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Why I've replaced Vista with Linux
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By: Jon Collins, Service Director, Freeform Dynamics Published: 19th November 2007 Copyright Freeform Dynamics © 2007 |
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StumbleUponThis decision was a long time coming but I think it is the right thing to do right now: I have reformatted the hard drive on my laptop and replaced Vista with the latest version of Ubuntu Linux as the main operating system. I did this for a number of reasons: it's probably worth going through them one by one.
Building a picture of Open Source today. "Desktop Linux is ready for the mainstream" we are told—but is it? And how to know without trying it for real? I had Linux running in a virtual machine on Vista, and it looked fine, but I tended only to play with it and not really put it through its paces. To give it a proper once-over there really is no substitute for putting it in as the "main" operating system. I should say up-front that this shouldn't be construed as a comment on Vista, which I am actually getting to like (see below). The same caveat should be applied for other applications, proprietary or open source (for the record, however: I'm not in any hurry to move over to OpenOffice just yet!).
Testing virtualisation. There's a variety of combinations of virtual environments that can exist today—one of the strengths and weaknesses of virtualisation (I am quickly discovering) is that anything goes. Linux on Windows, Windows on Linux, either or both on a hypervisor from either side; add to that the potential for running individual apps (e.g. with Wine or Softricity) or remote desktops and it all becomes very complicated indeed. I decided to start with Linux as, to be fair, Vista is already big, and I decided I could do without the base overhead. I'm now running virtual instances of Ubuntu server, Ubuntu desktop and Windows XP—see below.
Getting my hands dirty. Here's the thing—I'm an old UNIX hacker at heart and I kind of miss playing around with this stuff, which I haven't really done since the 0.94 SLS days. It's certainly been an interesting experience so far pushing a few of the boundaries of today's desktop Linux and seeing what gives... or doesn't. I'm also planning on doing a bit of programming again, most likely in Ruby on Rails, for which direct use of the LAMP stack seems more appropriate than developing in Windows and running emulators or indeed, virtual machines. Of course this will also help me build more of a picture of open source in general, or at least trigger a few conversations: see next.
Engaging with the community. There's just so much happening in the blogosphere, and some of the most animated discussions come from developers and open source advocates. For me, this decision partially comes down to succumbing to the temptation and joining in—heaven knows I won't be able to keep up but at least if I'm sharing some of the experiences I'll participate more than just watching from the sidelines.
Avoidance of bias. It's important in this job to be able to see all aspects, and I have felt uncomfortable in the past commenting on certain subjects without a full appreciation of how it feels to experience the other side of the coin. Meanwhile, Linux adoption is rife in Eastern Europe and Asia, making it even more important to understand what life is like for non-Windows users. Its worth doing this to get the balance right—not least because certain behaviours and expectations are very different. In Linux, for example, the attitude is very much "there will be a package out there" (the package manager lists twenty-three thousand packages, of which I have a paltry fifteen hundred installed) but the "out there" experience also extends to tweaks and fixes, so be prepared to muck in. The Windows "attitude" seems to be more, "I've paid for it, so it better work!".
Response to accusations of bias. I want to be able to talk about the good stuff that comes out of Seattle without being accused of bias, or being considered some kind of shill. At the risk (see, here we go) of facing the wrath of all those who feel Microsoft is the nemesis of the IT industry, I actually do, really believe they come out with some pretty good stuff. I also think Sun, IBM and everybody else comes out with good stuff. There's plenty of good stuff out there, and I really don't see why Microsoft should be excluded from the good stuff debate just because they had some sharp business practices in the past, or present. After all, who didn't—and who doesn't.
Finally, I secretly wish I had a Mac. No I don't... well, yes I do but I'm not sure it would be the answer to my prayers, and I would be concerned about lock-in. Oh, the irony.
So, there we have it. It's already been quite a ride, as I've tested out a number of Linux distributions, tools and configurations before settling on my preferred setup. Which is, Ubuntu Linux 7.10 running KDE, and hosting a virtual instance of Windows XP via QEMU/KVM for my Outlook Exchange client. For virtualisation, I did try out Xen, both from within OpenSuse and as XenSource Express, but neither supported laptop suspend/resume (and XenSource setup on a single laptop was becoming a pig. I've needed to do various tweaks and resolve a number of issues, as I started doing this I wondered whether this was a comment on Linux—but it could equally be due to my lack of current experience. I have set up a dual-boot configuration with Vista, but this does not boot by default so (for the time being) it is there as a security blanket.
