[Evildave]

Beware: Day 181, all the previous interest for the '180 days without interest' gets added to the tab. Read the agreement: they're ALL structured that way. Just be sure to pay it off by day 170, so the bill will post in plenty of time, and the interest really will be free.

You can buy a new ASUS EEE PC for under $300 with a 40GB SSD, 10" display & a version of linux on it. 7.5 hour battery runtime.

Anyway, sorry your old notebook was crappin' out on you. Beware of who you pass it off to. Everyone I ever GAVE a computer to has wanted me to be free tech support for life.

No clue on the mac Ubuntu, but should be approximately the same. Different file systems. You're probably better off using a virtual machine (like VirtualBox - also for Mac) to 'play' with Ubuntu. There are 'Boot Camp' instructions for Ubuntu 8.10, too.

This guy links all kinds of ways to run it, including 'boot camp'.

http://www.tuaw.com/...-8-10-on-a-mac/

Seriously though, get the external USB backup drive FIRST. Back up early, back up often. Far more important than a 'spare' is the ability to bring the 'real one' back from the dead quickly, and a backup is good for that.

[dabigkahuna]

Hope people still check this thread.

I finally got a decent price for a new hard drive for my old PC (and 160 gb sure beats the 30 I had before!).

I put it in, put the Windows restore CD in, and told it to do a format (NOT the quick one). Probably not reason to do it that way with a new drive, but I had the time.

Installed Windows XP which seemed to work fine. Also booted in less than 30 seconds!

Then I got the Ubuntu CD and installed that. Basically I set it up for 30 GB at the end.

I know Ubuntu has lots of updating to do of apps and stuff so I plugged in my cable to it to go online and it seemed just fine. But this brings me to my first question:

Do I need to do anything for protection on the web with Linux or is there something in Ubuntu which is already doing that?

Then I went to Windows and installed a trial version of Zone Alarm Security Suite (I copied it on my Mac and transferred/installed from a thumb drive). I probably don't really need to normally go online from the Windows side. I can always download things onto my Mac and transfer via thumb drive, but I wanted to check for any updates automatically.

But it wouldn't go online at all. Doesn't seem to realize I'm plugged into the internet. I don't understand, since Ubuntu had no trouble.

So, my next question: Any suggestions on what I need to do? I can live without it, but I'd still like to get it to work.

Third question. I think it would be best to partition it with a data partition in the middle (right now there is the C partition for everything in Windows and then the home and swap partitions for Linux. I have partition magic (which I'm more familiar with) on it and, of course, gparted, but before doing it, I wanted to make sure it won't screw up the boot menu that comes up when I turn on the computer. So, can I just divide the C partition with partition magic into C for OS and apps and D for data without messing the boot menu up?

Besides those questions, I really am going to have to reread through this long thread now that things seem to be working. It will probably make more sense to me with a working computer!

[Evildave]

There aren't really any antivirus things for Linux. They aren't needed. Most of the 'firewall' stuff for Windoze is just crawling towards the security standard that is Linux. It's too big a pain in the butt to make Linux viruses for

Try uninstalling 'Zone Alarm' in windoze. If that doesn't work, check the 'Hardware Manager' to make sure you have the network driver installed. Ironic that the Windoze side is the one having the network problems, ain't it?

PartitionMagic should split up a windoze XP partition just fine. Leave it plugged in, as it will take a while to do it.

[dabigkahuna]

Just got back (death in the family). Glad I don't need anything for Linux so that will give me at least two OS setups that I can use instead of Windows.

Lots of work to catch up on, but maybe I'll find time tomorrow to see if Windows will go online. I'll first try shutting off Zone Alarm (is it really necessary to uninstall it?), then the other stuff.

Thanks.

[lexon]

I have been running Mint 6 Main Edition on a wireless laptop. It works very well. Specs.

* AMD Mobile Sempron 2800
* 15" XGA 1024x768 Display
* 1256MB DDR400 RAM DDR400 PC3200 DDR 200-pin SODIMM
* VIA K8N800 Chipset and Onboard VGA (AGP 8X, 3D Capable)
* CDRW/DVD Combo Drive
* 40GB Hard Drive
* 4 x USB 2.0
* Integrated 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, 56k v.92 modem
* Mint 6
* Mini-PCI Wireless 802.11G
* Weight 7 lbs

lexon

[Evildave]

Ideally, you'd have tested the wireless before you installed any other software to confuse matters. If it can be disabled, that's probably good enough.

[rgreen4]

EvilDave is absolutely correct on the day 181 situation. It is not "interest free", it is "interest deferred". If you pay it off before day 180, then they wipe the accrued interest off their books, but on day 181, your account will be hit for the full interest going back to day 1. Please be sure to pay it off before then to avoid a nasty surprise.

BTW - that's standard across all those "deals". And you get hit with the full interest unless your balance on day 181 is zero. So don't even leave as much as $1 owed on the account, even if you have to borrow the money somewhere else to pay it off.

