Installation
I won't bore you with
all the details. WinLinux uses the same install routine you've already used
countless times when installing other software with Windows. Once the software
is installed it will automatically launch their configuration program. From
this program you can pick your ROOT and user passwords. Once the passwords
are arranged you will view a screen that shows your current hardware configuration.
At this point you can make changes such as your preferred video settings and
any special settings for your other hardware, such as your IP settings to
get onto the internet. Once you have completed this step you are ready to
launch WinLinux from an icon on your desktop.
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A
screenshot of Winlinux in action
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Testing
I installed this OS on
different systems that each have a different hardware configuration. Rather
than methodically installing one component at a time I decided I could tackle
any quirks with this arrangement. While I had only a few problems setting
up my main system I did run into quite a few problems setting up my second
system.
My main system consists
of a Pentium III 500e (Coppermine) which I am overclocking to 690 MHz. The
WinLinux installer correctly identified my 3dfx card, Soundblaster Live X-Gamer,
and network card. Where it fell short was that it could not configure my TCP/IP
correctly. Because I use a cable modem I followed their directions for using
DHCP to allow my cable modem to automatically dictate the correct TCP/IP settings.
DHCP failed miserably with WinLinux. I then tried to manually configure my
TPC/IP settings. That didn't work either. I asked a few friends and they were
basically stumped why WinLinux could not use DHCP to configure my settings
when my ISP supported DHCP.
My second system is a
K6 233 MHz. Again the WinLinux installer correctly identified my ATI video
card, sound card, and network card. However there was not much to report here
since I could not get WinLinux to work with this configuration as much as
I wanted it to. Every time I attempted to boot into WinLinux I would get the
initial boot screen and the system would lock up when KDE tried to load. The
display was terribly garbled so I attempted changing the video settings to
a standard SVGA card and also to a VESA 2 compatible card with no success.
Lastly I tried to set the video to standard VGA. That didn't work either.
All these changes require a Windows reboot, settings change, and then a boot
into WinLinux to see the effect. What was most frustrating is that after a
reboot into Windows I had a corrupt registry. Obviously sharing the same partition
as Windows is not a completely good thing.
I fired off a message
to the WinLinux folks using their Windows utility. In the end I couldn't resolve
the problems with my main system and the cable modem. That was very disheartening
since I was looking forward to an easy experience. I based that assumption
on the fact that I had recently installed BeOS onto the same system and it
configured the cable modem with DHCP without a problem. The problems with
the AMD based machine were no better. After several e-mails back and forth
I was asked to go to terminal prompt and not allow KDE to load in order to
obtain some info. to send back to the tech folks. Even with that the system
would lock up and not let me get into the terminal. I have to suspect that
the problem is not with the drivers as much as my ATI card is not working
with the drivers supplied with this version of the kernel. I haven't found
a more current version for these drivers but I hope to work that and the cable
modem problem out with time.
| Pros |
Cons |
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- Easiest distribution
to install
- Most common
hardware drivers are included
- My system ran
noticeably cooler with Linux
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- The kernel
version used by WinLinux does not support USB
- Did not work
with a system which used an ATI Expert@Play 98
- All setup changes
are done from within Windows
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Conclusions
When running WinLinux
with my Coppermine machine I noticed that the CPU temp dropped almost 10 degrees
F. This was something I was totally not expecting. The software package included
in this distribution is quite good so I hope to get it up and working correctly
before too long. At this point, I would think a person interested in this
distribution should check some bulletin boards for systems similar to theirs
to see if there were any unexpected problems with the installation. Linux
support is very new to most manufacturers so within a few months there should
be drivers for just about every device that doesn't have drivers now.
This distribution is aimed
specifically at the individual who is new to Linux. Users who are experienced
with Linux are better off setting up a normal distribution and using a dual
boot configuration if they still need to use Windows. Those who aren't comfortable
with a complete transfer to the Linux OS can simply install WinLinux and have
a fall back to the Windows OS that they are already familiar with. The advantage
here is that WinLinux would be on the same partition as Windows and that Windows
files can be read and used within WinLinux.
Victor
Oshiro 
00/05/10
