How to?

eamon

Ok Folks

I have acquired a surplus PC from work (Dell Optiplex GX270 Series). It has XP Pro installed. Thus when I get to the Log On screen and enter in a valid password it will not connect and will not proceed any further. (I shouldn't be surprised as it is essentially just a dummy box and needs to be connected to works network to function). So I thought not a problem I have Linux. I'll install that and bobs my uncle

My attempts to get the machine to boot with my copy of xubuntu have failed.

What else can I try?

Look forward to your help.

Eamon

P.S The PC has tiny (256 RAM) hence the linux

fwor

Tell us how it fails. Does it just continue to boot from the hard disk? Then you need to enter the BIOS setup and change the boot device order so that it boots from CD before the HDD.

If not that, do you get any error messages?

spud17

I've found that many of the Ubuntu variants do not like older machines, despite what you may read on various forums.

I bet it just sits there, perhaps with a blinking cursor?

I've found that PCLOS will often work.

Failing that Puppy will at least get you up and running.

eamon

Ok, I done as you suggested and I now have signs of life. Will post back later with news.

Eamon

closed

If it was previously connected to a domain, you could have dropped down the domain box, and logged in locally (after resetting the password if you don't know it). Or just reinstalled xp using the COA serial number, and xp pro disc (if you can get hold of one)

tronator

eamon wrote: »

Ok Folks

I have acquired a surplus PC from work (Dell Optiplex GX270 Series). It has XP Pro installed. Thus when I get to the Log On screen and enter in a valid password it will not connect and will not proceed any further. (I shouldn't be surprised as it is essentially just a dummy box and needs to be connected to works network to function).

I'm surprised that your IT department gave you the PC without wiping it properly.

Back to your question, any flavor of Ubuntu should run there. The GX270 should be something like a P4 ~3GHz. Tell us what the problem is exactly.

eamon

Ok, I'm back with good & bad news. Successfully loaded xubuntu 10.4 (the older version that I had wouldn't load). The bad news is that is that it is very jerky and in testing performance Firefox is almost unusable. (I'm beginning to understand why works IT let the machine go). I'm thinking that it may need more RAM. I tried to run Crucial only to find that it won't work on Linux based OS's.
Is there a memory scanner that will work will xubuntu? Or should I reload xubuntu incase a vital bit of code isn't working properly?

yours

Eamon

tronator

eamon wrote: »

Is there a memory scanner that will work will xubuntu? Or should I reload xubuntu incase a vital bit of code isn't working properly?

Yes, there is one built in. Open a terminal and type in

sudo lshw | less

and scroll to the *-memory section. To exit "less" just type q.

Donnie

Another reason?

Why do you need a memory scanner if you already know how much is installed? It takes PC2700 or PC3200.

eamon

Donnie
Crucial or similar would have told me if increasing the RAM was doable and if doable with what and also a guide price. I've read the link as well. It would seem that my suspicions are probably correct. But this being MSE, I wasn't going to say no to a free PC.

Tronator
Thanks for the info. Will post back later (probably tomorrow) with news.

Donnie

eamon wrote: »

Donnie
Crucial or similar would have told me if increasing the RAM was doable and if doable with what and also a guide price.

You had enough information to determine that for yourself.
Crucial