[SWLUG] Xandros experience

[Steve Anderson]

Rhys Sage wrote:

> I'm now trying to put Windows 98 onto the
> Dell 4300s but even though the disk has been formatted
> and Windows reinstalled, it's coming up with that
> dratted Linux leftover: Grub 1.5 Error 17 and then
> hanging.

Peasy. Ubuntu set GRUB up on the MBR (Master Boot Record if my acronym 
recollection is correct). You've installed Windows (for shame!) but the 
MBR hasn't been touched - I guess you've not alterted partitions or 
anything. Windows is blindly assuming that the MBR is a standard DOS 
one, which it isn't, so you're getting the GRUB issue. Many years ago I 
had a similar issue, but with LILO and Windows 98 - where LILO would get 
as far as displaying 'LI' before hanging.

Get yourself a copy of Ranish Partition Manager - Google it - and sort 
out your Boot Record woes. On XP there's tools to do all this for you, 
but I have no idea if the Windows 98 CD provides anything similar.

> That Dell had XP on it originally but there
> seemed to be files missing from the Dell installation
> CD which meant that as the XP installation was
> corrupt, I could not reinstall XP. 

Welcome to the wacky world of 'recovery discs'. The files you need to 
install XP are on the hard drive in a hidden partition, and the disc you 
get from Dell does little more than access it. It stops people from 
lending out their CDs and prevents piracy. It also prevents a complete 
OS reinstallation if you've repartitioned your hard drive, or the heads 
have crashed. You've done the former =)

> In addition to that... both manufacturers claim their
> machines take a different kind of memory from that
> which is installed in the machines! What is it with
> these manufacturers. The Dell has memory that Ubuntu
> identified as PC133 and Dell identifies as DDR 2100.
> To me, it looks awfully like DDR 2700 - as printed on
> the label on the memory.

Well, if you've got some DDR 2700 memory but the motherboard only 
supports 2100, it's going to see it as being no greater than 2100, I 
imagine. I've got a 133MHz 512Mb DIMM in a box that swears blind it's 
100MHz, because that's as fast as it can use it.

Regarding the numbering, IIRC DDR 2100 runs at 266MHz which is double 
133MHz, which is what Ubuntu is seeing.

Steve