Does it work? So far, so good. I'm having to use the command line more than a little, but to be fair this is largely due to using the virtualisation capabilities, which are outside normal (i.e. non-geek) behaviour I think. There are a few bugs and things I might suggest were done differently, if I were in a position to comment - which is exactly what I'm getting myself into here, so expect some further case notes on my own blog under the tag "geeking out" (these won't appear on IT-Analysis or IT-Director if you're reading this post on one of these sites.) I still need to get myself organised from a data standpoint—I'm configuring Samba as I don't just yet want to trust my data to sit inside a virtual machine, for example!—and I also need to set up my external monitor for ease of switching screens.
Whether or not I can work like this is one thing. I am missing certain things, not least LiveWriter and the Vista Sidebar—as general remarks things are not quite as slick as Windows, but perhaps I haven't got my configuration right yet. I'll give myself a month or so like this, so I can establish whether or not I actually want to work like this. For now, the jury is out but I shall keep everyone posted.
Reader Comments
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20th November 2007: 'Nigel Stanley' said:
Nice blog Jon - keep us updated about your journey!
20th November 2007: 'lefty.crupps' said:
For the Vista sidebar replacement, look into SuperKaramba for KDE.
KDE rocks.
It's interesting reading about those making the (attempted) switch, but the more I know and learn about Linux and KDE, the less I ever want to work on a Windows system.
20th November 2007: 'Duncan' said:
I ran Ubuntu and Parallels (for XP) over 12 months. I had previously tried Fedora Core, Mandriva, Debian Sarge, SuSE's SLED - but Ubuntu's highly polished, single ISO distribution stood head and shoulders above the others for usability (Ubuntu also has an excellent and very supportive user community)
Whilst Ubuntu/Kubuntu is a very polished and user friendly desktop OS it doesn't quite meet the needs for most business use. It would however be good on a home PC, as a development machine or possibly in education.
Ubuntu needs more apps of a similar grade to the excellent OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird/Evolution and GAIM to be a useful business tool.
... I now run on an Apple Mac using Firefox, OpenOffice, Thunderbird and Parallels - but with a wealth of other apps at my disposal.
20th November 2007: 'Gary Jones' said:
Why not try the other route - buy Parallels and install Ubuntu in the safety of a virtual machine. If you like it, install it over your existing desktop... you then don't run any risk with dual booting and don't put off trying Linux because of the risk to your machine!
21st November 2007: 'terry Lechecul' said:
Sorry Duncan but you are referring most likely to Apple's own apps. Those constitute the majority of what people use.I find the open source/Linux ecosystem has much more choice although the polish of iTunes, Final Cut is nice.
Serving a different master is not to be free. No matter how cool some of the new master's toys are.
20th November 2007: 'Jenny' said:
I prefer the simplicity of GNOME under Ubuntu, KDE always seems to take more resources. But that's Linux - it's all about freedom of choice. There are other desktops too. Take a look.
20th November 2007: 'tami' said:
Nice reading - thanks.
As the user of exclusively Linux for last two years now I would like to say though that now I have real problems to use Windows. I honestly tried lately - while having a borrowed from my work laptop. No way. Too slow and not having my favorite applications (amongst other - fully working terminal ;) ).
So, what I did was to download FaunOS (based on Arch Linux) and install it on USB-stick - I am running Linux on this "lappy" and... I am happy.
And no - I am not a pro - just an ordinary user...
I wish you a bit of patience, a lot of flexibility and openness - this attitude will help you find your own way to Linux.
And my experiences say that it is worth it!
Good luck and all the best,
tami :)
20th November 2007: 'Miles (Webmaster)' said:
Ubuntu is certainly one of the most pleasant Linux experiences I have had - we've been running it on our development servers for over two years. It installs effortlessly (in most cases) and is very user friendly.
I think use as a business desktop, especially in a mixed office environment, is still some way off. More energy/focus needs to be spent looking at core business apps and how they integrate with one another for maximum productivity.
We use Ubuntu to develop the ITA/ITD websites but must confess to using Apple Macs for everything else...
20th November 2007: 'Jordi Ferrando' said:
The same for me.
Running kubuntu with vmware workstation for windows xp virtualized (and other linux images for testing).
This works fine. Also I am a Qt4 programmer in cross-platform Windows/Linux, so KDE is the preferred choice. I whish I already had KDE4.
20th November 2007: 'No thanks' said:
But what about software patents? Is Linux safe to run in any environment. Are you going to get nobbled at some point down the line? I think I would rather play safe and get a licensed Windows or Mac computer!
