On 8/10/19 3:53 PM, Randy Demerchant wrote:
I have a dell laptop 1720 and desktop acer ax 1935. I like to know can I install and use Debian on eithers of these two system with out ant problems Can you let me know thank you Randy
I have rarely been able to find a reliable answer to the question "Does OS distribution X work on computer hardware Y?" by STFW or asking on mailing lists. But, sometimes you get lucky and somebody has that exact combination.
Assuming you possess the hardware, one approach is to download a "live' image of whatever OS you are interested in, write it to CD, DVD, USB, or whatever, and try booting it. CMOS Setup changes may be required. If and when it boots, log in, get to a sudo or root prompt, and look around -- dmesg(1), /var/log/*, etc.. It is prudent to backup, image, disconnect, and/or remove any existing drives before you start.
Another approach is to install a spare HDD, SSD, or USB drive, do an install, boot, log in, and look around. Again, CMOS Setup changes may be required, and it is prudent to backup, image, disconnect, and/or remove any existing drives before you start.
It is not uncommon for computers to require, or benefit from, proprietary device drivers -- notably WiFi adapters and graphics chips/ cards. Getting them installed and working correctly involves extra effort. I am more familiar with adding these to a HDD/ SSD/ USB installation, but perhaps the live distributions have figured out a solution.
David