User:JRoque

Core System

• Motherboard: GA-EP45-DS3R
• CPU: Intel Q6600
• RAM: DDR2, 1066, 4GB
• HD: Seagate SATA 3, 500 Gb
• NICs: 2 x E100
• Video: nVidia e-GeForce8400 GS
• Tuner: HDHomeRun dual tuner

Media Director 1

• Model: IBM 8086-DE1, Ultra Small Form Factor (1x2)
• CPU: Intel® Pentium® 4 3.0GHz
• 800MHz FSB,
• RAM: 512MB
• HD: 40GB 7200RPM IDE
• Video1: Intel Extreme Graphics 2 (see comments below)
• Video2: nVidia e-GeForce 6200
• CD-RW/DVD combo
• Intel Gigabit Ethernet

Setup Comments

Installing LinuxMCE on the Hybrid (Core/MD):

- I used the 32 bit install because the 64 bit package says "AMD" and I'm using an Intel CPU. It seems AMD is a misnomer as that package will install 64 bit on Intel as well (please edit this if you know otherwise)

- Kubuntu complained with a "no hard drives found" error. It only installed when SATA in BIOS was set to "AHCI". The mobo manual says AHCI is only supported under WinVista - but this must be enabled before the drive is recognized for installation.

- During install, it showed message "Probing devices to guess BIOS drives. This may take a long time" = about 5 minutes. Total installation took about 30 mins

- I didn't see a choice for core, director or hybrid - the installation ended up being a hybrid which is fine and the media director portion can be disabled later with a simple check of a box.

- On reboot, Kubuntu set the video card to a frequency and/or resolution that was greater than what my LCD monitor could support. The monitor complained for a bit after that and went to sleep mode to protect itself.

- After many hours of debugging, it turns out the installation video output was being sent down the DVI port, not the VGA port. I used the DVI to VGA converter that came with the graphics card and that showed the welcome/setup screen immediately.

- I set the UI option to alpha-blending and the card worked great with it.

- During setup, the HDHomeRun tuner was detected and installed automatically. I registered with the recommended TV listing provider, entered my zip (postal) code and chose my cable provider.