December 6, 2008 was an important date in my life. That evening we had a launch party in New York for the start up I'd been working with since September. More significantly, it was my last day with a Windows computer in my home. In reality, I was supposed to be getting doing a dual boot installation so my family could continue to use the Windows software they were accustomed to, and I could play around in Linux world. All on the same computer. It seemed so simple.
The directions were in front of me, printed out from the Internet several days before. I hardly needed them, though, as I had read through them again and again as I struggled to work up the nerve to do the installation. The whole process took less than half and hour, but as I rebooted a problem appeared.
When a standard PC boots up you see BIOS working. It loads your operating system. What was supposed to happen was that I would see an option to log into Windows or go ahead and boot into Ubuntu, which was the new default. That option appeared, but no amount of key-tapping would make it change. Time and again I rebooted, only to be sent -- after a brief wait -- into Ubuntu.
Scouring the Internet and trying different tricks got me nowhere. Folks on the Ubuntu forum were very kind and helpful, but nothin' doin'.
My wife managed to pull me away from the computer to get ready for the launch party. We had a very good time, but the computer problem at home gnawed at me.
We got home late, and I stayed up even later. By the time 2:30am rolled around I had accepted the inevitable and we had a full Ubuntu installation on our computer. I was glad I'd backed up our personal folders of documents and pictures.
It took a few days to realize completely what had happened, but now it is crystal clear. Our computer does not have any PS2 ports. Instead, the keyboard and pretty much everything else uses UBS connections. The version of BIOS on this desktop doesn't recognize USB ports, so the keyboard fails to be identified and cannot be used in BIOS. Since the average user would never have any reason to be poking around in BIOS, this normally wouldn't be a problem. Neither Windows XP nor Ubuntu 8.10 have any problem with USB keyboards.
So, if you are thinking about setting up your computer for dual boot Windows/Ubuntu use, take a closer look at your hardware and at BIOS. If you have USB ports only for the keyboard and if you see the magic words "keyboard failure" anywhere as your computer boots up, don't try a dual boot install.
That said, now that I've learned my way around Linux to some extent, I wouldn't want to go back. I've done maintenance on friends' Windows computers since switching to Ubuntu and have been shocked at how shoddy Windows looks in comparison.
I've probably got three ir four of those little USB-to-PS2 adapter plugs that probably would have gotten you through the crisis. Since I'm a Mac guy, I'll probably never use them.
ReplyDeleteThe office where I work is 100% Mac. Really don't like it, but they don't pay me to like the office hardware/software choices.
ReplyDeleteAside from functionality (which I love in Ubuntu) I also appreciate the open source philosophy. For folks like me looking to do some good on the education and technology front in Third World countries like Brazil, shiny overpriced fruit boxes aren't very interesting.
BTW, don't get too cocky. Back up your data.
I understand! I use a PC at the church office where I work at the church administrator's insistence (though I use a Mac for some video applications).
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I have a real preference anymore ... I just started with a Mac in 1987 at work, bought one and have bought them ever since.
At home, I do try to back up my data ... now with something that Apple calls "Time Machine," which is automatic and brainless and therefore very suited to me, the end user! At work, well, it's whenever I think about it. Maybe twice a year.