Can i run ubuntu smoothly without installing drivers?

Question

Just by choosing the default installation option from the cd boot menu, is it enough for a once and for all installation or should i do some tweaking like additional drivers to make my regular computer run smooth as butter without any app crashes or os freeze?

Answer 1

most common hardware drivers are already included with linux distro's, they are 'built in'



there really are not many to install separately, maybe for newer graphics card and wireless cards, but thats about it,

Answer 2

The default settings should be good enough to run it. After the install there may be a facility to install additional drivers for certain items, some video drivers are licenced in a way that does not allow distribution with the OS, many of these can then be used by downloading an upgrade.

Answer 3

At this point, *most* wireless drivers are already present in the kernel. Even long-time holdout Broadcom finally open sourced their drivers a year or so ago. Yay!



That leaves video cards...



Depending on your video setup (Intel/Nvidia/ATI), the open source drivers may or may not be adequate. I have a Nvidia 8800GT and the Compiz window manager (Unity) and the Mutter window manager (Gnome-Shell) work perfectly using the 'nouveau' open source driver.



I also do gaming under WINE, and for gaming you'll probably want to use one of the proprietary drivers; I've also found that Cairo-Dock with GLX acceleration does run smoother than the non-accelerated version you have to use if opting for the open source drivers, though this doesn't impact that actual functionality of the dock, only how responsive the dock's "special effects" are when mousing over icons, for example.



The open source drivers are really good these days, you should certainly give them a fair chance. Just be conscious of what you're going to use your Ubuntu install for, and decide accordingly.

Answer 4

I guess that would depend on the computer you have. I installed it on my hp netbook ( desktop version ) and only had to install a wifi driver. installing it on an accer required no driver installs and it ran smoothly without any errors. I've had it for about two years.

Answer 5

This would depend on your hardware. Some items are common and supported by default, others may need special drivers from the manufacturer.

Answer 6

It should work work in most instances without looking for any apps or drivers.

Answer 7

I installed linux mint without drivers and it worked fine. Try it.

Answer 8

till you have an ATI video card in it i might think of all may well be properly, i exploit it on various computers and laptops around my abode, one in each and every of that's an hp netbook, twin booted with xp