[smax013]

Evildave said:

No clue on the mac Ubuntu, but should be approximately the same. Different file systems. You're probably better off using a virtual machine (like VirtualBox - also for Mac) to 'play' with Ubuntu. There are 'Boot Camp' instructions for Ubuntu 8.10, too.


This guy links all kinds of ways to run it, including 'boot camp'.


http://www.tuaw.com/...-8-10-on-a-mac/


Seriously though, get the external USB backup drive FIRST. Back up early, back up often. Far more important than a 'spare' is the ability to bring the 'real one' back from the dead quickly, and a backup is good for that.

Putting Linux on a Mac using Bootcamp would be a bit on the "more complex" side. I would certainly suggestion that if you want Linux on your Mac, use a virtual machine through either Parallels or Fusion, etc.

[yankeeDDL]

Hello,
you got a lot of answers already. I thought I'd add my 2 cents.
I have an old (late 2000) Dell Inspiron 8000 (it's a pentium 3 900MHz). Linux works flawlessly on it. Everything works from the 1st install, eben a USB wi-fi dongle which took me 1 week to get to work under Windows XP.

The 5100 should be a Pentium 4 if I'm not mistaken. You should have a very snappy laptop with Linux (is quite good already on my Pentium 3) so I suggest Ubuntu.

My Ubuntu boots in 1m and 20sec. Windows XP used to take over 3minutes. That's just to give you a perspective. And the recently released Ubuntu 9.04 promises even quickier boot times: I haven't tried it yet though.

If you ONLY plan to use the laptop for browsing the internet and emails, you can also try some smaller Linux Distro. I would NOT recommend it if you plan to use it as a "general purpose" PC, Puppy Linux is a damn fast Linux distro that absolutely flies on a Pentium 3. It is un-believeable. But of course it's "cut down quite a bit so you'll be "uncomfortable".

Two more comments: 1) Linux distros are free. If you plan to wipe-out your laptop from Windows then just try them out and see which one works best for you. 2) Someone suggested to use VirtualBox (or VMWare) for a virtual machine. I disagree. Pentium 4 does not natively support virtualization and it would be VERY slow, especially since you'll be running it as a host on Windows. Not to mention that on a virtualbox you won't have access to the hardware natively (so you'll have a generic video driver) and you won't be able to really make sure that your system works well (and of course that too will impact performance).

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[dabigkahuna]

Well Dave, I don't have wireless (yet - hopefully before much longer). I hook it up directly to the cable internet connection.

Haven't had a chance to try again, but I will.

I have some serious doubts I could add a wireless card to the old PC laptop anyway. I had tried a card to add two USB ports, but nothing I plug into them works. Could be the card, but I suspect it is just another problem with that computer.

[dabigkahuna]

As it turns out, Juniper credit card company (Barclays Bank) already is playing games with me.

I talked to them before my purchase because I was concerned how they would apply payments for other things I bought each month. My understanding was that the "other" purchases would be paid off first, thus making the 180 days things worthwhile (otherwise, why bother?).

I also checked the website where the FAQ section said that any additional purchases must be made in full each month to avoid interest on them - and said NOTHING about having to FIRST payoff the computer. The first two bills came and all seemed fine, which would only make sense if those "other" bills were paid off first.

Then in February, I get a finance fee. Called them and they said my computer was paid off in January and I thus owe for those other purchases. That made no sense since they hadn't charged me before.

Presently this is going through the Better Business Bureau. The company said they made a mistake not charging me those first two months and say their policy states that the lower percentage items are paid first. But they consistently avoid dealing with what their own FAQ statement says.

I rejected their explanation and am waiting for a further response, which I expect will be poor. As soon as they revealed this little game, I paid off everything left. If they insist upon this crap, I'll never use their card again.

And make sure lots of people know how the game is played.

If they had been upfront in their FAQ, I would either have waited to buy or I would have made all "other" purchases on my other credit card to avoid the problem.

[dabigkahuna]

Yankee, Linux presently takes about 77 seconds to boot for me (8.10). Windows, with a trial ZA security suite, takes about 90 seconds (before starting from scratch, it would take well over 3 minutes). I'm counting time until the hard drive seems to stop doing major access. Before putting in ZA and Office, it only took about 20 seconds or so.

I don't know how "into" Linux I'll get, but I'm glad to have it at least working so I can mess with it some.

I'll look into the new version. Have to figure out how to install it over what I already have. Might be easy, but I've not done anything with Linux before so I'll have to check.

[dabigkahuna]

Well, this isn't good. I upgraded to 9.04 and everything seemed to be going fine. But upon restarting, it asked for a user name and password.

I don't recall what user name I may have used (my various booting under 8.10 hasn't been asking me). I think I know the password, but apparently one or both are wrong.

So how the heck to I get into this new Linux?

[Evildave]

OK, boot with the CD. That'll let you mount the disk.

The username you used will be in /home.

http://www.psychocat...u/resetpassword

[smax013]

It is fairly standard practice for credit cards to apply your payment to lower interest rate portions of your debt. This is how a LOT of people get really into credit card debt...they get lured into making a big purchase with a low interest rate which they cannot pay off in any sort of a quick manner. Thus, there will still be a balance on the card once the good deal expires and future purchases are made with higher interest rates. And then since they pay down the cheap interest rate stuff first, you end up with a bunch of stuff at higher interest rate that is carried over month to month and you get juice on interest.

