Finding the Source: Linspire Problems and Whose Fault is it, Really?

They say trouble begins at home.   You hold in your hand a brand new Linspire disk, right out of the box or fresh out of the drive, immediately after an install gone wrong wondering whether to snap it in half before or after you fling it across the room.

"Damn Linspire and their crappy software!"  You curse wildly as those who hear you duck for cover.  Not even the geek patrol will come to your aid this time (as they don't even know what Linspire really is!)

But is it really Linspire who should be taking the brunt of the blame?  Who's fault is it when things go wrong and how do we fix it?

Well, like most things in life, that all depends on the problem.  Except for a few intrepid individuals who keep a soldering iron close at hand, most of us can agree that computers are complex machines.  So complex is the interaction between hardware and software, that there could be multiple causes of the same problem.

Driver Problems

For some reason, most of us expect Linspire to have all the drivers for our stuff.  And, while Linspire's driver support is second to none, not every little piece of hardware is supported.  This makes many people rather upset - absolutely livid in some cases.

What we forget to realize is that even the mighty Windows XP with all of its online driver support does not have even half of the driver support of Linspire.  

Why?  Because they don't have to.  The manufacturers write the drivers for Windows and support their hardware in Windows.  There is no need for Microsoft to custom-write drivers for Windows at all.  But because manufacturers view Linux/Linspire as an undefineable quantity, drivers for many devices are either written by third parties, or written for only a certain set of distributions.   Even when the drivers are written by the manufacturer, they are often distrubuted with little or no testing at all and lack the features and ease of installation of their Windows counterparts.

System instability

Take a moment and look at what your computer's power cord is plugged into.  Is it a 10 year-old surge protector?  A power bar?  The wall?  Does it look like a fire hazard?  Is it on fire right now?

If so, you might want to inspect the inside of your computer.  Blown capacitors, bad memory and bad storage devices can all contribute to system instability.  Power protection companies recommend replacing surge protectors every 2-5 years depending where you live.  Be sure your surge protector has a connected equipment guarantee of at least $25,000.  This way you will know you have enough surge suppression to protect the sensitive components inside your PC.

When was the last time your computer was cleaned out?  6 months ago?  A year?  When you bought it new?

Overheating is a serious source of instability as well.  Dust, pet dander, cigarette smoke all play their part to royally clog up fans and airways that your computer needs to keep cool.  Keeping your computer in a cubby hole in your computer desk closed up will also play a factor.   If your computer seems unusually slow, overheating might be the culprit.

Check your installation disk if you burned it and verify the checksum.   Bad installation disks can be the cause of much woe.

If none of these are the culprit, it may be an operating system quirk.   Now you may curse.

Unsupported hardware

Your old system was getting slower and slower with some lockups, etc.   So you saved your pennies and got a fantastic deal on a brand new Bell computer Pentium X with 10 gigabytes of memory, a 3D video card with holographic projection technology, and a terabyte of storage.  But damn and blast!  Linspire won't install on it.

First off, Bell computer (and similar companies) are trying to get the cheapest computer out the door and sell it for the most money.  The hardware manufacturers are not thinking about multiple operating systems when they are writing drivers for all the new-fangled stuff.  They are more concerned with making it work in one operating system with the potential of multiple configurations without doubling their work for another operating system. 

Early adopters and gamers know of this problem well.  Often times, you have to wait for a bug to be fixed in a video driver before you can play a certain game.  Sometimes an older driver or a driver with fewer features is needed for the device to function at all.

Junk Hardware

"Wow!  A Chainstar mainboard, processor, and memory for only $59.99!  What a great deal!  I'll save by building my own system and still have enough money to go drinking with my buddies!"

Anyone who has built their own computer has been there.  A great deal out of a magazine, on the Internet, from your buddy across town comes your way and you snap it up.   This great deal comes complete with a manual written in Yoda with those helpful tips like: "If was need malignment to the proper, broke you processor do."

Let's face it, this garbage barely works in Windows.  It is the lowest common denominator in the available hardware pool and to expect it to be properly supported in any operating system is simply preposterous.

Seek out the slightly more expensive hardware with decent warranties (i.e. greater than a year).  Those who took the time to make sure the driver support was spot on will be the best bet for the money and will most likely get you a PC Linspire will be happy with.

The Bottom Line

Not all problems are Linspire's fault.  It is important to check the conditions of your hardware before assuming it is an operating system problem.