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[lee n. field]

Tried Slackware 13.37 ISO install - nearly same result as the Ubuntu 10.04 upgrade from 9.10 - the screen was distorted like a weird resolution was default.

Intel 910 chipset, by any chance?  If so, you may be stuck.

[lee n. field]

I've had two or three failures to download/install Linux. I pay good clean FRNs (like ten bucks) for a DVD burned with a clean distro and it works every time.  An hour of download has too much opportunity for some key ingredient to be corrupted, IMHO.

I was going to say Ubuntu will send you a CD for the asking, but it looks like they don't do that anymore.

Go for a Debian net install.  The CD image you download is competitively small.  This will install a basic system, and walk through a filewise download for further packages.  If you're having problems downloading a full sized iso file, this will likely work better.

[Adventurer, Explorer, Inquiring Mind.]

As I said in my extremely long rant sometime ago, just get ubuntu 12.04 LTS now that its gone mainstream, and when you finish, if you dislike (or utterly hate) the new Unity Gnome desktop manager, simply "apt-get install gnome-panel" from a command prompt,  or search for gnome-panel from within aptitude, synaptic or software center (I prefer using the other two, I despise the software center, too much face bookish theme to it, I like a software manager that FEELS like a software manager, aptitude and synaptic both feel that way, aptitude runs from command prompt, and synaptic can be quickly installed from terminal via apt-get install synaptic once gnome is running (gnome being your standard ubuntu desktop, unity being the very specific "customized" ubuntu version of the gnome desktop.)

Anyways, hope that helps.  Just get the default install CD, or try their bittorent version.  I would get the alternate install since it gives more options and pull it via bittorent.  The reason for this is because instead of straight CRC corrected downloads, you can get fully SHA/MD checksumming of the data you download, so any bits that got corrupted are redownloaded until they check out.  Infinitely helpful.  I once had to use an encrypted file server on a home connection at a user's site because their network card was damaged and corrupted a few bits every megabyte.  With the inherent error checking present in encrypted (certificate secured) connections, we got to watch exactly how much of the data said user's laptop mangled right there from the FTP connection's status output.  A red failure line every few minutes.  All finished transfers were successful.  So use bittorent to pull the image file for your chosen linux and simply FORCE or REQUIRE encryption from the options menu (you may have to navigate a bit.)  You can also limit how much bandwidth the client uses while pulling files and uploading to the web.  Can even go into single digit kilobits with some clients.  UTorrent is good for the windows users.  If you already have a linux, gnome comes with Transmission and KDE comes with KTorrent default.  Those are self checking protocols (bittorent) so it should do the trick, though you may have to wait a few hours or a day to get it.

Good luck.  (If you had that many issues with firmware, remember that on the Debian side ALL of your proprietary firmware hardware will require installs be done by you, the user, Debian does not host anything that infringes on intellectual property or patents or anything of that sort.)

[mi6a2lm]

Kubuntu 11.10 found wi-fi on a newer HP Pavilion Entertainment PC - dv4-1225dx, AMD Turion x 2 - apparently it has current support - used ethernet to connect initially with startup disk.  Selected third-party apps download and got the blue-wifi indicator.  Hooah.

[Adventurer, Explorer, Inquiring Mind.]

Kubuntu 11.10 found wi-fi on a newer HP Pavilion Entertainment PC - dv4-1225dx, AMD Turion x 2 - apparently it has current support - used ethernet to connect initially with startup disk.  Selected third-party apps download and got the blue-wifi indicator.  Hooah.

They all do.

Also, a year or two ago, when I last checked, I was also VERY impressed with Desktop BSD.  It ain't Linux, but its still a POSIX compliant operating system (meaning Unix compatible, like Linux... and BSD IS unix, actually, in case you're curious.)  Course that's a whole new setup to learn, since the commandline toys are different.

[mi6a2lm]

My bank must have recently changed one small thing on the 'Transfer Money between Accounts' page - everything else looks and acts exactly the same.  There are two drop-down bars for 'From Account' and 'To Account'.  You choose which 'From' account, then you choose 'To Account'.  Once the 'To Account' is chosen, a little Javascript drop-down rectangle shows up below showing choices like 'One Time, Send Now', 'Recurring' etc.  Once you choose then you can click on 'Continue' (which is previously unclickable until you choose) and go on to the next page.

