I made the Ubuntu jump on my T40.

Just last night. I had a problem at first as I tried to install to a USB HD with my WinXPP HD still in the main slot; neither one would boot (WinXPP still won't...). I swapped in the USB HD w/out connecting the XP HD and tried installing Ubuntu (Feisty Fawn) again and this time all is well. It's interesting...I look forward to learning much about it!

Btw, if anyone has an idea of what may have happened to my XP HD (I believe the Ubuntu installer, despite formatting and installing on a USB HD, may have placed some files which are interfering w/ XP's ability to boot), please let me know.

Finally, Ubuntu & Kubuntu seem to be almost the same... Does it merely come down to personal preference? Is there any reason someone like me (multimedia, typing, Internet) would choose Kubuntu over Ubuntu? Thanks in advance!

 

Yes, it is pretty much personal preference. I tend to prefer KDE, other people like Gnome. But you can use any software Ubuntu has under either desktop. You could even install kubuntu-desktop, and switch between Gnome and KDE when you log in Choice is supreme on the Linux desktop. As for Windows, do you get a menu from Grub when you boot your machine? Possibly a line that tells you to press Esc to see boot options? See if there's a Windows XP entry in there. If not, you may need to add some info to your /boot/grub/menu.lst file.

 

^^agreed^^ KDE & Gnome are just the Desktop. Everything else is the same. I also prefer KDE but, its my personal preference.

 

For me, Gnome seemed easier to use and configure. Kubuntu required more tweaking after a fresh install, so I stuck with Ubuntu instead. Now I'm more comfortale with Gnome than KDE.

 

Yes, the XP drive mentioned Grub and pressing the ESC key. I'm thinking I ought to view the drive under Ubuntu to examine any changes, though I do not know what I'd be looking for.

 

I've also installed Ubuntu Linux on my laptop but the screen size is so small. I think its merely 800 x 600 or something. Why is this? How can I fix it?

 

I prefer KDE as well. But the nice utilities that Ubuntu has don't come with Kubuntu (I prefer synaptic to adept, for example). So, I install Ubuntu first, get everything up and running, then install KDE and tweak the hell our of everything.

 

It's because the Intel drivers that ship with Ubuntu read the Bios of your computer to configure the graphic card, Intel released the 2.xx series of drivers that do not read the bios, so make sure you install the latest Intel drivers for the X3100, take a look here : http://www.intellinuxgraphics.org/documentation.html

If you stick to the old drivers, I think you have to install the package 915resolution in order to work but I don't know if it supports the x3100. I really recommend to install the latest drivers from Intel.

 

Thanks. I'll download those drivers.