Windows XP installation.. AHH!!

[yurimxpxman]

Tonight I re-formatted my mom's hard drive to dual boot Kubuntu and XP (with Kubuntu as the primary, with more than 75% of the disk space, of course ;-). I'd forgotten what a hassle it is to install XP.

The installation process (which took about three times as long as it should have) was displaying a pupil-ripping 50Hz at 800x600. It continued at these settings until I installed the ATI driver, which required a reboot. Of course, before I could download the driver, I had to install about half a dozen motherboard drivers and watch the system reboot over and over again..

To add insult to injury, Windows wouldn't let me turn down the volume until *all* of the motherboard drivers were installed, so it was blasting those stupid chimes out at full blast.

All of that for a whopping bundle of one pre-installed application: Internet Explorer 6. I don't figure anybody's going to use this installation much, so I didn't bother installing anything other than Firefox.

I don't say this to rag on MS or anything. I just realized how ironic it is that people consider installing Ubuntu to be harder than installing Windows (which I now find to be cruel and unusual torture). It just goes to show you how much of an impact the lack of knowledge has on the experience of installing software.

I suppose people would say the exact same types of things about Windows that they do Linux now if the positions were reversed. In Windows, the trivial things seem to sort themselves out, but it's prone to very big problems. People who're new to Linux get annoyed at the trivial things that they have to use the terminal for, like changing the screen resolution, which is really easy in XP.

$0.02

[[Dr. V]]

First and foremost, you've more than made me curious as to wtf that $0.02 means at the end of the post.

Now, I must agree completely with your opinion. It's 100% impossible to just say "this one's harder" - it's all the individual. In general, I would say shut up and do it no matter what, Linux is free.

Having said that, Microsoft has never made anything easier than the Vista installation. To be honest, there is absolutely nothing to it. 3-4 pages, and bang it just does it all for you. Finally.

As for Linux, it's not like it's the most complicated OS installation, but I wouldn't call any of them the nicest...nothing compared to Vista.

Now, talking about XP like you were mainly referring to, I can't complain too much about it other than only the fact the BIOS part of it may be intimidating to some newer users. Other than that, the 3 pop-ups during the installation, especially after seeing how Vista works, can be annoying because you have to be there at the computer for a good while to accommodate them.

Either way, we can come to a safe conclusion:

No one will ever be happy with everything.

It's impossible. All people can do is try.

[yurimxpxman]

Originally Posted by ST!X

First and foremost, you've more than made me curious as to wtf that $0.02 means at the end of the post.

$0.02 == "That's my two cents."

Originally Posted by ST!X

Having said that, Microsoft has never made anything easier than the Vista installation. To be honest, there is absolutely nothing to it. 3-4 pages, and bang it just does it all for you. Finally.
[..]
Now, talking about XP like you were mainly referring to, I can't complain too much about it other than only the fact the BIOS part of it may be intimidating to some newer users. Other than that, the 3 pop-ups during the installation, especially after seeing how Vista works, can be annoying because you have to be there at the computer for a good while to accommodate them.

Erm, I somewhat disagree. I'm not referring to merely the initial installation process, but what it takes to make the system usable (such as installing drivers and software). XP's easy to install initially, but there's a crapload of stuff that needs to be loaded afterwards.

OTOH, Ubuntu installs just about all the drivers and software you'll ever need in about fifteen minutes (have you seen the 7.04 installation?). But when it's done, there's some CLI configuration procedures, as I mentioned before that many people complain about.

[[Dr. V]]

Oh alright in terms of the aftermath, I still completely agree lol.

Linux, and even OSX, are the easiest in terms of that no doubt.

There is just too much to do on a Windows platform for it to be that simple. That's what you gotta deal with to have Windows run on your system.

And thanks for making that $0.02 kinda register lol...I had a big

"OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH"

after that one.

[screwballl]

thats what I like about using KDE version of ubuntu... it doesn't need as many adjustments once up and running....

also has anyone tried PC-BSD?? Thats my next project to play around with

[gvblake22]

I think Linux has some very good potential to seriously give Windows a run for its money. But the bitter truth of the situation is that people are used to the graphical user interface. Period. End of story.

Until Linux can cater to the masses and have the GUI more functional, people will always feel more comfortable in Windows. By reducing the huge reliance on the CLI, it will make people feel more comfortable in Linux and not be afraid to try something new. Those long lines of what seems like random jibberish code is extremely overwhelming to a Linux newcomer who isn't looking to become a Linux coder.

I have managed to Install Ubuntu on a secondary machine and use it for a while now. But without the help of someone fluent in Linux lingo (Yuri), I would have given up on Ubuntu right there. Now that it is up and running smoothly I really like it. But everytime I want to try something new, the giant hurdle of navigating the CLI is always in my way and I don't like it. I have nothing against learning Linux code, but I honestly don't feel like learning an entire language just to be able to use an operating system. I hated my introductory Java class so much, I have no desire to try and learn more coding.

I do have to say however that I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of drivers and compatibility already included in the Ubuntu 7.04 install! Unlike Windows, Ubuntu 7.04 managed to have my onboard sound and ethernet working flawlessly on first boot. This was even on a current generation GeForce 6100 Gigabyte AM2 motherboard! That right there is great and one of the reasons Ubuntu has great potential.

So to wrap up my ramblings, until Linux (Ubuntu) can make it simple and straight forward to do things like install a video driver, adjust extra video settings, install new programs downloaded from the internet, etc, it will forever lag behind Windows.

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by yurimxpxman

[...] It just goes to show you how much of an impact the lack of knowledge has on the experience of installing software. [...]

Ya, here's the problem. You have no clue how to install Windows!
Takes me less than 1 hour to fully setup a Windows computer, drivers and updates included.

Crap load of stuff? How is that hard? Follow the steps with me:
-Chipset driver
-Other devices drivers
-Updates

Logical progression, maybe that's hard to do for Linux users. And all this time I thought the Linux people could work their way thru things... ;P
All in all, Windows is just as easy for me to install than most "common" user targeted Linux distros.
Less lazyness people, less lazyness. Clicking once never hurt someone, right?

[yurimxpxman]

Originally Posted by screwballl

also has anyone tried PC-BSD?? Thats my next project to play around with

I've used FreeBSD. I wasn't very impressed with it. Quite honestly, I see no reason to switch to it from Linux, and it's far too difficult to use for any Windows user to even consider.

[Bokranator]

does anyone know how to instal xp pro oem's on a new computer build
and what are the key things i shud do prior and after this point... and shud i be using an oem anyway?

[Carl Martin]

Although I've experienced a few problems with XP through the years, I can't say I've ever had any problems installing the OS, and all my drivers were right there on the disks that came with my hardware, so it was just a matter of popping them in.

I wish I could say the same about Linux. I still have not found a distro that I can run on my Toshiba laptop, and a quick Google shows I'm not the only one. Common problems include ATI drivers, Alps touchpad, sound, and Atheros wireless networking.

Let's face it, PC components are designed to run Windows and not Linux, which means lots of problems and hacked solutions.