The Linux Extremist

I have just spent the better part of a Sunday trying to get Xubuntu to work on an aged Dell Latitude LS. I regret to say that it is not operating in a stable state.

The Latitude LS came with the following configuration -

Pentium III processor
128 MB RAM
10 GB hard drive

For this reason, I downloaded the Xubuntu alternate CD, which allows a non-GUI install; I highly recommend staying away from the graphical installer with anything less than 256 MB of RAM on your machine and also with a processor with less power than a Pentium III.

Installation was a nightmare; the Latitude LS has a detachable CD drive and the performance of this drive was suspect at best. The first install failed; the drive actually scratched the CD. It worked the second time with a fresh disc.

That said, there are limitations - sound does not work. The screen resolution, 800 x 600, is so tiny as to be almost unusable. It is not a fast booting machine by any means - it would often get “stuck” as it booted, and I would have to power down and start all over again.

The biggest issue was trying to install wireless cards. I had most success with the Linksys WPC54g (Version 1.2) card, using the Broadcom chipset. I was actually able to get it up and running on the internet for a brief time. To do so, I followed these instructions -

1. Open Synaptic, and in SETTINGS-> REPOSITORIES enable Universe repositories.

2. Search for fwcutter. Mark bcm43xx-fwcutter for installation, and install it.

3. Download the latest drivers for the Linksys WPC54g from www.linksys.com. Note: ensure you download the V2.0 drivers - yes, this is supposed to work with a V1.2 card.

4. Extract the files. I chose to extract them to a folder I created called “wireless”

5. Open a terminal. Type:

cd wireless
sudo bcm43xx-fwcutter bcmwl5.sys

There were several “errors”, but none were fatal.

6. Finally, type -

sudo cp *.fw /lib/firmware

7. Go to the network settings item in the Administrator tools and enter all the data for your wireless card. It should function.

However upon reboot, the system hanged at loading hardware drivers. This is not atypical - as previously stated, the laptop would hang at different times during the boot process, and this behaviour began prior to the card’s installation.

Sad to say, my conclusion is that it is too flaky and unreliable to be useful. As I understand it, getting the sound to work on this laptop is also extremely difficult. It may very well be the most Linux-unfriendly PC available.

Please note: there may be reason to hold out some hope - this particular laptop had been suffering from problems with its battery and power supply, so a unit with these in a more intact state may yield better results, however I remain skeptical about its ability to be useful with Linux.

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