Up and running

I doubled the RAM in the machine to 256 MB. The machine runs faster, not much but faster is good.

I am writing this post on the Ubuntu Linux PC. The cheap network card that I ordered from geeks.com was not detected by the OS. I used a Linksys 10/100 card and it found it no problem. Keep in mind that more the any other OS Linux, regardless of flavor, needs to have an open connection to the internet to really work properly. If you are planning on using this OS on a home built box or store bought PC, I would suggest that you use name brand components build the machine. Unless of course you like coding your own device drivers for each hardware component. Good luck, I am not that good yet.

NOTE: Make sure you keep track of the username and password you setup during the install. If you forget like I did, get ready to do a CAPRAS (Close all Programs, Reload all Software) because you can't get in to Ubuntu unless you authenticate. So I wasted an hour and half tonight doing a reinstall all because I forgot my password.

Right now I am downloading the software updates for the OS. It will take about 10 minutes and it is 63 MB big with 56 files that need to be installed. It is almost done.

My next step is to get IRC working on this box so I can access the Ubuntu community. You can get the IRC channel from the ubuntu website. I will post that info later. I want to be able to do screen captures and post them on the blog. I think I am ready to go with this now.

When "The Man" calls

The Man called tonight. When the Man calls you want to make sure you hear what he has to say. It sounds like he did not have a test box so he wanted to get the live CD. He wanted to know where you could download the *.iso image. So in case you were wondering here is the URL for Ubuntu and the download site.

Website URL - http://www.ubuntu.com

Download URL - http://www.ubuntu.com/download

Note: When you get to the site you will see several download locations with mirrored sites. Each image is around 600 MB so it will be real fast on a T1 line. I have a free FTP site I am going to try out for downloads. If I get that up this week, you can download it from there.

From the bunker, firebat2k3

Going to rebuild

I did not have a NIC card or sound card for this machine. I ordered both from http://www.geeks.com for $16.00. I want to try acessing my Buffalo NAS and networked printer. In addition, it will make updates a breeze. I have some old PC133 RAM so I am going to try finding what the max RAM is that the MOBO can support. Last, I found a larger IBM HD I had laying around so if it works I will put it in the machine. I will compare install times and provide a detailed listing of all componets as soon as I receive my order.

From the bunker, firebat2k3

Ubuntu Linux Install

I saw this article for Ubuntu Linux in the January issue of Maximum PC You can find the article under the January 2006 How To section at http://www.maximumpc.com I downloaded both iso images from http://www.ubuntu.com/(The live OS and the direct install) and burned them on CD using Nero 7. It could not have been easier. The next thing to do was to get a machine to run the OS so I could get real comfortable with the installation process. I have tried some of the earlier versions of Red Hat (6.0, 6.1, 6.2) and I got some real headaches just to try to get the OS to install on current hardware at that time.

Note: If you just want to kick the tires with Ubuntu, you can use the live ISO and it will not alter your Windows system in any way.

So I went to Computer VIP in Weymouth, MA and picked up an old PC for $50.00. These are the specs

Brand - CTX
CPU - Intel Pentium II 350 mhz
RAM - 192 MB PC-100
HD - 6.0 GB
Floppy - Yes 1.44 MB
Optical Drive - 48X CD-ROM
Video Card - Can't tell
Network card - I need to get one. If anyone has a 10/100 laying around I would appreciate working something out.

As you can see there is not a lot of machine here. In fact the only reason I got this machine was the fact that Windows XP was running on it when I bought it.

I wish I could say that it was a royal pain to install the OS, but it was not. In fact, if you follow the Maximum PC article you should be all set. There is alot of information on Ubuntu's site to get you going and if you need any other answers you can always google them. The install includes Open Office as well as many other applications. Not bad for a free download.

I started the install at 10:27 PM and the first stage was completed at 11:00. After a reboot the second stage kicked off and the full install completed at 11:49. Keep in mind that I am running a system that has to be 10+ years old. I logged in with my account and noticed the time was off. I have to figure out how to correct that as well see why I do not have sound. My first task is to get familiar with the system first before trying to use the applications. I want to know how I can find out how much HD space the install took on my 6 GB HD. It is not much but it is a start.

I plan to update this blog weekly.

From the bunker, Firebat2k3