My problem: I’ve got a 5-year-old IBM Thinkpad that is about to die. I was running Windows XP on it when it experienced a BIOS malfunction. I would get a blue screen on startup.
However, the computer would still run fine in Windows XP Safe mode. I could surf the Internet and check my e-mail, which is all I want to do with this computer.
I stupidly tried to reinstall Windows XP (with a copy that came with my newer Dell), hoping that would solve the problem. It didn’t. It says that setup can’t function in safe mode, so I’m basically stuck.
I ran the IBM diagnostic in the BIOS-access program, and it indicated that the problem is with the motherboard. I don’t want to spend any more money on this computer. If the computer would run in Windows XP safe mode (before I messed it up), will the computer run Linux without crashing? Will Linux “work around” (or not be tripped up by) whatever is going wrong with the hardware?
I know that there are hundreds of factors to consider, but I’m just looking for a “probably” or “probably not.”
If it probably will run Linux, which free version would you recommend?
It will run Linux. I’d recommend Mandrake if you are new to Linux or Unix varieties.
If you are not new and can make your way around the command line, I’d recommend one of the smaller distros to free up disk space. Personally, I’m a fan of Vector Linux for this, even though I hate Slackware (on which Vector is based).
But, running Linux won’t change the fact that you have a problem on your motherboard.
Well this somewhat depends on how much you know or are willing to find out about Linux (as well as how easily you can download 2-3 CD’s of content), but there are “live CD” versions that run Linux off a single boot CD. Presumably these are only a single-CD download, but I don’t know what they include (GUI?). There’s some chance that you might be able to use Linux to find out more about the nature of the hardware’s problem, due to Linux’s open nature–but I am only supposing.
~
If you’re looking for a single-cd linux, give knoppix a try. It’s a bootable-cd version of Linux, so you can start it up, play around, and still keep your windows install on your computer.
It comes with a version of Mozilla for web browsing, Open Office (for document creation), lots of games, and a bunch of other toys.
Enjoy.
FYI: this is a 699 MB download, so don’t try to download it over a dial-up connection. If I was you, I’d start the download right before you go to bed and let it run all night.
Well, in that you have a motherboard problem, your machine might not be able to run any OS.
However, for new Linux users, I recommend SuSE. Very user-friendly. It’s prettier than Windows XP, and much much much faster.
Caveat: you’ll likely have to install make, gcc and a few other things on your own, because for some reason it’s not part of the default SuSE install. You can download them in rpm form from any SuSE FTP site.
If your computer has a BIOS problem you will probably have trouble with a Linux installation as well. Your BIOS must be funtional for the hardware to work properly. What you might need is a new BIOS chip or flash the current chip to a newer or same version. Have you any information what the exact nature of the BIOS-motherboard problem is?
I will second Knoppix , or conversely slack-live or suse live . Mandrake has come out with its own live CD , all of which will boot off the Cd drive. It lets you run linux without having to install , plus if your comp problems continue , you really have not invested that much time in installing the os.
Go by your local bookstore , and look in the magazine rack , there should be some linux magazines that will have Cds on the cover of the latest distros.