Test Driving Operating Systems.. XP, Vista (July), Freebsd 6

[tangel]

Since receiving my T60p about a month ago, I've installed a few OSes. Here's a brief summary:

XP SP2
+ The only fully supported OS (linux is officially supported but lacks software to support certain features)
- DPMS Screen problem

FreeBSD 6
+ Nvidia kernel driver and AGPgart works well
+ Sound works well
+ Intel NICs work (Wired/Wifi)
- Both APMD and ACPI crash on suspend

Vista (July Build)
+ Aero works reasonably fast
- Install crashes unless SATA controller is set to 'compatability' mode (same as XP)
- Crashes on boot if Multiple cores are enabled

Next up... linux
I'll try to update this thread with linux observations once I give SLED 10 a try.


Overall, I'm more pleased than I expected with the T60p. Sure the plastic casing creaks a bit on the right side, sure the 9 cell battery has a bit of play in it, sure it shuts off once in a blue moon when I try to dock it, and even less often, sure I have to close and reopen the lid to get the screen back... but all of that is minor in my book.

[kimx]

Since receiving my T60p about a month ago, I've installed a few OSes. Here's a brief summary:

...

Vista (July Build)
+ Aero works reasonably fast
- Install crashes unless SATA controller is set to 'compatability' mode (same as XP)
- Crashes on boot if Multiple cores are enabled

...

I haven't had any problems with vista and the problems that you mention. I have installed both beta2 and RC1

[BillMorrow]

Overall, I'm more pleased than I expected with the T60p. Sure the plastic casing creaks a bit on the right side, sure the 9 cell battery has a bit of play in it, sure it shuts off once in a blue moon when I try to dock it, and even less often, sure I have to close and reopen the lid to get the screen back... but all of that is minor in my book.

vista (recent version, but it was not RC1) loaded fine..
no drivers and thus no connectivity with the outside world..

the chess game worked fine but left the squares a little scrambled..

XP preload..

have you tried Fn-Space to get the display back..??
works for me..

[jdhurst]

I have XP SP2 running on my T41 (2373) and my NetVista A30 (8314) and no problems with either machine.

I have Ubuntu 5 running on my T41. Runs very well and fully 1Gb smaller that 6.60.

I have Ubuntu 6.06 LTS running on my Desktop. Runs well now (very new version of VMware), but is 1 Gb larger than my V5 machine and provides no benefit I can see for the size.

I have SuSE 9, RH Linux 7.3, 8 and 9 machines that are out of date but still run. I have moved to Ubuntu for Linux.

I have Vista Beta 2 running on its own laptop drive and it is just that - a Beta. It looks, feels, smells and works like a beta. Not ready for prime time any time soon.

I expect that when I buy new machines in 2007 (early 2008 at the latest), they will be Vista-certified and come with Vista.

I can't run Aero, but I confess I don't see the point. I run XP in Classic mode and my Windows 95 (gone) Windows 98 (Virtual), Windows NT4 (Virtual), Windows 2000 and Windows XP machines all look identical and all work in precisely the same way. I watch people work with the goofy XP interface and hands-down and in triplicate, I can work faster and more productively than all of them and in fact, faster than most two put together. The way I see it, Aero is designed to slow people down, spend money on memory, hard drives and computers, and offer zero in return for the investment. We'll see......

... JD Hurst

[chan_man]

Just installed Vista RC1 and right away, much better than Beta2, more stable and was able to load all the drivers needed for the T60. I have XP Pro loaded on the main drive (SATA) and Vista on a second drive in the CD-Drive tray. Vista loads a boot manager to allow for simple switching. I was amazed that the wireless came up with no hassles, all it asked for was a pass phrase. Aero also worked better, althought it was not that great on 512meg, I installed an extra 1 gig and now the machine is showing its speed.