Tag Archives: Win XP

Fedora 12 working well for me

Posted on by
Reply

I was working in Fedora 12 earlier today and found I had somehow installed a newer kernel … something I was doing last night got me there. I didn’t like having it in my bootmenu … and didn’t want to have a different linux to boot to, I’ve only worked for a day or so on one and have things peachy for the most, and didn’t want to have to go through any of the hoops to get wireless working again … it was an inadvertent install that I quickly shutdown and booted to my preferred one. I looked online for aide in previously written word and found no help.

Sometimes when I have problems I find it hard to actually “search” for the problem. Putting it into search terms is often troublesome. This isn’t a post about searching. That is only an aside. The real point is finding answers when there are no answers.

I found an older page on a forum detailing “yum” and it was something I was interested in since I’ve been using “yum” and like it better than the software adding part of Fedora 12. I found a few additional commands in that which enabled me to look at what I’ve installed recently and find programs or packages, just information that is helpful in diagnosing something, whatever it is.

I hate hotels. While I was writing this I was online and when I went to publish … I got a blank brower and what I’d typed was all wiped out when I used my “back” button (which auto-save feature of WP helped, but it last saved before I had typed the end of this post, several paragraphs which I don’t want to re-type/figure out right now.) In the past this has happened, I mean internet fritsing out, but WP hadn’t always lost the words, that was an early version, so I can’t say what did happen. I’m just gonna publish this and log out of Vista and go back to my happy OS. Fedora 12. I’ll re-work this post later.

Fedora 12 on my Desktop

Posted on by
Reply

I’m typing this post in Firefox on a new install of Fedora 12. It’s my first time installing a linux distro. I’ve used a Knoppix CD before, and have wanted to install Linux, but just hadn’t until I finally got the bug to upload my last.fm .scrobblerlog and didn’t want to not load it to Libre.fm, which I had done a dump from last.fm and upload to libre.fm in mid-2009 — once after that I hand fixed a .scrobbler log to load it to Libre.fm, but that was a mess. A big mess. Took several times to re-do the list and reconnect (Python is how one loads data to Libre.fm) I liked using Python, and want to learn more of how to use it, write in the language for usefulness, etc.

I looked online to find someone who’d made a Python script to change .scrobblerlog to be accepted by uploading to Libre.fm, but the only thing I have found, over and over, is one thing, a bash script on a linux forum. So that was what eventually got me to install Linux. I chose Fedora since it’s a good thing.

I have a Dual Boot install. So I have new Fedora 12 and old WIn XP SP3.

The one thing I haven’t gotten done that I want to is to get my wireless networking card to work in Fedora. I haven’t tried too hard. I have to find the key anyhow, it’s in my router at least, which I can access since I’m plugged in with an ethernet cable for now. If I can’t make that work, then I’ll have to leave the desk by the router for the time being.

One thing that was troublesome in this is that my Bluetooth keyboard and mouse worked through install up to a point, but not after reboot, and I’d whizzed through a screen that I needed to get logged in to the system, and couldn’t do anything but get a wired keyboard and reinstall. Which was fine, it’s not like Windows that would have taken an hour to install. :rolleyes:

Thinking through Windows 7 Upgrades

Posted on by
Reply

I’m going over things trying to decide if I can put Windows 7 on my old laptop and on the Desktop computer. I know I can, I just am not sure yet if there are enough drivers for essentials of graphics & internet connectivity yet.

My Desktop has been around for a long time, in computer years.

Athlon 64 3000+
Abit NF8-V mb
(The mb has Nvidia nForce3 250 GB chipset)
2 MB Corsair DDR (1mbx2)
ATI 7500 AGP
DWL-G520M wireless adapter

Those are the specs that pass and don’t pass muster with Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor and online Windows 7 Compatibility checking.

In the Advisor I’m told my wireless adapter won’t work.

Online in the Compatibility area of Win 7 search for it and it’s compatible.