20th November 2007: 'StevenD' said:
Wow, I have seen some obvious Microsoft trolls but "No Thanks" and "Faye" are really perfect examples of this sort of behavior. As to Microsoft software patents, have they been able to produce a SINGLE example so far? No, it is just all hot air and trying any tactic to exert influence in the IT space.
20th November 2007: 'No thanks' said:
So what was all that over SCO about? Ahem
21st November 2007: 'StevenD' said:
If you have been following the SCO case at ALL you would know by now that it had absolutely no basis in fact so you bringing it up AGAIN is just another troll. Do you actually think you are fooling anybody?
21st November 2007: 'Felis silvestris' said:
Since software patents don't apply where I live, I don't worry about them. Oh - and what patents, precisely?
20th November 2007: 'Faye' said:
Before you rush off to a Linux distie and download the latest ISO images to burn, please sit back and think about the bigger picture.
What is the TCO of running Linux? Will you get the support should things go wrong? Will software patents get in the way? Can you interoperate with peers (Jon says he will not use OpenOffice)? At what cost is productivity?
At least an Apple Mac comes with certified hardware, professional support and a receipt ...
20th November 2007: 'KRinPAus' said:
"Before you rush off to a Linux distie and download the latest ISO images to burn, please sit back and think about the bigger picture."
Distie? (Are you kidding me? No? OK). OK, I've sat back for awhile. I've narrowed MY choices down to Mandriva, Sabayon, PCLinuxOS, Arch Linux and Ubuntu. I look at SUPPORT first, like Forums, Howtos, Wikis.
"What is the TCO of running Linux?"
Please then match this up with the TCO of running Windows, which will require not only the installation of ONE of the various Windows "disties", but you are REQUIRED to run an Anti-Virus AND Anti-Spyware Program on the SAME machine.
"Will you get the support should things go wrong?"
I've managed a significant IT player in a worldwide environment. We ALWAYS found an answer in the Linux world, yet, there were issues when the answer in the Windows world couldn't be obtained.
I've so far found 2 excellent methods of Support for the Average Person, and that would be either the Gentoo or Ubuntu Forums, and their many associated Wikis, HOWTO's, etc. YMMV, and I do not want to belittle the ones that are unknown to me. Want Paid Support? It's available, too.
"Will software patents get in the way?"
In the US we have had plenty of what is called FUD around this issue. Fair Use comes to my mind.
Professionally and personally this is a non-issue.
"Can you interoperate with peers (Jon says he will not use OpenOffice)? "
Yes.
"At what cost is productivity?"
Give a concrete example here, and we'll lay it out for you. I think we can increase productivity with a complete or mostly Free/Open Source base.
"At least an Apple Mac comes with certified hardware, professional support and a receipt ..."
How many sites do you wish me to list from which you can buy Linux PDA's, eBook Readers, Notebooks, Desktops, Servers, SuperComputers, etc.?
20th November 2007: 'YG5565' said:
The TCO for Linux is the amount of time it takes you to learn it, I'm sure that it is about the same as switching from XP to Vista. In fact, I gave up on Vista already but still use XP at work.
Interoperability, using openoffice for the most part works flawlessly with word with the exception of very complicated documents. Don't forget that M.S. Office can be run with an emulator if you still need it, such as crossover.
I can't speak for the professional support you get from a Mac but I can attest to the lack of professional support from Microsoft. I get answers faster on any given Linux forum than the time it takes on hold with India.
Oh, and did anyone mention the cost of any given Mac compared to a used computer for sometimes almost free with a brand new Linux install. That alone is worth mentioning.
20th November 2007: 'awesome' said:
"At least an Apple Mac comes with certified hardware, professional support and a receipt ..."
Ahem. My Ubuntu box runs on 4 year old hardware, and runs fast, I get support from the linux/ubuntu online community forums and howto's for every problem I have encountered so far (and every problem I can conceivable think of) and it didn't come with a receipt because I DIDN'T PAY FOR IT! :-)
21st November 2007: 'KB' said:
A distie? eek. As far as having any trouble replacing XP,let me tell you about my own experience.
I replaced XP with Xandros Pro nearly 3 years ago after finding I never needed to boot into my XP partition.Crossover runs my MS Office like a dream,I am able to log on to the AD quicker than with XP and evolution runs better for me than Outlook ever did (although thanks to crossover I still have it should I choose to use it), and most importantly, everything runs faster and better under Xandros Pro than XP Pro. I have a full 3D Desktop (the lazy susan style app switching is a godsend) with never even a hint of slowness and this on a laptop with 512MB of RAM and Intel integrated graphics.
