FW: Install problems Fedora Core 3 - Dell OptiPlex....

[Deron Meranda]

The instructions Jim has been giving you about editing your Xorg
configuration for no acceleration should work.   This is a rough way
for a newbie to have to get into Linux (especially since it works
so well on most hardware), but in the end you'll come out knowing
a lot more.

Just in case anybody else has problems, I've noticed that the built-in
video on several Dell models has always been problematic to Linux.
As a stop-gap measure you can always throw a really cheap PCI
video card in and disable the built-in video in the BIOS settings.
The problem is that Dell's BIOS often misreports certain information.
It will seem to work under Windows because their drivers know better,
but the Linux ones just trust the BIOS and then blows up when the
hardware didn't work as expected.  The latest Linux drivers now
compensate for Dell's "bug".

Also, another thing I've learned, is that when trying to run Linux on
Dell boxes (especially those models that are not "supported" for
Linux use), is to always keep it up on the latest Dell BIOS version.
Dell's BIOS's sometimes tend to be quite buggy for anything but the
factory-installed configuration.

-- 
Deron Meranda