Randy Demerchant composed on 2019-08-10 22:53 (UTC): > I have a dell laptop 1720
If https://www.cnet.com/products/dell-inspiron-1720/specs/ is what you have, 12 years old, don't be surprised if you encounter obstacles. Its GM965 chipset has a mixed support reputation going back to when it was brand new. It's a sort of milestone in Intel graphics performance and support, first in the Core2 mobile line produced in high volume. A friend presented me with an opportunity to replace WinVista with Linux on one (Sony VAIO) four months ago. It was an ordeal I'd rather not have to go through again. At root of the main problem was/is the S-video output it included, but its broken external keyboard support made it necessary frequently to use certain of the laptop keys, and I just cannot cope with a laptop keyboard or a screen so close to my face in trying to use one. With any luck, your Dell won't have the same problem, and/or you won't need to use an external keyboard. The Sony's video problem, details of which I remember none any more, was eventually worked around in both openSUSE and Buster using video=SVIDEO-1:d as a kernel cmdline option. > and desktop acer ax 1935. If https://www.cnet.com/products/acer-aspire-x1935-ur22p-core-i3-2120-3-3-ghz-4-gb-1-tb/ is what you have, 7 years old, you can expect better luck from its Sandy Bridge chipset, but it hasn't been without its faults either. It's old enough now that the teething trouble it had years ago should all be long gone. If a default Debian Buster installation doesn't work for you on first try, do as others suggested and do a non-default installation, choosing a DE other than KDE or Gnome. On the Dell, you might wish to give AntiX a try. It's Debian-based, and intended for older hardware such as the GM965. -- Evolution as taught in public schools is religion, not science. Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks! Felix Miata *** http://fm.no-ip.com/