While I tried Kubuntu (along with a couple of dozen other distros, just to decide what I liked best) in the end none of them had every component running "out of the box" or had the ease of use or reliability of Xandros.
Oh,and your little MS patent FUD? Part of the deal which gave Xandros its excellent AD and Windows network connectivity (thanks to access to MS APIs) also gave Xandros full protection from any MS patent trolling, although I think that will end up like SCO.
In the end all the MS deal did was give me a Linux distro that plays nicer on Windows networks than Windows Vista does, while running year after year with out a single screwup. I even did the dreaded "upgrade instead of clean install" of Xandros Pro 4.1 over Xandros Pro 3, without a single thing breaking. Try THAT in Windows.
For me Xandros Linux just works, which in the end is what is important. Instead of worrying about "windows rot" or having to run a half dozen apps to keep the windows bugs at bay, I can just fire up my laptop and get to work.
21st November 2007: 'x_ZoD_x' said:
20th November 2007: 'Faye' said:
Before you rush off to a Linux distie and download the latest ISO images to burn, please sit back and think about the bigger picture.
What is the TCO of running Linux? Will you get the support should things go wrong? Will software patents get in the way? Can you interoperate with peers (Jon says he will not use OpenOffice)? At what cost is productivity?
x_Zod_x: TCO = zero as long as you're willing to read. support? RTFG .. Read The Fine Google!. I have configured Apache, Sendmail, Postfix, MySQL, Oracle, Asterisk, Learned shell scripting, Perl, Java .. ALL from google. what more support do you need?
Just get it online and read read read.
At least an Apple Mac comes with certified hardware, professional support and a receipt ...
x_ZoD_x: newsflash.. Dell is selling computers with ubuntu already installed all with as you lovingly said "certified hardware, professional support and a receipt.
Wow, this was like shooting fish in a barrel! Thanks Faye.
Now come .. Kneel Before ZoD!
LPI Certified and a decade of linux bliss. I'm truely in a world without Gates :)
21st November 2007: 'FreeBooteR' said:
I've been using linux ubuntu for 7 months. I love it and i've no fears about patents.
SCO lost it's case and is in bankruptcy protection.
As for productivity, i don't miss MS at all.
As for gaming...i run Lord of the rings online, eve online, wow, and a ton of other games through wine. Wine has come a long way.
20th November 2007: 'hike' said:
A friend wanted me to downgrade their new HP laptop's Vista to Windows XP Pro. I had a couple of weeks to try Vista. After this two-week trial, I decided to upgrade my Windows XP Pro laptop to Ubuntu 7.04.
Why? Vista has no performance. It is slow, it is cumbersome, it is "kludgey". It felt like a little kid trying on his parent's clothes and dragging around instead of running around, as kids do.
Installing Windows XP Pro on the new computer, by the way, gave me laptop that was responsive and fast. It was what I was used to in a new laptop. My friend was happy to get his "new" Windows XP Pro laptop and installed all his big, commercial software programs.
My laptop? Well, it runs quicker with Ubuntu than with Windows XP Pro. Wireless (Intel 2200) picked up right away and finds more WAPs than Windows XP Pro. (I found the Linux-based Nokia N800 does the same--must be Linux.) Ubuntu picked up the correct "open" video drivers for my ATI card and automatically gave me the highest resolution. (The "restricted" drivers offered no enhancements that I would use.)
My reaction? I must say "contented". I never thought that I would feel contentment with an operating system. (Well maybe the BSD that I used at my first UNIX job.) I am perfectly satisfied with Ubuntu. Contented.
My response? I am trying new, "open" programs. I haven't done this in the years that I have used Windows. Qemu, Scribus, and others. Download and try.
As mentioned, I have worked with UNIX (SunBSD & Solaris) and took classes based on Linux (Red Hat 3 & 4). With Ubuntu's forums and Google searches, I have found more information than I have needed.
20th November 2007: 'Frank' said:
Jon,
For the benefit of folks following your journey I'll suggest PCLinuxOS as a most surprising distro.
I'm not going to waste your time substantiating that, but will say I've worked with many distros in nearly 10 years, starting with RH5.1, so I know what to look for.
