Can't find a distro to work

snydley100

I just bought an Alienware 14 laptop with the idea of installing Linux on it and dual booting that and Windows 7 in legacy mode,( 7 shipped pre-installed in legacy mode).

The graphics card in the machine uses a GeForce GTX 765M chipset and I can't find a Linux distro that will display the screen correctly, when I boot a live CD the screen is torn into multiple screens, I just can't find a a distro to display correctly.

I have found a file with a driver that is supposed to work, NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-331.17.run. Is there any way to install that to use that with the live CD without installing the live CD to my hard drive so I can Linux first?

Can anyone help with this or point me to a place where I can get help?

Thanks,

Snyde

mfillpot

Most distros will offer the proprietary drivers in the package manager, the run file is used for manual distros like slackware or to create the packaged file.

I recommend trying something like ubuntu and going to the hardware drivers option and selecting to install the latest nvidia driver.

If you can share what distros you have tried, we may be able to find the instructions for the distro(s).

snydley100

mfillpot wrote:

Most distros will offer the proprietary drivers in the package manager, the run file is used for manual distros like slackware or to create the packaged file.

I recommend trying something like ubuntu and going to the hardware drivers option and selecting to install the latest nvidia driver.

If you can share what distros you have tried, we may be able to find the instructions for the distro(s).

Hi,
The distros I've tried are:
Zorin 6.2 / 64 (LIVE CD), Zorin 6.4 / 64 (LIVE CD), Zorin 7 / 64 (LIVE CD), Ubuntu 13.10 /64 (LIVE CD)

The problem with Zorin is that once I select boot the LIVE CD and "try it" and get to the desktop the wifi device isn't "seen" and the video screen is torn into 4 images. I can't get any farther because I can't use the Internet to load additional drivers for the video, even if there are any. I'm trying to find ANY distro that has these drivers in the LIVE CD before it is installed so I can navigate around and use it.
With Ubuntu, after I boot the LIVE CD and get to the "try it" screen and select "try it", it starts to load but the screen goes blank and after a few minutes I can hear the CD drive stop spinning and it goes no farther.
The video used in this Alienware 14 is an NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M with 2GB GDDR5
The wifi is a Broadcom 4352 802.11 ac 2x2 and Bluetooth 4.0
I found a video driver, that may or may not work, on the Internet. I downloaded the file: NVIDIA-Linux-x86_64-319.60.run, but don't know how to load it after the desktop starts, even if I could navigate the desktop with the screen torn as it is.
I have tried this in "safe video" mode, and with the nomodeset switch, and it makes no difference.
Is it possible to create a package file from the run file and load it somehow after the desktop loads, if I can somehow navigate the torn desktop screen? How do I make the package file?
Ideally what I would like to find is a version of Linux that would render the video correctly and load the correct wifi drivers from the LIVE CD before installation, like I've been ably to do with all of my other laptop and desktop machines in the past, so I can try it before installation.
Thanks for the help,
Snyde

mfillpot

I do not think there are any distros that carry the proprietary driver by default due to licensing reasons. However from the command line you can put in the command "sudo apt-get install nvidia-current" to install the nvidia drivers from the online repos for either of those distros as Zorin is based upon ubuntu.

Since you have been using only ubuntu based distros I recommend trying some others out like fedora or magea to see if they are having the same problems.

snydley100

My big problem, it seems, beside the video tearing, is the wireless & wired connection. Once I get to the command prompt Zorin evidently doesn't natively support my wired or wireless hardware. When I couldn't get it to connect wirelessly, I tried connecting my LAN to the laptop and NOTHING, no connection.
This is really frustrating! I thought by buying a better machine than I needed that Linux would be a breeze to install! This has been the worst installation I've ever done.
Any idea how to rectify the wired connection problem?
As I see it, I can't install the current Nvidia drivers unless I can get on the Internet and I can't get on the Internet unless I can get my wired or wireless hardware to work with Linux!
Thanks,
Snyde

snydley100

My hardware for the wired connection is listed as a:

Killer e2200 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20)

Snyde

snydley100

mfillpot wrote:

I do not think there are any distros that carry the proprietary driver by default due to licensing reasons. However from the command line you can put in the command "sudo apt-get install nvidia-current" to install the nvidia drivers from the online repos for either of those distros as Zorin is based upon ubuntu.

Since you have been using only ubuntu based distros I recommend trying some others out like fedora or magea to see if they are having the same problems.

I had some luck with Fedora, the screen won't tear when I get to the desktop, but the stock wifi won't work with it, BUT, I have a Roswell USB wireless adapter, Fedora sees it and I'm able to surf the net using this configuration. Now I've got to figure out how to install Fedora to a GPT hard drive and not screw it up. I am finally making progress though.
Thanks for the help,
Snyde

mfillpot

Due to licensing issues with broadcom the drivers cannot be included in any live or installation cd, once you get a distro installed you can check their package management system for broadcom and in most cases the drivers are then available to be installed.

snydley100

I finally found a LIVE Linux CD to work on this Alienware 14 laptop, Fedora 19.
I displays the desktop correctly, and with a Roswell USB wifi adapter will connect to the Internet. Now I just have to figure out how to install it to the GPT hard drive with Windows 7 preinstalled,(in legacy mode).

jellegouds

Hi, I am/was running in the same sort of problems while running Slackware. As for the video options you just have to enter nomodeset as an extra parameter while running your distribution. This because of the fact that both your nVidia GPU and your Intel CPU have graphic capabilities which will conflict if not set up properly. As for the Network card is really hard to get it to work and still haven't found my way around it. The default network manager in the huge.s kernel of Slackware does support the wired card, but unfortunately not the wireless one, so I could use some help there as well.

snydley100

jellegouds wrote:

Hi, I am/was running in the same sort of problems while running Slackware. As for the video options you just have to enter nomodeset as an extra parameter while running your distribution. This because of the fact that both your nVidia GPU and your Intel CPU have graphic capabilities which will conflict if not set up properly. As for the Network card is really hard to get it to work and still haven't found my way around it. The default network manager in the huge.s kernel of Slackware does support the wired card, but unfortunately not the wireless one, so I could use some help there as well.

I ended up finding that Linux MInt 16 MATE version, Ultimate Edition 3.8 Mate ver., and Zorin 8.1 all work "out of the box" with my Alienware 14 with no "tweeking" needed to get the video to work. As far as the wifi card goes, I was told by someone on a Linux website to replace it with one with an atheroes chipset in it, they are much more "Linux friendly", and found a used one on Ebay for $11.99 plus shipping that came out of a Dell laptop. I was also able to get the Windows driver for it from the Dell website so it work with both Zorin 8.1 and Windows 7 Ultimate on my Alienware 14.
Here's the info. on the wifi card:
DELL DW1901 -0K2GW5 802.11ABGN Wireless Wifi + Bluetooth 4.0 Two-in-one Card
and the eBay auction number: 251340132337
Put that number in the eBay search box on the main page and it will take you to the page where I bought it. I bought this back in late 2013, so this specific auction is probably expired, but it will give you all the info. on a wifi card that works well with Linux and the Alienware. There's probably another current similar auction for that model wifi card available now, and it was a breeze to change. I didn't even have to do anything to the BIOS, the Alienware accepted it after install, and I've been using it since.
Good Luck,
Snyde