0

I have 2 dell vostro 1500 laptops, I bought the first one in 2008 and used it for a few years with it running Windows XP, then in 2013 I bought a Dell Latitude with Windows 7, and put the Vostro to the side, recently I dug out the old Vostro and was able to install Fedora Linux on it, and also updated it to an SSD Drive and more RAM, that Vostro runs great now.

I also updated my Dell Latitude with an SSD Drive and installed Kali Linux on it, but that laptop was broke shortly after for some reason, so for cheap I bought another one on Ebay with no hard drive, an swapped in my SSD drive with the Kali Linux on it, and that works good so far.

So I noticed that many of these Dell Vostro are listed on Ebay for about $50 or less, so I decided to start buying them, upgrading them to ssd drives and more ram, and then installing Linux on them, then donating them to the local SPCA to help the animals. I often donate things to the SPCA, I had a huge comic collection that I donated to them, and other things also, for the animals.

So Ubuntu has a really good reputation as a Linux, especially for being user friendly, so I was thinking that might be the best Linux for my donated laptops. I am trying to install Ubuntu 19.10, I burned the ISO to a USB drive, and then changed the laptop setup to boot from USB, when I try to start up Ubuntu, I get the Ubuntu logo, and then it hangs up with a blank purple screen.

I am trying different settings on the setup, like disabling dynamic acceleration for the intel processor, and also disabling speed step, to see if that will work. But it has not worked yet.

I think next I am going to burn the ISO to a disc and try to boot from that.

I just wanted to know if anyone else had this problem with Dell laptops? and if so, what their particular solution was? Is this Dell Vostro laptop just too old?

Improve this question
3
  • Did you verify your ISO download as being flawless? and then check your 'CD' (meaning installation media in whatever form; eg. thumb-drive) was perfect? ie. tutorials.ubuntu.com/tutorial/tutorial-how-to-verify-ubuntu#0 and help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/CDIntegrityCheck I test using ibm, lenovo, dell, hp models as old as 2003 (though 18.04-18.10 for that age as they'll be x86, x86_64 only for 19.04 upwards)
    – guiverc
    Jan 4, 2020 at 23:41
  • Well I turned off some things in the BIOS that would allow the Intel processor to use maximum speed features, but I did this after experiencing the hang up, I downloaded the 19.10 ISO from UBuntu.com, and burned it to a usb drive using Balena Etcher, now is installing finally, but slowly, its a 12 year old laptop though.
    – Michael G. Workman
    Jan 5, 2020 at 0:11
  • 1
    I would go for a flavor personally (Lubuntu or Xubuntu). Yes Ubuntu works okay on my decade old desktop, but the experience is just better with a lighter desktop (and 2GB RAM is limited; the lighter DE means more ram for programs). As for which best suits your use case; it's a mixture of your GUI preferences PLUS your desired/intended apps (modern Lubuntu uses LXQt so Qt apps are more ram efficient, Xubuntu uses GTK3 so gnome/GTK3 apps will waste less ram with duplication, legacy Lubuntu lightest b/c GTK2 but ..) Lubuntu is lightest yes, but your your use case will dictate the best for you..
    – guiverc
    Jan 5, 2020 at 0:49

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
0

OK, I am not sure what happened, but after letting it sit for about 45 minutes on the hanged up purple screen, then it started to install, wow, really strange that it would take so long to get to the first install pages, so now I am going through with the install of the minimal version of Ubuntu, not the full version.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .