Like many modestly tech-savvy people, visiting the family is a time to address various technological problems. My mother recently got a new notebook computer, so there really haven’t been any problems. That’s always nice.
Unfortunately, MackenzieMom got a Dell Mini 9 netbook computer for Christmas. This doesn’t sound too bad, but it runs on Ubuntu linux, with which my mother is wholly unfamiliar. Plus, though I’ve used linux on my main machine from time to time over the years, it is a fast-moving area. So when the speaker sound stopped working after some initial updates (but headphone sound was fine), the solution was not immediately apparent to me.
First, I tried searching for sound problems in Ubuntu, and more specifically the Dell Mini. There were a lot of problems discussed on the ‘Nets, but none seemed precisely right. Plus none of the solutions worked. Eventually, I decided to just wipe the OS and install the newest “retail” version of Ubuntu.
The problem started when I was unable to figure out how to get the Ubuntu installation to run from a thumbdrive. It was a required step because the Mini has no CD drive, and we don’t have an external one. While I eventually found a simple way to do it (to which the cognoscenti will probably say, “duh”), the process took a very long time. Part of the problem was that I was trying to use a 16GB drive, which made it hard to format into FAT-16, which was apparently required under several guides that I found, etc., etc.
Anyway, eventually I got it working. The new netbook is now running Ubuntu 8.10, and it appears to be stable and happy. For those interested, I highly recommend Ubuntumini.com. It has all kinds of information on running Ubuntu on a Mini, naturally. And its instructions are all completely clear with excellent photographs when appropriate.
One of the greatest moments occurred when I saw step 4 of installation. It is entitled, “Get sound working.” I’m not sure if this would have fixed the original problem, but it would have been worth trying. Either way, Step 4, which was a very simple step, worked like a charm.
All together, I think I spent around ten hours on getting everything to work perfectly. I’m preparing for more tech service calls as MackenzieMom runs into linux problems. We’ll see. The point is, it’s set for now.
Tonight: New Year in the quarter, with free music and fireworks. Then Friday, back to Wyoming.
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