[linux-audio-user] dell latitude cpx, windows (barf!) xp and linux?

[iriXx]

Chris wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I am very sorry about your loss... But I want you to know that we, the 
> cyber community, are here for you during you time of need :0).

hehehe... your sympathy is most welcome... i really am lamenting the 
loss of my little thinkpad 600E... amazing how you can get so attached 
to the perfect piece of gear when you've got linux configured just the 
way you want it... *sniff* it might have been old and clunky, but it was 
my baby.. i feel quite bereft and empty without it ;-) hehehehehehee

> 
> Yes, partiion magic 8 will be necessary.  I think that version 7 will do 
> xp's ntfs, but not ext3.  Only 8 can do both.  If all you have is 7, 
> then you can partition your drive, make an ext2 partion(s) and use 
> tune2fs (within linux) to turn it into an ext3 partition if this is 
> important to you.

brilliant... i will have to get hold of a copy anyhow, might even be 
worth investing in mandrake 9.1 when it comes out just for this 
purpose... after all it looks like its gonna be a good music distro :-)
i do want to use ext3, was using it before in mdk 9.0 and much preferred...

> 
> You will take a performance hit with win4lin, but it is not too bad.  
> The major pitfall of win4lin is that it rebuilds a custom kernel for 
> your system.  If you want to use your emulated windows, you must boot to 
> that Kernel.  Of course, this does not stop you from compiling your own 
> or keeping your original kernel separate, then modifying Lilo or grub to 
> add an entry pointing to your original kernel as well... but you will 
> still have to reboot to switch.  IDK, maybe the modified kernel has no 
> bearing on what you intend to do with your machine.  My primary concern 
> was that If I ever needed to build an new kernel or apply a patch, this 
> may not be possible with the win4lin custom kernel.  I'm not 100% 
> positive on this, but I think if you recompile a new kernel, you would 
> have to reinstall win4lin to take advantage of that kernel update.  
> Also, last I checked, win4lin did not emulate NT style systems (like XP).

hmm... thanks, thats really worth knowing. i'll most definately be 
wanting to recompile kernels for various purposes... was running 3 or 4 
on the thinkpad at one stage. with a nice faster machine like this one 
i'm looking forward to some lowlat stuff... maybe the multimedia kernel 
that they promised to supply with mdk 9.1....

> 
> I use VMware (cuz the company paid for it).  The major advantage of 
> VMware to me is that it bypasses all of this kernel nonsense.  It is run 
> entirely as process on its own.  The performance hit is a little more 
> noticeable than win4lin, however.  I have a 2ghz machine with 512 ram, 
> and it pushes XP reasonably well.  Certainly well enough to use office 
> applications.  There is also an opensource version of this as well, 
> called Plex86.  I have not messed with it, by you may wish to check it 
> out.  Another advantage of these emulators is that you can install *any* 
> x86 platform OS -- not just win98.  So you could Have a Debian Host 
> system with a redhat virtual system, a bsd virtual system and a windows 
> XP virtual system!  Pretty snazzy.

nice! yes i tried out vmware on my desktop machine, had a lot of fun 
with it. never had an awful lot of success tho... i do have a hilarious 
screenshot of winblows 98 crashing in a window while Gnome runs 
perfectly behind it. hehehe... that was very satisfying. the ability to 
mess around with redhat, bsd and debian would be nice, i've used 
mandrake so far because its what im used to, gotta say i prefer it but 
its quirkiness matches mine ;-). but i really want to try debian and 
bsd. maybe even gnu/hurd :)... i'll check out Plex86 - this might well 
be a good use for my desktop which now isnt really powerful enough for 
the stuff i do, but makes a nice server... could be useful for things 
like vnc to run my other machines too... i have this kind of retirement 
home for obsolete technology here (apple 68k macs... one day i'll stick 
debian on one of them ;-)...


> 
> 
> ***BUT***, if all you are going to use in windows is the office suite, 
> you should seriously consider looking at http://www.codeweavers.com and 
> their crossover office package.  Everything on it seems to run pretty 
> well now, although there were some issues primarily with internet 
> explorer 5.5... I think those are ironed out now though.  Using this 
> software, you can run Office 97 or Office 2000 (not office XP).  You can 
> also run Visio, Lotus programs, Outlook and a few other applications as 
> well.  To top it off, you *don't* have to push a whole OS on your 
> system, you *don't* have to reboot, and it only costs $40 US!  Of 
> course, you have to pay for your own Micro$oft software.

yes, i've heard very good things about this. i've got office and stuff 
on CD here, thats okay, but the main reason unfortunately that i need 
winblows is Flash and Director... my bread and butter is graphic design 
and particularly interactive design. which reminds me.... gotta keep 
working on those pixmaps for linux audio apps when i get a spare moment...!

> 
> If I am not mistaken, the latitude uses the i820 sound chip?  If this is 
> true, make sure you use the alsa driver rather than the OSS.  It is 
> *WAY* better, and does not crash.  My system with this card crashed the 
> artsd at *least* twice in a work day.  After switching to Alsa, it was 
> rock solid, and sounds a *LOT* better too.

cool, thanx :). i havent checked out sound chips, definately want to be 
using alsa so i can use Jack, ardour, all those yummy things i had 
running on the thinkpad... oh dear, im going to get morose and 
grief-stricken again ;-)

> 
> Hope this was useful.
> 
> See you!
> 
> Chris

thanx heaps, yes very useful! i've had such hell over the last few days 
the last thing i really need to do right now when ive got the deadline 
looming up for my book is to get stuck in the middle of configuring a 
system... best to know the pitfalls before i begin! thanx!

m~

> 
> 
> 
> At 11:31 PM 4/5/2003 +0100, you wrote:
> 
>> hi all
>> just wondering if anyone here is using a dell latitude cpx and if there
>> are any issues installing linux on it?... or any known sound config 
>> issues?
>>
>> i am lamenting the sad demise of my thinkpad which blew a gasket last
>> night :-(((. actually its going to be fine, its just the power socket
>> has worked itself loose or blown a fuse (i.e. it boots fine from the
>> battery which is by now very flat).
>>
>> so i had to get a new machine today... gasp! wasnt planning on that
>> right away but as im writing a book, i've gotta keep working! the plan
>> is to wait until my friend who knows how to repair the power socket is
>> back from the USA.
>>
>> other issue i'm wondering about is installing linux alongside windows
>> (barf!) xp... ughh... i swore i'd never use XP but its come pre
>> installed. borg edition, yuck.... but i need it for work.
>> so i'm thinking maybe with xp being so difficult, running lnx4win might
>> be an idea, but would this be more demanding on system resources?
>> i'd like to partition the drive but im not sure how to go about this on
>> XP... yuk yuk yuk... win2k was easy enough though.... *sigh*....
>>
>> any ideas muchly appreciated :)
>>
>> bw & thanx
>> m~
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> 
> 
> 


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