Ultimate Edition Forum

Hello, my machine is currently running on Ubuntu 11.043 Natty.
My machine is a laptop, HP pavilion dv7-2185dx.
It has been running this for years now, and it is starting to feel old and out-dated.
I want to update my machine to newer Linux, but i have a few questions and concerns:

My machine has a decent (at least i think so) ATI radeon HD 4650 mobility.
I have perfect support for it under my current Windows 7 and Ubuntu 11.04 set up, but now i hear that my card is considered "legacy" and that the legacy driver will not work with the latest x server used in later Ubuntu editions.

I do not consider my self a hard-core gamer, but i do believe in properly supported hardware, i.e. why use a OS that will not support fully what my current OS supports perfectly already?

One solution i have heard is to upgrade to ubuntu 12.10 and downgrade the X server...
Then after that, use the legacy driver. I have been warned that if i go this route, i should always triple-check when my machine tries to update, to make sure the x server never gets changed...
To be honest, that sounds scary.

I think i remember that Ultimate Edition 3.0 is based on Natty, but then if i go with that, i have not really updated anything, although it should fully support my video hardware.

What would the forum - goers suggest i do to update my machine to a more modern Linux?

Hello and welcome to Ultimate Edition forum ramidavis.
Please write your hardware in your signature.

Do Not upgrade, unless you are familiar on how to upgrade ubuntu. It will most probably break your system depending on what programs are installed. First make a backup of Everything.

I'd recommend you install Ultimate Edition 4.2 as it has an optimized kernel and driver for CPU and GPU.

Nonetheless, you need not worry as AMD provides legacy support for Radeon cards....
On a fresh install of Ubuntu or Ultimate Edition, Open a terminal and type:

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get update

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sudo apt-get install linux-firmware-nonfree

Reboot.