Introduction and installation question
We have already been using Linux on an old Gateway PC that my father gave me for Arduino development and my son is using it for his college computer programming classes.
So my mother just gave me a Gateway laptop that is a Pentium 4 running at 2.2GHz. Installing the "lite" version of Mint crashed and burned after several attempts but the latest Lubuntu release installed like a dream and runs VERY well on it.
Now the question.... can I run LinuxCNC on Lubuntu? I tried to get the "Live" cd running and it won't even boot to a point where I get anything on the screen. I'm not afraid of having to compile and possibly rebuild the kernal if needed (been working with Unix of lots of flavors since the late 1980's) but all of my Google-fu skills have come up short in this department.
If I can't get this to work, I may have to abandon the LinuxCNC route and go with a PC interfacing with an Arduino to drive the machine unless I can score a better computer somehow... or convince my son that I need our other Linux box for the CNC
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I tried to get the "Live" cd running and it won't even boot to a point where I get anything on the screen.
Which Live CD did you try?
The 10.04 based one may well not even boot, but the 8.04 Live CD will even install on a PII (albeit runs like c**p)
With a P4 that is the one you should be trying, but laptop is probably not the right one, unless you can turn a lot of power management etc off without melting it, it is unlikely to perform well
regards
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I went out and scored an old P4 desktop for $25. It runs the 10.04 version with decent results on the latency test.. I'll most likely build around this PC.
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I went out and scored an old P4 desktop for $25. It runs the 10.04 version with decent results on the latency test
Sounds the way to go.
I would still advise burning a 8.04 based Live CD, booting from it and choosing 'Try Linuxcnc' to test it without having to install
Once running from CD try the latency-test.
I have yet to test a single processor machine which did not run better on the Uni-Processor built 2.6.24-16-rtai kernel with the 8.04 build
regards
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Now the question.... can I run LinuxCNC on Lubuntu?
Yes, I have done it.
If you already have the Lubuntu installation then you need the RTAI-patched kernel package and the LinuxCNC packages.
wiki.linuxcnc.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Instal...ed_LinuxCNC_packages
You might want to look inside the install script that is there and do it manually and thoughtfully.
Lubuntu looks like a good choice if you want the 3.2+ kernels but not the Unity interface.
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I have yet to test a single processor machine which did not run better on the Uni-Processor built 2.6.24-16-rtai kernel with the 8.04 build
Is that the default kernel that comes with the 8.04 Live CD? If so, I think I'll try that. I already have the Live CD burned.
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Is that the default kernel that comes with the 8.04 Live CD?
Yes it is
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FWIW it is a P4 2.8 GHz 512k cache 533MHz bus with 1GB RAM.
I'll keep the Lubuntu laptop for in-the-field Arduino development which it seems to do great with.
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Now, I notice the software package is "EMC2 v2.3.0." Is it OK to upgrade to the latest-and-greatest version of LinuxCNC under 8.04 or will I break something?
(I know I am supposed to leave the Ubuntu version alone at 8.04 or I definitely WILL break something.)
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