I found out that the ATI chipset works with the ALSA driver.

Joseph Sinclair wrote:

> Mike,
>    Sorry for the long delay in responding.  The problem you're 
> encountering is, basically, because there is no efficient driver 
> installed for the video chip you're using (same for the sound, 
> actually).  There are basic drivers (framebuffer for the video, and 
> similar for the sound), but they don't work as well as the highly 
> tuned drivers you're used to in the MS world.  This is a common 
> problem in Linux, and it traces to the hardware vendors not wanting to 
> spend time writing their drivers for multiple environments.  You can 
> run Linux on a PC with excellent results, but it requires a bit of 
> forethought to ensure good drivers are available for all of the 
> components before purchasing the system.  I've been working with 
> various systems for a long time, and Windows systems have the exact 
> same problems, they're just handled by the OEM before you ever see the 
> system, since Windows is pre-installed, and OEM's have the clout to 
> force the component vendors to provide working drivers.
>
> As far as what you can do, DVD playback really taxes the system, 
> especially on a laptop, and the lack of hardware acceleration for the 
> video is going to make it very nearly impossible to get it working.
>
> If you're up for one more try, there is a proprietary (binary only) 
> driver available from ATI at 
> (http://www.ati.com/support/drivers/linux/radeon-linux.html?type=linux&prodType=graphic&prod=productsLINUXdriver&submit.x=14&submit.y=9&submit=GO%21), 
> but it may not work on the integrated chip in your laptop, since 
> Presarios typically use slightly customized versions of vendor chipsets.
>
> You had asked if it was wise to get a different notebook, and HP does 
> provide one notebook with SUSE Linux pre-installed, the nx5000, if 
> you're interested...  There are other vendors that provide laptops 
> with Linux pre-installed as well, some are even based locally.
>
> For reference, the specific error you're getting is from the codec 
> library, and indicates that the decoder cannot push the video frames 
> through the video driver fast enough to maintain smooth playback.  
> Since the codec is still decoding them well enough, and assumes it is 
> the most taxing part of the display pipeline, it figures something's 
> wrong with the video subsystem, and exits with that error.  The reason 
> reducing the speed slightly made the player run longer before crashing 
> is because it reduced the throughput mismatch between the decoder and 
> video.  Further reducing the speed might make it play DVD movies, but 
> you'll probably notice the speed reduction before you can match the 
> limitations of the installed video driver.
>
> I looked around for a driver for the sound used in that laptop, and I 
> couldn't find anything written for Linux, so I suspect the sound 
> problem will remain an issue for you.
>
> mike hoy wrote:
>
>> i tried mepis and kmix doesn't even have a soundcard listed.
>> it's cool, i give up.
>> i'm starting to realize that linux on my personal computer is going 
>> to be nothing but a lifelong headache.
>> it works great on my server, but it's CLI only. the way things ought 
>> to be with linux.
>> so to heck with it, i'll just use XP. at least that way i'll get full 
>> use of my computer.
>>
>> mike
>>
>> Lee Einer wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Jason Hayes wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Tue, 2005-01-18 at 05:07 -0700, Lee Einer wrote:
>>>>
>>>>  
>>>>
>>>>> Before you dump the damnable thing, you may want to try installing 
>>>>> Simply Mepis.   
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Does Mepis have a live CD version. I wouldn't mind giving it a try, 
>>>> but
>>>> don't want to botch my working Mandrake install.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks
>>>>  
>>>>
>>> Yes, the Simply Mepis CD runs by default as a live version. If you 
>>> like it, there is an icon on the desktop on which you can click to 
>>> install it to your hard drive.
>>>
>>
>>
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