HELP!!!!!!! Computer guys needed

[FieroBUZZ]

Okay, Mr Computer dummy is at it again.
Dell refurb desktop running XP Pro

I bought a new keyboard finally.  It's a bit smaller and 'soft touch' so I'll still spell like crap.

I also got a TV card.  It's an ASUS My Cinema P7131.  The downside is that it says it wants a P4 2.6 or better.  Question is how can I ID my motherboard/chip to see if I can upgrade what I have here?  I know it's a P4 but don't think it's quite so fancy.

I figured I could use an old analog cam and make some short vids of car parts. 

Second, down the road if I want to go to LINUX will I kill myself in the process?  The XP is loaded and I do not have a CD.  I don't think I'm a VISTA type for another 10 years.

[34FieroGT]

Question is how can I ID my motherboard/chip to see if I can upgrade what I have here?  I know it's a P4 but don't think it's quite so fancy.

I'm pretty sure that with the Dell's, when you first turn it on and you're at the Dell logo, there's a line that says something to the effect of "Press tab to see POST info".  May not be the exact line, but close.  If you press the specified key, you should see the processor info during the boot process.  The processor speed will probably be listed in MHz, which would be 2600 for a 2.6GHz CPU.

If you don't see that line during bootup, you might also be able to get the info from the BIOS.  Look for a message which states "Press DEL to enter setup", or "Press F2 to enter setup".  Again, may not be the exact message, but similar.  Just make sure that when you exit the BIOS setup screen, you DO NOT save any changes.  I'm not responsible if your computer stops working after entering the BIOS setup.   

Second, down the road if I want to go to LINUX will I kill myself in the process?

Probably. 

[lacelles]

Try this

http://www.wizard-soft.com/cpuspeed/index.htm

[lacelles]

or

In Windows, how do I verify my computer's CPU speed?

Windows NT, Me, 2000, or XP
To check the CPU speed, from the Start menu, select Run... , then enter msinfo32 .

Your computer's CPU speed will show up under the processor description. For instance, in "x86 Family 15 Model 1 Stepping 2 GenuineIntel ~1495 Mhz", the CPU speed is 1495MHz (i.e., 1.495GHz).

http://kb.iu.edu/data/aiiu.html

[aaron88]

Start/Contol Panel/System(General tab)

[dguy]

Second, down the road if I want to go to LINUX will I kill myself in the process?

Almost definitely.     Some distributions are "friendlier" than others, but by far they're all still highly geek-oriented.

[FieroBUZZ]

Second, down the road if I want to go to LINUX will I kill myself in the process?

Almost definitely.     Some distributions are "friendlier" than others, but by far they're all still highly geek-oriented.

Good....evidently that means I'm not a geek.

[FieroBUZZ]

Thanks guys!  Aaron, I think I tried all the tabs except 'system'   

Worked like a charm  It's a P4 1.6Ghz

[MacPhail]

Does anyone here run LINUX?  As much as I hate Microsoft products, I trust them more than I do the alternatives (I even switched way back from WordPerfect to MS Word).

Cheers, Derek

[aaron88]

Does anyone here run LINUX?  As much as I hate Microsoft products, I trust them more than I do the alternatives (I even switched way back from WordPerfect to MS Word).

Cheers, Derek

I have a few things to say about Linux.  Not because I know first hand but because some people I know and trust on this matter have told me so.

First, although there have been many new updates for Linux they aren't yet all proven or properly tested.  When in doubt buy your copy, not bucause you should be but because they are tested (like red hat).  You'll notice that red hat is a much older but smoother running Linux version.

Secondly, if your going to run such a software you might as well run Unix insted (the big brother).  Also aviailable in the free versions.  Run your servers on Unix.

Lastly;  There isn't really much in the way of software that was designed to run on these systems.  They are more of a server operating system than a PC operating system.

That being said...Go C go!


Aaron

.

[c-l]

Gary,

There are lots of different distributions available. If you are not the shy type and are willing to recompile your kernel regularly, any distribution will be fine. Some distros require that you recompile just about anything you install... may not be what you are looking for. I don't know of any distro that is going to guarantee trouble free installation and upgrades for you. It is NOT as straightforward as Windows is (if you can believe it). One of the easiest install / maintenance distro that I installed was SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10.

Real life with Linux dictates that you may sometimes spend 10 or 20 hours of web search and trial before getting something as simple as the network card to work. Under Windows you would have about 2 minutes of web search, 5 minutes of download and 2 minutes of driver install before your system's network card is running. !!! This is true of ALL hardware components !!!!!

My advice to you is to start with a distro that runs entirely from CD (either Knoppix or Phlak) just to see if this is really what you want to use.

After this, you can install VMWare player on your Windows based PC and install any distro of linux IN A VIRTUAL session. This is before you commit to erasing your hard drive. It will also allow you to get familiar with your new OS and application(s). If you don't like it, you just delete it and you have lost nothing of you Windows world.

Have fun !!!

PS - You thought that maintaining a road worthy Fiero was time intensive... Not so, learning Linux is time intensive !!!!
BTW - Linux Workstation is extremely common in the highteck world (especially hackers and crakers)