This time it didn't show the 'One Time, Send Now' etc. and the 'Continue' button remained unclickable.  Well, it was a weekend so maybe they were doing maintenance or something.  Since I had changed nothing since the last time I decided to wait.  Tried several different things:  Waiting, making sure I had changed nothing (JavaScript on), calling bank ('Is your JavaScript on?'   'What browser are you using?'  'Mac or PC?'  'Ubuntu Linux w/Firefox.'  'OK, is that a Mac or PC?'      'Have you tried another browser like Explorer?'  'Don't have one.'), I decided it was time to get some DVD+R's, burn some important stuff, make sure (twice) important stuff was burned and try to solve the problem.

I still had the Slackware 13.37 which distorted the screen but I decided to d/l latest Kubuntu and Ubuntu and try those (I had a 50 pk DVD+R from Walmart, $21.00).  Same result.

So, I went to Ubuntu Software Center, tried update (it failed being 9.10 and unsupported) but it gave me a chance to update to 10.04 LTS.  Forgetting that I had previously tried 10.04 with the same result (distorted screen), I updated thinking if this worked then I could take a chance and keep updating (10.xx to 11.xx to 12.xx to ).  Of course, once I rebooted I got the distorted screen.

Back to 9.10 again, and getting wireless up and the few addons I use and a few other things (always d/l'ing 'older versions').  I decide maybe it's that my old 3.5.3 Firefox isn't cutting it with my bank anymore.  So I decide to install a browser or two.  [I previously tried to d/l Chrome but it wouldn't let me install because dependencies couldn't be satisfied.]  Googled and followed commandline instructions for Chromium.  Got it working but w/same results on 'Transfer Accounts' page.  OK, let's try Opera again.  [Just like Chrome I had tried to get it working before but my distro was probably too old.]

This time, just like with Chromium, I googled 'Opera Ubuntu 9.10' and got some pages with commandline instructions.  Copied and pasted.  I should mention both browsers returned numerous 'failed to fetch' / 'can't satisfy blah blah blah' but I continued anyway.  Turns out Opera worked on the banking site!  It also 'worked' with those sites mentioned in the 'websites I stopped clicking on' thread.

Additionally, I did the 'Inspect element' w/Opera in the area I was having problems with and it came up with 'Error:  something something keepalive something something.js' so maybe it has something to with that.

Anyways, problem solved.  Lesson:  Have two totally different browsers just in case.  FF for most everything but Opera for a few things.  I am thinking of d/l'ing BSD and Xubuntu and playing with them.  I installed FreeBSD way back when I had 10 or so distros to play with on an old eMachines 550MHz.  Haven't tried Xubuntu.

Only thing different now is the red error circle in upper right panel due to Opera install but so what.  Edit:  Click on thumbnail to see what I'm talking about - it's just the very top of a screen grab (43 KB).  I guess it depends on what kind of 'unmet dependencies' one has - as in
"Error!  Engine failed to download into your car."  versus  "Error!  Only three out of four hubcaps were downloaded.  Would you like to continue?"

[Adventurer, Explorer, Inquiring Mind.]

Brother, that lesson about two or more browsers was valid even for those of us who are also MCSP's.  We use explorer for all server side activities on a windows server.  And occasionally we can't pull something up.  And we use firefox, or opera, or even *gasp* safari.

It happens.  Granted, when surfing the open web, its all firefox or opera with a massive amount of validated script blockers.  Its like having sex.  Internet explorer is like having skin on skin contact.  The web is like a disease ridden slut in many aspects.  So you validate input.  You validate scripts.  Is it harder?  Sure it is.  But saying "you don't know how" is like saying "I am not wearing a condom even if that chick's been around the entire town" or "I'm not going to wear a condom even if that guy has weird red things on his thingy." 

You get it.  Yeah.... its like that.  Scary too.  Thankfully unlike herpes and humans, this stuff, you CAN back up the machine, put it down, and reinstall it.  Most of us don't know the Resurrect spell yet.  And its lvl 7 anyways... most of us who aren't casters won't know it anyways.

[rbryant]

I think Netrunner looks very interesting, and plan on installing it on a little sub-laptop I've got laying around (as soon as I get a free evening).