I'm currently running Sabayon 64-bit and Ubuntu Studio (anyone looking at Ubuntu who has an interest in music or graphics should look at that), and configured PCLinuxOS 2007 for my neighbor who simply loved it, and hit the ground running. In over a month, this normal Windows user has asked me one (1) question! Everything else either worked as she expected or she just figured it out.
Finally, the "lock-in" with an Intel Mac running OS X is NOTHING like the other kool aid (If you're willing to accept that a MacBook Pro cannot be beaten with any Dell notebook, feature for feature with an ed. discount, we'll then talk about the quality and performance, and hardware "lock-in" will begin to look more womb-like than prison.).
Its beating heart of pure BSD coupled with Darwin Ports and Fink, and you're in virtually the same playground as with GNU/Linux.
Just to cite a killer few: Ardour (you and most of your readers may not know about this, but trust me...), KompoZer, NeoOffice, LyX, the Mozilla twins, Audacity, The GIMP, etc., etc.
I almost never work on a Mac without opening a terminal at some point, and how's this for an apt-get-alike?:
"sudo port install audacity"
With Parallels Desktop performing as it does and as feature-full as it is, it's more like a lock-out for the other folks.
21st November 2007: 'Jason H' said:
Amen brother.
I love my linux but it just isn't ready for the up front and center for the desktop environment. Everyone that reads this blog has to realize that this is coming from a UNIX/Linux user, not just some Joe Blow that want's to use the computer for everyday purposes. The linux community has to unite under a FEW distro's to get to that point, not the HUNDREDS of flavors.
The day there is a united front is the day linux takes the reins, until that day, Windows will rule.
21st November 2007: 'chemicalscum' said:
love my linux but it just isn't ready for the up front and center for the desktop environment. Everyone that reads this blog has to realize that this is coming from a UNIX/Linux user, not just some Joe Blow that want's to use the computer for everyday purposes
As someone who was using Unix before Linux was created. I can tell you that after eighteen moths of using Ubuntu and six years of using Linux as my primary desktop I can assure that modern Linux distributions especially Ubuntu are now "ready for the up front and center for the desktop environment".
21st November 2007: 'Frank' said:
No Thanks
SCO was about nothing.
Haven't you been following the story? Do you understand why Microsoft has been singing the same "I'm not telling!" song?
Frank
21st November 2007: 'Phil' said:
I can only agree halfway with those comments. I don't believe you have to be an experienced linux/unix user to use desktop linux. My nieces and nephews came over to use my Ubuntu desktop that I had switched from XP since they were last here. They either didn't notice the difference or didn't care. They looked for the icons that they were used to and clicked. The only time I have needed to break out the linux skills is to customize heavily. Most other problems can be solved by visiting one of the help communities and simply cutting and pasting the solution right into the terminal. Its not rocket science.
Now I can agree that the community needs to unite behind SOMETHING. I now see people that hate the pub that Ubuntu receives. All 10,000 distros cannot reach the main stream. Its going to take a few big names to get companies to start porting their software to linux on a common basis. And with the looks of that cheap PC Walmart is selling out of it may not be one of the "normal" distros that gets the masses involved.
21st November 2007: 'Terri' said:
I was in a similar situation about a year ago. I was dual-booting linux and windows XP. I had gradually installed open source applications in windows to match linux so I can have familiar tools in whichever OS I booted.
One day, one of the apps in windows that is not available in linux got messed up. I didn't bother to fix it for couple of months. Then I realized I could still get by without windows.
So I reformatted and installed linux about the time a new distribution came out. I never went back.
21st November 2007: 'Stomfi' said:
I've installed Ubuntu on over 200 P3 & P4 computers this year, and provided them to people in the digital divide, who use them for school work, surfing, email, playing media, and generally all the things they would be doing (apart from Windows games) if they had a MS loaded product.
Even though email support is provided, everyone is happy with the Ubuntu help.
If they need Windows, we download and install the VirtualBox binary, load Windows from their CD, and set up a shared folder.
Some of our clients are refugees whose native language is not English. Ubuntu provides a lot of foreign language options including Turkish Kurdish which one can't get on Windows.
Although we install Ubuntu like a Windows PC maker would do, the basic process is the same as for a standard install plus the Automix codecs and fonts. We update our base system each day and use Acronis to clone the drives.
Installing the drives on a different hardware is a simple matter of running "sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg" in a terminal which sets up the graphics card.
Ubuntu is so incredibly easy and works so well for all my clients for no costs, I can't understand why people continue to buy Windows software.