As a rule, you should plan on not charging ANYTHING else to card if you take advantage of a some temporary low interest rate deal...in other words, just leave THAT charge and nothing else that could be under some higher rate. Better yet, only charge to the card what you can pay off each month if you can (not always possible) and you won't have to deal with interest at all.

Personally, I NEVER do those "same as cash", "no interest for XX days" deals. But that is just me...

[dabigkahuna]

Thanks, it's working now.

I did try to create a new partition (using Partition Magic) - having it take the end of the C partition to make a data partition. PM wanted to reboot as part of the process - normal stuff - but at some point it said it couldn't do the procedures. I don't know if it was affected by the boot menu or just a fluke.

Probably doesn't matter a lot, though it would be nice if all documents from Linux or Windows was in one partition. Most of this stuff is for me just to learn about Linux and to also have access to Windows in those cases where I really need Excel or Access.

Windows still won't find the internet connection (cable), but I haven't had time to do any serious checking with it.

Oh, the 9.04 version of Ubuntu only took 60 seconds to boot - about a 25 second reduction (only did one test though and not counting time to enter my name and password).

[dabigkahuna]

I always pay off any charges every month. The only reason I tried this offer was it would let me get the computer quicker after the new updates without hurting my efforts to pay off my mortgage faster - and the iTunes rewards would be useful too. I'm retired and this is the only time I've ever gone for any special deals.

I understand their practice of paying off the lowest percentage first, but I also think they were deliberately vague about the FAQ statements - not to mention what I understood them to say when I called them about it in advance. I do NOT like to play games and that's what I think they were doing with that FAQ, knowing some people would get caught in it and not have the money to quickly pay it off. Since I always keep a reserve, I could immediately stop the drain when it showed up so it didn't hurt me much - it's just the principle of the thing that bugs me. I go out of my way to support businesses that are straight-forward with their customers and I am just as determined to nail those who aren't.

Should I ever do something like this in the future (unlikely), I'll certainly use a different card for other purchases.

[Evildave]

Take the card out of your wallet
Put it away.
Pay it off.
Call the number on the card, cancel it
Cut it up.

There are a hundred other banks climbing over each other to give you more credit cards with better rates.

[rgreen4]

Or, if they give you a hassle and don't charge for the card, just cut the card up. Eventually, they will close the obviously abandoned account some years in the future, but it is best to close the account. Once I had a Sears card and they made me mad. I was in the store where I did a lot of business and walked into the business office, went up to the counter. The very nice lady asked if she could help me. I said "Yes, can I borrow a pair of scissors?". She complied and got me a pair of nice big ones. I pulled the Sears card out of my wallet, cut it up into about a dozen pieces on the counter, said "Thank you" as I handed the scissors back to the now shocked lady, turned around and left.

From that point on, all of my business with Sears was either cash or check until they started taking Visa or MasterCard. I don't know if they still have their own credit cards or not. The only business I do with them today is their tool line, and I confess it has been over a year since I have been in their store. I am also retired, and have most of the toys I need already. I have small balances (current) on only two cards - ones associated with my banks. The others are zero and I am about to cancel another card. I have two Bank America cards and they just raised the interest rate on one to 15%, and I am not going to play. The balance is zero, but it's the principal of it again. This is a card that had been with MBNA, I have another card with them (through a bank they acquired years ago) which I used this past weekend where the rate is still at 10%. I don't know what games they are playing, but I'm not participating.

[smax013]

rgreen4 said:

From that point on, all of my business with Sears was either cash or check until they started taking Visa or MasterCard. I don't know if they still have their own credit cards or not. The only business I do with them today is their tool line, and I confess it has been over a year since I have been in their store. I am also retired, and have most of the toys I need already. I have small balances (current) on only two cards - ones associated with my banks. The others are zero and I am about to cancel another card. I have two Bank America cards and they just raised the interest rate on one to 15%, and I am not going to play. The balance is zero, but it's the principal of it again. This is a card that had been with MBNA, I have another card with them (through a bank they acquired years ago) which I used this past weekend where the rate is still at 10%. I don't know what games they are playing, but I'm not participating.

Be careful about cancelling cards. Your credit rating/score is somewhat a function of the ratio of total debt to total available credit. If you cancel a card, then your total available credit decreases and thus, your ratio increases. This is an area where credit card companies have been creating some backlash to themselves with political types and consumer advoates...they have been cancelling cards that some people don't use in an effort to lower the amount of "outstanding debt" that the bank has (i.e. lower the risk). But, that creates the side effect that some people's credit rating/score dropped and then those banks raised their interest rates. So, while the bank might have a valid reason, it looks (and maybe IS) like they did it so that they could raise rates on consumers. As such, you better path might be to keep the card, but just don't use it...stuff it in a firebox and don't use it...unless it is an emergency.