installed Linux,then problems....

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Just installed Linux Mint onto laptop. I d/l'ed the os with the installer. It loaded up.I was even able to access a few websites,few as in 2 or 3. I the tried to d/l a driver updater,it wouldn't open. Then, it kept saying something about having to send a crash report. it seemed every page from then on did this. so I thought i'd reboot, now the !@#$ program on the flashdrive isn't working! it goes up to a rectangle where it states diagnostic, oem install,etc. then after that, a black background with a bunch of lines of code or something. Man am I [censored] right now. I thought this os was more faster, more stable, never look back, etc from what other people have said. I'm about to junk this os and just go to Win 7.
 
It may not be the OS. It may be the computer. I am no expert. I have installed Linux Mint on 5+ computers. It did not work on some due to a driver issue with the graphic card. Especially on older Dell laptops with ATI graphics. I kept Windows on them. One reason I only buy older Thinkpads. Everything works flawlessly with onboard graphics. Typing this on my R61 Thinkpad with Mint.
 
it's a great operating system once figured out. are you booting off the flash drive or the hard drive? at the grub prompt select the nomodeset option. report back.
 
if you can get to the desktop dry and install the updated display drivers. the computer should give you those options, do this before opening any other programs.
 
Originally Posted By: daves66nova
The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 1525


The processor is similar to what I am using on the Thinkpad if it is configured like this one:

1525 Specs

Was that the laptop with a bad hard drive?

Honestly, I hated Windows 8.1 on a Ebay computer I bought and experimented with Mint. There is a learning curve and things did not always go well due to lack of experience. Not the fault of Mint, just my lack of knowledge.

I did upgrade my dimm to 3 gb. With 2 gb it was almost maxed out with Mint. Made it run smoother.
 
Hold on--back up. You mentioned that you downloaded and installed a "driver updater" just before everything went to [censored]. In 25 years of Linux system administration I have *never* needed to download some "driver updater" for bone stock, generic hardware. Shed some more light on this. If this is the point where your installation imploded, then this is the point you need to examine with a magnifying glass.

1. How did you come to download the driver updater, and what site did you download from?
2. What were the filename(s) you downloaded for the driver updater, and how did you install it?
3. If the driver updater installed successfully, what driver(s) did it install before it made your system take a dump?

With a Dell Inspiron 1525 the basic Linux Mint install should have included every driver you need for that laptop. This is not some bleeding edge system that was released a month ago requiring OS vendors to include beta drivers. Of course, I am assuming you tried to install a current release (18.3 as I type this).

It's possible there are other problems going on here, but it does not make sense to assume so out of the gate without any specific evidence. Chase one problem at a time.

Take it slow, give some more details, and we'll get it figured out.

Mike
 
Originally Posted By: AlaskaMike
Take it slow, give some more details, and we'll get it figured out.

What a terrific resource to have guys like Mike around.
 
Originally Posted By: AlaskaMike
Hold on--back up. You mentioned that you downloaded and installed a "driver updater" just before everything went to [censored]. In 25 years of Linux system administration I have *never* needed to download some "driver updater" for bone stock, generic hardware. Shed some more light on this. If this is the point where your installation imploded, then this is the point you need to examine with a magnifying glass.

Mike is right; we'll get it all figured out. I've never seen this, either. The only times I have ever fussed with drivers are with graphics card (nVidia in my case) proprietary drivers, and I was never prompted or required to do such; it was an experiment all on my own.

I've never encountered any system made in the last fifteen years that I couldn't get working relatively simply on a Linux distro, and even use Linux to get something going when Windows is being trouble for someone.
 
I agree with AlaskaMike. I've had good luck with Linux as well. My only issue with several installs of Mint and Cinnamon was with an NVDA graphics card and the NVDA driver for it. I ended up using the driver Linux provided after completely removing the NVDA driver from the computer. No problems at all after that.
 
If I can install bare bones Arch Linux you can install Mint.

Like others have said, probably when you downloaded that sketch driver downloader. If you wanted more frequent updates you shouldn't have downloaded an LTS (long term service) os (Mint). Btw, if you wanted a "stable" LTS OS you should have just downloaded the latest Ubuntu LTS since that's what MINT is.

Never understood the infatuation with Mint, but whatever.
 
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fill us in on your "driver updater"
in the windows world these are 99.999% malware and at best they cause more trouble than good.
are these garbage programs now targeting linux?
i cannot ever recall needing such a thing for any linux install.
mint has the proprietary stuff included so no need for anything else.
wipe it out and skip the junk this time.
 
Originally Posted By: RazorsEdge
https://zorinos.com/

I just went from Windows 10 to this linux build and love it! I didnt use any driver installs either.


The last I understood, Zorin - like Mint - is Ubuntu-based and would therefore be privy to the same drivers, same kernel, etc.
 
Originally Posted By: daves66nova
I thought this os was more faster, more stable, never look back, etc from what other people have said. I'm about to junk this os and just go to Win 7.


You have to use whatever is right for you. I have a good 15 people running Ubuntu who are anything but computer-literate precisely because it is dead simple to install software, it is free from viruses and spyware, and it is reliable and stable; all free in both the "freedom" and "cost-free" senses. If there are hardware issues or other complications that prohibit you using it, then it is not the best option for you.

I am still strongly suspicious that there is some hardware SNAFU afoot, here.
 
Originally Posted By: kc8adu
are these garbage programs now targeting linux?


Web sites that pull this garbage on users don't tend to discriminate based on OS. Using an unprotected browser (ie. not running an ad- or script-blocker) I will get a DIRE WARNING that I am AT RISK and need to download THIS APPLICATION to scan and fix my system; and those downloads are inevitably a .exe irrespective if I am using my Linux or macOS systems.
 
With the exception of a direct Chrome install and an HP printer driver, I've never installed anything in any Linux distro except through the approved software source. In Mint, that's Software Manager. Mint has a pretty good help site.

I'll probably be installing Ubuntu Mate 18.04 replacing Mint Mate in April. The Ubuntu Mate people are very helpful.

I'd stick with a LTS version of Ubuntu (meaning an even number followed by .04) or a distro based on Ubuntu such as Mint or Zorin. Don't get fancy as a newbie. Like the others, I think you put some malware on your computer. Drivers normally come with the distro install, not from outside.
 
Originally Posted By: MONKEYMAN
Originally Posted By: daves66nova
The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 1525


The processor is similar to what I am using on the Thinkpad if it is configured like this one:

1525 Specs

Was that the laptop with a bad hard drive?



I did upgrade my dimm to 3 gb. With 2 gb it was almost maxed out with Mint. Made it run smoother.
Yes,the laptop with the bad HD. I ended up getting a SSD for it.
 
Originally Posted By: AlaskaMike
Hold on--back up. You mentioned that you downloaded and installed a "driver updater" just before everything went to [censored]. In 25 years of Linux system administration I have *never* needed to download some "driver updater" for bone stock, generic hardware. Shed some more light on this. If this is the point where your installation imploded, then this is the point you need to examine with a magnifying glass.

1. How did you come to download the driver updater, and what site did you download from?
2. What were the filename(s) you downloaded for the driver updater, and how did you install it?
3. If the driver updater installed successfully, what driver(s) did it install before it made your system take a dump?

(18.3 as I type this).
Mike, I d/l'ed Driver Booster from Iobit.com . I 've always used it and never had problems. It did download, but it never opened. It said that I needed a program to open it.
 
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