21st November 2007: 'Jon Collins' (Author) said:
Cor blimey! What a lot of comments, it will take me time to work through them all so I apologise in advance for not responding directly to each one. For anyone who is interested in how I've configured things please do check out http://totalimmersion.wordpress.com/2007/11/21/whats-in-the-linux-box/
There's a number of useful tips I'll be following up on, for example I need to check on VirtualBox and SuperKaramba. I'm not planning on buying anything for now, as that's also an interesting part of the pilot, to investigate free as in beer as well as -dom. For the record, I don't believe that presenting the other side of the coin is trolling, particularly if it reflects the genuine concerns of many businesses. I am using OpenOffice in places, a test is to send colleagues a document and see if they notice where it has come from, but remember this is my pilot, not theirs. My own jury's out on whether you need to be a computer guy/gal to work with Linux, largely because its difficult to gauge what I know about Windows versus what I've forgotten about Unix. I do think that the consumerist "wizard" approach to Windows pervades many aspects (not just stuff coming from Microsoft), whereas lift the Linux bonnet/hood and there's a heck of a lot under there. Perhaps the advice should be, "don't lift the bonnet."
Finally I don't believe that in a decade, Microsoft will look back proudly on their current patents stance - but fortunately we don't have software patents in Europe!
21st November 2007: 'rm' said:
The Vista side bar was inspired on applets like SuperKaramba, on KDE, which existed long before Vista's paltry imitation.
6th December 2007: 'Jon Collins' (Author) said:
Re: SuperKaramba, I've tried it but I've gone for Gnome rather than KDE for various reasons, and it doesn't run under Gnome. Thanks for the tip however!
18th December 2007: 'BrionS' said:
Since you're in Gnome now, perhaps you can check out gDesklets which are the Gnome equivalent of KDE's Superkarumba and Vista's Sidebar.
I personally don't find any of these things useful, but I wanted to make you aware that there are Gnome alternatives for the same thing as well. Good luck!
21st November 2007: 'SJ' said:
Why waste precious screen real estate with sidebars? Apple OS X has the best solution with its widget dashboard...
21st November 2007: 'shollomon' said:
Reasons I'm running Vista instead of Ubuntu...
Really I'm running Vista instead of Mepis which I far prefer to Ubuntu.
1) Suspend/sleep etc. does not work. Its not worth the effort to me to spend hours searching for an answer to why my Dell laptop won't resume. This should be a no brainer and work out of the box every time.
2) Lack of support for smart phones. While their is somewhat better than rudimentary support for Palm in linux, nothing else works, and Palm support is flaky. Unfortunately the only all in one calendar/email/notes/addressbook program that provides rock solid synchronization for smart phones is Outlook (well mac calendar email etc works well but I have other issues with mac). And would you like a non-palm phone like a blackberry, a windows based phone or an iPhone? Forget about them under linux.
3) Other cool devices. Want to use a slingbox or some other equally cool gadgets, forget about linux.
Linux has its uses. I would never consider windows or mac as a server, but as a desktop? Only certain isolated instances, like a locked down thin client environment.
22nd November 2007: 'Duncan' said:
Kernel panic: CPU too old for this kernel - so much for an easy installation of Gutsy Gibbon using Parallels on XP. Any help, anyone?
25th November 2007: 'Kevin Cave' said:
"22nd November 2007: 'Duncan' said:
Kernel panic: CPU too old for this kernel - so much for an easy installation of Gutsy Gibbon using Parallels on XP. Any help, anyone?
"
Duncan, the solution is simple - during installation of Gutsy, make sure you also install Gutsy's "generic" kernel. The reason your problem is occouring is because the kernel that Gutsy is installing by default has a configuration enabled to the effect of "Support more than 4GB of RAM". THis uses something called "PAE" which stands for Physical Address Extension. This is a feature of x86 and x86-64 processors that allows more than 4GB of physical RAM to be used on 32-bit systems. Your specific problem lies not with Ubuntu per se, but with the virtual PC software you are using, which looks like it doesn't support the use of PAE. I had precisely the same problem with virtual PC software called VirtualBox, and had to install the "generic" linux kernel which Ubuntu also supplies, onto my virtual machine. You should google for the solution to your problem, as that's how I found the solution to mine. Once again I reiterate that the problem is not Ubuntu's fault, really, though some might disagree with me there and say "why didn't they install the generic kernel to begin with?". I can't answer that one. Note that the problem isn't apparent during the installation process, as Ubuntu boots up with a "generic" kernel configuration - which basically doesn't have this "4GB option" enabled and hence doesn't try to use the PAE extensions.
Hope this helps.
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