That’s just the icing on the cake for this affair. My main concern is the nForce 3 chipset, which I’ve read here and there about the same sort of chipset & ATI AGP and Win 7 troubles as I’m thinking I could have. Yes my desktop is “old” but it runs decent, stable as Win XP is. I don’t want it left in the dark ages, and when it comes down to it, I cannot afford to leave it there but can’t afford to upgrade anything except software soon. Hardware, like motherboard, the spiral begins, ever more quickly spinning downward at the thought of changing the MB to get a different chipset. No way. I have to make this setup work.

So it’s my business to attend to organizing the files in preparation for moving things around to eventually install Windows 7 in a dual-or-triple boot situation. Win 7 & Win XP, maybe some Linux flavor added in (I have been leaning both ways for years, maybe, maybe not …)

The old laptop is an HP Pavillion dv5 which they say on their website is supported as Win 7 upgradable, though they as of yet have no Win 7 Drivers.

I do know that my laptop came “Vista compatible” back in the day. Vista wasn’t out yet. Anyhow I have run Vista Upgrade Advisor on it in the past, it was OK to upgrade.

Running the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor on my HP laptop was similar to my desktop, complained at my graphics processor.

But since my HP laptop is a manufactured product, unlike my desktop which I put together piecemeal, and HP says they’ll have drivers, then I’ll have to go with, sure, you will or Vista drivers will work or … I’ll just have to dual-boot the laptop too, just to be sure it’ll work.

Fun fun fun. Moving files, cleaning up. Backing up. Joy, joy, joy. Which reminds me, I need to back up my websites too.

Windows 7 Upgrade Family pack is avail. for $149 and it’s exactly what I can use. I hope the pricing stays around until I can do it.

Cricut Cartridges

Posted on by
1

I got a Michaels.com email last week, with the news that Cricut cartridges were to be $40 each, and if you buy 3, then you can get Design Studio (software to use the Cricut with your computer) for free (limited time offer.)

I was able to go and get 3 cartridges Wednesday the 30th of July.

(I have a Cricut Expression, which I got mid-July 2008, for my birthday.)

I got Jasmine, Opposites Attract, and Walk in My Garden.

I looked at all the carts. online before hand, and had several singled out as possibilities, and the above three were all in that list. I did want one that wasn’t in the store I was in. I am not sure which one above I would have not gotten if they would have had Printing Press available that day. I would have gotten Jasmine for sure, but the other two … one or the other would have had to go.

I haven’t played with them yet, it’s been too busy here for that.

I have been able to download Cricut Design Studio though, which is available for free download as a trial. It will not start for me though. I found on their site where in FAQ’s that it won’t always open correctly at first, but will on second or third try.

It hasn’t done that for me. Not ever for me. Not after three or four or five or six, and more tries. Not after re-starting my PC either, or trying again and again after a re-start, and then again, un-installing it, re-start, re-install, try opening again, nothing. I haven’t gone the way of asking them for help yet, but I will need to get something figured out if getting the nice deal (free software with at least an $89 value) for buying three more than half-priced cartridges will mean anything of value for me (actually getting to use DS!) Of course, the three cartridges are of value to me, of course, it’s just the kicker is the software, and I do want it to work.

I have Win XP SP2 on my desktop and it won’t work. I also have a laptop with Win XP Media Center 2005 and it won’t work either. I’m in the process of removing all my data from the laptop and am going to re-install the whole thing, since I had a problem with my DVD drive and swapped mine and my hubbies, and messed up some things in the process that only a full clean install will provide, and hadn’t been able to do that because I couldn’t find my disk for that purpose, and suddenly it showed up on the floor after a couple of months of searching for it. Go figure. I can’t. So anyhow the hope I have is that when I get my laptop into tip top shape I’ll see if it’ll work with Design Studio at some point before and after updates, blah, blah, blah. And basically figure it out. Hopefully. At least I’ll have a better working laptop, freespace instead of the clogged harddrive I had been working on since I’ve been moving all my music and photos and documents to my desktop this past weekend.