command or is it specific to a certain distro? How can it install a modem driver without being online? (unless it's embedded in the installation). As you can tell I have absolutely no knowledge of Linux, but I'm willing and eager to learn. I'm not afraid to do some "legwork" myself, and google stuff daily to learn more. At the moment I just want the linux part to work, because I feel exposed being online on my WinXP partition.

A website (http://tuxmobil.org/hp.html) also suggested that a better distro for my particular laptop is either:

HP Pavilion ZE 4610US [archived link] Debian
HP Pavilion ZE 4610US [archived link] Mandriva (Mandrake) 10RC1
HP Pavilion ZE 4610US PLD Linux

Anybody have any experience with any of these distros? As always I appreciate any help/suggestions.