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Linux freezes on my Toshiba Satellite Pro 4200 series

post #1 of 7
5/19/06 at 5:11pm
Thread Starter 
I have a old Toshiba Satellite Pro 4270 with 192Mb RAM that I have been using Windows 98 and lately Windows XP. The laptop has worked without any problems for many years.

However since I have had a lot of problems with Adware and Spyware, unwanted bars in Explorer and some viruses from time to time, I have desided to run Linux on it. I have used Linux on my second desktop computer some time and it really fits my needs very well.

But the problem is that the Toshiba doesn't want to run any Linux distro, whatever I try. I started with Suse v9.1, then tried Kubuntu v6.06 and now CentOS v4.3. They all have the same problem.

I can install them without any problem. And the computer boots as normal. But after a few minutes the laptop freezes, and I have to cold boot it.

However if I boot only up to -init 3- I can run the laptop for ever... (but I like to have graphics..)

Also at the Suse distro my son was able to play the game Frozen Bubbles as long as he wanted.

So I guess it has to bee something about the graphical that Toshiba and Linux don't agree about.

I have tried ACPI=off and it didn't help as someone suggested to me (whatever it is.... ;-)

I really would like to extend the life of this laptop for a few years more with Linux if anyone could give some tips on how to do this. I am able to install and use Linux but I am not an expert (rather a n00B) so please use a teaspoon when You tell me what to try ;-)

Any suggestions anyone ???

Thanx
Sammy
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post #2 of 7
5/20/06 at 1:29am
It might be because of the 4200 has only 8MB video memory. I had one (the mobo burnde out ) and I tryed to run Knopix on it, and it was loading damn slow. I also had some errors about the graphics card because it can't support 1024x768, but in the end runned well. I also tryed Knopix on my current laptop which is even smaller (only 2.5 MB video) and it worked.
The problem is I don't have to much exp in linux. I only used Redhat and Knopix, so... try knopix
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post #3 of 7
5/20/06 at 7:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sutozsolt
It might be because of the 4200 has only 8MB video memory. I had one (the mobo burnde out ) and I tryed to run Knopix on it, and it was loading damn slow.

Okey, that might have something to do with the problem, but WinXP runs 100% okey and I guess that XP also need some resourses from the graphics card...????

Also, my Toshiba is not running slow. It has a normal speed - That is.. untill it freezes...


Quote:
Originally Posted by sutozsolt
I also had some errors about the graphics card because it can't support 1024x768, but in the end runned well. I also tryed Knopix on my current laptop which is even smaller (only 2.5 MB video) and it worked.

I'm running 800x600 on mine. I reported that as a maximum...
Guess I could settle with 800x600 if I culd get it to stop freezing.



Quote:
Originally Posted by sutozsolt
The problem is I don't have to much exp in linux. I only used Redhat and Knopix, so... try knopix

I could try another distro like Knopix, but since all distros so far has had the same problem, I am afrid it looks as if I have to try to repair instead of changing. But I could sure try it..


Thanks for helping out !!!

Sammy

.
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post #4 of 7
5/20/06 at 4:10pm
Knoppix has great hardware detection and since it runs off a cd, there's nothing installed to the hard drive. It (or the ubuntu live cd) would be a great way to figure out what settings actually work to get the laptop up and running, then using that information to install the distro you want to use on it. Have you tried installing in frame buffer mode? I'm not sure how to do it when installing linux (my experience is also pretty limited), but for loading knoppix the command is fb800x600 (in your case for the 800x600 resolution). You may also want to post in the Linux section here on the forums (if you haven't already) as those guys will definately know better how to get you up and running. HERE is the link.
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post #5 of 7
5/20/06 at 5:04pm
Thread Starter 
Thanx g00nter for the suggestion. :-)

Will try to run a Live CD on it and see if It will stay alive longer.
Live CD's is a nice thing to take a first look, but they often runs quite slow from the CD,
so I hope that people that test out distros that way remember that.

I tested out Suse for the first time that way. Knoppix I have actually never tested, so I guess It's worth a try. I have always liked simple and clean distro desktops like RedHats. That's why I like CentOS. But in the Linux world there are a lot of flavours, so I am quite sure that I could fine many more that I could like.

Thank You for Your suggestions !

Sammy
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post #6 of 7
5/20/06 at 8:08pm
No problem. You might also want to take a look at THIS website.
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post #7 of 7
5/28/06 at 9:29am
I found that for whatever reason on my laptop I can't run linux without disableing pcmcia support. Knoppix would freeze everytime I tried to boot it. Froze right as it was initializing the pcmcia module. Disabled that, and it ran without any issues.
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