http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4687102#post4687102
I installed everything correctly so that my system dual boots with xp and ubuntu, the latest (not the beta), and when I try and start from the dual boot screen, I get everything perfect, the bar indicating that ubuntu is loading, etc…after the bar completes, i get 5 command lines checking whether something is ok, and after that my screen goes black, it is still on, but it is as if the nothing is on…the live CD works fine, so it cannot be my configuration, at least I don’t think so…PLEASE HELP ME!

a user just sent me this reply though…

Boot your Live CD and post>
sudo fdisk -lu

There are no two computer systems alike unless you are comparing two identical models, so finding a distro that works for you may be time consuming unless someone else previously had complete success with the identical distro and system. I had at my disposal about 15 different distros when I first played at installing linux. I was curious about install interface, default selected applications included in the distro, the overall look and feel of the distro and most importatnly, how well the distro found and installed all the needed drivers for my particular computer. Some never got to the end of the install, some never made it to the install screen at all. Others got installed and was hit or miss with some hardware drivers.
I found the best distro of those I’ve tried on “my computer” was Mepis (Debien based)…. but that is just me.

At least with Linux, you have the choice to find “The One” that will work best for you.

” By comparison OS X 10 just works, until linux gets to same level or better it won’t make in roads.”

Actually, the reason OS X just works is because it was configured for the hardware it was installed on. By comparison, Linux also “just works” on computers that it has been pre-installed on by Dell, Green PC, Lenovo, Asus and others.

Try installing OS X on a random Intel PC and you’ll find you’ll have the same pitfalls if not more, than Linux.

Dan
TheRealDizzy

Yes, I know that my parents, aunts/uncles and the 30 cpus we saved from the scrap heap for people atthe retirement home all feel right at home with UNIX.
Not.

If you have used UNIX, then you know enough about computers that you dont need this blog.
If you never used UNIX but heard of it, this could scare the hell out of you.
I just read an article this week which talks about Linux and line commands. BS.
I dont ask my mom to alter her Win registry, and I dont ask her to sudo things.

I’ve put Windows users on PCLinuxOS, kUbuntu and xUbuntu and made it look as close to their old OS as possible because KDE can do that. It can even add the top bar just like Mac so you dont even have to look at GNOME (I spit on Miguel) and their locked down ways..

- - - - - - -

When I give live distros to people to choose from I always give them a little primer on what GUI differences there are and that even though you might have a KDE environment on two distros, there are also changes made by the distros themselves. You dont even have to be technical about it. For example, for the less experiences you compare the Linux kernel part as the motor and the GUI and software as the body, the interior finishings and so on.

People are so used to the proprietary way where Windows or Mac is both the ‘brains’ and also finishing touches of the car.
I dont push the info on the people that dont care but whenever I use an XCFE based distro on some old machine, I feel the need to explain/show on my laptop where Im running 3 different Gnu/Linux using the 3 main GUIs.

I think you could add a paragraph explaining ‘about the look’ in the article.

PS: I have also made dual boots for people who need WinXP for some reason (Wine is still not for everyone) and especially games and installing Windows is much longer and harder than Gnu/Linux is. And that’s not counting the time I need to install the anti-virus, firewall and spyware stuff. Windows users are stunned when they see this because they also heard how hard Linux was. Creating a dual boot with PCLinuxOS is truly a breeze.