I bought a used Dell Precision 490 computer

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FredRdr88

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May 26, 2017
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Dell Precision 490 2x Intel Xeon Dual Core 5150 2.66HGz 1TB HDD Computer Desktop
8GB Memory RAM / Nvidia NVS290 / No OS / Keyboard+Mouse

Just curious, will I need some sort of adapter cable to hook up an ordinary monitor to the graphics card. I have an unusual cable but I plan to put an old monitor on the computer. I guess I just need to buy a cable or something? I don't plan to use the Y cable for two monitors. I only need one. I don't have any monitors that would plug into the NVidia connector, although I can buy one if need be.
 
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The computer GPU has to convert digital to VGA analog, and the monitor has to convert VGA back to digital for any flat screen monitor. DVI at both ends is the way to go.
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FredRdr88

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I will probably take the Y cable with me to a Staples and see if they have a monitor that will plug into it. That way I won't have to buy an adapter. If they have an adapter then I could choose from a wider variety. It has to be a flat panel since I don't have much room for the monitor on my desk.
 
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william p

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I have a couple different Y cables for those. One was VGA, and the other is DVI. VGA was analog and is pretty much obsolete. No part #s on them. The 490 probably had the VGA cable. I would suggest getting the newer DVI adapter cable. Google "DMS59 to DVI adapter". This is a good common denominator for most monitors.
 
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FredRdr88

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Ok, they do have a DVI to VGA so I'll just pick one up at Staples, then I won't have to worry (assuming I bought a DVI monitor). Otherwise, I can get the
Staples 6" DVI to VGA Adapter, Black Item: 2094886 Model: 29767-US
and use a VGA monitor.
 
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FredRdr88

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I just bought a Samsung S22F350 22" monitor since I needed a monitor that would come to less than 15 1/2" high. I bought two adapters: 1) DVI to VGA the other is DVI to HDMI. But the HDMI end is female so I can't use it unless I get a gender changer. So my only choice was to hook the monitor up as a VGA by using the DVI to VGA adapter. Somehow I knew that I would NOT get what I wanted when I went to the store. I will have to start this computer up using it with the VGA output port. Then make a 2nd trip and get some sort of gender changer or yet another cable. It's best to run monitors off of the HDMI port. But at least I should be able to use the monitor right away (until I can get a gender change accomplished). I don't know why the gender isn't right with the HDMI adapter (why they didn't make the adapter a male, perhaps because they expected a normal HDMI cable which supplies the male).
Since it's an old computer though, it might be safer to just run it as a VGA. It will only be a server, as long as I can administer stuff on it, that's all it's for.
 
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FredRdr88

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As you pointed out, technically, the Y cable I plugged in is a DMS-59 Y cable. It's missing one pin on the bottom row (#57). I then connected one of the DVIs on the Y part to a DVI to VGA cable, then plugged into the monitor.
 
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FredRdr88

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The screen has now gone grey - it looks like the install is unable to establish the modeset for the display - I was hoping that it would jump to the default and continue the installation. It looks like I now have to read up on how to install Ubuntu when the Ubuntu can't get the video set up correctly. Oh well, I guess I dreamt too much that it might work right away.
 
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FredRdr88

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I thought the Ubuntu installer would ask me how I wanted to partition my hard drive. My hard-drive has no operating system at all on it. It's 1TB but nothing is on it and it's not partitioned. I hate trying to partition a hard-drive for LInux. It's too much decision-making. I just want something that makes a reasonable estimate and installs things. Now I have to read up on all this stuff and possibly find a gparted type of disk I might have lying around. It will take a while to find a boot up disk.
If I were to create an operating system install, the first thing I would think is that the disk was brand new. I wonder if there is some option to partition the drive during the install. I don't know.
 
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FredRdr88

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I see a little picture on the purple screen at the bottom - I think I need to hit the shift key - and then it will give me a menu. The reason it's greying is that it's trying to do things with a default set of options and it THINKS I've chosen them. I just need to find the magic key that puts up a menu. Why didn't the person who wrote the install script just have it go to a menu? I have NO idea what an icon on the left and a picture of a human being on the right signify. It means nothing to me.
 
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william p

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I've run my system with no HDD connected from a Ubuntu Live DVD due to a hacking problem. It will take a while to load into RAM but it works OK. The hacker would still load his spyware but every reboot cleared it out. If I plugged in my HDD I would see the Python scripts trying to load into Windows.
Did you try right clicking on items to see if a menu appears? I don't recall it being that different from windows.
 
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FredRdr88

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It's funny, I hacked a few times, tried different menu options, but nothing worked, so I burnt a Gparted CD and I've now partititioned the 1TB drive for Linux. So I now have to try to install it again and see if it goes better.
 
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