Going off the deep end!

Well, not only am I about to install Ubuntu, but I am also going to restore Windows to factory settings!

I plan to boot into my newly restored copy of Vista, and then resize my HD for Ubuntu. Furthermore, having used the factory partition, I am going to delete it and merge it with the Windows partition to free up some more room for Windows/Ubuntu.

What do you think?

 

NO, DON'T DO IT! Just kidding. You might wanna try out Ubuntu via LiveCD before you do this though. I didn't really like it, and I couldn't find any drivers.

 

I'm using myself the driver for your video card....which ones couldn't you find in Ubuntu?

 

I actually did try out Ubuntu via Live CD. I like it. And it was my sound drivers I couldn't find.

 

Hey I have a inspiron as well, and I got my sound to work in Ubuntu gutsy by this link here:
http://linuxtechie.wordpress.com/20...ch8-family-rev-3-sound-card-to-work-in-gutsy/


Let me know if you have any problems.

 

After re-installing COMODO, AVG, Firefox, games, 7-zip, etc. my system stopped reacting with the expected alacrity. It took 40 seconds to load DOSBox, and for a right-click menu to show up, 20 seconds. Task manager would take a couple minutes to show up, and stop responding instantly. You get the picture.

Of course, I had tweaked some system stuff, installed new drivers, installed apps to mess with Vista, limited system restore space, etc. But I couldn't figure out what had gone so wrong. I tried disabling COMODO, and all sorts of good stuff.

Just when I was on the verge of re-installing again, I tried the last known good configuration, and it worked! w00t!

System back to normal. And best of all, my brand new Cruzer Titanium is getting double-digit transfer speeds!
Before I fixed things, it was less than 1mb/s

Now to delete that recovery partition, merge it with the OS partition, and leave 10GB for Ubuntu! w00t

 

If sound was your only problem, well done, your already 95% of the way there...
if you graphics gives you any dramas, once installed, it is quite easy to fix, but you should'nt have much trouble...Even 3D should work easy enough...
Ubuntu, as in most debian based distro's is quite easy to configure, and if it live boots then it should(theoretically) install to simular settings..
Sound can be a pain, but a bit of research around the forums, and it should be sweet..
Out of curiosity, what is the chip set for sound, that you have?

 

Looks like you have the same sound card I have - the Intel ICH8M (though you have a Dell - boooo!!! just kidding ). Sound was the only thing didn't work out of the box for me. On Gutsy, you have to manually compile the new version of ALSA - 1.0.15 - if you want support for the sound, unless you can find a repo (which that one link seems to suggest), though I tried the Gutsy backports (I think) and it didn't work. Anyway, installing ALSA 1.0.15 should get it to work either way.