[Tutor] OT: Recommendations for a Linux distribution to dual-boot with Win7-64 bit

[David Rock]

> On Jun 28, 2016, at 12:49, boB Stepp <robertvstepp at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I forgot one concern last night:
> 
> 11)  My current graphics adapter is made by NVIDIA.  Their drivers are
> proprietary.  Is this going to be a deal breaker for Linux?

Typically, no.  At a minimum, you will still have native support for basic GUI display.  There are also nvidia-supplied drivers available that can be used, but they are typically needed only for advanced 3D acceleration (if at all).  My 15-year old laptop had an Nvidia Geforce 2 Go card and it was fine.


> 12)  And what about wireless networking?  My ASUS motherboard has
> builtin wireless, but the software used to manage its settings may be
> (I cannot remember for certain.) Windows-only.  Will this be an issue?

Again, not likely a problem.  Most hardware nowadays is reasonably well supported, although some advanced features may not be.  The easiest thing to do is google for your distro name and the brand of device and see if there are any issues.

If you follow my earlier advice on trying a liveCD of your chosen distro first, that will give you a really good idea if your hardware will work.


— 
David Rock
david at graniteweb.com